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News & Events
November 14, 2011 Dan is just back from a training camp with Kaminoda Sensei. Called on short notice due to difficulties in arranging training in Kashima following the earthquake, both the Japanese and the foreign contingent (Deborah Klens-Bigman, Claude Gilmore and Rich Friman, Jack Bieler and Dan Pearson) was small. The training was top-notch and covered all of kenjutsu, tanjo, omote kusarigama, and all the sets of jodo except the gohon no midare set. Claude received Sho Moku Roku and Jack received Oku Iri Sho from Sensei.Photos All of Kashima was abuzz about Tsukahara Bokuden. NHK is currently running a short drama about his life and, being a Kashima man borne and bred, the town is really wound up about all things budo.
June 16, 2011 In the last few months we have had lots of great events and experiences. On May 28, a son was born to Corey and Hitomi Comstock. All are well and the baby is beautiful. Kaminoda Sensei sent a makimono for Ray Espirito for Isshin ryu kusarigamajutsu. Congratulations Ray! We had three embu for the Cherry Blossom and an embu at a local farmers market. Richard Strausbaugh and Dan went to New Jersey to participate in a budo seminar organized by Mike Calandra Sensei. And Corey announced that with all the changes in his life (baby, job, etc.), he was going to be setting up his own practice near his home. We all wish him well and our groups will continue to work together going forward!Photos.
March 12, 2011 Kaminoda Sensei sent three makimono to the Capital Area Jodokai. Corey Comstock and me (Dan Pearson) received Go Moku Roku. Richard Strausbaugh received his Oku Iri Sho. We had a moment of silence for our friends and family and all the people of Japan, and then a very strong practice... Photos of the three lucky lads, a group shot of all the old guys and a shot above of everyone who could come today for practice. It was a really good day. My thanks to Draeger Sensei, who opened the door though he never met me, to R & Y and Woody who pushed me through it (along with some of the guys in the photo below), and to friends in Japan who made and make all this work: Saito Sensei and Kato Sensei who have already passed, and to Watanabe-san, Sato Sensei and Michael Rogers. Deep thanks also to my Sensei: Yamaguchi S., Abe S., Osato S. and (of course) Kaminoda Sensei. Rei.
P.S. We have heard that the Tokyo members of the Nihon Jodokai are all fine, Osato Sensei in Sendai is fine too. Still waiting to hear from the Mito group... Still praying for everyone’s safety.
October 2, 2010 Back from Kashima where Kaminoda Sensei led a 5 1/2 day gasshuku. Lots of jodo, kenjutsu, jutte and kusarigama with Kaminoda being joined by Abe and Yamaguchi Sensei for hands on corrections and demos. We had six from the D.C. dojo along with friends from Texas (Jack Bieler, Nidia Camacho and Hector Perez) Wisconsin (Rich Friman and Karen Watson) as well as Peter Boylan of Michigan and some of his folks (Chuck and Emily Gordon and Deborah Klens-Bigman). Add in some very tough Swedes and the Americans living in Japan and it was a really large foreign contingent. Rich Friman and I both received a teaching license for kusarigama. Everyone came back feeling like this was the best gasshuku in a long time--full to the brim with new insights and new kata too.Photos from Kashima HERE
Held a U.S. gasshuku for Kaminoda Sensei’s students in D.C. over the weekend of July 23-25. Over the course of the three days 25 of us practiced jodo, kusarigama, kenjutsu and tanjo together. Photos at the link...
Dan is just back from the Kyoto kobudo enbu. The Budokuden is beautiful and the budo that he saw there was amazing. Photos at the link:
http://www.shindomusoryu.org/page17/page17.html
The Capital Area Jodokai have performed in two Cherry Blossom enbu in as many weeks. April 3 found us at the Silver Spring, Maryland “Big Cherry Festival” and April 10 we appeared at the National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, D.C. While not our only public performances, the Cherry Blossom enbu are really special for us. (Photo above of cherry blossoms and Jefferson Memorial by our friend Carl Jenkins.)
Link to photos (by T. Nang & Alfred Campa) of the DC Enbu:
http://www.shindomusoryu.org/page15/page15.html
Link to photos (by T. Nang) of the Silver Spring Enbu:
http://www.shindomusoryu.org/page16/page16.html
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The Nihon Jodokai conducted their annual opening embu at the Meiji Jingu shrine in Tokyo on January 7. Joining Kaminoda Sensei were senior members from the Tendai Ryu naginata school.
2009 Entries
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On September 19, the Capital Area Jodokai held a small embu for several distinguished guests, including Kishimoto Sensei and his wife Sayaka-san and their son Kazu and Motohasi-san with his wife Akiko-san and their baby son, Itsuki. They are colleagues and family members who work with one of our members. We took a celebratory photo afterwards to mark the day. |
24 jodo players gathered in Milwaukee over the weekend of July 25 to share our understanding of Kaminoda Sensei’s jodo instruction. We worked on tanjo and jo kata at a local school gym on Saturday as well as smaller practices at the Fudoshin dojo of our host, Rich Friman both Friday and again on Sunday. The Texas-shu and Capital Area jodokai were well represented, but the majority of participants were from Wisconsin. While not everyone could attend every session, I think everyone had fun and I know they showed great improvement. Some group photos can be found here--including some from a mini-embu we did on Saturday which was the first jodo embu ever for 8 participants:
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The jodokai performed at “Swordfest” on June 20, hosted at the Capital Area Budokai dojo in Alexandria. Performances were turned in by our group and all the other arts of the Capital Area Budokai. David Hall’s Hobyokan dojo turned in terrific displays of Yagyu Shinkage Ryu and Jikishinkage Ryu as well as Isshin Ryu Kusarigama. We also had the pleasure to host Meik and Diane Skoss’s group for a display of Toda-ha Buko-ryu naginatajutsu that was fantastic. Finally, I have to mention Sang Kim Sensei’s battodo display. He did some terrific cutting as well as explaining the combative logic behind the cuts.
Sato Sensei (far left in photo below), an enka singer in Japan, and a strong jodo player, wrote a song in tribute to Kaminoda Sensei called, “Otoko no Yume” (The Man’s Dream). We understand that the song has been made available at every karaoke bar in Japan now. The photo above shows Kaminoda Sensei, Osato Sensei, and other senior instructors of the Nihon Jodokai singing the song at a karaoke bar after the Kyoto taikai. Karaoke has never really caught on in the U.S., but it still seems pretty cool to have your own song to sing.
Speaking of the Kyoto Taikai, the photo below shows Osato Sensei and Kaminoda Sensei demonstrating sengachi from the okuden set.
Also after the Kyoto Taikai, the Nihon Jodokai group visited Nakajima Sensei’s grave (co-author of Jodo Kyohan along with Kaminoda Sensei).
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| The Capital Area Jodokai recently performed at the 2009 Sakura Matsuri in Washington, D.C. 15 of the jodo players in our group participated in showing jodo, kenjutsu, tanjo, jutte and kusarigama. A selection of photos follows. |
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