Hi everyone! I'm new to this forum and this shall be my first post.

I live in Finland and I thought about starting Kendo. I already signed up for a beginner course which shall start on next Monday. Has anyone here done Kendo? I hope you can give answer to a few questions.

Do you have to be in seiza in the trainings? I can maybe manage 10 seconds in that position and then my legs get numb so that will be a problem.

The club informed that they will borrow us the equipment needed for the course. But I suppose you have to buy your own armour and sword after that? Are they very expensive?

Scoring in Kendo also seems quite complicated. I understand that you get points from only certain body parts and that you have to shout where you will try to hit. But I watched some videos from Youtube where people hit each other many times in the correct places without getting points. Does the strike also have to look somehow "elegant" to get points?