Iaido in Detroit, MI

[Sam(urai)]

Hello all,

I have trained with the BKA for a number of years and have recently moved to Rochester Hills, Michigan. The closest (and only dojo) I can find in the vicinity that teaches JSA is the "Japanese Martial Arts Center (JMAC)" in Ann Arbour (about an hours plus drive), luckily for me it is a MJER dojo. I understand though that it may be a different school of MJER and not ZNKR seitei iai.

The iaido is taught by Nicklaus Suino Sensei, I am just trying to find out if this is seen as a good dojo and a good sensei. I know that Suino Sensei has written books in the past, but I understand that lots of people have written books. I am just looking for an honest answer, with my JSA background in BKA ZNKR seitei and MJER iai is this dojo a good option for me?

Thank you in advance for all of your help,

[Chuck.Gordon]

Get in touch with Peter Boylan (peterwboylan@gmail.com), based in Trenton, MI. He may be running a small class nearby and if not, he can certainly point you in the right direction. He's (a brand new!) yondan in iaido, and has rank in MSR jodo as well as judo.

cg

[JNavarro]

Sam,

In case you can't find a good JSA dojo and are still interested in studying a JMA you can stop by Oakland University in Rochester Hills. My teacher runs a Hakuhoryu Aikijujutsu dojo from there. We are on Christmas break, but we should be back training the second week of January.

[Sam(urai)]

Thank you both for the useful advice

Chuck.Gordon: I will look into it and find out where that is compared to where I am :)

JNavarro: I actually work in Auburn Hills on University drive so Oakland University is only a stones throw away :) maybe we can meet up and talk JMA? I don't know anyone at the moment that is into martial arts in MI yet so I'm looking to make some friends.... cue the violin...

Any more information is always appreciated. Thank you again.

[NathanH]

As you may have noticed, the AUSKF, unlike the BKA, does not reference Iaido dojos at this time. They have their annual seminar, but not much more publicly referenced. From the local kendo circles, I know of a few area Iaido groups tracing back to Peter Boylan and Charles Ham (http://www.easternkendo.org/iaido.html). I believe they do MSR with seitei as a starting point.

Another possible nearby option for you would be Tamiya Ryu (http://www.ustamiyaryu.org/branchclarkston.html) in Clarkston. I don't anything about them, other than that they would be closer than Ann Arbor.

I'm pretty sure I've glimpsed Jose doing some seitei kata...

[Lance Gatling]

Hello all,

I have trained with the BKA for a number of years and have recently moved to Rochester Hills, Michigan. The closest (and only dojo) I can find in the vicinity that teaches JSA is the "Japanese Martial Arts Center (JMAC)" in Ann Arbour (about an hours plus drive), luckily for me it is a MJER dojo. I understand though that it may be a different school of MJER and not ZNKR seitei iai.

The iaido is taught by Nicklaus Suino Sensei, I am just trying to find out if this is seen as a good dojo and a good sensei. I know that Suino Sensei has written books in the past, but I understand that lots of people have written books. I am just looking for an honest answer, with my JSA background in BKA ZNKR seitei and MJER iai is this dojo a good option for me?

Thank you in advance for all of your help,

Yes, to answer your question directly. Suino sensei is very, very good.

He lived in Tokyo for years, studied under some of the best instructors in Japan, took the Kanto plain (i.e., greater Tokyo) championship something like 4 years in a row IIRC, and has continued to grow and polish his art. And, knows how to teach in addition to how to practice, which is a rare combination itself, and has a national US and international Japanese personal network to back it up and to continue to expand.

All in all, a rare combination - I consider him the Real Deal.

If you want to cross-train in another JMA, he is also an accomplished judoka and jujutsuka to boot. I first met him on the tatami, he's good.

Good luck in your search!

Happy New Year,

[j_spengler]

I'm a member at JMAC studying both iaido and jujutsu. Obviously I'm biased, but I think Suino-sensei is a great teacher. He always welcomes visitors, so I'd recommend getting in touch with him and coming by to watch a class. We have a great group of people and always have a good time training together.