thinking about starting iaido

[iamlost]

i'm thinking of starting a new past-time and iaido is one of the ideas but there are a few things that i want to clear up:
do dojos normally have age limits (i'm 16 you see) espically these 2 britsh dojos Eishinkan and Ken Yu Kan
also does it matter that i have no previous martial art experience at all
and what is rough price for the kit i would need because i can't afford a lot

[Khabbi]

Well im not sure about the first one , some dojos have age limits , but usualy if they do its like 15 , so 16 should get you in

second , the first months you could go in sweats and borrow a bokken , you can prob do that for years , but after awhile you will prob want to get gear of your own .

you can get :
Keikogi :$29.99
Hakama : $49.99
Bokken : $19.99
Obi : $15.00

thats not so bad ? ( USD) , iaito will prob run you alot more , but you can wait a real long time befor getting one , save up ,

[chidokan]

its not so much age as maturity. If you are a fairly studious type and do not have the attention span of a gnat you should do ok. Be prepared to work hard and do research away from the dojo. There is a lot of stuff on the web if you go looking, the more you search the more you will find out. As khabbi says most dojo will lend you stuff to get started, but try at least to buy some training kit as listed, maybe birthdays, Xmas, or get a part time job? Iaito can wait, again dojos have spares they can lend out until you can afford one.
One other thing. You are lucky enough to start young, so try and bank up the hours now in practise, when you are older its like money in the bank. Also do not feel you have to stick with one teacher if you see something that may suit you better. In Japan it is accepted that you can change your mind up til 3rd dan. After that, stick with the teacher no matter what.

[sal]

I started Iai when I was 16 and there weren't any problems so you should be okay there. Sometimes it's a benefit that you haven't done any martial arts before so don't worry about that either.
Prices of gear; have a look at http://www.ninecircles.co.uk. You don't need everything straight away but do, definetly, definetly, definetly get a good set of knee pads.
If you do decide to stick at it you'll have to get BKA membership (for gradings, seminars, insurance and the likes) which is about £30 a year.
Don't be put off by the costs though, if you like it, stick at it. Just go in with an open mind & be patient.

[iamlost]

what do you mean by research? i am pretty studious but only if i enjoy it but i suppose theres no point doing something you don't enjoy

[kundalini]

I wanted to start Iai when I was 16 but the dojo in my area requires you to be 18 and by then I was in college and that took way too much of my time and money. I'm 20 now and I just went for the first time. In those 4 years waiting I have learned alot of stuff that is coming in usefull. The net has all you need and if you are still confused post a thread on here about it. You can learn about the history of the dojo you plan to train and the history of the type of Iai you will be doing. Learning the Japanese words for the parts of the katana will help you alot as well.

[chidokan]

you will learn some things in the dojo, however most teachers expect you to take a deeper interest in your study, not necessarily just your school but also a little Japanese history, maybe a little research into swords and how they are made, etc. None of this is boring, and it helps further your understanding of what you are learning. Its a bit like learning English without reading any books...sure you can speak it but you miss out on some great reads. Learning about sword construction will help you avoid buying some of the junk swords I see on the web for instance...

[iamlost]

cool that actually sounds quite interesting i'll go down to the dojo as soon as i can

[morbidbattlecry]

Well im not sure about the first one , some dojos have age limits , but usualy if they do its like 15 , so 16 should get you in

second , the first months you could go in sweats and borrow a bokken , you can prob do that for years , but after awhile you will prob want to get gear of your own .

you can get :
Keikogi :$29.99
Hakama : $49.99
Bokken : $19.99
Obi : $15.00

thats not so bad ? ( USD) , iaito will prob run you alot more , but you can wait a real long time befor getting one , save up ,

Can you tell me where you saw the hakama and keikogi at online? I'm looking to buy for the first time. And should i pay extra and get it sized properly?

[Khabbi]

well , we got

www.e-bogu.com
www.swordstore.com
www.tozondo.com
www.bogubag.com
www.kendoshop.com
www.ninecircles.co.uk

might have missed one or two