Kendo guide for beginners
training methods for beginners

Do you go to a dojo? No dojo but learning kendo from a book? You are on the right spot. This page go over general information you possibly learn as a beginner. The terms might be a bit different but focus on reviewing what you've learned. If you have a question, ask me any questions. If you are a total beginner 

Training Outline for Kendo Basics

The Training Outline for the Beginners

Two Phases

  • Tandoku Dosa (Training along): 3 days/week x 4 months (About 48 days)
  • Sohtai Dosa (Pair Training): 3 days/week x 2 months (about 24 days) *Gradually putting on armour (bogu).

So so-called beginners training goes for 6 months (this varies from dojo to dojo). These phases are the most important in kendo.

If we, adults, mess up the kendo basics at this phase, it is hard for us to get back to the right track.

Tandoku Dōsa (Training Along)

Fist of all, the beginners all learn basic movements without having a partner. This includes:

  1. Reigi-Saho: etiquette/manners
  2. Shizentai: Shizentai is a posture we all have to learn at the beginning.
  3. Taito: to wear your sword
  4. How to Sit in Seiza
  5. Chudan: how to take chudan, how to put your sword back
  6. Footwork: suri ashi, okuri ashi, hiraki ashi, ayumi ashi, tsugi ashi
  7. Suburi: joge buri, naname (sayu) joge buri
  8. Men Uchi: san-kyodo, ni-kyodo, ikkyodo
  9. Kote Uchi: san-kyodo, ni-kyodo, ikkyodo
  10. Do Uchi: san-kyodo, ni-kyodo, ikkyodo (only the right do strike)
  11. Ni Dan Uchi: zenshin kotai shomen uchi, niho zenshin niho kotai shomen uchi,kote-and-men, kote-and-do
  12. Sayu Men Uchi
  13. Fumikomi: Learning Fumikomi for the First Time
  14. Chohyaku Shomen Uchi (a.k.a. Haya Suburi)

This tandoku dosa was practiced 3 days/week x 4 months (About 48 days). The longer the better.

All Tandoku Dosa is in this Book

Kendo Guide for Beginners Available at Your Amazon

Kendo Guide for BeginnersKendo Guide for Beginners

A Kendo Instruction Book Written By A Japanese For Non-Japanese Speakers Who Are Enthusiastic to Learn Kendo. 

All the instructions of the basics on this site is in this book with 

  • New and Better Photos (taken for this book!) and
  • Newly Edited Contents
  • Corresponding Videos

Kindle version is available too. Click here to learn more about the book.

Sōtai Dōsa (Pair Training)

Once the beginners learned the tandoku dosa, they learn pair training.

  1. Changing Directions
  2. Shomen Uchi
  3. Kote Uchi
  4. Do Uchi
  5. Ni Dan Uchi: kote-and-men, kote-and-do, men-taiatari, men-taiatari-men, men-taiatari-kote, men-taiatari-do
  6. Uchikomi Kirikaeshi
  7. Uchikomi Geiko
  8. Kakari Geiko

I think 6 months of the basic training is good. In old days, apparently it was one year or more to learn the basics.

Let's make the basics interesting, so that the beginners are happy to learn the basics so they will improve more quickly in the future. 

Go to "Bases del Kendo" (Spanish)