Kenjutsu (Tenshin-Ryū) Sensei in North Carolina

[Elvtin]

Greetings!

I came across this forum while looking for a sensei for Kenjutsu in North Carolina. I currently live in Raleigh but don't mind driving the distance since it's rather hard to find someone teaching this. I actually found an old thread on there from back in 2004 that had some teachers listed but that information no longer appears to be any good. So I'm hoping a new teacher or two has popped up since that time in the area. Any help is appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

[Steven Wood]

Welcome to the forum. You need to give us a little more information on "Tenshin-ryu". Are you referring to Tenshin Shoden Katori Shinto Ryu (very old traditional Japanese comprehensive martial art) or Itto Tenshin Katori Shinto Ryu (Sword style of Fred Lovret)?

[pgsmith]

Hey Steven,
It is my understanding that Mr. Lovret's style of swordsmanship has been shortened to just "Tenshin Ryu".

Mr. Liffiton,
You are going to be wasting your time looking for someone to teach you "kenjutsu". THe closest you'll find in the vast majority of the US is kendo, which can be found, along with iaido, at Triangle kendo club. You can also find jo and iaido taught at Triangle Aikido. 99% of places that say that they teach "kenjutsu" are simply making things up.

My advice is to do a lot of searching and reading on the web about the Japanese sword arts. You'll get a much better idea of what's out there, and what those things that are out there really are.

Good luck!

[Elmar]

99% of places that say that they teach "kenjutsu" are simply making things up.

Sadly, that's all too true. Most koryu kenjutsu students are in fact enjoined from "teaching" anything. The pyramidal organization commonly found in the martial arts doesn't really exist - there is only the instructor (usually the style head) and there are students. Having trained with Kuroda Tetsuzan's style for a couple of years in Texas, he at least has very strict rules about what is shown outside (essentially nothing except a basic suburi). You get horribly spoiled once you've had real instruction, and can't usually bear to watch what some folks are calling "kenjutsu." I'm in Cary, NC myself, so am far from getting further training, and simply practice what I have been taught as best I can. I wish you luck on your search.

[Elvtin]

Thanks for the info. I kind of figured It would be a shot in the dark trying to find a kenjutsu instructor in the area after all the looking I have done. Was hoping to get lucky though. Appreciate the responses!

[pgsmith]

Sadly, that's all too true. Most koryu kenjutsu students are in fact enjoined from "teaching" anything. The pyramidal organization commonly found in the martial arts doesn't really exist - there is only the instructor (usually the style head) and there are students. Having trained with Kuroda Tetsuzan's style for a couple of years in Texas, he at least has very strict rules about what is shown outside (essentially nothing except a basic suburi). You get horribly spoiled once you've had real instruction, and can't usually bear to watch what some folks are calling "kenjutsu." I'm in Cary, NC myself, so am far from getting further training, and simply practice what I have been taught as best I can. I wish you luck on your search.

While that is certainly true, it was not necessarily what I was referring to. Most of the koryu schools do not refer to themselves as "kenjutsu". It is usually those schools that were invented that try to sell themselves specifically as "kenjutsu".