Join
Thank you for your interest in our club.
For beginners, all you need is comfortable clothes (t-shirt/shorts or sweats) and a shinai. Your first practice will be a trial with free of charge. We suggest that beginners with no prior experience start on the first Saturday of each month, which would allow you to join the practice cycle smoothly.
For your first practice, we should be able to rent out a shinai if you don't have your own. From your second practice, you would want your own shinai - we will be able to provide a shinai together with the shinai bag and tsuba. Eventually you would need extra shinais and we can provide with the dojo rate. You can also purchase shinai, shinai bag, tsuba etc from suppliers such as e-bogu.com, maruyamakendosupply.com, californiabudogu.com with appropriate length and weight [shinai regulation chart]. They are all quality shinai on these sites listed, so an inexpensive complete one is fine - be careful they also sell the bamboo only, you will need a complete one, unless you are familiar with how to assemble one with separate parts by yourself.
Please don't hesitate to ask questions about joining, shinas and equipments by contacting us.
Ages
We don't have any explicit age restrictions and wholeheartedly welcome young kids in our classes. At the moment, members of our youth group are between 6 and 13 years of age.
Dues
There is a monthly fee which each member should pay to the Doris Miller Community Center (cash, personal check payable to the city of Waco, or credit card):
$10/month for children and college students
$20/month for adults
There are additional fees of $10/person/month for members attending weekday practices at the Columbus Avenue Church The Center. This payment should be made directly to the dojo: zelle to wacokendo@gmail.com, venmo to @wacokendo, or paypal to wacokendo@gmail.com. You can set up a recurring payment through paypal from here.
Equipments
Apart from regular shinais discussed above, after ten practices, you can purchase a keiko-gi (cotton top) and hakama (pleated trousers) from various suppliers (~$100). We stress basics, so shinais are all you will need for the first several months.
As your skill & commitment progresses, the sensei(s) will indicate when you can start to wear/acquire bogu (armor for kendo). These can be purchased through suppliers such as e-bogu.com, maruyamakendosupply.com, californiabudogu.com with about $300-$800+. We have some second hand bogu sets in stock. Please let senseis know if you are interested in them.
Annual Kendo Federation Dues
All United States Kendo Federation (AUSKF) and Southern United States Kendo and Iaido Federation (SUSKIF) memberships are required for members to participate in regional/national seminar, tournament, and testing events. All Waco Kendo Dojo members are encouraged to join.
National and regional membership drive for renewing and new members typically start on March, but remain open all year round to accept new members that did not make it for the membership drive.
Payments are managed online: https://www.unitedstateskendo.com/
– New members need to created an account in order to manage their payments online.
– Please click here for payment instructions.