Dragon Fencing Academy
Kenjutsu
Kenjutsu
Dragon Fencing Academy is pleased to offer study in Japanese swordsmanship in Katori Shinto Ryu. Instruction will be non-contact 2 person partnered kata forms. Classes are held on Sundays only.
Learn techniques and tactics with exposure to the ancient art of Kenjutsu and the use of the Japanese sword. Understand sword techniques from an idealized combat system used in ancient medieval Japan.
“To master the virtue of the long sword is to govern the world and oneself.”
- Miyamoto Musashi, The Book of Five Rings
News
Introduction to Japanese Sword Techniques
Beginner level course - No Experience Necessary
Learn basic stances, strikes, blocks, and tactics
4 week - 1 hour lessons
All equipment provided
$100
8 people maximum
Sundays 11:30am
Weekday Kenjutsu
Katori Shinto Ryu
8 weeks courses available - 1 hour lessons
Tuesday 9pm
$220 - 8 lessons
10% discount for multiple days
Weekend Kenjutsu
Katori Shinto Ryu
8 weeks courses available - 1 hour lessons
Sundays 10am
$220 - 8 lessons
Limited spaces - To register call 905-764-8388 or email info@dragonfencing.com
Beginner Kenjutsu
Learn Japanese sword techniques
4 week course - every week learn interesting and unique cuts, blocks, strikes and moves
1 hour class includes sword strikes, blocks, stances, footwork, 2 person kata forms
Minimum 14 years old to participate
4 lessons for $100 GST included
Minimum 4 students maximum 10 per session
To register call 905-764-8388 or email info@dragonfencing.com
Sundays 11:30am
Weekly Kenjutsu Classes - Katori Shinto Ryu
- Offered on Sundays or Tuesdays Katori Shinto Ryu
- 1 hour lesson - includes warm-up, stretching, stances, footwork and Kata,
- Karate Gi or Hakama, Kendogi, Obi and Bokken required.
- Sugino style Katori Shinto Ryu
- Beginner Japanese sword techniques course a pre-requisite
- Minimum 14 years old to participate
- Maximum 8 students per class,
- Katori Shinto Ryu - 8 lessons package - $220 GST included
Kenjutsu FAQ
What Is Kenjutsu?
Kenjutsu (literally “sword techniques”) is a term which refers to the classical styles of Japanese swordsmanship which blossomed in Japan during the Warring States Period (c.1300-1600). Since battlefield fighting was a regular occurrence at that time, Warlords needed a way to train their warriors in the use of the sword. Schools of swordsmanship (kenjutsu) were created to meet this need. At the height of the Warring States Period, schools of kenjutsu numbered in the hundreds. Study in kenjutsu was the way of the samurai. They studied not for advancement and certificates but for survival. The samurai lived and died by the sword. Kenjutsu was for this elite class of men, a way of life.
What is Katori Shinto Ryu: The Sword Style of The War God of Katori
Katori Shinto Ryu was created in the mid-fifteenth century by a samurai Choisai Ienao, after he received enlightenment from the God of the Katori shrine in which he was practicing for 1000 days and nights, as legend has it. Katori Shinto Ryu has had a long and illustrious history dating back some 600 years. This style has produced many excellent swordsmen and famous sword masters such as Tsukuhara Bokuden (who survived more than 100 duels and fought on the battlefield 37 times) and Kamiizumi Nobutsuna (the progenitor of the famous Yagyu style).
The Legacy of Katori Shinto Ryu
In the past, this style was kept hidden away from the prying eyes of outsiders. It has been passed down as a secret tradition from generation to generation, teacher to student, intact and relatively unchanged for half a millennium. Only recently have outsiders been allowed to see it. Katori Shinto Ryu was finally officially recognized as a “cultural treasure of Japan” by the Japanese Government in the 35th year of Showa (1960).
Which Version of Katori Shinto Ryu Do We Practice?
The style of Katori Shinto Ryu practiced at the Dragon Fencing Academy is Sugino-style Katori Shinto Ryu. The late Master Yoshio Sugino, an excellent swordsman, became famous due to his outstanding work as the swordfight choreographer for legendary Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa’s most celebrated samurai films Yojimbo and the Seven Samurai, and Hiroshi Inagaki’s acclaimed epic Miyamoto Musashi (renamed Samurai Trilogy in North America) which won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1955.
Who is the teacher?
The teacher of Katori Shinto Ryu at the Dragon Fencing Academy is Mr. Douglas Tong. Mr. Tong was the direct pupil of Master Yoshio Sugino. More information can be found on the Coaches page.
The Tradition of Katori Shinto Ryu in Canada
There are only a handful of people in the world who practice Katori Shinto Ryu seriously and carry on the tradition. It is a very exclusive club.
Likewise in Canada, the serious practitioners are also in an exclusive club. Mr. Tong's group, Tokumeikan, is the only such club. Established in 1994, it is the leader for serious study in Sugino-style Katori Shinto Ryu in Canada.
Members of Dragon Fencing's Katori Shinto Ryu class, as students of Mr. Tong, are automatically part of Tokumeikan and are able to participate in all of the events put on by Tokumeikan. Every year, members can attend special seminars featuring top-class instructors from all over the world such as Sozen Sensei (5th dan) and Eri Kusano Sensei (6th dan) from Norway. Our members can also choose to participate in our annual pilgrimage to see Sugino Sensei (the headmaster) and learn directly from him when he comes to Canada every year. Guest instructors like Dennis Wiens Sensei come periodically to enrich our understanding of katori Shinto Ryu. Our members also participate in demonstrations at the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre in Toronto. More information about past and upcoming Tokumeikan events can be found at: http://www.tokumeikan-toronto.blogspot.com/
What Is the difference between Kenjutsu and Kendo? (Please note we do not teach kendo currently.)
KENJUTSU KENDO an art concerned with accurate and realistic sword technique applications is a sport with rules and conventions guiding acceptable targets, techniques, and scoring procedures Entire body is the target 5 targets only: wrists, head, throat, belly and sides of the waist uses wooden swords, metal swords, and/or bamboo swords, weapon is a bamboo sword (shinai) curriculum consists mainly of training in kata and cutting practice curriculum consists of mostly fencing bouts and practice exercises stances, techniques, and tactics used depend on the particular style stance is upright, facing forward with whole body, rear foot (left) raised slightly off the floor movements can be linear or circular or any combination of the two, depending on the style movement is predominantly linear (forward and backward) some contend that kenjutsu is the art of winning real fights with real swords some contend that kendo is an art more geared towards improving oneself through spiritual development
How many katas are there?
Katori Shinto Ryu has a basic curriculum consisting of the following disciplines: 4 basic sword katas, 6 basic staff katas, 4 basic naginata katas, and 11 basic Iaijutsu katas.
Students begin their study of Katori Shinto Ryu by learning the 4 basic sword vs. sword katas. It will take on average 4 years of diligent study to learn all the basic movements of the basic sword katas.
Katori Shinto Ryu does have a more advanced curriculum but this is not introduced until the fundamentals and the basic curriculum have been mastered.
How long will it take me to become skilled (e.g., to become a black belt)?
There can be no timetable on proficiency. Study in old budo disciplines like kenjutsu are a way of life. In Japan and around the world, there are still today swordsmen who devote their lifetime to studying their art and passing on the tradition. For these people, swordsmanship is like a religion. Miyamoto Musashi termed it "heiho no michi" (the Way of Strategy) and for others, it is the epitome of "Bushido" (following the Way of the Warrior). Joining a sword dojo is joining a tradition that is centuries old, and following in the footsteps of generations of warriors. Sword study, like Bushido, is not an accomplishment that ends with the last kata. It is a way of life.
The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step - Lao Tzu
Kenjutsu Resources
Movies
- Seven Samurai
- Yojimbo
- Sanjuro
- Throne of Blood
- Ran
- Kagemusha
- Chushingura
- Rashomon
- Samurai Part1: Miyamoto Musashi
- Samurai Part 2: Duel at Ichijoji Temple
- Samurai Part 3: Duel at Ganryu Island
- The Twilight Samurai
- The Hidden Blade
- Love and Honour
Books
- Go Rin No Sho (The Book of Five Rings) - Miyamoto Musashi
- Hagakure (The Book of the Samurai) - Yamamoto Tsunetomo
- Bushido (The Soul of Japan) - Inazo Nitobe
- Chushingura: The Treasury of Loyal Retainers (47 Ronin) - Takeda Izumo