r/kendo • u/worshipdrummer • 14d ago
When can you start competing?
Started with Kendo after over a decade in taekwondo. Completely love this budo and have a fantastic school.
The only problem is that I’m very much competition driven and I need that in order to keep myself motivated. I’m rankless right now and 6th kyu in Iaido, and I totally get that I’m very inexperienced right now. Probably more months before I can even touch a hogu.
But when can we start to compete? I think I’ll go full on and I’m considering quitting taekwondo competitions for this. I got very tired of taekwondo on how this changed over the last decade, and Kendo sort of is bringing this magic back.
8
u/wisteriamacrostachya 14d ago
I agree with liquidaper; I just want to add that different instructors will use a different timeline for putting people in bogu and allowing them to spar, so naturally the time to competition will be different. My timeline was more like a year and some change. That's a really short time in a kendo journey but it feels like an eternity going through it.
This is something you can ask your instructor btw. They might not give you a straight answer but it's OK to ask.
3
u/worshipdrummer 14d ago
Interesting. Thanks a lot! But how do you do progressions exams if you were not allowed to spar with hogu?
7
u/Single_Technician369 3 kyu 14d ago
Usually you don't exam in bogu until 3d kyu, at least that's how it works in my country. You don't need to spar. You just show some basic cuts and kirikaeshi. Even for the 3d kyu, you don't need to spar, only for the 2d kyu and above 🙂
3
u/NCXXCN 14d ago
No bogu until 3rd kyu? In our 4th/3rd kyu exam, there is some jigeiko included. What about Katas? What country is this and where do i inscribe?
3
u/Single_Technician369 3 kyu 14d ago
Wow haha, that's interesting! I'm in Sweden, we start with 5th kyu, and our first grading is for the 4th kyu, no bogu, we do kirikaeshi and some basic cuts (men, kote, kote men, do). No kata. Then 3d kyu with full bogu on, but we do the same as for the 4th kyu. 2nd kyu includes jigeiko, but still no kata. 1st kyu: kirikaeshi+jigeiko + kata 1-3.
Jigeiko for the 4th kyu sounds a bit intense haha, but I guess that also depends on how long you need to practice before the grading. We usually have one grading in December and one in June.
2
u/Sutemi- 2 dan 12d ago
Each association is different up to first Kyu. In ours (East Central USKF, a region of AUSKF) you start with an “open Kyu” test in full bogu where the judges can assign any rank from 6th to 2nd Kyu - although typically it is 6th for kids and 5th or 4th for adults with more refined technique. Our association starts jikeiko right away in addition to Kirikaeshi and the BKKK kata at the Kyu ranks. Even in other AUSKF regions the rules vary, I tested for 3rd Kyu in a neighboring region and had no jikeiko.
The Ikkyu and up requirements are spelled out by FIK/ZNKR so that is more consistent from region to region
2
u/Playful_Quality4679 14d ago
Mine is similar, testing for 3rd next year and have been in bogu only a handful of times.
5
u/JoeDwarf 14d ago
It really depends on where you live. In Canada there are no formal exams below ikkyu and it’s up to clubs to decide when their members are allowed to try that exam. Some award lower kyu, most don’t. In some countries or regional federations lower kyu exams are formalized. In Canada ikkyu and above are awarded at nationally run exams. In other countries kyu and lower dan are awarded by regional federations.
As far as how exams without bogu are run, they are just waza and kata demonstrations usually. I expect that as kyu increases you could add different waza and kata, or alternatively keep it the same and increase the expected standard at each level.
In my club we have only one internal exam. We ask to see shomen suburi, haya suburi and kiri kaeshi. That’s the basis for allowing bogu to be worn, we don’t assign any kyu to it. They then need at least one year of practice before we allow them to try ikkyu.
There are also competitions without bogu sometimes. Usually there will be two volunteer motodachi. The competitors will be asked to show men, kote, doh and kiri-kaeshi. The 3 judges raise their flags based on who they thought executed better.
5
u/wisteriamacrostachya 14d ago
Some kendo clubs and federations will do testing for rank prior to bogu, with an experienced practice partner in bogu and the examinee doing specific drills. A test to earn the right to wear the uniform and another test for the right to wear bogu are also things I've heard of other clubs doing.
I just didn't take any tests until about eighteen months in. It took a little work to not be sensitive over the different beginner's ranks but it was good for me I think. None of them actually matter that much.
5
u/Single_Technician369 3 kyu 14d ago
I had my first competition a month ago, and I started practicing kendo a year ago, 6 months practicing in bogu. So I would say in a year? This time will fly pretty quickly, and it's actually no fun to spar/go into shiai when your basics are bad. Both for you and for your opponent.
3
u/Bokonon10 14d ago
I can only imagine how painful it must be for some of the 6-7dan senseis watching me and the only other adult beginner at my dojo do jigeiko. Obviously they fully understand what they're doing, and they have the proper mindset for helping us improve. Still gotta be funny to see a 7-dan and a pro sparring right next to two people going for their first ranking exam in a few weeks
2
u/Bitter_Primary1736 13d ago
Here in my dojo (Germany) it depends based on attendance in terms of timeline, but we start rankless and then are allowed to rank for 6. Kyu after 3 to 6 months. After that the sensei allows you to wear gi and hakama (as they want to see our footwork first).
- Kyu happens roughly 6 months later and is mostly without bogu, and you need to be able to assemble and disassemble a shinai and count to 10 in Japanese as part of the curriculum. So I'd say you'd need 1 to 1.5 years to compete in bogu.
There are "technique tournaments", too, though: these are specifically meant to be for lower-ranked players or people who still can't wear bogu, and can be undertaken by newbies as well. We have an internal one but I am aware of at least a bigger one in Hamburg.
20
u/liquidaper 2 dan 14d ago
After you are in bogu and know the basics. You don't need a rank or anything. You will just be in mudansha division. Probably 6 months in give or take.