was "kenjutsu" ever a real samurai arts?

I am not familiar with the samurai arts, so I am hoping someone will enlighten me.

I have had some kendo trainings a few years back. My impression was that it's just a sport/ game, and so I move on to look for other arts.

4 years later I find myself back at iaido... and I keep getting corrected about my cuts - you don't push forward in iaido, you reach up and out with the tip and draw it back in to make a big circle.

My question is... if both kenjitsu (predicessor of kendo) and iaijutsu are tools for making of samurai, why are the fundamentals so different? My instructor says kendo never was a martial art, it's just a sport ment to be played on smooth hardwood floor, and so you don't have to be aware of the environment (feel the ground, make sure you don't ram your katana into objects around you when you swing it etc).

Is that "the truth"?

My god, I am definitely on a defiant mode lately, I have to question every thing my instructors say... >_<

-raccoon

Raccoon, its all in the words:
kenDO
kenJUTSU
Kendo is to Kenjutsu as Judo is to Jujitsu.
BTW, where in'ell did you find an Iaido instructor?

Thanx Jamoni...

Not sure what you mean "where in'ell", so I will answer you literally...

I found him in Canada o.o

-raccoon

Dear Sir,

Please find many articles about Kendo, Kenjutsu, Iaido, Iaijutsu and other related issues on this site:
http://kiai.dzaba.com

It is the site of Kenjutsu International Association of Instructors (KIAI), which was founded by me and is headed by Walt Bushey sensei from Texas.

Yours in budo,
Ivan/Serbia

Do not forget that there are different styles of any art and they teach certain things differently.
The "jutsu" ending of an art means it is focused on combat applications, not philosophy. "do" ending means philosophy and self development is stressed-usually at the expense of combat application.

Kenjutsu comes in a number of different flavors my friend but yes samurai had to learn swordsmanship since that's essentially what the arts of iajutsu and kenjutsu were

true, it may not be the same as it is today and also they may not have been under one banner but every samurai had to learn one school of kenjutsu or another
a samurai can't go into battle just swinging his sword around wildly and hope to live