Byakkokan Dojo

US Federation of Battodo seminar held at Mountain Stream Budo today. Great get together and seminar in which some of our dojo members passed testing! Congrats to .xu.750 .yoon.923724 Christopher Kim!

ZNTIR seminar hosted by taught by Hataya sensei .bizenkai also with testing, our members did very well! Congrats to: Josh Wickman!

Got together with to do our annual Kagami Biraki and start the year off with a 1000 cuts. Afterwards many students participated in doing an enbu to show the spirit of the new year. And of course we got to finish it off with some drinks! Cheers and happy new years everyone : )

Final class of the year! Looking back at so many of the memories made and progress achieved. Congrats to Danielle for passing her shodan test and also enjoyed the visit from followed by dinner at the diner! Looking forward to the new year. Cheers everyone!

Just want to wish you a merry Xmas and hope you got some great sword gear as presents!!

Awesome opportunity! Great job Zentokan

Form and Function: An Evening at The Metropolitan Museum of Art — Zentokan Dojo — Zentokan Dojo Zentokan Dojo was honored to present a demonstration of Toyama Ryu Battodo at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. How do form and function unite in the Japanese sword? What makes it such a beautiful and effective weapon? How does the Japanese sword really work as a bladed weapon? And why is it valuable

Interview with Longtime Battodo Practitioners Zach Biesanz and Michael Shane: Aikido, Battodo, and the United States, Part I Zach Biesanz and Michael Shane both studied aikido and later sought instruction in battodo after repeatedly hearing aikido teachers say aikido movements “come from the sword.” Turns out, there& #821…

This iaito snapped at the tang yesterday. It was given to me about 18 years ago from a fellow kendoka John O Connor before he passed away due to cancer. He said he didn’t want to waste away and collect dust so I’ve always taken care of it. Since it was made awhile back, the quality of the koshirae was quite good and the weight felt more like a shinken than iaito. Really saddened me when it snapped. Now gonna look to put it in a display case or re-use the fittings to remember him. RIP John!

New tanto, blade by Howard Clark and fittings by special menuki that is of the Byakkokan dojo kamon! So excited for this one

Awesome event and congrats to all those who tested!

Performed 1000 cuts with Zentokan dojo today followed by a dojo embu. However, also took a moment to offer Elder Sensei a cup of sake to remember him. Miss him dearly! Also, congrats to Josh and Kat for passing shodan in ZNTIR!

Final class of 2023! Let’s take a moment to enjoy the accomplishments from this year but clear our minds to take on new challenges for 2024. A common phrase I use when teaching is that the worst mistakes are the same mistakes. Happy new year!!!

Special guest visited the dojo today and brought special gifts while also giving a lesson on particular methods to tie sword bags. Also showing his tux and looking good. Afterwards, went to Grimaldis for some pizza! Thank you for visiting

Annual ritual of hitting up a beer garden on the dojo anniversary has been delayed for quite some time due to Covid but we finally was able to start it up again even in rainy weather. Year 18 and counting as it continues to grow. Thank you to all dojo members and supporters!!!!

Long weekend but was an eventful one. First off was ZNTIR testing went very well! Congrats to those who passed! For Shodan: Kat Hamilton, Josh Wickman, Mike Harris, Miguel Meiji, Dylan Myers. For Nidan: Yuhao, Frank Wang, Kevin Seney. For Sandan: Prin Amorapanth, Jason Yoon, and Chris Kim. Also, taught an online seminar on Toyama Ryu Kihon to a group in Brazil which was quite fun with the help of Frank. Awesome how passion for sword can help make new connections world wide.

Great read!

A Short History of Battō-jutsu in America (Part 2) — Zentokan Dojo This essay is part two of three and covers the years from 1970 to 1989, a challenging time in the development of iaido/ battodo worldwide. The predominant iai ryuha practiced internationally at this time were Musō Shinden-ryū and Musō Jikiden Eishin-ryū – sometimes taught in an orthodox manner...

How to spend Labor Day? Go out and have some cutting practice in back yard! some photos from

Received some more pics taken from the gekken and judging seminar that I taught at the Tri State Tai Kai! photos by Ed Serecky