Meeting information
Meeting times and places (Fall 2009)Starting Sunday 8/30):
Day | Time | Place |
| Sundays | Noon-2pm | IM Circle 2nd Floor Gym |
| Fridays | 6-7:30pm | IM Circle 2nd Floor Gym |
| Mondays | 6-7:30pm | IM West-Meet at west staircase |
| Wednesdays | 6-6:30pm | IM West-Meet at west staircase |
Dues: MSU Kendo Club dues are $30 per semester. Although not required at first, it would be helpful for the club if you could pay the treasurer as soon as possible. If you pay this, you will receive a shinai (sword) and you will become an official member of the club.
Beginners: At first all you will need is some exercise clothing (or equivalent). A shinai (bamboo sword) will be provided to you.
Later: You may want to purchase a kendo uniform (gi and hakama) and a bokken (a solid wooden sword). These can be bought online along with other accessories like shinai bags.
All levels are welcome to attend all practices, however the Monday and Wednesday practices are mostly geared towards the development of basics (Kihon), while the Friday and Sunday practices may be quite a bit more advanced.
As your basics improve, you will be phased into armor (bogu). Once you wear all the bogu your training will include sparring and, if you want, competition. MSU Kendo club has a limited number of sets of bogu which can be borrowed initially. We encourage all serious kendo practitioners (kenshi) to buy their own bogu. See Kendo Stores in the links page for sources.
Anyone is welcome to attend as long as they have a strong desire to learn Kendo and to have fun. In addition, we encourage you to join the Midwest Kendo Federation or the All US Kendo Federation. They are the regional governing bodies of Kendo in the United States. Achieving a rank in Kendo requires membership in these federations. More information for either of the groups are available on their websites, along with information on how to join.
