Kendo sticks and my mistakes

[Occam]

So a sparring friend if mine suggested we begin to practice with more than just our hands. He suggested that we attempt to use weaponry as well. In my youthful eagerness and and ignorance I hastily bought myself Kendo sticks. I have limited training with a dao blade and read a few things on Kendo and hoped for the best. Now that they have arrived I'm anxious. What if they break? The only equipment for armed combat we have are thick leather gloves. What should I do to prepare?

[Tempest]

Ok, my RECOMMENDED gear for practicing with Kendo sticks, would be a good set of Kendo armor.

But, for the sake of argument, lets say that you don't have that.

A pair of lacrosse gloves will work for hand protection.

You need hard knee and elbow pads.

No open toed shoes. No exposed skin, so you will want a jacket of some sort.

A gorget to protect the throat and a cup for the groin are highly recommended.

Lastly, but probably most importantly, a helmet or good HEMA style fencing mask with back of head protection.

This is the gear I would recommend to avoid injury.

Next, get some Kendo lessons, or if that is not an option, pick up a book on it and practice the moves and research using Youtube. I HIGHLY recommend drilling about 75-90% of the time you practice at first and I also recommend to NOT spar until you have at least MOST if not all of the safety gear I listed. You will get a lot of benefit out of just drilling that will come in handy when you DO spar.

[Wastelander]

Out of curiosity, when you say "Kendo sticks," do you mean shinai or bokken? Bokken will eventually break, and you have to be careful of flying shards of wood if you are doing contact drills with them. If you break a shinai, beyond just splitting the bands around the bamboo, I will be quite impressed.

[Occam]

Ok, my RECOMMENDED gear for practicing with Kendo sticks, would be a good set of Kendo armor.

But, for the sake of argument, lets say that you don't have that.

A pair of lacrosse gloves will work for hand protection.

You need hard knee and elbow pads.

No open toed shoes. No exposed skin, so you will want a jacket of some sort.

A gorget to protect the throat and a cup for the groin are highly recommended.

Lastly, but probably most importantly, a helmet or good HEMA style fencing mask with back of head protection.

This is the gear I would recommend to avoid injury.

Next, get some Kendo lessons, or if that is not an option, pick up a book on it and practice the moves and research using Youtube. I HIGHLY recommend drilling about 75-90% of the time you practice at first and I also recommend to NOT spar until you have at least MOST if not all of the safety gear I listed. You will get a lot of benefit out of just drilling that will come in handy when you DO spar.

Thank you, and as always, I'm prepared to make this jury rig of sparring gear until I have the cash I need. I've been reading, but it's always a bit rough trying to learn from pictures. I don't plan on sparring for a while, I mean, the last thing I need is a broken bone, but thank you for the concern. There aren't kendo classes nearby, unfortunately, but I'll see if I can figure something out.

@Wastelander I tried my best to figure this all out, and I am pretty sure they're Shinai. I Doubt I'll break them, but then again, I'm not going to be the one that does.

[MatsuShinshii]

Occam,

My suggestion would be to find a school or teacher before you and your friend start going to town on each other.

If you have a Shinai it will be made from four pieces of bamboo and will flex, to some degree, when struck against a surface. Make sure you are not using Bokken (wooden sword) as it will not flex and a jacket will not protect you. In fact you may just get that broken bone.

All the safety equipment in the world will not replace proper training. I get goofing around but believe it or not, the first time you get hit hard with a Shinai you will know it and I forgot to mention, they pinch and not just a small pinch. You'll know it and feel it for days.

I would also look into proper Kendogu gear.