About us, "RCIKK"
What's RCIKK?! That's us! River City Iaido & Kendo Kyokai, a study group based in San Antonio, Texas (a/k/a "the River City") dedicated to promoting Japanese sword work and to helping one another improve in the spirit of budo. Here, you can read about our adventures and browse our photographs (click on the thumbnails to download larger images). There's a gallery for each year since our founding in 1999 as a member club of the All U.S. Kendo Federation.
Kumomoto En Children's Day - May 3, 2008:
Each year JASSA hosts Kumamoto-En Day at the San Atonio Botanical Gardens in conjunction with Children's Day. This year we did some Iaido demos and conducted our standard Kendo practice on the grass.
Asian New Year Festival - February 9, 2008:
We celebrated the Year of the Rat at this year's Asian New Year Festival held at the Institute of Texan Cultures.
Budokan Matsuri (Houston, TX) - January 13, 2008:
One of the Budokan's traditions is an annual party for all members of the dojo to celebrate the new year by making mochi (sweet rice balls). Sensei Koga, his mother, and his fellow kendoka (visiting Professor Toya-san) supervised the rice cooking, with a small army of helpers and pounders. Mrs. Kogo supervised the sweet makers.
Everyone pitched in to make a huge feast. Nine different nationalities were presented directly (not through American descendants), prompting Sensei Craig to observe that the Budokan was its own United Nations. These countries included Columbia, Mexico, USA, Germany, Hungary Japan, Norway, China, and Estonia.
On the first Friday of the New Year, in a quiet moment, Sensei Craig and the other Sensei at the Houston Budokan named Joe as a hatamoto in iaido. Congratulations, Joe!
Everyone grumbles about getting out for practice on New Year's Day, but it's an annual tradition. We cut paper with iaito and bokken, which is harder than it may sound. We always get a good laugh at the random headlines, and we end the event with mochi and champagne.
Youth Kendo Newsletters & Photo Gallery
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