ABOUT  SHINKENDO JAPANESE SWORDSMANSHIP

After many years of study and mastery of many different schools in his native Japan, Obata Sensei came to America to distill all of the different aspects of Japanese Swordsmanship into one complete and comprehensive art.  Obata Kaiso has dedicated over thirty years to teaching and researching the almost lost art of true Japanese Swordsmanship as it was practiced by the Samurai of Japan's feudal era.

Training revolves around our structure of "Gorin Goho Gogyo" (five equally balanced interweaving rings that symbolize the five major methods of technical study). This includes: Suburi (sword swinging drills), Tanrengata (solo forms), Battoho (combative drawing methods including Toyama-ryu Iaido), Tachiuchi (pre-arranged sparring) and Tameshigiri/Shizan (cutting straw and bamboo targets). Students typically train using a bokuto (wooden sword), and later advance to training with iaito (or mogito, non-sharpened sword) and finally with shinken, or 'live blade'.

While Shinkendo requires rigorous physical training, depth of coordination, and intense focus, one of the most important aspects of Shinkendo is the emphasis on spiritual forging, which inspires "Bushi Damashii" (the samurai/ warrior spirit), a quality that we feel is as relevant now as it was hundreds of years ago. Proper practice of Shinkendo should provide one with not only a strong body and mind, but also a calm, clear and focused spirit.