Iaido in Minneapolis/St.Paul

[lamahe]

Hi everybody, I just moved to Minneapolis and I would really like to continue practicing Iaido here. I found a couple of old posts mentioning Mutokai Iaido Club in St.Paul, but it is not listed on AUSKF page http://www.auskf.info/dojo/dojolist.htm
Is that dojo still active, can anyone confirm that? If not, is there any other Iaido dojo in Twin Cities? Thanks.

[Kaoru]

Hi everybody, I just moved to Minneapolis and I would really like to continue practicing Iaido here. I found a couple of old posts mentioning Mutokai Iaido Club in St.Paul, but it is not listed on AUSKF page http://www.auskf.info/dojo/dojolist.htm
Is that dojo still active, can anyone confirm that? If not, is there any other Iaido dojo in Twin Cities? Thanks.

Hi!

Welcome to the forum! And, welcome to Minnesota!(Be prepared to freeze your butt off in the Winter. Geez how I hate Winter... )

Anyway, yes, it is still active and they are a very good dojo too. And it is correct that they are not listed on the AUSKF site. However, they are listed on the MWKF(Mid-West Kendo Federation) website. They teach Muso Shinden Ryu. Also, I would highly recommend the Toyama Ryu dojo. It is called the Twin Cities Toyama Ryu dojo. I can't remember off-hand which city they are in, but I think it's St. Paul. These are the only legit Iai dojos in that area. There are only 3 legit Koryu Iai dojos in this state, and the 3rd is way up Northwest in Moorehead, and they teach MJER.

Are you interested in trying kendo? There is kendo in Minneapolis as well. That's my dojo. I'll give you that dojo too. Our sensei is really good and misses nothing! I'd highly recommend our dojo too, if you are interested.

So, here is the info for all three dojos in the Twin Cities. If you want the Moorehead dojo, just let me know, but be warned that it's about a 5 hour drive from the Cities.

------------

Iaido
-------

Mutokai Iaido Club
2390 University Ave
St. Paul, MN
W 8:00-9:30pm Sa 1:00-2:30pm Su 4:30-6:00pm

Contact:

George Zanmiller
Phone: 651-647-1242
Email: teawhisk@msn.com

Or:

Karl Peterson (763)533-4126

There is no website yet for this dojo.

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Toyama Ryu Battojutsu

http://www.geocities.com/toyama_ryu/...yu.html?200722

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Kendo
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Minnehaha Kendo Dojo

http://www.minnehahakendo.org/index.php

4744 Chicago Ave.
Minneapolis, MN
W and F 8-10pm
Sat. 3:30-5:30pm
Contact: Robert Cochran (612)823-6715

Sensei: Robert Cochran

Call in the late evening. Leave a message if you don't get him or try calling him again. Beginners practice on Saturdays.

------------

Well, I hope this helps! You didn't say which ryu you studied, so I hope one of these will be it. If not, I'm sorry I wasn't very helpful. But, maybe these will be fun to try anyway. The only other option, would be to travel to another state. I can help you with that if necessary. I keep a list of what koryu is where.

Anyway, welcome again, and I hope one of these dojos will work out for you.

Kaoru

[Rennis]

Hi!
These are the only legit Iai dojos in that area. There are only 3 legit Koryu Iai dojos in this state, and the 3rd is way up Northwest in Moorehead, and they teach MJER.

Actually if I recall correctly the dojo up in Moorehead teaches Muso Shinden-ryu, not Muso Jikiden Eishin-ryu.

Ragardless as Kaoru points, the Mutokai is probably the main dojo for traditional iai in the Twin Cities area. They are definitely the oldest group in the area and they train out of the Twin Cities Aikido center. Last time I was through the Twin Cities I trained with them a number of times and they would be my first recommendation in the area. They train on Sat afternoons and I believe once or twice more during the week as well. If a more modern approach is your thing than the Toyama-ryu group would probably be the place to go. I believe they are currently using space with the Feminist Eclectic Martial Arts dojo in Minneapolis. Check http://www.geocities.com/toyama_ryu .

There is actually one other group (my original dojo before I moved to Japan actually) in the Twin Cities doing iai that comes from legitimate sources. The teacher originally trained with the Mutokai many years ago, but he has since been physically unable to teach for several years. A few of his students have been trying to keep the iai tradition in that dojo alive (two of the students there have recently spent a year or more in Japan doing iai), but for the majority of the members of that dojo, iai is not the main focus of their training and the iai is just one part of a larger modern martial art system. So the end result would be that if you are interested in traditional iai, then the Mutokai is probably your best bet.

A couple of groups to avoid in the Twin Cities would be the Al Kilgore's Twin Cities Budokan, which has been discussed at great length on other threads here. Also last time I was around, Kaze Arashi-ryu had a branch going somewhere in Minneapolis. Simply put, both of these are modern schools, created by Westerners who are trying to pass them off as traditional Japanese ryuha. Both schools have been discussed at length elsewhere so a bit of searching on here and e-budo will give you more than enough info to make an informed opinion on either one.

Best regards,
Rennis Buchner

[Kaoru]

Hi Rennis-san,

Oh geez... You're right! Thank you very much! I don't know why I thought it was MJER, since I've been to their website several times earlier this year. If I remember right, their web address is musoshindenkoryu.com(org?). I'm not going to go look it up since I can't open a second window on my pocket PC. But, I'm pretty sure that's right. (And a correction is welcomed. I don't have it in a file on here to get it from. My list is on my laptop which isn't working at the moment. The fan died and it shuts off shortly after I turn it on.)

Anyway, in regard to the other dojo you attended in the cities... I know you do Hoki Ryu and as far as I'm aware, the only Hoki Ryu dojo in the US is in Indiana. So... I'm curious now... You must have also studied another JSA other than that and jodo then? What ryu if you don't mind me asking? It's ok if you don't want to give it, too. Just am curious about this other group.

Well, thanks again for the correction. I appreciated it!

Edit: Forgot to mention that the Toyama link in my post above and yours are from the same website, so the OP knows.

Kaoru

Actually if I recall correctly the dojo up in Moorehead teaches Muso Shinden-ryu, not Muso Jikiden Eishin-ryu.

Ragardless as Kaoru points, the Mutokai is probably the main dojo for traditional iai in the Twin Cities area. They are definitely the oldest group in the area and they train out of the Twin Cities Aikido center. Last time I was through the Twin Cities I trained with them a number of times and they would be my first recommendation in the area. They train on Sat afternoons and I believe once or twice more during the week as well. If a more modern approach is your thing than the Toyama-ryu group would probably be the place to go. I believe they are currently using space with the Feminist Eclectic Martial Arts dojo in Minneapolis. Check http://www.geocities.com/toyama_ryu .

There is actually one other group (my original dojo before I moved to Japan actually) in the Twin Cities doing iai that comes from legitimate sources. The teacher originally trained with the Mutokai many years ago, but he has since been physically unable to teach for several years. A few of his students have been trying to keep the iai tradition in that dojo alive (two of the students there have recently spent a year or more in Japan doing iai), but for the majority of the members of that dojo, iai is not the main focus of their training and the iai is just one part of a larger modern martial art system. So the end result would be that if you are interested in traditional iai, then the Mutokai is probably your best bet.

A couple of groups to avoid in the Twin Cities would be the Al Kilgore's Twin Cities Budokan, which has been discussed at great length on other threads here. Also last time I was around, Kaze Arashi-ryu had a branch going somewhere in Minneapolis. Simply put, both of these are modern schools, created by Westerners who are trying to pass them off as traditional Japanese ryuha. Both schools have been discussed at length elsewhere so a bit of searching on here and e-budo will give you more than enough info to make an informed opinion on either one.

Best regards,
Rennis Buchner

[lamahe]

Thank you guys for this. Back in Prague I was going to a dojo
that teaches Muso Shiden-ryu, so I guess Mutokai will be the
best choice. Moorehead is out of question, it's just too far.

I haven't tried Kendo before, and most probably I will not have time
to do both here either. So maybe sometime in future.

And yeah, I heard that winter is really interesting here

[teflon tengu]

Wednesday nights, 8:00-9:30, and Saturdays 1:00-2:30 in the afternoon.

[Rennis]

Off topic:

Kaoru,

Clean out your inbox. I tried to PM but you are overflowing it seems.

Rennis

[Kaoru]

Thank you guys for this. Back in Prague I was going to a dojo
that teaches Muso Shiden-ryu, so I guess Mutokai will be the
best choice. Moorehead is out of question, it's just too far.

Oh, you're welcome! I'm glad one of those dojos will work for you, and that you get to continue the ryu you've been studying. And, I kinda thought Moorehead would be too far, but decided to mention it anyway.

And, Prague?? Wow, you sure came a long way! I hope you enjoy your stay here. Is it permanent or for school?

I haven't tried Kendo before, and most probably I will not have time
to do both here either. So maybe sometime in future.

Oh, that's a bummer! Well, you're welcome to visit whenever you find time down the road. At least you've got MSR! Anyway, kendo is a lot of fun!

And yeah, I heard that winter is really interesting here

And yeah... interesting is right! Last year, up here
it hit 45 below zero F, with windchill during the morning to mid-day. It stunk!! It did that for several days, too. Much too cold to go out.
Hope you get lucky and it doesn't do that this year!

Well, good luck in your new dojo! I hope you enjoy it.

Kaoru

[Kaoru]

Off topic:

Kaoru,

Clean out your inbox. I tried to PM but you are overflowing it seems.

Rennis

Sorry Rennis-san!

I'm going to be away all week-end, so I'll do that when I get back. It's a pain to do anything on this pocket PC thing, and it's slow going, and I don't have anymore time tonight to deal with it since I leave tomorrow. Sorry... And thanks, too.

Kaoru

[A.J. Bryant]

FYI,

Unfortunately, Hoki-ryu is no longer officially practiced in Indiana. Dakin Burdick moved to Michigan and left no one to continue his group. Paul Smith and other original students do not teach anymore.

[Nukitsuke]

Moorhead too far? It is about a 3.5 to 4 hour drive from the Cities, but we welcome any visitors any time. By the way, our url is www.musoshindenryu.com
Good luck in your search!
Brad

[pgsmith]

Paul Smith and other original students do not teach anymore.

That's a serious shame! One of my students just moved to Indiana, and I directed him to get in touch with Paul about joining their Hoki ryu group. Guess that kills that idea!

[Rennis]

FYI,

Unfortunately, Hoki-ryu is no longer officially practiced in Indiana. Dakin Burdick moved to Michigan and left no one to continue his group. Paul Smith and other original students do not teach anymore.

I'm meeting Nakamura sensei next week, I'll see if I can't get him to turn on the heat to get something going again. :P (for the record, I actually practice under a different "line" so to speak, but have been on good terms with Nakamura sensei for the last ten years)

Best regards,
Rennis Buchner

[pgsmith]

Super!
Thanks Rennis, maybe it will be enough to get folks to step up.

[A.J. Bryant]

Rennis-san,

Apparently, Nakamura sensei has been putting on the heat already without success. I can only speak for myself, but sometimes when you're doing 2 or 3 different arts (in my case, iai, jujutsu, karate and naginata!), one has to take the backseat for a while. I can certainly sypathize. Paul has sent a few students to me that were interested in Iai, so at least former students in the area have an option if they don't mind converting to the darkside that is Eishin-ryu...