SMAA Europe Seminar!

Great news! The SMAA Europe Seminar will take place in England, with Paul and Lee Masters Sensei as the featured instructors. The subject will be Tenjin Shinyo Ryu jujutsu, an ancient martial art. This is one of two forms of jujutsu that were central in the creation of Kodokan judo. Tenjin Shinyo Ryu is rarely offered to the public, even in Japan, let alone in a Western nation.

Paul Masters Sensei is featured in the current issue of the SMAA Journal, along with his son Lee, and he holds a menkyo kaiden in Tenjin Shinyo Ryu, the highest possible rank. He is the first non-Japanese recipient of this honor in the over 200-year history of this important martial art. Don’t miss your chance to study classical Japanese jujutsu with him. Throws, joint locks, strangleholds, strikes, and healing methods merge in Tenjin Shinyo Ryu to create a dynamic system of personal development and self-protection. Here’s all you need to know to attend this exciting event: 

What: Tenjin Shinyo Ryu jujutsu, one of the most influential ancient martial arts 

When: July 20, 2013 (11:00 AM to 5:00 PM) 

Where: Komori Dojo 

Drybrook Memorial Hall, GL17 

9JA,Drybrook, Gloucester, UK 

Who: SMAA members and the general public 

How Much: £35 general admission, SMAA members only £25 

Event Registration & Contact Information: Lee Masters Sensei at tenyokaiintl@gmail.com. 

Attendance is limited, so contact Masters Sensei soon to reserve your place. Don’t miss your opportunity to study with two of the world’s highest-ranking teachers of classical Nihon jujutsu. And be sure to ask for your SMAA member discount, just one of the many benefits of belonging to our international nonprofit association.

2013 SMAA Aikido Camp!

The SMAA and the Aikikai HQ (Tokyo) are co-sponsors of a great aikido camp in Georgia. The instructor will be SMAA certified teacher Max Roach Sensei (aikido sandan and iaido yondan). Here's all you need to know to partcipate: 

Where: 

Darlington School’s Huffman Athletic Center

1014 Cave Spring Road 

Rome, GA 30161 USA

Who: 

Ages 10 and above

When: 

June 3 - 8, 2013

How much:

$135 – Pre-registration 

$150 – Late Registration (After May 24, 2013 )

$10 - Discount for SMAA members!

Practiced in a spirit of non-competition, Aikikai aikido is fun and practical self-defense. This camp will be beneficial for new and advanced students alike. Instruction will focus on basic and intermediate defensive techniques, including unbalancing and pinning techniques, arm bars, wrist techniques, sweeps, and hip throws. Participants will cultivate balance, coordination, concentration and self-awareness. 

Pre-registered participants who sign up by May 24 will receive a free uniform. Please contact Mr. Roach with your height and weight for uniform pre-orders. Teacher and group discounts also available. Housing may be available if requested in advance.

Questions? Send e-mail to roach.max@gmail.com. We hope to see everyone at this fun and exciting event. And don't forget to ask for your SMAA member discount.

SMAA member Cyndy Hayashi Sensei,

Aikikai aikido 6th dan

 

The Shudokan Martial Arts Association (SMAA, Shudokan Budo-Kai) was founded in January 1994 by a group of martial artists who were concerned with promoting and safeguarding Nihon budo and koryu bujutsu--the traditional martial arts and ways of Japan. The original members of the SMAA were Karl Scott Sensei (karate-do seventh dan, aikido sixth dan), Nicklaus Suino Sensei (judo sixth dan, iaido seven...th dan), H. E. Davey Sensei (jujutsu seventh dan), and the late Walter Todd Sensei (judo eighth dan, aikido sixth dan).

From the original core group, the association has grown to include many of the preeminent practitioners of martial arts in and outside of Japan:

Otsuka Yasuyuki Soke (Headmaster of Meifu-Shinkage Ryu shuriken-jutsu)

Iwasaki Hisashi Soke (Headmaster of Kobori Ryu suiei-jutsu)

Sawai Atsuhiro Sensei (Kobori Ryu suiei-jutsu)

Suzuki Kunio Sensei, (Nakamura Ryu and Toyama Ryu iaido)

Ohsaki Jun Sensei (Saigo Ryu aiki-jujutsu, Kodokan judo)

Cynthia Hayashi Sensei (Aikikai aikido)

Stephen Fabian Sensei (Hontai Yoshin Ryu jujutsu, Toyama Ryu iaido)

Hunter Armstrong Sensei (Owari Kan Ryu sojutsu, Yagyu Shinkage Ryu kenjutsu)

Guy Power Sensei (Nakamura Ryu iaido and battodo)

Herb Wong Sensei (Shorin Ryu karate-do)

Mr. Dave Lowry (Shindo Muso Ryu jojutsu, Yagyu Shinkage Ryu kenjutsu)

Mr. Wayne Muromoto (Takeuchi Ryu jujutsu)

And many others.

The SMAA is a small, fraternal organization with a decidedly noncommercial outlook on modern budo and koryu bujutsu. It includes separate divisions for karate-do, aikido, judo, traditional jujutsu, iaido, and goshin-jutsu (modern self-defense systems stemming from budo or bujutsu). Both associate membership (without rank) and regular membership (with rank) are available to individuals sincerely interested in researching and training in the classical martial systems of Japan. Regular international seminars, e-mail newsletters, a quarterly journal, a blog, access to this website, and examinations for dan/kyu ranking are benefits of membership. All members are bound by the SMAA Code of Ethics.

The leaders of the SMAA all have close ties to the martial community in Japan, or they live in Japan. Although they are reimbursed for their expenses, they receive no salaries. Their rewards lie in the friendships that are born within the SMAA and the exchange of knowledge that takes place as the result of SMAA membership.

Objectives of the SMAA

1. To promote and aid in the growth of Japan's traditional martial arts and ways.

2. To assist the public in achieving spiritual growth and physical development through budo and koryu bujutsu training.

3. To further friendship and understanding between Asian and Western martial artists.

4. To establish goodwill and harmony among martial artists of various systems.

5. To offer Western martial artists access to legitimate budo and koryu bujutsu organizations and teachers in Japan.

6. To give practitioners of authentic budo and koryu bujutsu recognition for their years of devotion to these arts.
 

SMAA Online Store

The SMAA is active in Japan, Spain, Italy, Canada, England, United Arab Emirates, Australia, Ecuador, Germany, Sweden, the USA and other nations. It offers its members access to international instructional seminars, a quarterly journal, an e-mail newsletter, a blog, and a website. Internationally recognized teaching certification is also available to qualified individuals.

The SMAA online store, which sells SMAA logo items like T-shirts, mugs, hats, bags, and other fun items, can be found at http://www.cafepress.com/shudokan/.

The SMAA Welcomes Richard Yamamoto Sensei

We would like to welcome Richard Yamamoto Sensei to the SMAA! Yamamoto Sensei has been practicing classic Kodokan judo since he was a teenager. At over 90 years of age, Yamamoto Sensei is still a very active senior citizen and a seventh dan with the Kodokan Judo Insitute in Tokyo. One of the pioneers of judo in the Northwestern part of the US, Yamamoto Sensei was the chief instructor of Seikikan Judojo for many years. Seikikan was established in the 1930s, and we'll have a biography of Yamamoto Sensei in an upcoming issue of the SMAA Journal.

Warren Agena Becomes SMAA Senior Advisor

Warren Agena Sensei is the head instructor of the Northglenn Judo Club in Colorado. He has decades of traditional judo experience, having studied with many top judoka, including Otaka Shuichi Sensei, Kodokan shichidan. Northglenn Judo Club has been in existence since 1965 and is the longest continually operating judo dojo in Colorado.

According to USA Judo, Inc., Agena Sensei’s dojo is the fifth largest judo dojo in the USA.  In addition to judo practice, the club participates in local, state, national, and international competitions. They also sponsor social events for the whole family and participate in fundraising to benefit judo players. Northglenn Dojo is also the home club of two Olympians: Craig Agena, 1984 Los Angeles Olympics and Jo Anne Quiring, 1992 Barcelona Olympics. Moreover, Northglenn Dojo is the club of Lance Nading, former number one ranked judo athlete in 100 kg division and current President of USA Judo, and Agena Sensei has many junior elite athletes practicing at his club as well. Under Agena Sensei’s direction, the Northglenn Judo Club won the team championship at the 2003 USA Judo National Junior Olympics. Agena Sensei was also a successful competitor, having won his division in many tournaments, including the US National Junior Olympics in 1977. 

Agena Sensei has a Masters degree in geophysics, and he is a geophysicist working with the prestigious US Geological Survey. More specifically, he is Geophysics Group Leader - Central Energy Resources Science Center.  

He is ranked as rokudan with the Kodokan Judo Institute in Japan and the United States Judo Federation. He is also a member of the Intermountain Yudanshakai, Colorado Judo League, and USA Judo, which is affiliated with the US Olympic Committee. He has taught at the USJF National Teachers Institute. He is one of the judo seniors (sempai) of Richard Burkland Sensei, SMAA Senior Advisor, who has known him for years and who contacted him about joining the SMAA. 

Agena Sensei has a detailed knowledge of classic judo kata, in particular Kime no Kata. Kime no Kata is a self-defense oriented kata developed at the Kodokan around 1888. The series is composed of eight techniques from a kneeling posture and 12 techniques from a standing position. Both sets of techniques contain defenses for both armed and empty-handed attacks. Agena Sensei has presented clinics on Kime no Kata at various locations in the USA, including the US Department of Commerce Judo Club in Colorado.

We'd like to welcome Agena Sensei to the SMAA Board of Advisors. He joins many other top martial artists in Japan, the USA, and Europe that are SMAA officials.

 

 

SMAA Workshop for Children

H. E. Davey and SMAA member Martha Gayton

 

The Sennin Foundation Center for Japanese Cultural Arts will host the first SMAA Workshop for Children in November. The instructor will be H. E. Davey, a Director for the SMAA Jujutsu Division and a seventh-degree black belt. The workshop will be open to children age five and above, and instruction will be offered in Saigo Ryu aiki-jujutsu, a traditional Japanese martial art.  

 

Here’s all you need to know to have your child participate the SMAA Workshop for Children: 

 

What: Traditional Japanese martial arts for children age five and above

When: Sunday, November 18, 2012 from 10:45 AM to 12:15 PM

Where: The Sennin Foundation Center for Japanese Cultural Arts

1053 San Pablo Ave.

Albany, CA 94706

USA

Who: The workshop will be taught by H. E. Davey, one of the founding members of the SMAA and Shihan/shichidan in the SMAA Jujutsu Division

Cost: Children, who are current SMAA members, can participate for just $15 using their SMAA member discount

Contact Information: Participants must be registered two weeks before the date of the workshop. Parents can contact the Sennin Foundation Center for registration forms and additional details. E-mail: hedavey@aol.com. Telephone: 510-526-7518. 

 

About the Workshop

The SMAA Workshop for Children will present training in Saigo Ryu aiki-jujutsu, a traditional martial art. While many Westerners use "jujutsu, jujitsu, or jiu-jitsu" to describe their art of self-defense, most of these methods bear little resemblance to the original Japanese jujutsu, Japan's oldest martial art. Both aikido and judo stem from jujutsu, and the SMAA is one of few associations outside of Japan to offer authentic Japanese jujutsu.

 

Saigo Ryu features a wide variety of powerful throwing, pinning, and grappling techniques stemming from older methods originating in the Aizu-Wakamatsu area of Japan. Saigo Ryu also features advanced training in the sword, spear, staff, short stick, iron fan, and other weapons. It is unique and distinct from many more well-known martial disciplines. While training is dynamic, and the practiced self-defense techniques effective, the emphasis is on subduing an opponent without unnecessary injury. Workshop participants will learn to improve their health while studying martial arts as meditation. Children will receive valuable training that can help them to remain calm under pressure, a skill that they can use at home and at school. 

 

About the Instructor

H. E. Davey began studying Japanese martial arts as a child, and he is one of the highest ranking traditional jujutsu teachers outside of Japan. This background made him ideally suited for creating the program for children at the Sennin Foundation Center, a program that has been offered since 1981. Under his guidance, and with the help of his staff of expert teachers, young people from the San Francisco Bay Area have discovered their true potential and hidden talents for many years. He is now offering the same instruction to SMAA members at the first SMAA Workshop for Children. Contact the Sennin Foundation Center soon to register for an event that can help your son or daughter to become healthier, safer, and more confident.