Beginners
Liverpool Kendo Club welcomes everyone, from the complete beginner upwards. If you are planning on taking up Kendo for the first time then come along to one of our beginners nights, wear loose jogging trousers and a t-shirt and have a go. Your first visit is free so enjoy yourself, you have nothing to lose.
Please Note: due to changes in the regulations surrounding under 18's practising Kendo we are no longer able to accept anyone into the club who is under 18.
Beginner's Nights
We host regular
Beginner's Nights if you wish to begin training, please
check the Training
Calendar and Forum for the next available night.
Feel free, however, to contact us via email about dropping in to see a
practice any time.
Beginners night lessons run from 7:30pm to just after 9:00pm. Could all beginners please arrive by 7:15pm, as this will allow any health and safety issues to be discussed with you, it will also allow the instructor to plan the lesson accordingly.
Beginner's Nights are run throughout the year
to aid the learning of all the beginners and make it easier
for the teachers. In an ideal world all beginners will turn
up on the night.
In these cases you will have wait until the next Beginners
Night. We appreciate this may be frustrating but it is for
the benefit of all those training at the club.
Please email us so that we have some idea how many will turn up
Fees
Beginner's Nights are free!
Monthly training costs £20 per
calendar month (£10
concessions) and includes two kata sessions check the Training Calendar for
details. Therefore on your second night be prepared to pay
the monthly fee and to join the BKA with 3 month's temporary
membership, also purchase a shinai and bokken as soon as
possible. Ask if you are not sure.
Fees are paid on the first Wednesday of the month, reminders are made via the Training Calendar.
The club makes no profit from fees. All fees are used to cover the cost of hiring the dojo, entry into competitions for the Liverpool teams and equipment for use by beginners.
What to expect
Martial arts can look deceptively easy to do as the initial contact with the relative art is usually via a demonstration by an expert or a feature in television, film or the internet. In common with most things, experts tend to make the difficult look easy. In Kendo the beginner must learn the basic stances or 'kamae' associated with the use of the sword, the mechanics of the cut itself and basic attack and defence techniques prior to going into armour and taking part in actual contests.
Kendo is not for everyone, some people do not like the
ceremony surrounding it, others have difficulties being cut.
We would think no less of you if you decide that it is not
for you. It can be a vigouros hour or so training and
most people will find themselves out a breath. You
ideally need to be able to attend all 12 sessions of the
first two months and then continue attending regularly, to
get the most out of the time as a beginner.
We will provide you with a shinai (a bamboo sword) for your
first practice. Suppliers are listed in the links
section. All you need to bring are
loose fitting clothes, t-shirt and tracksuit pants, or
shorts, an open mind and a willingess to learn. Clean feet
are an advantage.
Could all beginners please arrive by 7:15pm, as this will allow any health and safety issues to be discussed with you, it will also allow the instructor to plan the lesson accordingly.