Start Your Journey

The next beginners course is expected to be in Spring, 2025. 

Please use the "Sign Up" buttons on this page to register your interest and we'll get in touch when a new course is arranged.

We regularly host new beginner courses, and these are the best way to join the club and start kendo. These last 6 weeks, and teach you everything you need to know to get started, from the absolute basics and assuming no prior knowledge. You must be over 16 years old by the start of the course to attend.

By the end of the 6 weeks, you will be able to join in with the rest of the class.

You do NOT need any equipment to get started. We will provide everything that you need. However, make sure to come in some comfortable loose fitting clothing. Bear in mind that this is a barefoot activity, and socks will not be allowed as it is too dangerous (you may slip and seriously hurt yourself).

You will NOT be able to wear bogu (the kendo armour) after the six weeks. It usually takes between 3-6 months of practice before you are sufficiently experienced. However, we will encourage you to purchase your own set of equipment, including the special uniform we wear (hakama and kendogi). 

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to get in touch via facebook, instagram, or by email at kendoinyork@gmail.com. 

Costs

The beginners course costs £35, payable after the first session if you choose to continue with the course. Please bear in mind that you will need a British Kendo Association (BKA) Membership. The BKA offers a "Temporary" membership which lasts for 3 months and costs £10 as a one-off cost. You can then upgrade your temporary membership to a full membership by paying the difference.

As your practice progresses, these are the costs associated with practicing kendo:

• Monthly club membership: £20 (Recurring Cost)

• Yearly BKA membership: £40 (Recurring Cost)

• Beginners set (clothes, your own shinai and wooden sword): ~£150 (One-off Cost - usually after around 3 months of practice).

• Beginner armour: ~£350 (One-off Cost - usually after around 6 months of practice.)

What to Expect

In your first few sessions you will be given a shinai (bamboo sword) and be given a brief explanation of its parts. After this, you will begin by learning the basic footwork (ashi-sabaki) and the basic swinging motions (suburi). At first, we will practise swinging in the air, then against another shinai, and finally against a person in armour. We will show you the most fundamental strike, men-uchi, before moving onto other target areas (kote and dou). The throat thrust, tsuki, is typically introduced at a later stage, not straight away.

You will not be getting hit just yet! 

The sessions will initially be very information dense and not very physically demanding. This will slowly start to shift as you understand the basics and we start to spend more time polishing your technique. Before you know it, you'll be joining the main class!

What to do Before Your First Session

As this is a beginner course, we don't expect any prior knowledge - so there is nothing for you to do right now! Feel free to watch some videos about kendo, if that interests you, to see what kendo practice looks like. It may all look very intense and overwhelming; those videos show practitioners that have likely been practising kendo for years. Your first steps will be a lot more restrained!

As this is a barefoot sport, please make sure your toenails are trimmed and you have good foot hygiene. We don't want any injuries!