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Tony Devine, Rokudan

WELCOME TO THE
SHIN BU KAN DOJO (ROCHESTER)

NEWS & UPDATES

Covid-19 Information

 Both the St Mary's Island and Burham dojos are now back to normal operations. Both sites have hand sanitiser gel available. We are keeping exterior doors open to maintain a flow of fresh air and maintaining social distancing.
In line with current Government guidelines the wearing of face masks within the halls where we train is optional. However the St Mary's Island Community Centre requests that masks are worn in the corridors of the centre which are narrow and do not facilitate social distancing.

Swords - Legislation

There has been an update to legislation regarding the ownership of swords.

Since 2008 it has been illegal to import or purchase a 'samurai' sword without a suitable defence (such as belonging to a bona fide organisation e.g. the British Kendo Association).
Since April 2021 the prohibition has extended to the actual ownership of swords, even in private premises. The defences remain the same. As such it is paramount that all members of the dojo in possession of an iaito or shinken ensure that their BKA membership remains current.

ABOUT US

The Shin Bu Kan Dojo at Rochester is placed in the centre of the Medway Towns in North Kent. It is one member of a group of dojos that practice Muso Shinden Ryu Iaido and Zen Nihon Kendo Renmei Seitei no Gata

Iaido is a Japanese martial art or budo, usually translated as 'the way of drawing the sword and cutting', although 'the way of being prepared' is possibly more accurate. In iaido the practitioner performs kata, or forms, using a Japanese sword.

The Shin Bu Kan was founded by Victor Cook Sensei, 7th Dan Kyoshi, in Brighton in 1979. Cook Sensei was introduced to iaido by Ishido Shizufumi Sensei, 8th Dan Hanshi, who runs the Shin Bu Kan dojo in Tokyo, Japan. The Rochester dojo started in 2001 and is led by Tony Devine Sensei, 6th Dan. The dojo currently practices on Mondays and Thursdays. 

Mondays   7:30pm - 9:30pm 
St. Mary's Island Community Centre 
Island Way West 
St. Mary's Island 
Chatham Maritime 
Chatham 
Kent ME4 3PA 

Map

Thursdays   7:30pm - 9:30pm
Burham Old School
Community Centre
Rochester Road
Burham 
Kent ME1 3SF


Map

Richard Reader, Yondan

TRAINING AT THE DOJO

The Shin Bu Kan Dojo at Rochester has two training sessions a week, on Mondays and Thursdays.  Each are two hours in duration. In a typical session time will be spent on studying basic techniques (kihon) on using the Japanese long sword (katana) in its application to iaido. Time will also be spent studying either the twelve forms (kata) that make up the Zen Nippon Kendo Renmei Seitei no Gata, a series of kata that is practiced worldwide by ZNKR affiliated dojos, or the forty-three kata that make up the traditional school (koryu) syllabus of Muso Shinden Ryu iaido - a style that has developed over the past three hundred years.

In addition to the dojo's normal weekly activity there are the opportunities to attend all day training sessions led by Victor Cook sensei, and to attend seminars in the UK and Europe.

Dojo fees are currently (2018) £40 per month. This allows the individual to train at any of the Monday and Thursday sessions held in that month. Additional costs are charged for training sessions outside of the dojo (e.g. with Cook sensei or seminars).

Information on starting iaido with the Shi Bu Kan Dojo (Rochester), can be found here.

Information regarding our teachers (sensei), can be found here.

Steve2016.jpg

INSURANCE

Please note that it is necessary to join the British Kendo Association (BKA) for insurance and grading purposes. The BKA is the governing body for Kendo, Iaido, and Jodo in the UK and is affiliated to the European Kendo Federation and the ZNKR.


The dojo currently has two British Kendo Association Level 2 Coaches (Tony Devine, 6th Dan, and Richard Reader, 4th Dan).

Katana

“The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.”

Sun Tzu, The Art of War

CONTACT US

Monday 7:30-9:30pm

St. Mary's Island Community Centre
Island Way West
St. Mary's Island
Chatham Maritime
Chatham
Kent ME4 3PA

01634 814590

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