Courtesy of eBay
We have scheduled a kyu grading at my local dojo for this coming Thursday and we were discussing the format. My preference is that candidates who are taking their first kendo examination should be allowed to demonstrate basic technique without the pressure of fighting for opportunities against an opponent, or being constrained by wearing men and kote. The requirement would be for them to deliver kirikaeshi and a pre-arranged sequence of kihon attacks against an armoured motodachi. Another option or possible addition is the inclusion of the “Bokuto ni yoru Kendo Kihon Keiko-ho” or Training Method for Fundamental Technique with Bokuto.
My rationale is that it is difficult enough to learn correct technique and footwork without the added complication of understanding an opponent’s timing, particularly if he or she is equally new to kendo. There is also a danger that when new kendoka are told to “fight” there is a temptation to block or move to avoid being hit, whereas if they are in the role of kakarite, they can concentrate on correct technique and posture.
Grading examinations really are the “tip of the iceberg”. There is an often quoted urban myth that pre-war, adult beginners in some Japanese dojo were left to practice suburi in a quiet corner for at least a year and then admitted to the dan ranks. In the present day UK, it is more likely that you will get to wear bogu after your 6 or 8 week beginners’ course.
Wearing men and kote too can be more challenging than experienced kenshi realise. Of course using these essential pieces of kendo kit eventually becomes second nature, but I have seen several instances of beginners quitting because the feeling of being blinkered by a men or being hit on the head felt so unnatural. On the other hand some brave individuals, who start kendo with the image of the armoured samurai, ready to do battle from day one in mind, find it hard to be patient while they are learning the basics.
Buying bogu too early in your kendo career can be as punitive financially as it is in terms of technique development. eBay and the kendo message boards regularly have used bogu for sale and I am sure that there is much more stashed in cupboards and attics against the slim chance of the owner starting again.
I am interested in your views on when we should start wearing bogu. Should we get the basics right first, or is it better to at least have a taste of keiko in armour during the early stages of our kendo careers?
kendoinfo.net 
At SCKF in Southern California, adults testing for yonkyu follow these guidelines from the SCKF web site:
Kihon test (starting in 2010)
applicants requesting 4kyu shall demonstrate basic skills at the shinsa
beginning reiho (rei and sonkyo)
kirikaeshi: two times (a standard repetition)
three men-uchi
three kote-uchi
three do-uchi
three kote-men-uchi
closing reiho (sonkyo and rei)
Notes:
motodachi will be provided by SCKF
tachiai will announce the kirikaeshi and uchikomi sequences
for kote-uchi, starting from issoku-itto no ma-ai take one step in to strike kote, then back up two steps to return to the starting position
applicants requesting 6kyu and 5kyu shall be tested on the above sequence at the dojo by the dojo instructors.
At our dojo in Santa Barbara, we usually have people start practicing in bogu after around 6 months. This is so they develop good basics and to protect the motodachi from getting hammered.
In my dojo we decided to have our beginners wait a full year before allowing them to practise with a bogu. This because of several reasons. The first one came from my own experience as I was put in my bogu by my sensei way too early. I forgot my basics as I felt the bogu to be very constricting. When I went to another dojo shortly after I started wearing men, the sensei there told me to take off my men and only wear it again when he felt I was ready. That was a few weeks later, and this really helped me. When I put on the men again, it felt far less constricting and more like the next step in my kendo.
Another reason is that I have seen beginners working harder to grasp the basics as they know that once they are found ‘ready’ by us, they can start wearing bogu. A bit like holding a carrot in front of a donkey to get it to move.
Once they wear the bogu, they do not find it constricting and I can see that for most (there are always exceptions) the bogu is like a second skin and they don’t loose their basic skills.
I have not had anyone quit yet because we did not allow them to wear a bogu when they felt like it, so.I am a firm believer of letting beginners wait for their bogu.
If delaying wearing armour is a good thing as it improves your technique, then shouldn’t dojos sometimes practice without armour? After all continually returning to basics is a fundamental of practice. As practice is very rarely without armour, you might as well stuff the beginners into it as fast as possible. But that also makes me wonder what a training session without armour practising against an armoured opponent would be like
In our dojo the new student usually will be allowed to wear a hakama and keiko gi within 3 months of regular attendance after demonstrating proficiency in footwork, and another 3 months or so of regular attendance before being allowed to purchase bogu after demonstrating proficiency in general kihon. Once purchased, the bogu will be added in stages over time (first few weeks tare and do, the a few weeks kote, then very last men).
I once the student is in full bogu, only kihon and beginning keiko only with a sensei.
Our regional federation in the US (GNEUSKF) follows a similiar format as the SCKF, however most first time adults test as “open” and allow thr examiners determine the rank to award up to nikkyu depending on the individuals performance.
To add to Babus sensei’s comments re: Santa Barbara, I work most with the beginners, getting them proficient enough in basics to be ready for bogu. But, I also bring an extra pair of kote from time to time so they can experience holding the shinai and striking with kote on and to let them feel the difference between being hit with good tenouchi and being hammered. The latter saves me some pain as motodachi. If a beginner is using too much right arm, too much upper body strength, holding the grip too long after the strike I will take off my kote and have the beginner put them on and experience the difference.
Training kids. I usually let them put on tare and do after a couple of practises. Just wearing them learns them to move with them. Also it takes time for them just to learn to put them on. Since it is just me training them, I have limited capacity to help them put it on.
Kote is next, limited by that some of them hits quite hard and beginners bogu offers little protection.
What I try to hold of for a while is putting on men. It is my experience that many find putting on men claustrophobic and painful. They feel that the himo is to tight around their head. Also it basically takes to much time out of the practice. They need to learn putting on the other parts of the bogu fast, before we have time for them to put on men.
I do not grade them before they are able to put on bogu, for the grading they deliver kirikaeshi, kihon basic attack against an opponent, and kihon kata 1-3.
At our dojang, generally speaking (since the sabumnim’s and kwanjangnim judge such things on a case-by-case basis), beginners are introduced to wearing hogu a few times during the first two months. Dobok/hakama are worn as soon as it can be ordered (usually by the second or third class).
Beginners that start in groups (spouses, friends, etc…) are all given the chance to wear hogu, and “fight” against one another after a few weeks, to a) ease them into it, and b) get a sense of what it feels like to wear, and be hit wearing the armor. These opportunities are taken when class is relatively empty, and they are always sequestered from everyone else. These sessions last no more than 15 minutes. It’s more about encouragement and giving them a taste for it than anything else. Students that show innate talent, or who are highly motivated might get a little more, those who seem hesitant or any signs of fear are treated with kid gloves but encouraged to face their fears. The only real sparring is done on the second or third time in armor, and only against those who hold 3 dan or higher rank. Again, it is limited to a short time and is meant to promote enthusiasm rather than actually teach specifics.
After students show a decent understanding of footwork, basic drills, and a form or two, they are then given their first shimsa, or grading exam. Depending on age, this is either 6 geup/kyu (high school and younger) or 5 geup (adults). My first shimsa included basic drills: 3-step, 2-step, 1-step, yoengeuk (kirikaeshi), the first third of the Bon Guk Geom Beop (a relatively long, and distinctly Korean sword form), bon 1-3 (Nihon Kendo Kata 1-3) and a written test.
After passing the first grading, students are given the opportunity to purchase hogu, and they are slowly eased into regular class. Usually for the next few weeks they are allowed to begin with everyone else for drills, but are not allowed to participate in yeonsip (sparring). Some might be given extra work on the side to bolster basics if they’re lacking, either in or out of hogu. By the time they are ready for their 4/5 geup shimsa, they are in the regular class and by the time they are ready for their 3/4 geup shimsa, all testing is done with hogu when required.
One thing to note for perspective, most students attend classes 5 days a week for 2 hours here, and those that are on school/pro teams, significantly more than that. But to specifically answer your question, I think that the answer is both. Good basics are necessary, but a little taste of the future goes a long way to encourage and motivate the novice. It’s important to find the balance, and I think it has be judged on an individual basis. I couldn’t have gotten into hogu quickly enough. My wife on the other hand took months longer to get comfortable with it, and a few months more before she felt ready to buy her own. I had 20+ years previous martial arts experience to her though.
I am relatively new to kendo and receiving cuts was a big mountain to overcome, so I was apprehensive to start wearing it. At the same time wearing bogu felt like a rite of passage, so it was hard to feel like a proper part of the dojo until you could join everyone.
We work on the basics to ensure the beginner can demonstrate ki-ken-tai-ichi as well as the correct posture throughout the duration of the cut. Once we are satisfied that they can perform this correctly with sufficient fumikomi-ashi then we will start to add in the armour, usually kote, tare and do first so that the student gets the feel for the way in which the armour affects their movements and to ensure they continue to hold their shinai correctly. The addition of wearing men comes with the guidance – give it three months to get use to it before you tell me that kendo is not for you!! This tends to focus the students mind on overcoming what feels like a very restrictive and very hot addition to their equipment.
In some cases I’ve seen students learn the basics very quickly and therefore move to wearing bogu within 3 months whilst some still struggle to gain control of these elements and therefore are a little more patient and wait a little longer. All in all, we tend to look at each student on their own merits, the more training sessions they attend and the more dedication they show to learning kendo, the quicker I’m likely to put them into bogu for two reasons. Firstly, they will learn faster than those who only attend once per week and therefore meet the necessary criteria for going into bogu and secondly, I know that even if they struggle to deal with training in armour, their enthusiasm will ensure they continue and adapt to wearing it.
Several of my senior students have also commented that they really enjoy going back to the basics without armour when we run a starter course as this allows them to run through the simple aspects of their kendo training and enables them to revise and improve.
Dear Fellow Kendo Enthusiasts,
I am always a firm believer of the principle ‘you sow what you reap’. Therefore learning the basics and ‘ethos’ of this art let along embedded in one soul, mind and body of one individual must be a prerequisite to put an armor. And this requires TIME – the essence of patience, virtue and persistence of one individual must strive to the above characteristics. It took my teacher six months to convince himself that I was worthy to put them on. And another 6 months of putting it off and on when he sees it right and fit under in his ethos of true kendo. A total of 12 months and I was dignified and true to myself followed by the next 14 years and still in pursuit of being a true kendoka.
My teacher was purely in the teachings of kendo alone. So when commercial and personal reasons got mix with this amazing art which I have sadly witnessed in couple of dojos in the West and Asia Pacific, newly worn armored students were fortunate to last for another two months and they’ve vanished in thin air; marred with dizziness, comfort issues, heaviness more so overwhelmed of the art’s mental and physical approach once the armor is on.
Much said about it, Kendo is an art of perseverance in life as opposed to just an armored warrior presentation and drills for show.
It takes almost two years for me to get into bogu… I really don’t know if waiting for so long was good or bad, but this was my sensei way… People are really eager to fight, but I believe frustration is a important factor to account on learning kendo…
My sensei worked mostly with children. That said, it was hakama and gi from day one. Learning how to dress, and learning footwork while not stepping one’s hem was an important first step, it seems… 🙂
After that, basics twice a week until sensei had me start wearing do – to build strength, to get me used to carrying the extra weight, he said. It was still first semester when we learned to put on the men.
Am I playing kendo now? No, but not because the bogu is too heavy or clausterphobic-inducing. I guess my opinion is that the foundation and fundamentals are critical, but bogu is a part of playing kendo too.
(my armchair opinion) 🙂
Hello Geoff, Hello World,
I’m responsible for the beginner’s training in my Dojo for about 5 years now. I encourage my kendo friends to get into bogu as fast as they can afford it (Have the Money for).
For me Bogu is the Kendo safety wear in that sense, that your partners don’t have to worry about hurting you through giving their best in the training.
In this way I love to hear them asking each other, if their Tenouchi was to weak or their crashes too hard after the Training.
Another positive Sideeffect is there are always a couple of Bogu-wearing-people in the beginner’s sessions and thus motivating others to do as they do.
After a time of one and a half year, they are free to leave and go to the advanced courses only and it’s is most lovely to see them joining the beginners class for fun from time to time.
It took just a little time, and now I got the atmosphere I always wished to have in my beginner’s courses.
Greeting to all from Germany
Sebastian
Hello Geoff, Hello World (2nd try)
I’m responsible for the beginner’s training in my dojo for about 5 years now. I always encourage our beginners to wear a bogu as soon as possible (as soon they have the money for).
To me the bogu is the Kendo-protecting-wear, that helps to train with your full spirit without worrying about hurting your Kendo friends. I deeply enjoy to see my beginners caring for each other, when asking each other if their Tenouchi was too weak or their crashes too hard after! the training.
A positve sideeffect of this is, there are always bogu-wearing beginners at the beginner’s training, supporting the “Newbies” and to motivate them to train hard and give everything they have during the training sessions.
After a period of 1.5 years (or individually sometimes later) they are free to leave and go to the advanced courses only. I love to see my more advanced kendomates joining the beginners training just for fun from time to time and supporting me with the training.
It took just a few years, but now I got the frindly and spirited atmosphere in my training sessions, that I always wished to have (Or having to have 😉 if it’s correct).
Greetings from Germany
Sebastian
I am just shodan but I had to become kendo instructor because of absence of higher rank senseis in my new city of residence and lot of wishful people here.
Two months of training (twice a week) have already passed. Based on my little experience I think that a lot of suburi in combination with extensive explanation of kikentaichi would be enough to start wearing bogu after 3-4 month.
Years of suburi without active work in pairs would be rather boring for western mentality and not very useful for kendo popularization
Hello,
I have been a follower of this blog for a while but this is my first post.
Here is how I do things in my Dojo. I have created 3 grades to be awarded at the Dojo, before the Ikkyu that is officially awarded by the Kendo federations in the US.
Yon Kyu is tested without bogu and I expect the following.
– Proper Etiquette and posture
– Correct Okuri Ashi, one step at a time (Mae, Ato, etc…)
– 50 Zenshin Kotai Men no suburi with a good cutting posture
– Dai Ichi Kihon for all basic strike (but Tsuki) in 3 steps (sankyodo)
– Kendo no Kata 1&2
San Kyu is tested without bogu and I expect the following.
– Proper Etiquette and posture.
– Correct Okuri Ashi, running across the Dojo.
– 50 Zenshin Kotai Men and 50 Zenshin Men no Suburi
– Dai Ichi Kihon for all basic strikes with correct Fumikomi.
– Demonstration of Basic Strikes and Kiri Kaeshi against a Motodachi in Bogu
– Kendo no Kata 1 to 3.
Once a Student achieves San Kyu, he gets to wear his Bogu 🙂
Just as a note, Students will need to demonstrate correct Uchikomi Geiko, Kakari Geiko and Kirikaeshi wearing the Bogu for the Ni Kyu test.
They then start doing supervised Ji Geiko once they are Ni Kyu.
Dear Geoff, dear all,
interesting article and interesting responses.
From my view, it’s hard to give a definite answer to this question … well, I suppose there’s no definite answer, but only individual approaches.
In our club, we offer the possibility to purchase a bogu ca. 2 months after the next beginner’s course started … all-in-all 9 to 10 months after one’s own beginner’s course start. But we do not force anyone. If somebody wants to wait longer for getting into bogu, this is no real issue. We generally put special emphasis on Kihon and esp. Ashi-Sabaki. If someone wants to grade for 5th kyu and up, he/she is required to wear bogu at our dojo.
We’re finding that a good six to eight months of kihon depending on attendance and general ability works well. Also gradual introduction of bogu components has produced good feedback. So starting with tare and do, then adding kote and finally adding the men over say two or three sessions.