Originally Posted by
len mccoy
Hi Jacob,
Not really an answer. I don't do kendo, I am interested in it but not a practitioner.
When my battalion left for Okinawa in the late 80s my CO who knew I was into karate asked if I could look into where he could learn kendo. I was temporarily assign to a base on the south of the island, he was up north (I believe Camp Hansen). Anyway in the first couple weeks I saw Dr. Gordon Warner do a demo with a couple Okinawan children. I went up to him afterwards and asked where someone could learn kendo. He said most police stations on Okinawa run free or nominal fee clubs, but equipment is expensive. He went on to tell me kote had to be handmade to my individual hands. He said that without good kote my grip would never be right and I would not make any progress. I told him it wasn't for me (meaning I was asking for someone else). He told me I shouldn't be so sure, obviously thinking I meant I had money to burn. At this point I thought it best just to say thanks for the advice without trying to clarify.
A number of years later I e-mailed him about a picture I saw in a karate dojo I thought might be him and retold the story. He e-mail me back that good kote are more expensive than ever.
Anyway he was a great guy, always friendly to everyone.
Hope this gives you some ideas about equipment and if it doesn't drift the thread to far I wonder if any of the kendoka can weigh in on whether Dr. Warner views on kote were extreme or common.
Best wishes in your training,
Len McCoy