The term kendo (kanji: 剣道) means "the way of the sword" in English. It is written けんどう in hiragana. It may also be rendered in English as kendō or kendou. It's pronounced roughly like "ken-doe".
Formerly, those who took up the art of sword fighting would train with bamboo swords. An art grew out of this, emphasizing the development of the student’s character, and now it is practiced as a sport.
剣 can be pronounced either kenKEN 剣 "sword [non-Japanese]" learn more... or tsurugiTSURUGI 剣 "sword [non-Japanese]" learn more.... Both mean sword, but not a Japanese sword. 道 means way. In Chinese philosophy, 道 is the Tao. Note that 道 here is do but it can also be pronounced to, as in Shinto (神道, “the way of the kami [gods]”). The Japanese reading of 道 is michi and means street, road, or path.