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Step 1
Purchase your keikogi, or your training top. Slip the top on like a robe and tie it shut, leaving enough room to move freely during training. You may substitute a Kendo jacket for the keikogi. It's worn the same way.
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Step 2
Find a pair of hakama, the long, flowing pleated pants designed to hide the movements you make with your feet and give you the appearance of floating across the floor. Tie the hakama to secure it. Be careful to protect the pleats as you put it on.
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Step 3
Pick up a bogu, which is the armor worn in Kendo martial arts. The armor consists of protective headgear, padded body armor, gloves and groin protection. Whether you need bogu or not depends on how far you've progressed in your Kendo martial arts training.
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Step 4
Select a shinai, the bamboo fighting stick used in Kendo martial arts. Since shinai are considered highly personal, and will eventually break, many experts recommend purchasing more than one shinai once you find a style and size you like.
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Step 5
Consider the traditional footwear associated with Kendo martial arts. While you'll do most of your training in bare feet, traditionalists in the sport prefer to wear zorries, which are a very strong style of thonged footwear.
