Darwin Kendo Club

Kendo (剣道), the way of the sword, is a mix of traditional Japanese martial art and modern sport. We invite you to join our upcoming Beginners' Course as part of Stage 1 of our 2021/2022 Seven Swords Training Programme! For more information, see the About page: What is Kendo?

REGISTER FOR THE 2021 BEGINNERS' COURSE

• Starting Dates: 13 & 17 October 2021
• Sessions: Wednesdays (6:30pm - 8:00pm) and Sundays (9:00am - 10:30am)
• Venue: Darwin Squash Centre, 6 Marrara Drive, Marrara
• Course Fee: $250.00 which includes equipment (uniform, wooden sword, bamboo sword, and sword bag) and membership (insurance cover) - payable by end of Week 2 (Sunday 24 October 2021)

What is the Seven Swords Training Programme?

Background

The Seven Swords Training Programme is a 9-month training programme designed to bring complete Beginners with no prior experience through a journey of learning Kendo fundamentals, to the point where Beginners can become Seniors and practise free-sparring Kendo.

The Seven Swords Training Programme consists of:

• Stage 1 - Beginners' Course (October to December 2021): Focuses on the foundations of Kendo, such as etiquette, terminologies, footwork, body movements, how to hold a sword, and basic strikes.
• Stage 2 - Intermediate Course (January to April 2022): Focuses on basic techniques in armour (bogu), emphasising partner work and training methods.
• Stage 3 - Advanced Course (May to July 2022): Integrates the Beginners with the Seniors, and will focus on advanced techniques leading to sparring and competition practice.

Beginners will only need to commit to one Stage at a time.

Stage 1 - Beginners' Course

The Beginners' Course will run twice a week. Beginners are encouraged to attend both sessions.

• Wednesdays, 6:30pm - 8:00pm.
• Sundays, 9:00am - 10:30am.

The curriculum for the Beginners' Course include:

• Learning the culture of the sword - including the etiquette (reiho) around handling one.
• Kendo protocols and common Japanese terminologies.
• Basic Kendo footwork (ashi-sabaki) and strikes: men (head), kote (forearm), do (torso), and tsuki (throat).
• Sword-fighting concepts such as: distance or interval (maai), vocalisation (kiai), awareness (zanshin).
• Traditional forms or patterns (kata).

The topics will be covered on a weekly basis, i.e. Sunday will always be a repeat of Wednesday.

The course fee is set to $250.00, and this covers:

• Membership registration to the Australian Kendo Renmei, which covers injury insurance.
• Equipment for Stage 1: dogi (uniform), bokuto (wooden sword), shinai (bamboo sword), and shinai-bukuro (sword bag).
• Court hire fees.

Beginners will be provided club equipment to borrow during practice until the equipment are ordered and have arrived.

• No experience necessary.
• All fitness level welcome.
• Recommended age: 12+ years and above.
• First week free trial.
• Please arrive ~15 minutes before your first training to ensure that we can take care of registration and paperwork efficiently.
• Wear something comfortable for exercising in. As Kendo is done barefeet, do not wear anything that goes down past your ankles.
• If you have any special needs or concerns, please let us know, and we would be very happy to discuss.

After the end of Stage 1 in mid-December, members are invited to attend free training sessions during the Christmas / New Years break, before commencement of Stage 2 in mid-January.

COVID-19 Safety

Darwin Kendo Club has a COVID-19 Safety Plan. In summary:

• Kendo is classified as a full-contact sport, and all members must conform to the health and safety regulations for such activity.
• Club members and visitors must follow the guidelines and regulations as set by the Northern Territory Government, and any additional instructions as set by the venue, Darwin Squash Centre. This includes checking in using the Territory Check-In App or on paper.
• In the case of a mandated lockdown or quarantine that cancels any training session, a portion of the fee may be refundable - exact amount will be reviewed and determined at the end of the course. Note that there will be a portion of non-refundable fee (anything spent on membership registration and equipment).

History of Seven Swords

The origin of the term "Seven Swords" refers to one of the primary goals of the programme - to select a team of 7 men and 7 women to represent Northern Territory at the annual Australian Kendo Championships (AKC). Unfortunately due to the COVID-19 situation, AKC is currently postponed.

The first Seven Swords Training Programme was held in 2018 to great success, breathing a new life to the club. Nine months of hard training paid off when we stormed the Australian Kendo Championships 2019 in Perth, WA - 14 members attended to represent NT, consisting of 10 fresh Beginners and 4 Senior competitors - securing third place in the Men's Kyu Teams and Women's Kyu Teams.

The journey of the 2018 Seven Swords Training Programme was documented here:

• The Road to AKC: Part 1
• The Road to AKC: Part 2
• The Road to AKC: Part 3
• The Road to AKC: Part 4
• The Road to AKC: Part 5
• The Road to AKC: Part 6
• The Road to AKC: Part 7
• The Road to AKC: Part 8
• The Road to AKC: Part 9

Contact Us

Contact@DarwinKendo.com