If I was to...

[Lisa]

start taking lessons in a sword art, would I be expected to come completely equiped as soon as I started lessons or do most schools have equipment that they lend to a student to try a couple of classes? And how much is it for a good quality training sword?

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

Most schools will have something available for you to use. The quality may not be much but it will be better than nothing. In the Japanese Sword arts a moderate quality iaito generally probably ranges in the $300 to $400 range. From there it can go up substantially depending on what you want and the quality of the fittings. Good quality fittings cost a bunch. I stay away from cheaper quality shinken. (live swords) They tend to be unreliable and have poor balance and fittings. Real shinken of quality can be very, very expensive.

If you are interested in a local school give them a call and see if you can participate with their equipment until you are ready to buy your own. Good luck.

 

[Swordlady]

When I first started YSKR (ten years ago), I wore a plain white gi (leftover from TKD) and borrowed one of my sensei's swords. I placed an order for a full dogi (keikogi and hakama) and an iaito soon after I started, and practiced with my own gear about a month into my training.

Nowadays, most of the new students at my dojo acquire a dogi before the start of training. Not all have swords. Some use a bokken, or borrow a spare sword from another kenshi.

For beginning students, an inexpensive $300 iaito should suffice. It isn't really a good idea to shell out money for an expensive sword - only to quit a few months later. Try it out first, see if it is a good fit - then make the investment for better equipment.