Common Questions
Where, When and How Much?
We train at Chillingham Road Primary School, Heaton, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE6 5XL.
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Kendo: Mondays 20:00-22:00
Jodo/HNIR Wednesdays 19:30-21:30
Iaido: Thursdays 19:30-21:30
Each session is £3.50 for adults, £2.50 for under-18s. No profit is made from running the dojo, proceeds go towards hall rental, purchasing equipment, dojo registration and instructors' insurance. There will also be the cost of joining the British Kendo Association, currently £10 for a temporary three month membership. Cost of full membership can be found on the BKA website but concessions for juniors and students are available.
How Do I Start?
If you'd like to join us please email so we know what art(s) you're interested in and when you're likely to come along. Some people like to watch a session first to get a feel for how we train and what the atmosphere is like, but if you'd prefer to join in straight away that's fine too.
Starting is simple, just turn up, listen to what you are being told and do your best. The harder part is to keep coming when you're finding something difficult or frustrating, especially on cold, dark January nights!
You are welcome to learn one, two or even three arts if you have the time and interest. There are advantages to getting a good grounding in one before taking up another, but that shouldn't stop you from doing what you want to. Some people do only Kendo or Iaido while others do both; these arts are often said to be 'the two wheels of a cart' although the wheels don't always seem to point in the same direction! Iaido and Jodo is another popular combination, as is Iaido and Kenjitsu. For some reason Kendo and Jodo rarely go together, although there's no real reason why that should be.
We take juniors from age 14 for Kendo and 16 for Iaido and Jodo, although these restrictions are not absolute and we will take younger people in certain circumstances. If you are under 18 we will need written permission from a parent or guardian and we prefer they come along to observe your first session or two. If you can persuade them to join in then that's even better!
After your first week we will ask you to join the British Kendo Association as this will provide personal insurance cover. An initial three month temporary membership is available at low cost to allow beginners time to decide if they want to continue training. After that period a full twelve-month membership must be taken out.
What About Insurance?
Membership of the BKA provides personal insurance against injury or damages for the activities practiced by its members, and instructors have separate PI insurance.
If you already do another martial art then you will probably have insurance through your existing governing body, which may or may not cover the use of weapons. Unfortunately we do not know all the terms and conditions of other organisations' policies and so will still require you to join the BKA. This way all members can train together in the knowledge that everyone has the same level of cover. The BKA has gone to considerable lengths to arrange affordable insurance that explicitly covers contact with wooden and bamboo weapons, and the use of swords. This is absolutely essential for Kendo, Jodo and Iaido practitioners, and it is unlikely that insurance for other arts carries that same guarantee. This policy has been accepted by existing members of Ojika who also do Aikido, Kenpo, Karate and other martial arts.
I have a disability, can I train?
Of course! Around the world people train in Kendo, Iaido and Jodo with all sorts of disabilities. If you have a disability we will make every effort to tailor training to your capabilities where possible. At Ojika and other North East dojos we have had people train with us in the past with some fairly major physical impairments. Obviously there may be limitations on what some people can do, but each person's situation will be discussed with them. The art should work for what your body is capable of, rather than there being only one way of training.
Many people have knee problems. This is less of a problem for Kendo and Jodo where kneeling can be avoided, although Kendo does put pressure on the hips, knees and ankles. A lot of Iaido is performed from seated positions but it is possible to perform 'standing only' Iai kata.
There are many other questions and answers that relate to the individual arts on the pages for Kendo, Iaido and Jodo.
