Get Started with Kendo | Kendo Near You in Dublin & Ireland

About your sword-fighting search… 

"Sword fighting class Dublin" returns mixed results. Stage combat workshops. HEMA — Historical European Martial Arts — is excellent but focuses on European swords, not Japanese—the occasional fencing club. And buried somewhere in the results, usually without enough explanation: kendo.

This gap always puzzled me. 

Here’s my two cents: kendo is exactly what most people mean when they search for sword fighting in Dublin. It is practiced in armour, with a bamboo sword called a shinai, against an opponent who is actively trying to hit you back. It is fast, physical, technically demanding, and deeply rooted in the Japanese samurai tradition. It is, by almost any definition, sword fighting.

And yet most people who would love it have never heard of it.

So, what exactly is kendo?

Kendo literally means “the way of the sword.”

It is a modern Japanese martial art descended from the swordsmanship traditions of the samurai. Instead of practising with a real (I mean sharp) blade — which would make beginner classes considerably more difficult to insure — kendoka train primarily with a shinai, a sword made from four bamboo slats.

Once they progress, practitioners also wear bogu, the distinctive protective armour you have probably seen if you have ever encountered kendo before: the men protecting the head, the kote protecting the hands and forearms, the dō protecting the torso, and the tare around the waist.

And yes, eventually you get to hit people.

There are, however, quite a few things to learn before that becomes the point.

 → Want to know what your first session actually feels like? Read the honest account on our Practice page. 

The sword is only the beginning 

Kendo is not primarily about beating your opponent. A principle at the heart of the practice — know the way of the sword, know yourself — suggests that your real opponent is internal. Your hesitation. Your impatience. Your tendency to give up when it gets hard. The sword is the instrument. What kendo is actually building is the person holding it.

The Japanese police have known this for over a century — which is why kendo remains a core part of their training to this day. Not because officers need to fight with swords. Because kendo builds the qualities that make someone good under pressure.

“But I've never done a martial art before…”

Good. Guess what? Beginner courses are designed for people who have never done kendo before.

You don't need to know Japanese. You don't need previous sword experience. You don't need to own armour. And you certainly don't need to spend three months getting fit enough to be allowed through the dojo door (although, in my case, there was a time when I did believe that first I needed to get in top shape to be able to practice this sport – and it cost me 10 years of my life where I could have been practicing kendo, and instead I was not).

You will start where everybody starts: how to stand, how to move, how to hold the shinai, and how to stop wondering what your left foot is doing (yes, kendo has an extraordinary ability to make something that looked simple five minutes ago suddenly require the full processing power of your brain).

So perhaps you weren't looking for a “sword fighting class” after all

Maybe you were looking for something physical, but not just a gym. Something competitive, without having to become an athlete before you start. Or maybe you thought Japanese sword fighting looks cool (this is also a perfectly good reason to walk through the door).

And if you arrived here after typing “sword fighting classes Dublin” in Google search… now you know the word you were looking for all this time: Kendo.

If you've been searching for Kendo classes in Dublin, Kendo clubs near me, or somewhere to learn Japanese martial arts in Dublin, there are two established Kendo dojos I'd put on your list.

And no, I'm not going to tell you which one is “the best”. I have a much more sophisticated system than that.

Dublin Kendo Kobukai — Dublin 3

Dublin Kendo Kobukai is probably the more obvious city-dojo option.

The club trains across several Dublin locations during the week, with its Saturday Kendo practice at Ballybough Community Youth & Sports Centre in Dublin 3.

It runs structured beginners' courses, which makes it particularly easy if your current Kendo experience consists primarily of Googling “what is Kendo?”

Equipment is provided for beginners, and there are changing facilities at the training venue.

People of different ages and levels already train here too. So if you're considering coming to the beginners' course on your own, chances are you won't be the only one wondering what you've just signed yourself up for.

There will, however, be armour. And shouting (we should probably be honest about that)

Muyukan Kendo — Dublin 5

A little further north, Muyukan trains in Donnycarney, and its own description gives it quite a different personality.

Muyukan describes its approach as based on individual guidance, with attention given to each member, and says this creates a “homelike atmosphere.”

So if Dublin Kendo feels more like the larger city-dojo option, Muyukan presents itself as the smaller, more family-style dojo. It welcomes beginners, children and kendoka of all ages, and currently advertises training on Wednesday and Friday evenings and Sunday afternoons.

For somebody living around Donnycarney or north Dublin — or somebody who simply likes the sound of a smaller, close-knit dojo — it is well worth contacting them.

And this brings us to the highly technical part of choosing your dojo.

Which Dublin Kendo club should I choose?

Here is my deeply sophisticated selection methodology:

Choose the one you will actually go to.

Seriously.

When you're starting Kendo, the theoretically perfect dojo on the other side of Dublin may be considerably less useful than the very good dojo you can reach every week without developing a personal relationship with a bus, Red Luas and Dart.

Location matters. Training times matter. The atmosphere matters. But most importantly, showing up regularly matters.

If both clubs work for you, contact them. Ask about beginner training. Go and watch a practice if that's possible. See how the place feels. A dojo is somewhere you may end up spending rather a lot of time. So look around first.

Coming on your own?

Walking into an unfamiliar martial arts club by yourself can feel slightly more adventurous than signing up for your average Saturday activity.

A few practical things may therefore help.

The beginners' course takes place during the day, in a community sports centre. Changing facilities are available, equipment is provided, and the course is designed specifically for people who have never done Kendo before.

Women of different ages and levels already train in the dojo. You'll see experienced kendoka, newer ones, and other beginners trying to work out exactly the same things you are.

Nobody expects you to arrive fit, coordinated, knowledgeable about Kendo, or already looking like you belong there. You are a beginner. Being there is the qualification.

So where should I learn Kendo in Dublin?

If you want a structured course with a defined starting date, Dublin Kendo Kobukai's September beginners' course is the obvious option right now.

If you're closer to Donnycarney, prefer Muyukan's smaller homelike-dojo description, or its timetable simply works better for your life, contact Muyukan and ask about joining as a beginner.

There isn't one correct Dublin dojo. There is the dojo whose location works, whose training times work, whose people feel right — and that you actually keep going back to.

Because eventually, the important search stops being about “Kendo clubs near me?” and becomes: “What time is keiko?”

That's probably when they've got you.