East Coast Iaido

01/11/2026

SAVE the DATE!

Kato Shozo Sensei has asked that the following information be shared with you:

2026 East Coast Iaido Seminar, Taikai and Shinsa will be held on March 20-21-22 at County Prep High School of Jersey City New Jersey, 525 Montgomery Street, Jersey City 07302.

Friday March 20 will be Kodansha session, open to 4 dan and above.

Saturday March 21 will be seminar open to all ranks.
Sunday March 22 will be Taikai, with competition by rank, Mudansha to 5 dan, and Shinsa up to 4 dan.

Registration website is under construction, as soon as it is ready, we will send out the link.

To assist in your planning, here is hotel information, curated by New Jersey Resident Mr. Ji Ni:

Budget options: not walkable location, best if you have a car. (These locations have dedicated parking lots, which you should use.)
▪ The Holland Hotel,175 12th St, Jersey City, NJ 07310
▪ Holiday Inn Express & Suites Jersey City - Holland Tunnel by IHG, 180 14th St, Jersey City, NJ 07310 (never used, but this is a new construction within the last 5 ~ 10 years.0

Normals: (below are all next to Path train, Newport or Grove Street Station.)
▪ DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel & Suites Jersey City, 455 Washington Blvd, Jersey City, NJ 07310
▪ Courtyard by Marriott Jersey City Newport, 540 Washington Blvd, Jersey City, NJ 07310
▪ Residence Inn by Marriott Jersey City, Residence Inn by Marriott Jersey City

"Nice" Options:
▪ The Westin Jersey City Newport, 479 Washington Blvd, Jersey City, NJ 07310 (Next to Newport Path Train.)
▪ Hyatt House Jersey City, 1 Exchange Pl, Jersey City, NJ 07302 (Never used, but this is a posh spot that we walk by all the time and easy to get to NYC as it's right next to Exchange place.)

AIRBNB is also very nice near this area, but I strongly recommend you find lodging with a dedicated/reserved "parking" spot. Otherwise, it's VERY difficult to get parking.

There are several other hotels on the "interior" side of Jersey City near the Journal Square areas, where the neighborhood and area are less desirable. As recommended last year, all attendees are advised to "avoid" any budget hotels on Route 1 & 9/Tonnelle Avenue.

If folks do not mind about 20-30min driving, the Meadowlands has a nice cluster of hotels that could be budget friendly.

01/31/2025

Save the date! The 2025 AUSKF Iaido Camp will be in Houston, Texas from July 31 - August 3. The event will include a seminar, national Taikai, and Shinsa up the 7th Dan. Details, such as registration, will be announced soon.

https://www.suskif.org/iaidocamp

01/16/2024

2024 East Coast Iaido seminar registration link:

Please join us March 8-10 for the 2024 East Coast Iaido Seminar in Weehawken, NJ. Instruction will be provided by Kato Shozo Sensei, Kyoshi 7 dan Iaido, Kyoshi 8 dan Kendo. Taikai Shinpan-cho will be Pam Parker Sensei, Kyoshi 7 dan Iaido A reminder: You must be fully vaccinated (booster is a good id...

04/14/2023

Dear Senseis,Senpais and Iaidoka,

We are pleased to announce that the All-Japan Kendo Federation has decided which teachers will be sent to the AUSKF Iaido Summer Camp for the year 2023.
The following three teachers will be coming to the AUSKF Summer Camp.

Junichi Kusama sensei, iaido Hanshi, 8th dan (Niigata)
Atsumi Hatakenaka, Iaido Kyoshi 8th dan (Tokyo)
Akimasa Yamazaki, Iaido Kyoshi 8th dan (Ibaraki)

At this year's AUSKF Iaido Summer Camp examination (joint with Canada for 5-dan and above), the All Japan Kendo Federation approved the examination for Iaido 7-dan.

We have longed for an Iaido 7-dan examination in AUSKF since the days of the late Takeshi Yamaguchi Sensei and the late Ichoro Murakami Sensei, and this is a great achievement for the development of Iaido in North America. I would like to thank the AJKF for their understanding and cooperation.

The examinations for higher dan levels, especially 7-dan are not easy according to the AJKF standards, but we sincerely hope that those who are unable to travel to Japan to take the examinations for various reasons will devote themselves to further training in order to take advantage of this opportunity.

We would like to express our sincere gratitude to President of AUSKF Shinobu Maeda sensei and Vice president Kajitani sensei for their efforts in making this wonderful event a reality.

The registration form for this camp will be posted on our website in the near future. We look forward to your many participation and your cooperation and understanding in making this event a grand success.

Finally, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the SUSKIF and to the teachers of the Iaido Committee of the AUSKF for their support and cooperation in organizing this event.

Sincerely yours
AUSKF Iaido Advisor　
Shozo Kato

01/15/2023

Kato Sensei and East Coast Iaido are pleased to announce that registration for 2023 Iaido Seminar, Taikai and Shinsa is now open.

Seminar on Saturday, March 4, Taikai and Shinsa on Sunday March 5, 2023. Kodansha on Friday March 3, for 5Dan and up only.

Seminar, Taikai and Shinsa will be at Weehawken High School, 53 Liberty Place, Weehawken NJ 07086. Kodansha will be at Ken-Zen Dojo, 54 Thomas Street New York NY 10013.

You will need your AUSKF ID number and the name you are registered with AUSKF to access or create your record in our database. If you don’t recall these, please ask your sensei or dojo or Member federation administrator. If you have registered using shinken website before, please do not create a new record; if you can’t recall the exact name or number you used, please contact Pam Parker ([email protected]) for assistance.

Here is the link, suitable for computer or phone:

http://shinken.cc/event/2023-east-coast-iaido-seminar/

If you have any difficulty with the registration process, apart from number and name mentioned above, please contact Jonathan Corum ([email protected]) or David Bressler ([email protected]).

Please join us March 3-5 for the 2023 East Coast Iaido Seminar in Weehawken, NJ. Instruction will be provided by Kato Shozo Sensei, Kyoshi 7 dan Iaido, Kyoshi 8 dan Kendo. Taikai Shinpan-cho will be Konno Tatsuhiko Sensei, Kyoshi 7 dan Iaido, Kyoshi 7 dan Kendo.

07/14/2020

Dear fellow Jodo-Ka,

In order to continue the growth of Jodo in the United States, the senior Jodo instructors in the U.S. are organizing an online National Jodo Seminar via Zoom on Saturday, August 8. Please register!

Dear fellow Jodo-Ka, We hope that this letter finds you safe and healthy! As you know, at this time the AUSKF is discouraging group training due to the Covid-19 Pandemic. Unfortunately, this has resulted in the cancellation or postponements of a number of seminars and tournaments, and the interrupti...

04/04/2020

We regret to inform you that the 2020 AUSKF Iaido Summer Camp and Jodo Seminar, which was scheduled for June 17-22 at Bryn Mawr, has been CANCELED.

When information for the 2021 camp is available, we will post it here:

Join us at the 2020 AUSKF Iaido Summer Camp and Jodo Seminar at Bryn Mawr from June 17-22.

03/10/2020

Update on the 2020 AUSKF Iaido Summer Camp:

With the uncertainty of the current rapid rising of Coronavirus cases in the US, and for the safety and well-being of all, we need to be cautious and monitor the situation closely. Please do not purchase air tickets until we are able to provide more solid information.

Join us at the 2020 AUSKF Iaido Summer Camp and Jodo Seminar at Bryn Mawr from June 17-22.

01/22/2020

UPDATE (March 5): Because the Seattle area has been hit by the novel Coronavirus, the PNKF Iaido Committee has decided to cancel the 2020 PNKF Iaido Shinpan Seminar & Iaido Shinsa.

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Registration is now open for the 2020 PNKF Iaido Shinpan Seminar & Iaido Shinsa, which will be held in Seattle on March 28.

The goal of the event is “to help all participants move, learn and improve their shinpan, taikai, and shinsa participation skills.”

For detailed information please contact the event coordinator, Mr. Hiroaki Fukumoto Sensei, at [email protected].

01/03/2020

Registration is now open for the 2020 East Coast Iaido Seminar with Yanagihara Sensei and Hatakenaka Sensei, Feb 14-16 in NYC and Jersey City

Please join us Feb 14-16 for the 2020 East Coast Iaido Seminar in NYC and Jersey City.

12/02/2019

The Great Lakes Iaido Coalition (GLIC) is proud to announce their Winter 2020 Seminar Saturday, January 18th, with Susan Sekreta Sensei (renshi nanadan iaido) as Instructor. Please come and share in the Budo fellowship and Iaido training! Registration is now open:

http://shinken.cc/event/2020-great-lakes-iaido-coalition-winter-seminar

Ittokai Sword Club

The Ittokai is pleased to announce a Great Lakes Iaido Coalition (GLIC) Iaido Winter Seminar on Jan 18, 2020.

11/07/2019

Save the date: East Coast Iaido Seminar/Taikai/Shinsa in February dates will be the 14-16th, 2020.