Las Vegas

[External]

I've checked every Kendo site I can find....nary a listing for a dojo in Las Vegas. Can anyone tell me where the closest dojo is ?

[Inouye02]

currently there is no kendo dojo in Las Vegas, it would be nice to have 1 there when i go visit my parents,

[External]

Ditto...:(

[samurai999]

Thats funny.. They did have a US Championship in '99 there. No dojos? I thought they'd have one.

Tim

[External]

Nope. No dojo. It's going to be a tough road as well. I've always wanted to learn Kendo. I was a college fencer. Trouble is, the company I work for has only two options for other locations. I can get to Cleveland in about 4-5 years. Or wait about 10 and go to Seattle.

[nodachi]

Are there any local colleges that have a team? You might be able to join, not being a student at the school, by paying a gym fee. It's worth looking into.

[External]

Believe me. I have looked everywhere. This is in more than one way a desert. UNLV offers the mainstays of Aikido and other martial arts, but Kendo is a sport no one practices in groups. If there is a Kendo practitioner in Las Vegas, they are unknown to me.

[samurai999]

You can do either one of 3 things:

1.) Travel some distance to practice.

2.) Start your own dojo. (you have the bragging rights to the first one in Nevada? :D)

3.) Take a break from dojos and practice on your own.

Believe me.. If I want a job, you go outside of Cali nowadays.. But, Cali has some of the best dojos in the US. What a dilemma for people who want to seriously practice.

Tim

[External]

Thanks for the ideas. The only viable option for me would be to practice on my own. I would be afraid though that I would develop bad habits without proper certified instruction. I think I will have to stick to European style fencing until I get somewhere with a dojo.

[Flashman]

Road trip? Southwest Airlines shows 16 flights (not all daily) between Las Vegas and Los Angeles. Make arrangments with one of the So.Cal. dojos and fly down periodically for instruction.

BTW: did you enter Duel in the Desert?

[Old Warrior]

External

The Kendo footwork is the antithesis of European fencing. Having spent 20 years as an epee fencer and now 7 months into Kendo, I can state with certainty that if you do not immerse yourself into it, you will never get it (I'm not suggesting that I have).

Consider that in Kendo: you face your opponent squarely, both hands hold the weapon, your thumb and forefinger are just along for the ride, the hands and feet move together, perfect posture counts and if you forget to kiai the point doesn't count.

IMHO - if you're not prepared to put European fencing on hold until you have a handle on Kendo basics - don't bother. Or at least don't fool yourself into believing you are a serious student.

[Inouye02]

External , Venice Dojo is about 20 minutes North of LAX, we practice on Wednesdays 7:30 to 9:00pm, atogeiko afterwards till ? you are always welcome to come by and practice when you have time..

[William Honda]

External,

Another option is if you come on the weekend you can get a practice at JCI on Friday night and then get another one on Saturday morning at Cypress.

[Inouye02]

are you gonna go to cypress also Mr Honda ?

wahahahaha,,, when i say talofa , you better say hi !!

[William Honda]

no Cypress for me - not yet anyway

[External]

Thanks for all the great advice and options. I haven't even set foot in a dojo and I already am impressed with the persons involved with it. Thanks !