Absolute Beginner

[Wark 1978]

I've been living in Japan now for 6 months and have been studying kendo for 3 of those. I'm working as an English teacher at a junior high school. I've joined the kendo club at the school and are having a great time practicing with the students. I've also been lucky enough to find a club 5 mins walk from my house where I can practice despite having very limited Japanese ability. The students and the sensei at the school as well as the 5th Dan sensei at the club have said that they are well impressed with my progress after only 3 months. I think that they genuinely mean it and are not just saying it.

I would obviously like to get graded at some stage and would like some advice from other gaijins and their experiences of gradings in Japan and gradings in general.

Also, I am using borrowed bogu at the moment but I have to give it back soon. The school said that a price for a complete set would be 90,000 yen. Is this an alright price? I know that it depends on stitching etc.

Your advice would be greatly appreciated.

Ipswich Town FC rule

[Neil Gendzwill]

Your first grading in Japan as an adult will most likely be for ikkyu. Your sensei will tell you when you're ready. I wouldn't stress about it.

As far as bogu for 90,000 yen: you're right, depends on stitching and so forth. For that kind of money you should be able to get a decent 4 mm set with fibreglass doh. See http://www.bogubag.com/Bogu/Machine_3mm/machine_3mm.html for a few examples - in that price range I recommend s-20 or s-21, swapping out the bamboo doh for the yamato doh.

[xvikingx]

The only advice I can really give is do your research on bogu. Check the archives on this site, info provided at online shops, and go take a look at your local shop. Bogu is an investment; it will be a total waste if you buy crap. ￥90,000 is a lot of money for a beginner set. (Thats just my feeling, I have know idea what kind of bogu they want to sell you) Good luck and have fun!

[Sbres]

I've just been looking through a Kendo catalogue before coming online. Complete sets in there range from between 60,000 Yen up to 800,000 Yen.You are probably better off spending 100,000 at least because like someone else said, it's an investment.
By the way, I study at a Junior High school and a private club too. It's great when the kids are up for keiko and start on time, but when they can't be arsed I get really frustrated because they just jump about and run around. But if it wasn't for them I wouldn't be up for 1 kyu this Autumn.

[Wark 1978]

I find that the school kendo club is a much harder workout than the private club, mainly because it's a longer lesson, sometimes 3 hours or more, and also because the kids have more energy. What is also great is that you meet these kids in keiko who never say boo to a goose in the classrooms or when you see them in the corridor. However, as soon as they don their bogu they suddenly become less inhibited and actually make an effort to speak to me. It's probably because in the kendo club they are now the sensei and me the student and I'm meeting them on their terms.

An ex-student, who now works at Hiroya (a kendo shop near Tamagawagakuen-mae station on the Odakyu Line), said he could do me a complete set for Y90,000. In the catalogue this appears to be for a 5mm set. I've also been looking on the Mitsuiboshi website and Koei. Budo-gu in Ikebukero is far too expensive. If you know of any others please let me know.

Also, could you let me know about the grading. I'm a long way off that but I would like to know what to expect especially not being a native speaker.

Good luck.

[Sbres]

Wark 1978,
I agree totally. The kids are the teachers and I am the student in the dojo. When I teach them English in class they don't say a word but when I speak to them in the dojo (in English and Japanese) they are great!
I bought some Kote from an online shop called Rakuten (in Japanese) but you could try Yahoo auctions Japan because they always have Kendo gear.

[Neil Gendzwill]

I've just been looking through a Kendo catalogue before coming online.
Actual prices are normally quite discounted from catalog prices. I don't know anybody who's paid full catalog price, regardless of which supplier they get it from.

[Wark 1978]

...if it wasn't for them I wouldn't be up for 1 kyu this Autumn.
Sbres,
I was just wondering if you have had your grading yet and if so, how did it go?

Cheers

[isi]

I assume things are different in Japan, but...worth taking a look at. Especially, the last item: Grading for the Terminally Confused

http://www.kendo.org.uk/articles/grading.shtml

[A P]

I find that the school kendo club is a much harder workout than the private club, mainly because it's a longer lesson, sometimes 3 hours or more, and also because the kids have more energy. What is also great is that you meet these kids in keiko who never say boo to a goose in the classrooms or when you see them in the corridor. However, as soon as they don their bogu they suddenly become less inhibited and actually make an effort to speak to me. It's probably because in the kendo club they are now the sensei and me the student and I'm meeting them on their terms.

An ex-student, who now works at Hiroya (a kendo shop near Tamagawagakuen-mae station on the Odakyu Line), said he could do me a complete set for Y90,000. In the catalogue this appears to be for a 5mm set. I've also been looking on the Mitsuiboshi website and Koei. Budo-gu in Ikebukero is far too expensive. If you know of any others please let me know.

Also, could you let me know about the grading. I'm a long way off that but I would like to know what to expect especially not being a native speaker.

Good luck.

I would try going online more and search for bogu.

www.kendoshop.com
www.e-bogu.com

[Princess_Inaka]

Wow, I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only person learning how to play kendo with a bunch of junior high school kids.
I have been studying for about three months with my junior high school and I absolutely love it.
How do you guys deal with the language barrier. Sometimes I get so frustrated because I don't really know what's going on. I can understand the movements fine but any kind of psychological training I get pretty lost with because my Japanese doesn't really span beyond "onegai shimasu"
As for the kids being more genki in Kendo than in class. I agree 100%. The captain of my kendo club is so nice to me in practice but cops major attitude in class.
Broody japanese teenagers....what'ya gonna do?

[Sbres]

Wark 1978
Last Spring my teacher said I should go for 1kyu this Autumn but he said to me last week that I should wait until Spring (I Knew I was crap!) so I haven't taken any gradings yet.
Princess_Inaka...
Lucikly the Japanese is not a barrier as I have been studying it for quite a while now. But saying that, most of the Japanese used in Kendo is not standard conversational Japanese so it can still be quite tricky at times.