Anyone from Shidogakuin FL here? FL Kendo in general?

[shidokurisu]

Hey all, I am Kurisu. Just wanted to introduce myself and see if there are any other Floridian Kendoka out there. Aside from Kendo, I am just a college student majoring in international business with Japan (aiming for fluency in the language etc.) and I study classical piano also.

I have been training with Shidogakuin Miami/Ft Lauderdale now since about January. I have missed the chances to go out to Bartow to meet with the group out there so basically I don't know many Kendoka in my area. I am 22 years old, and the people that I train with, are all about 45 - 60+. Lew Murphy, Carlos Rivera, Mike Meade, etc. (If you may be familiar.) They are between 2nd and 4th Dan I believe. (Carlos I believe 4th, Lew 3rd, Mike 3rd or 4th). We also have a few other people that train in our dojo, but not VERY consistently. Maybe once or twice a month.

Anyone else out there in the FL Kendo groups? The one school that is somewhat near to me, in Boynton area, I heard doesn't practice the traditional Kendo and it is more of a sport Kendo type so I opted not to go with that. (Plus it was a bit pricey). One thing I really liked about Shidogakuin is that each time we practice, we go through each tradition before hand with no rush. I don't feel like i just go to condition. I get the full Kendo feel and each time I leave I feel amazing.

I feel very proud to be able to train with such great kendoka, but at the same time, are there any Kendoka my age around here? Luckily I move to Miami to go to FIU in December, and they have a Kendo group there with about 15-20 people active it seems. I know at least then I should be able to meet some nice fellow Kendoka at the college.

I can't wait to meet Kato sensei eventually though.... ;]

Anyways, sorry for the lengthy intro, just looking for other Kendoka in the area, and I hope to make some good friends on KWF and meet you all in person one day. Nice to meet you all.

[chainz]

Welcome to the forum, i do kendo in miami there is 2 dojo i believe, i'm belong to South florida kendo Club 3 times per week

[chainz]

sorry i meant that we practice 3 times a week

[shidokurisu]

Hi Chainz, is that Dojo the one the FIU Club attends by any chance? I know they practice 3 times a week also.

[corwyn]

Welcome to the forums! I don't train at any of the Shidogakuin dojo (I'm in MA), but I had the opportunity to meet Kato Sensei at the Iaido National Summer Camp in June, when he took a few of us beginners and gave us our own lessons, separate from the main group. He's a great teacher, and also extremely funny.

I don't think I'll ever forget his impersonation of Zatoichi (the blind swordsman) when someone asked how to find the tape line during competition or testing without looking down at the floor. :laugh:

[Knicky]

Here goes...

Florida kendo clubs...(legit ones)

Shidogakuin Miami
South Florida Kendo Club (Frank Nieves) http://www.southfloridakendoclub.com/
Orlando Kendo Club (Jae Chung)
www.orlandokendoclub.org (http://www.orlandokendoclub.org)
Central Florida Kendobu (Michelle Lam. This is the UCF kendo club)
www.ucfkendo.com (http://www.ucfkendo.com)
Renshinkan (Steven Faulconer. Titusville kendo club; website down atm)
Gulf Coast Kendo Schools (Bob Souder, Sungmin Ro)
http://www.kendoclub.net/
Gator Kendo Club (Jae Chung, This is the UF kendo club)
http://www.kendoclub.net/

There is also a kendo club on in the pan handle run by Bryan Kapplow. And as you know, Maeda sensei in Bartow.

I practiced kendo in Florida for 5 years so I know everyone if you need me to get a hold of someone. I'm moving to Japan this Sunday so might take a while for me to answer.

[samurai80]

Anyone else out there in the FL Kendo groups? The one school that is somewhat near to me, in Boynton area, I heard doesn't practice the traditional Kendo and it is more of a sport Kendo type so I opted not to go with that. (Plus it was a bit pricey).

.

That sounds weird. What dojo was this?

[Knicky]

The one school that is somewhat near to me, in Boynton area, I heard doesn't practice the traditional Kendo and it is more of a sport Kendo type so I opted not to go with that.

What school are you talking about?

Shidogakuin Miami has great people there, as you mentioned. South Florida is the only other legit club down there that I know about. It is a bit expensive but they do have a solid student base. I don't see how they could be defined as 'sport kendo'. There has been a lot of problems down in that area but nobody can argue that the kendo that is being taught there is strong and that the instructor puts his students before anything else.

[chainz]

Hi Chainz, is that Dojo the one the FIU Club attends by any chance? I know they practice 3 times a week also.

One of my sempai is the president in Kendo FUI but i don't know if they still practice but i gonna ask

[MikeW]

Welcome Kurisu, when you can make sure you go up and practice at Bartow with Maeda sensei. He is very good and also a very nice person.

[Omnis]

Hey all, I am Kurisu. Just wanted to introduce myself and see if there are any other Floridian Kendoka out there. Aside from Kendo, I am just a college student majoring in international business with Japan (aiming for fluency in the language etc.) and I study classical piano also.

I have been training with Shidogakuin Miami/Ft Lauderdale now since about January. I have missed the chances to go out to Bartow to meet with the group out there so basically I don't know many Kendoka in my area. I am 22 years old, and the people that I train with, are all about 45 - 60+. Lew Murphy, Carlos Rivera, Mike Meade, etc. (If you may be familiar.) They are between 2nd and 4th Dan I believe. (Carlos I believe 4th, Lew 3rd, Mike 3rd or 4th). We also have a few other people that train in our dojo, but not VERY consistently. Maybe once or twice a month.

Anyone else out there in the FL Kendo groups? The one school that is somewhat near to me, in Boynton area, I heard doesn't practice the traditional Kendo and it is more of a sport Kendo type so I opted not to go with that. (Plus it was a bit pricey). One thing I really liked about Shidogakuin is that each time we practice, we go through each tradition before hand with no rush. I don't feel like i just go to condition. I get the full Kendo feel and each time I leave I feel amazing.

I feel very proud to be able to train with such great kendoka, but at the same time, are there any Kendoka my age around here? Luckily I move to Miami to go to FIU in December, and they have a Kendo group there with about 15-20 people active it seems. I know at least then I should be able to meet some nice fellow Kendoka at the college.

I can't wait to meet Kato sensei eventually though.... ;]

Anyways, sorry for the lengthy intro, just looking for other Kendoka in the area, and I hope to make some good friends on KWF and meet you all in person one day. Nice to meet you all.

Oh, sweet. I used to go to Shidogakuin, but stopped practicing last year because of family issues and school.

Are you guys still practicing at US1 Fitness or have you moved? My name is Marc and I'm going to try to make it to practice in the next few weeks, so hopefully I'll meet you soon. Gotta see how demanding my new college semester is. I also have to get my ass in shape so I don't pass out during warm-ups. Hahaha.

I'll have to e-mail Mike anyway, but it's great to hear that Shidogakuin is still doing well and that there is even a new face there.

[shidokurisu]

What school are you talking about?

Shidogakuin Miami has great people there, as you mentioned. South Florida is the only other legit club down there that I know about. It is a bit expensive but they do have a solid student base. I don't see how they could be defined as 'sport kendo'. There has been a lot of problems down in that area but nobody can argue that the kendo that is being taught there is strong and that the instructor puts his students before anything else.

To be honest, I don't believe it was specifically a Kendo dojo or group. The teacher I think normally does classes of Taekwondo, Karate etc. It was a very small room in a plaza with a sort of cheesy name (Green Dragon or something). I asked my fellow Kendoka at Shidogakuin and they said "ahhh yes I have heard of them, their kendo is not correct. More of sport kendo (not following the full tradition of kendo). They showed up at a tournament one time, and someone actually grabbed the bladed portion of a shinai with the left hand and moved it up horizontally as to block the opponents men strike. Don't waste your time." That was all I really ever heard about them ever. I called them on the phone before, and he said it was about 250 + a month for 2 times a week lessons, so I said no.

South Florida Kendo is definitely not the group I am referring to. I've heard good things about Nieves in general.

[shidokurisu]

Oh, sweet. I used to go to Shidogakuin, but stopped practicing last year because of family issues and school.

Are you guys still practicing at US1 Fitness or have you moved? My name is Marc and I'm going to try to make it to practice in the next few weeks, so hopefully I'll meet you soon. Gotta see how demanding my new college semester is. I also have to get my ass in shape so I don't pass out during warm-ups. Hahaha.

I'll have to e-mail Mike anyway, but it's great to hear that Shidogakuin is still doing well and that there is even a new face there.

Hey Marc, awesome. Yeah we still practice on the top floor of US1 Fitness. I totally understand the college thing, I have a 5 class semester coming up in 2 weeks *sigh*. It would definitely be cool if you started coming again. It would be fun to have another person relatively new to Kendo (sorry if I assumed wrong) to train with.

I missed today's practice due to a family get together that wound up running until about 4 AM last night with a BIT of alcohol involved, but I will be there next Sunday. If you could make it down that would be awesome. Always looking forward to meeting new Kendoka, especially ones that I have the opportunity to train with on a regular basis. Please know before hand though, I am new to Kendo, don't expect TOO much from me =].

[shidokurisu]

BTW Marc, if you use AIM or MSN messenger.

AIM - IWearMyScarsWell
MSN - cpiv@vupointsolutions.com

[shidokurisu]

Welcome Kurisu, when you can make sure you go up and practice at Bartow with Maeda sensei. He is very good and also a very nice person.

I really hope to soon. I missed the last TWO opportunities. (Also, I am a bit nervous because I still do not have my Bogu or anything. I feel very noobish to be in Maeda's presence that way.) BUT, I will be getting my Bogu this week, so I will make the next trip up. I have heard nothing but great things about Maeda Sensei and he usually comes up at least once a week at our Dojo in conversation.

[nothing]

Hey guys, the Gulf Coast website's contact info is incorrect. Does anybody have contact info for the club/sensei??