Beginners programme

On the first Tuesday and Saturday of the month the Renshinjuku dojo starts a kendo beginners programme. All you need to begin is a desire to learn! In these classes you will train under the supervision of experienced kendo practitioners in a class of students of similar level. You will work on learning the basic kendo body-postures, footwork and sword-cuts, along with proper etiquette, terminology and care of equipment.

No special clothing or equipment is necessary when beginning to study and train – you can wear loose sports/workout clothing and the dojo can supply you with a shinai (bamboo sword). When ready you can purchase training clothes (dogi and hakama) and shinai through the dojo. The first month of training is totally free, so you can get a good introduction to the art before deciding to commit to it. After that dojo fees are due on a quarterly basis.

After a few months of training you may progress to wearing kendo armour (bogu) – firstly the chest and hip protectors (do and tare) and later the wrist/hand and head protectors (kote and men). The time it takes to reach training in armour depends on the frequency of your traning and the speed of your progress. When you are wearing armour you then move on to training fully in the general class.

The minimum age for beginners is 7 years.