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I started practicing kendo 3 months ago. I really like it, its different from anything I have tried.
Kendo is more of a sport today. It has changed a lot since it debut. After WWII, things were removed from the sport. You can no longer sweep. Also, before you could remove your opponents mask as victory at the end of a match but thats gone.
If you have any interest in it I say give it a shot, you might be surprised.
As for what you use, drills and sparing are done with shinai. Your katas are done with a bokken. If you want more information I suggest taking a look at a book called Kendo: The definitive guide. It's written by Hiroshi Ozawa and is really a great book.