Who can qualify to be a Regular Member of the SMAA?

Otsuka Yasuyuki Sensei, Soke of Meifu Shinkage Ryu

and SMAA Senior Advisor

Regular Members are individuals that have received dan or kyu rank from our group. To receive such rank, you can be tested by an SMAA certified teacher that you are studying under, who will help you submit the necessary paperwork and fees to the SMAA HQ, where a final determination will be made regarding your rank and/or teaching certification. This is the simplest way to join the SMAA as a Regular Member.

If you are not studying directly under an SMAA teacher, you can visit the membership information section of www.smaa-hq.com to learn about the qualifications for receiving rank and/or teaching certification. While there, you can download a membership application, which you will need to send to the SMAA HQ, along with an examination fee, a resume, photocopies of past rank certificates, and information about yourself and your training history. A DVD or videotape of you performing budo will also be needed.

Depending on what association certified your past rank, an in-person examination may be required. This is often the case for individuals that have not received previous ranking from a recognized Japan-based association or a Western group that is directly affiliated with these types of Japanese organizations. Examples of recognized budo associations are the Kodokan for judo or the Aikikai for aikido.

Does the SMAA endorse martial arts instruction provided by Associate Members?

Mr. Dave Lowry, Yagyu Shinkage Ryu expert,

author, and SMAA Senior Advisor

We greatly value the support of the Associate Members of our group. Nevertheless, since we have not certified them as teachers, we have not authenticated their backgrounds, examined their technical prowess, or tested their accurate understanding of budo history, philosophy, and theory. As the result, we cannot endorse or vouch for their statements or activities.

Again, anyone can join the SMAA as an Associate Member and learn more about budo and koryu bujutsu from our teachers, journal, blog, seminars, and website. This includes people that have never studied a Japanese martial art and teachers of martial systems of American, Chinese, Korean, or other origin.

Who can qualify to be an Associate Member of the SMAA?

Suzuki Kunio Sensei, iaido Hanshi/hachidan

and SMAA Senior Advisor

The short answer is that anyone who sends in a membership application and yearly dues can join the SMAA as an Associate Member. They will receive our quarterly journal, seminar discounts, access to our website, and an Associate Member certificate. They do not, however, receive (dan or kyu) rank certificates or teaching certification from our group.

About the SMAA

When the SMAA was first created, it was launched with the objective of educating the public about the true nature of authentic forms of Japanese budo and koryu bujutsu. Since accurate information about these Asian arts was (and still is) often unavailable and/or incorrect in the West, we wanted to certify competent, knowledgeable teachers of genuine Japanese martial arts, and we wanted to offer factual written information about the bona fide history, philosophy, and techniques of traditional budo via the SMAA Journal and our website.

Because our objectives are educational in nature, we have always had an open door membership policy--anyone interested in learning more about budo and koryu bujutsu can join our group. However, it is important to note that there are two distinct levels of membership in the SMAA--Associate Member and Regular Member.

SMAA California Seminar

John Evans Sensei just taught a seminar in the San Francisco Bay Area that focused on Nakamura Ryu sword arts and tanren, a yoga-like synthesis of Japanese spiritual disciplines. Thanks to all the SMAA members that participated, including Bill Kelch Sensei, who came all the way from Tennessee to train with Mr. Evans.

We hope to see everyone at the next SMAA event this November in the Bay Area. It will focus on Japanese healing arts and martial arts, and it will be taught by SMAA Primary Director H. E. Davey. For more information, send e-mail to hedavey@aol.com.

Otsuka Yasuyuki, Soke of Meifu-Shinkage Ryu shuriken-jutsu and SMAA Senior Advisor, Teaching in the USA

More Photos of Otsuka Soke

Want to see more cool photos of Otsuka Yasuki Sensei demonstrating shuriken-jutsu? Drop by www.facebook.com/ShudokanMartialArtsAssociation and check out our new Facebook album devoted to Otsuka Soke, SMAA Senior Advisor. We've also got some nice videos of him and his students throwing shuriken and using the fundo kusari, a weighted chain. Become a fan of the SMAA Facebook page and keep up on all the latest SMAA events, news, videos, and photos.