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Bullbrand
21st May 2005, 19:53
Any sword arts dojos in London?

I know about the usual places that can be found on the net.
Lots of seitei iai at the kendo clubs. And some MSR and MJER if I am not mistaken. Some aikido dojos too, doing some sword work or iai of sorts. I was hoping to find some kenjutsu. I realise this might be a bit optimistic, but maybe there is something authentic somewhere. :-)

Regards
Louis Labuschagne

Andy Watson
23rd May 2005, 08:42
Any sword arts dojos in London?

I know about the usual places that can be found on the net.
Lots of seitei iai at the kendo clubs. And some MSR and MJER if I am not mistaken. Some aikido dojos too, doing some sword work or iai of sorts. I was hoping to find some kenjutsu. I realise this might be a bit optimistic, but maybe there is something authentic somewhere. :-)

Regards
Louis Labuschagne


Louis

You're right, kenjutsu clubs alone are a bit rare. If you go to the BKA website and look for Kashiwa dojo in Wandsworth, the sensei there, Vito Tattoli teaches iaido and will occasionally teach Ono-ha Itto Ryu as well as Tachi Uchi no Kurai and Shinto Ryu Kenjutsu. You will be expected to do iaido or kendo as well though.

Bullbrand
23rd May 2005, 09:13
Thank you very much for the reply and information.
I will definately investigate this further.
Kind Regards
Louis Labucshagne

Michael Mason
24th May 2005, 17:15
http://www.shinkendo.com/dojomap.html#outUSA

There is a Shinkendo dojo in London. Follow the link above for contact info.
For more information about Shinkendo, go to www.shinkendo.com.

Maro
25th May 2005, 01:55
Michael, I don't know if you are connected to Shinkendo but Northampton is not in London. It's a fair trek on the motorway.

Michael Mason
25th May 2005, 14:29
From central London, it seems it is about 85 miles to Northampton. :(
I have NO idea where Mr. L is going to be in London, his signature says he is in South Africa. If he will be in the North-west suburbs, perhaps it is convenient. There is a fellow student at my dojo who travels 100 miles to train, so I can't really judge what people may consider reasonable.
I have no authority to make statements on behalf of Shinkendo, I am only a student in New York City.
Good luck on your search and I hope you find a place to train.

Bullbrand
25th May 2005, 14:46
I am not even sure where in London I will end up. I will be staying in West London initially, but that is only until I find my own place.
Thanks for all the replies. Any suggestions and info is appreciated.
Once I am in London, I will be visiting all the dojos to find the right teacher.
Louis

Steve John
25th May 2005, 15:51
Good afternoon, Bullbrand

A couple of suggestions I hope are of interest-

I believe John Evans Sensei teaches Battodo in Camden, London.
I think there is a dojo connected to Fleming Madsen (not sure if that spelling is correct - so apologies if I'm wrong), in North West London. Willesden - I believe? I think they list at least two sword arts in their curriculum.
There is also a dojo called Moving East in East London which I seem to recall teaches (I think) Kashima Shin Ryu - or a variant thereof ..
Stephen Chan is at the School of Oriental Studies, Bloomsbury, London. His dojo teaches a number of arts - including, possibly, sword.
Hontai Yoshin Ryu (Sensei Mike McClure) are in Chelsea, at the Budokwai - I seem to recall they include sword in the curriculum.

Good luck with your search - sorry to be so vague - but I dashed this off quickly! And as I am not a sword expert, I stand to be corrected by those who know better - and that might even stimulate some discussion/help with your search!

Robert Cowham
24th July 2005, 23:28
Louis

You are welcome to come along to Moving East (we are North London, near Islington) and see what we get up to:

www.movingeast.co.uk

We teach Kashima Shinryu as taught by Inaba sensei of the Shiseikan - he is not part of the Kashima Shinryu Federation but studied with the previous head.

Robert