Learn a Unique Japanese Martial Art in Canada

Address:

PO Box 116 La Ronge SK S0J 1L0

Fantastic Seminar

On February 20 and 21 2018, the first Meifu Shinkage Ryu (MSR seminar was held in Calgary, Alberta. The Renert School in Calgary hosted the event. During almost 9 hours per day, participants studied the basics (kihon waza) of MSR. The participants were divided into two groups of 16, arranged by age.

Kids Group < 13 years.

The children who were younger than 13 were presented a dynamic martial arts program, combining the basics of Meifu Shinkage Ryu into a concept called SHURIKENDO™. The participants used ohashi (chopsticks) and small soft balls as alternative to the metal Bo-Shuriken. The targets consisted of puzzle mats with a sheet of carton in front to allow the ohashi to easily penetrate. Other targets made of plastic cups were used to practice thrusting the small bowls into the cups (focus and accuracy). Besides thrusting, kids also learned how to evade objects being thrown at them,

In addition to Bo-Shurikenjutsu, kids used safety soft Fundo Kusari to learn some basic skills from Kusarijutsu. They learned Osame (returning the fundo kusari back into the hand) as well as some basic strikes. Other concepts were distancing and general find and gross motor skills activities.

Teen & Adult Group >13 years.

In this group participants studied concepts from the official MSR curriculum. All participants learned the basic thrust (Shomenuchi) with the Bo-Shuriken first, from where they continued to study other Bo-Shuriken skills. In addition, the basics of Fundo Kusarijutsu were studied, using a soft Fundo Kusari.

Besides Bo-Shurikenjutsu and Fundo Kusarijutsu, participants explored aspects of Kenjutsu as it relates to using Bo-Shuriken and the Fundo Kusari.

Meifu Shinkage Ryu Canada Members.

Registered members also participated in 4 hours of private training, focusing on the Shodan curriculum for Bo-Shurikenjutsu and Fundo Kusarijutsu. New skills were studied, and previously learned skills were polished. This resulted in all MSR Canada members making tremendous progress. At the end of the seminar, two MSR Canada members successfully passed their examinations.

*Please note that photos from the Kids group are not included in this post and cannot be shared on Social Media due to LAFOIP restrictions.

New Workshops

Excitingly we are announcing a series of new workshops, to be offered in Saskatchewan and Toronto. Four workshops about Bo-Shurikenjutsu as well as four workshops about Fundo Kusarijutsu are currently being designed. Please take a look at the special announcement page, https://meifushinkageryu.ca/workshop-small-weapons/

In addition, we are setting up regular Keiko Cafe sessions. Please see the Facebook group for announcements.

End of 2016, Hello 2017!

The year 2016 was fantastic for Taka Budo Dokokai Martial Arts, Inc., and in particular for the Meifu Shinkage Ryu department. We were privileged to train with Otsuka-Sensei in Japan at the Tabata dojo, and again during the seminar in La Ronge in October. New members passed their first examination, whereas other members passed their Kyu and Dan ranks.

The year 2017 will be another fantastic year. First of all, the Meifu Shinkage Ryu Canada – Toronto Keikokai will start under leadership from Nigel. The startup will be slow to establish a solid foundation. There is quite some potential to grow Meifu Shinkage Ryu in Toronto and in the greater Ontario; a great opportunity.

Following is a list of exciting opportunities in 2017:

  1. February 2017: Japan trip for Chris, training Meifu Shinkage Ryu with Otsuka-Sensei, and other schools with some of chris’ other senseis.
  2. April 2017: Planning a 4-day intensive seminar with Filip Bartos, for Mugai-ryu, Meifu Shinkage Ryu, and taijutsu and jujutsu.
  3. Summer 2017: Possible Yagyu Shinkage-ryu and Yagyu Shingan-ryu seminar in La Ronge.
  4. October 2017: Planning a 3-day Meifu Shinkage Ryu seminar with Otsuka-sensei.

Please note that opportunities 3 and 4 are semi-private, with early bird registration fee of $300 for each seminar, and $600 for the April 2017 seminar. If you are interested in reserving at the early bird fee, please contact Chris de Feijter. MSR Canada Branch members will receive the usual 50% discount on seminar fees for MSR related seminars.

November Sessions

Meifu Shinkage Ryu training in November followed many training activities as practiced during the October 2016 Saskatchewan Seminar. Compared to previous training sessions, we decided to focus our training using one tool in particular, supplemented by the other. For example, the majority of training focused on Bo-Shuriken, and additionally, some of the Fundo-kusarijutsu kata were reviewed as well.

One of our newest member is starting to transition to the hard fundo-kusari. The soft fundo kusari is a great training tool, however, any member must transition to using the hard version sometime during the training progression. Therefore, we think it is important to do so as soon as possible, not much later than after graduating the 5th kyu level. Taking safety and confidence into consideration, it is however imperative that new members use hard fundo-kusari only with very limited power with the focus being on flow. This resulted in a review of Ippon-me to sanbon-me-ni.

In addition, some members have started working on the Nidan and Sandan kata, as detailed in the Mokuroku for Fundo-kusarijutsu. This is a new step towards further and deeper understanding of all the skills and techniques in the Meifu Shinkage Ryu curriculum.

Sessions Week of January 24

 

We had three sessions this week, each focusing on a different aspect of Meifu Shinkage Ryu. The main theme was “flow”.

Monday January 25 (1 hour session)

We studied fundo kusarijutsu, going through several of the shodan kata. Particular attention was paid to the fluency of the techniques, not too fast or too slow, thus making sure that each technique transitioned correctly into the next.

Tuesday January 26 (2 hour session)

Shuriken-jutsu, with focus on handgrip, and shomenuchi using a shorter technique with lots of snap and brush. Some of the shuriken almost penetrated the double layer of puzzle mat.

Saturday January 30 (2 hour session)

All shodan waza for kusarijutsu and shurikenjutsu. Flow, footwork, as well as hip movement were studied.

 

  • If you are interested in participating in our MSR workshop on March 5, 2016 in Prince Albert, please check the details here.
  • On May 28 & 29, 2016, Filip Bartos from Czech Republic will organize a seminar in which we may add a little bit of MSR training as well.

Session January 19, 2016

During this session, the focus was shomenuchi again. We analyzed our hand grips, made small adjustments until the throw did no longer work. We identified many small mistakes often made, and looked at ways to remediate those for each of us.

We also looked at options to open a second dojo for MSR in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. More about this will follow shortly.

  • If you are interested in participating in our MSR workshop on March 5, 2016 in Prince Albert, please check the details here.
  • On May 28 & 29, 2016, Filip Bartos from Czech Republic will organize a seminar in which we may add a little bit of MSR training as well.

Session January 12, 2016

During this session, the focus was shomenuchi (although we did a few za-uchi as well) from different distances. The focus was on snap, brush, and on aligning the hand and arm with the target properly without overreaching and twisting the flight path of the bo-shuriken.

Working on the most important technique from Meifu Shinkage Ryu always has our priority. We noticed a difference when hikite was executed properly. The last part of the lesson focused on Shomenuchi using different bo-shuriken, including Shingetsu-ryu shuriken, Negishi-ryu shuriken, tanto, MSR hanten daho shuriken, and Katori shinto-ryu shuriken. We did not work with Fundo Kusari during this session.

The 2-ken distance is now progressing well for both Darren and Chris. For next training, the focus will be on grouping.

  • If you are interested in participating in our MSR workshop on March 5, 2016 in Prince Albert, please check the details here.
  • On May 28 & 29, 2016, Filip Bartos from Czech Republic will organize a seminar in which we may add a little bit of MSR training as well.

Grading Results

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On October 3 and 4th, an MSR seminar took place in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Otsuka-Sensei provided detailed instruction on many skills from Meifu Shinkage-ryu.

An examination took place of all MSR members in Canada. For MSR Saskatchewan Keikokai, the following members passes examination successfully:

  • Lance Fleming, passed Yonkyu grading (4th Kyu). Start working on Sankyu waza.
  • Darren Thomas, passed Sankyu grading (3rd Kyu). Start working on Nikyu waza.
  • Chris de Feijter, passed Nikyu grading (2nd Kyu). Start working on Ikkyu-waza

Next examination eligibility for Lance and Darren is at the end of January 2016. For Chris, next examination eligibility is at the end of March 2016.
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