Two 'swords' are used in kendo. The first is the bokuto, a solid wooden sword used for non-contact practice with partners. The second is the shinai, made of four pieces of split bamboo, used for contact sparring.

A Shinai

Kendo practitioners, known as kendoka, wear a keikogi (jacket) and hakama (pleated pants, not actually a skirt as it may look!).

When sparring, the bogu (armour) is worn. This consists of four parts, the tare (waist and thigh protector), do (chest and stomach protector), kote (gauntlets / wrist protectors) and men (mask protecting the head, face and shoulders, open at the back). These are predominantly made of leather and cotton, with the do being bamboo or fibreglass and the face portion of the men made of steel or equivalent. Most commonly the clothing and armour is dyed in a traditional indigo dye which produces a dark navy colour.

A Men	A Kote	A Do	A Tare

See the gallery for some photos of what Kendo equipment looks like. Online stores such as E-Bogu also have plenty of nice close up photography of Kendo equipment.