The Hidden Dojo

Swords & Skateboards

2011-11-08T10:25:00.001-08:00

This year I brought my little brother with me to Japan.

We only brought 2 things with us...

Swords & Skateboards

Here we are at the Nakamura Ryu Hombu getting some

sword training in after skateboarding.

This was a great spot in front of Kawaguchi's Itoyokado.

Here is a shot in front of some rundown house we rented.

Just kidding, this is Odawara Castle.

This was the best skatepark in Japan,

Miyashita Nike Skatepark in Shibuya

Irie Soke and Kiba watching Soke's wife try on a Kimono

so I can pick one out for my wife before next years Shihan Ceremony.

Chiyoko San was so sweet to look so hard for a good deal

for Naomi. We got an amazing deal thanks to her!

After kimono shopping it was up to the roof where the

raman shop was; where we all enjoyed REAL ramen.

Can you find Kiba in the busiest intersection on the planet?

Some footage from Kawaguchi Skatepark

I think this trip went to my brothers head...

My brother the Samurai!

This was a memorable trip and I cant wait till the next time

I head to Tokyo with my little brother carrying nothing, but

Swords & Skateboards

3rd Annual Kern River Budosai

2011-11-08T10:12:00.000-08:00

Dodan cutting.

We would like to give a special thanks to Big Tony and

tameshigirimats.com for donating a bale of tatmami for the winner of this event.

(Especially since the winner came from our dojo!)

Our students did exceptionally well and we are proud of

the discipline, focus & etiquette that was displayed.

Matt enjoyed his first division win and Morris Sensei is holding

a Howard Clark L6 Tanto he received as the Yusho for the event.

Many thanks to Robin Ramirez for putting on another great Taikai!

2011 KoKoDo Jujutsu Seminar

2011-10-11T08:24:00.000-07:00

This was our 3rd annual KoKoDo seminar with Irie Soke and

we had a blast this year as Soke taught detail after detail forcing

light bulbs to keep going off all day long!

There is no translation needed for most of what Soke does,

but it's fun to echo his teachings.

Seamark Shihan was in attendance this year again and was an

amazing example of how effective yet supple Jujutsu can be.

Soke had some new finishes this year which were painfully awesome.

The Dentokan was represented well by Robin Ramirez Shihan

who became a favorite of Irie Sensei's this trip. I am not sure

if that was a good thing for Robin, I know it wasn't for his wrists!

Who says getting choked can't be FUN!

We look forward to next years seminar on the beach as we host

the World KoKoDo Taikai September 20-22, 2012

More Dojo Photos

2011-09-05T15:47:00.001-07:00

*Photographer: Jeremy Wright

Dojo Photo Shoot

2011-08-29T06:42:00.000-07:00

The Dojo just underwent some construction

and got some new zebra tatami mats so we decided to

have a dojo photo shoot to show it off.

We live in the desert out here in the Antelope Valley

and are proud of our Joshua Trees!

This shot was taken not far from the Dojo

on the border between Palmdale & Lancaster, Ca.

Hardfist training at The Hidden Dojo

Our youngest son approves the new mats.

Come check us out!

*Thank you to our talented photographer: Jeremy Wright

KoKoDo Taikai Vancouver

2011-08-07T08:19:00.001-07:00

The 2011 KoKoDo Taikai was held in beautiful

British Columbia this year!

Seamark Shihan went to great lengths to put on a memorable

event and he absolutely nailed it!

Thanks for all your hard work!

As usual the training was Epic and Irie Sensei shared ALOT!

This isn't even the entire group!

We had a great turn out in Vancouver.

This is my favorite picture from the trip, I saw this

awesome Moose Mountie and grabbed our

Dojo mascot for a quick photo right when Soke

was coming out of the gift shop so he just joined right in,

no questions asked!

KIBO: HOPE for Japan

2011-06-02T12:11:00.001-07:00

The Shindenkan Dojo was privileged with the opportunity to aid

in the effort to get Japan back on their feet in the wake of the

record breaking earthquakes and devastating tsunami that have left

parts of Japan utterly crippled in the aftermath.

Nakamura Ryu students demonstrating Toyama Ryu kata.

Ruben Marquez put Xander through some serious pain

with 5 min straight of KoKoDo pain.

Austin and Josh put on an amazing show with their kihon demonstration.

Rare footage of Xander not being on the receiving end of technique.

KoKoDo San/Yondan Waza.

Blue Belt Test

2011-03-29T10:20:00.000-07:00

The Shindenkan Dojo had it's largest Blue Belt test ever last night

and everyone did exceptionally well resulting in 8 new Blue Belts!

Congratulations Matt, Mike, Patti, Chris, Emilio, Diego, Adam & Meredith!

The Tokyo 5

2010-12-17T16:05:00.001-08:00

Austin, Josh, Kamilla, Brittany & Ben make up the Tokyo 5.

A group of truly amazing martial artists who after years of training

came to the point where we just had to take them to Japan.

They had 3 objectives on their journey:

1. Have an amazing cultural experience.

Check.

2. Pass their Shodan Exam at the Hombu.

Check.

3. Present themselves well at the Annual Nakamura Ryu Taikai.

Check.

Irie Soke visits Lancaster

2010-12-17T15:49:00.000-08:00

The Shindenkan Dojo was very fortunate to have Soke Irie Yasuhiro

out again to share his KoKoDo Jujutsu with us.

Some were less "fortunate" than others.

All in all, it was AMAZING!

2010 Tanren Camp

2010-12-17T15:33:00.000-08:00

This years Tanren Camp was a blast! The Dojo is blessed with some amazing kids.

We spent the week working on various Japanese Arts like Kendo, Kyudo, Judo, Shodo and other weapon and empty handed arts.

California Poppy Festival

2010-12-17T15:14:00.000-08:00

Every year Lancaster City Park hosts the California Poppy Festival

and this year we were invited to demonstrate our martial arts and of course

everyone wanted to see swords cutting.

Since we had the entire day and our own dedicated area for our demonstrations

we made use of our time and space to squeeze in a lot of practice sessions.

Here we are preparing to demonstrate Toyama Ryu which

is the fundamental set of Nakamura Ryu.

We had a great time showing our community the arts we love.

Next year I will remember the sunscreen!

Every Five Years

2010-12-17T14:56:00.000-08:00

Only once every five years does Japan host a worldwide Taikai.

Here's a shot of the yudansha from the event.

After two days of intensive training, and a day of sight seeing in Nikko, we gathered in Omiya for the annual Shihan ceremony and formal banquet.

One of the sights was a giant waterfall that was seriously too tall to capture in one frame. Especially when people kept posing in front of it like we did.

Here we are all gathered on the steps of Toshogu Shrine.

This Shrine is famous for the three monkeys, "Hear no evil, speak no evil, see no evil."

If you look carefully behind the big monkeys, you can see the original monkeys on the top left.

Our dojo had a great turn out for this event.

Here we are all pictured with Irie Soke.

Including Ashley with her busted shoulder from one of the throws that was taught the day before.

We can't wait till 2015 when the taikai will be hosted in Kyoto.

Tucson Taikai 2010

2010-04-30T18:42:00.000-07:00

Carl Jenkins performing Seito Toho number one.

Jenkins Sensei took first place in this event and it's obvious why.

His kata is flawless.

Women's Self Defense

2010-04-30T18:27:00.000-07:00

The class we take the most serious is Women's Self Defense.

The statistics are staggering and at the dojo we teach Women's Self Defense twice a week to ensure that none of the woman we come in contact with become one.

We cover serious scenarios such as knife defense, rape, and multiple attackers.

We would like to thank again those brave enough (or crazy enough)

to put on this suit and take a beating.

Women's Self Defense classes are held Monday nights from 6-7pm and

Saturday afternoons from 12-1pm.

Fort Bragg

2010-04-30T18:19:00.001-07:00

Here's a shot from our last trip to Fort Bragg where we again trained soldiers in CQB (Close Quarter Battle). I had an unfair advantage with my RPG.

Here's a short clip of some of the action.

Japan November 2009

2009-12-05T17:17:00.000-08:00

This years trip to Yokohama was a memorable one.

We visited Sojiji and toured the temple grounds which included a short session of Zen meditation led by one of the temple monks.

Twice a day, 365 days of the year, the temples halls are wiped clean. Now wax is used on these floors, just common rags, but when you touch it, it has the smoothest surface.

An example of how this cleaning is done is shown below.

(Photos courtesy of Ted Petit)

Sato Seiji Sensei performing Shihobarai at the opening of the

Nakamura Ryu Batto-Do Taikai.

The day before the Taikai, we held a special Hono Embu (special demonstration) at Nakamura Taizaburo's grave site.

At the banquet, guests were entertained with a variety of performances including Kenbu, which is a traditional sword dance.

1st Annual Kern River Budosai

2009-12-04T22:02:00.001-08:00

Bakersfield Budo held it's first Annual Budosai (or Martial Arts Festival) this last October.

This year's event focused primarily on Japanese Sword Arts and included seminars taught by the leading instructors from all over the country.

Dave Neely and Bill Henderson demosntrate Koryu at the demonstration.

Drawdy Sensei put on a great seminar focusing on Nakamura Ryu Kumitachi.

At the competition, our dojo did quite well, and we enjoyed the pressure of putting ourselves out there alongside some really great budo practitioners.

KoKoDo Seminar September 2009

2009-12-04T20:56:00.000-08:00

The Shindenkan Dojo was pleased to host Soke Irie Yasuhiro

for a seminar on KoKoDo Jujutsu at the beautiful & spacious Bakersfield Budo Dojo.

We had a great turnout with old friends and students

of Irie Sensei from all over

traveling great distances to attend.

Irie Sensei is famous for leaving a great impression and a great deal of pain

to remember him by.

We're looking forward to having him come again next year!

Natsu Matsuri (Summer festival in Japan)

2009-10-01T22:17:00.000-07:00

Posing with Irie Sensei after hauling the heaviest mikoshi in Omiya.

Xander hanging in there despite being taller and bearing more weight on his poor shoulders.

Morris Sensei messed up his knee doing this over the space of two days, but luckily Irie Sensei fixed him up at the clinic later that day.

Xander getting promoted to shodan at the KoKoDo Hombu.

Phil was there to see his son get promoted on his way from Afghanistan to India.

The Art of Taking It

2009-09-18T20:57:00.000-07:00

Rolls and break falls are just as important in Jujutsu as locks and throws.

Ukemi waza, or the art of taking it, is our way of adapting our bodies to the opponents technique.

Here are three tips to improving your ukemi.

One:

Don't anticipate, but rather go with the flow.

Two:

Relax your body as you tense it.

This is a paradox, but the real secret is to stay relaxed to mold your body, while tensing key areas

to protect your body.

Three:

Minimize impact by projecting your energy outward staying tight like a ball and easing into it as much as possible.

And just like everything else, keep at it till you get it right.

Kokodo Shiatsu

2009-09-08T22:17:00.000-07:00

The Shindenkan Dojo is now offering shiatsu on Monday's at 5pm.

Along with proper rest and a healthy diet, shiatsu will promote energy renewal and aid to maintain your health.

Sue was feeling extra spunky after her shiatsu session

which turned out to be bad news for Morgan Sensei.

Japanese Immersion Week

2009-09-01T21:31:00.001-07:00

An entire week of nothing but Japanese!

We're talking language and culture.

We began this week by taking a trip to Little Tokyo in Downtown L.A.

We did our grocery shopping for the week and ate our first Japanese meal:

Katsu Kare (Curry).

It was a hit.

The kids also got to pick up some souvenirs from the various shops that make up Little Tokyo.

Each day we had a theme.

Monday: Shopping

Tuesday: Around the house

Wednesday: School

Thursday: Games

Friday: Review

The Dragoo home was the perfect location as it offered plenty of room for our many adventures.

Indoor and out.

Keiko bottom left

Each day included making a new Japanese dish for lunch, and a craft which the students got to take home.

Keiko did a great job preparing the food, especially with the chahan and gyoza!

For anyone interested this is definitely something we will repeat in the future!

Tanren Camp

2009-09-01T20:57:00.000-07:00

The Tanren Camp was a week long program focused on introducing the students to a variety of traditional Japanese Arts like:

Judo

Kobudo (traditional weapons)

Kyudo

Kendo

and even Shodo (calligraphy).

At the end of the week, we had a competition where the kids squared off and had fun competing in the various arts we introduced them to.

The week was such a blast we can't wait till next summer.

Belgium 2009

2009-09-01T20:14:00.001-07:00

Belgium is centrally located in Europe which made it the perfect meeting ground for 150 Jujutsu practitioners from 15 different countries to get together and learn from one of the greatest Jujutsu masters on the planet; Soke Irie Yasuhiro.

Morris Sensei had the interesting opportunity to translate for Soke Irie even though the audience were all non native english speakers.

Belgium was a great experience and we look forward to hosting Soke Irie Yasuhiro in September where the Shindenkan students will get the rare opportunity to learn from a legend.

Japan November 2008

2009-08-31T23:02:00.000-07:00

Last November Morris Sensei, Marty, Heather, Tim and Xander attended the 11th Annual Batto Taikai (Sword Event) in Yokohama, Japan.

The receptionist at the hotel was a bit old fashioned, but the accommodations were great.

Here is a shot of Morris Sensei in front of the Kokodo Honbu Dojo in Omiya just before meeting Irie Soke for the first time face to face.

Fortunately, the meeting went well and Irie Sensei accepted Tim and Xander as pupils during their stay which lasted six months.

Their room while staying in Japan wasn't so "roomy" after all.

Here you see them touching wall to wall in their six by ten room.

Saiaku!

Satoh Seiji Sensei teaching kumitachi Marty and Morris Sensei.

Morris Sensei with Nakamura Kenzo, the leader of our sword style and nephew of the great Nakamura Taizaburo.

Here's a picture at the Taikai with all the gaijin (foreigners) and Satoh Seiji Sensei who dedicated three entire days to train us before the event.

After the Taikai we loaded onto a bus and traveled a few hours north to Aizu Wakamatsu where we stayed in a traditional hotel and onsen.

Nomura Sensei posing with us in front of a castle we visited in Aizu.