SPORTS CHANBARA(Katsusen)

　The katsusen (team match) was a common way of fighting in old days, so it is rather unnatural that there has been no match of this way these days.
　With the call of "hajime" for start, its practice is carried out by two groups (red and white teams) consisting of more or less the same number of players.
　Judging can be difficult in the katsusen as many players are on the contest area at the same time. Therefore, a self-assessment system is adopted. Players are to recognize their own defeats when they have had any effective strokes. In this case, they either fall down on the floor or retreat. As a matter of fact, matches can be melees, involving atouchi(delayed blows), mikatauchi(attacks from companies), and 2 on one or 3 on one (simultaneous attacks from some opponents), and so on.
　The katsusen is divided into two kinds of matches. One is called gentei-sen (limited-sword match), where the kind of the equipment that can be used is set in a certain range, such as a match where only the kodachi is used. The other is called weapon jiyu-sen (free-equipment match). In a free match with long swords of over two meters, it is better to coincide the number of players between the two teams. The most essential thing here is the self-assessment. Only when the players acknowledge their defeats does the match work. If there are any players who fall short of this self-assessment or respectable behavior, the match cannot be carried out. Sports chanbara, in this context, has an element of helping a player from established personality. It aims to encourage him to be the one who does not stick to victory of defeat, and is not hesitant to recognize his defeat and willing to congratulate his opponent.

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