You can join, upgrade and renew your membership online . Please see below for more information.

Membership Types

The following classes of membership are available to practitioners of Kendo, Iaido and Jodo in the United Kingdom. Members may be citizens or non-citizens of the United Kingdom.  All membership classes are open to members who practice at BKA affiliated dojo and require confirmation of the dojo.

  1. Full membership of BKA. Allows you to attend all BKA events for the relevant bu memberships and to practice under the insurance arranged by the BKA. Full members may attend the AGM and take part in any elections.
  2. Concessionary and Student memberships are for over 65s and full time students. Similar to Full membership but at a concessionary rate. Proof of student status is required. There are no concessions for the unemployed.
  3. Junior memberships are for those who are under 18 at the time of application. Junior members are not eligible to attend AGMs or take part in any elections or other votes.
  4. Associate membership is open to individuals who for whatever reason are unable to utilise the facilities of the Association, but who wish to maintain their links with the Association. This membership class is only available to existing members and not new memberships.
  5. Temporary membership – see below.

All of these memberships have a £10 joining fee on top of the membership fee itself, which is waived for those upgrading from temporary membership.

Temporary memberships are for 3 months, all others are for 12 months.

All new members will join for a 12 month membership term and the renewal will be due on the anniversary of their joining date each and every following year.

Temporary Membership

Temporary membership is available to new starters in Kendo, Iaido and/or Jodo. This is intended as a reduced entry to cover you while you are deciding on whether this martial art is for you.

Temporary membership lasts 3 months and covers you for practice in your local dojo. It does not allow you to participate in seminars, taikai or gradings. Before the 3 months is up you will need to make sure the system has you as a confirmed member of a dojo and then you will be able to upgrade to full membership, should you wish to continue your practice. At this point you will be asked to pay for the remainder of a year’s fees less the joining fee and your membership will be changed to Full and your renewal date also extended up to the full year. It is a very cheap way to try Kendo / Iaido or Jodo.

There is only one rate for temporary membership £10, regardless of which sword art you study. You can only take out temporary membership once, it is not renewable or extendable

Join Online

Members can join, upgrade and renew online.

The online system provides a record of the dojo at which you practice and the arts you practice at each one. This is required to be validated by the dojo leader. You are only able to renew your membership if you are a validated member of at least one BKA affiliated dojo.

New members may join as temporary members without this but part of the application will include an application to the dojo you are practicing at. Validation of this is needed before you can upgrade from Temporary membership. Alternatively, the dojo may provide you with a keyword which will confirm your dojo membership.

The constitution, gives a full description of all these membership types. (Article 7)

Fee Structure

Under the constitution each of the 3 bu receive a budget based on the number of practicing members. The membership fee is therefore now comprised of up to 5 parts. There is a central element, which covers BKA & membership running costs (insurance, admin costs, AGM costs and all other central costs). This is set by the National Committee. In addition there is a Bu specific element set by each Bu to cover their expenditure. The membership fee is comprised of the Central element plus the bu fee for each art you practise.

Fees for 2023-2024 are as follows:

FULLCONCESSIONSTUDENTJUNIORASSOCIATETEMPORARY
CENTRAL SERVICES£15.00£10.00£12.00£10.00£10.00£10.00
NEW MEMBERAdd £10.00Add £10.00Add £10.00Add £10.00n/an/a
KENDO BUAdd £25.00Add £12.50Add £12.50Add £5.00n/an/a
IAIDO BUAdd £15.00Add £7.50Add £7.50Add £5.00n/an/a
JODO BUAdd £40.00Add £20.00Add £20.00Add £20.00n/an/a