How to Join and
Kendo, Iaido and Jodo Training Fees
Club Fees
To try kendo, jodo or iaido at Wollongong is easy, and it costs nothing to try. Just show up at any club training on any Sunday afternoon at @12.00 noon (Jodo), @1.30pm (Iaido) or 3pm (Kendo) or Tuesday night at 7.30pm (Kendo) at the Faculty of Education Human Movement Laboratory (Building 27) , all people need to start is themselves in comfortable clothes (in summer shorts / tee shirt usually, in winter whatever is comfortable) Kendo is a barefoot art so shoes are not important.
If you continue fees are charged on a 6 month basis, 1 January to 30 June, and 1 July to 31 December each year. The club is a non profit organisation and does not pay instructors, all fees go towards state registration / insurance fees, room hire, equipment maintenance
Fees have been held constant since 2004, As at June 2009 the fees per 6 months are;
Adult (16 or over at 1 July)
Kendo only $120
Kendo and one other art (either Jodo or Iaido) $130
Kendo, Iaido and Jodo $140
Iaido or Jodo only $100
Iaido and Jodo $110
Juniors (under 16) fees are half this rate, being a University based dojo
as a rule we do not take beginners below the age of 13 for kendo and 16 for Iaido or Jodo.
The equipment needed for kendo
Kendo starts with
1: bamboo practice sword (shinai) costing @$40 - the first thing people are
asked to buy,
2: the clothing (huge pleated pants called hakama and jacket called keikogi)
- @$100
Many students only buy these, as the club has some supplies of loan armour it
loans to students but eventually people should buy
3: Bogu (the armour, correct fitting new armour is a good thing :) from @
$600 up)
4: Bokken (wooden practice sword, used for two person kata or patterns
from @$40)
What Kendo training involves
A normal kendo session at the University of Wollongong falls into several
distinct portions. Firstly reiho (method of politeness / etiquette) where
we bow in. This is followed by warmups, begining with light stretches and
followed by suburi (air cuts) with the shinai (bamboo practice sword) to
build control, endurance and cutting technique. Then we do waza (technique)
practice. Then there is the keiko (sparring). Finally closing reiho to end.
The equipment needed for Iaido
Iaido practitioners need an iaito, an unedged practice sword costing from
$350 dollars up depending on quality, and and obi, a traditional Japanese
belt costing from $30 to $60, in addition to a hakama and keikogi. Beginners start with club bokken and saya (wooden practice sword and scabbard). Progression to a live blade is not untill middle dan grade.
The equipment needed for Jodo
Jodo is the cheapest of the three arts, required equipment
starting with a Jo, a hardwood stick
1 inch in diameter costing from $10 to $100, and later a bokken, in addition to a hakama and keikogi. Beginners are provided with club jo for training.
The Shinai
page has further explaination of the shinai and bokken practice swords.
The Armour page
has further explaination of Kendo armour (bogu).
The only source of Kendo equipment in Wollongong is Shidoshi, upstairs
on the corner of Crown and Corrimal Streets, the other main options being
Martial Arts World in Sydney and direct from overseas via the internet.
ｩ 2009 aden_steinke@uow.edu.au
