Shinkendo

Soke Toshishiro Obata (right), Shihan Rudy Crosswell (left)

Shinkendo is the Japanese art of Swordsmanship.  The word Shinkendo is derived from the Japanese word SHIN meaning real, serious or earnestly, KEN meaning sword and DO meaning "the way".  Thus, Shinkendo stands for "the way of the real or serious sword.  This is true about the art as much of the practice and application of Shinkendo is performed from standing positions.  This gives the feel of real combat and strategy much like the Samurai warriors.  

The founder and chief instructor, Toshishiro Obata, is a world renowned swordsman who has numerous dojos located throughout the world. Soke Obata is also a well known author of many martial arts books as well as a talented actor found in many Hollywood movies such as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Rising Sun and Show Down in Little Tokyo.   Soke Obata has developed Shinkendo to be a practical style of swordsmanship comprising of four main areas of study.

Beginning with a wooden practice sword (Bokken), the student learns to gain control and perfect the form while handling the sword safely.  As the student progresses, the  dull edged sword (iado) is introduced to demonstrate the weight, grip and feel of the real sword.  Eventually, the student will test his or her technique on targets made of grass mats or bamboo with an actual sharp edged samurai sword.  This practice of test cutting quickly indicates if the student has the proper grip, angle and posture to perform the techniques accurately.

Shihan Hauenstein test cutting. 

Through the practice of the art of Japanese sword, one not only learns the art of the sword but also better understands how to defensed against the sword.  This concept is part of the overall philosophy at the Arizona Budokan where we offer multiple arts that support and interrelate with each other.  The Arizona Budokan is also fortunate to have one of the few high ranking blackbelts in the art of Shinkendo, Shihan Crosswell, as the head instructor.  

For more information on Shinkendo, visit the International Shinkendo Federation website.