Untitled

Tengu
Päätoimittaja
Ari Lehtinen
Aininkuja 2, 28400 ULVILA
gsm 044 3044 543, ari.lehtinen@nic.fi
Toimitus
Emilia Vuorinen
gsm 040 537 5822
emilia.vuorinen@helsinki.fi
Sivunvalmistus
Niko Saikkonen
gsm 050 323 4154
niko.saikkonen@armas.fi
Ilmoitushinnat
1/1 sivu 160 euroa, 1/2 sivu 100 euroa
1/4 sivu 70 euroa, 1/8 sivu 50 euroa
Kopioitaessa lehdestä materiaalia on lähde sekä FKA:
n yhteystiedot mainittava. Lehti ei vastaa taloudellisesti
paino- tai mui-den vastaavien virheiden aiheuttamista
vahin-goista.
Finnish Kendo Association
Puheenjohtaja
Ari Lehtinen
gsm 044 3044 543, ari.lehtinen@nic.fi
Sihteeri, koulutus
Mikko Salonen
gsm 041 440 1914, salonen.porevuo@elisanet.fi
Taloudenhoitaja
Susanna Porevuo
gsm 040 458 8050, salonen.porevuo@elisanet.fi
Tiedottaja & Vakuutus- ja jäsenvastaava
Emilia Vuorinen
gsm 040 537 5822, emilia.vuorinen@helsinki.fi
Iaido ja Jodo
Mikko Lehmusvyöry
mikko.lehmusvyory@luukku.com
Japani-vastaava
Heini Inkinen
gsm 050 331 6032
heini_inkinen@hotmail.com
Webmaster
Juho Oravainen
juho.oravainen@pp.nic.fi
Jäsen
Mika Kankainen
gsm 040 301 0331, mika.kankainen@nethawk.fi
Niko Saikkonen
gsm 050 323 4154
niko.saikkonen@armas.fi
Liiton tili
Sampo 800016-70259580
www.kendoliitto.net
Contents
Introduction .............................................................. 3
Congratulations to the 20-year old
Finnish Kendo Association ............................................ 5
Dear Kendo Friends ..................................................... 6
Kendo: The Way of Progressing as a Human .................... 6
ZNKR Iaido in Finland ................................................... 9
The Development of Jodo in the FKA .............................11
Sensei Connections in Finland ......................................13
The Statistical Tengu
The FKA’s members 1996-2006 .................................14
Dan-holders ..........................................................14
International shiai success over the years .................15
FKA Clubs
Helsinki Kendo Club Ki-Ken-Tai-Icchi ........................17
Turku Kendo Club Rendaino ....................................19
Porvoo Kendo Club ................................................20
Tampere Kendo Club Fudo Kamae ...........................21
Pori Kendo Club Dai Kuma Ken Kai ...........................22
Kouvola Kendo Club Budo Club Kaigara ....................23
Forssa Kendo Club Go Dai Ken ..................................23
Hämeenlinna Kendo Club Joo Ken Kai ......................24
Jyväskylä Kendo Club Aikiken Budo Club ..................24
Mikkeli Judo Club/Kendo ........................................25
Erä Ken Kai Kendo Club ..........................................26
Kotka Kendo Club Gu Do Ken Kai ..............................27
Oulu Kendo Club Hokufuu.......................................28
Sysmä Taido Club/Kendo ........................................29
Kokkola Kendo Club Shi Dai Shi Go ...........................29
Helsinki University Kendo Club ...............................30
Kuopio Kendo Club Shô Ken Kai ...............................31
Tornio Kendo Club Tenshu Ken Kai ...........................32
Turku Universities Kendo Club Dai Kenshin Kai .........33
Lahti Kendo Club Shi Ken Kai ..................................34
Hauho Kendo Club Yuu Ken Kai ................................34
Hyvinkää Kendo Club .............................................35
Leppävaara Budo Club ...........................................35
Future hopes...? .........................................................36
Photo Gallery .............................................................37

Dear Reader,
You are now holding in your hand the anniversary issue of
Tengu, the Finnish Kendo Association’s magazine. It is more
than just an average issue but it is still far from being a complete
history of our organization. After all, covering 20 years of kendo
in more than 21 cities (some clubs have died over the years, others
have been founded) would take up more space than we have
to spare right now.
The idea was to put together a short introduction to kendo in
Finland. Instead of just compiling dates, names, numbers and
figures, we asked all the clubs and our Association’s former (and
present) presidents to write short essays: What are the clubs
about and what are kendo, iaido and jodo about (in Finland, that
is). What we got, of course, was mostly dates, names, numbers
and figures but secondly also individual glimpses into what it’s
like to do kendo in a small, long and sparsely populated country,
which is governed by its northern location, geography, nature
and climate.
The beginning for many a club has been this: a group of enthusiastic
young people, who know absolutely nothing about what
they are venturing into, meeting, forming a club and starting
to beg bigger sports clubs or cities to give them a place to train.
Samurai-movies at the cinema, an invasion of Japanese popular
culture into Europe and hard PR work and time bring fluxes of
beginners into the clubs. Some stay, most don’t. Sometimes a
club official becomes tired, stops and kendo activity in a club
comes to a halt. New beginnings for clubs are witnessed often
with the appearance of a new generation that is willing to take up
leading the club again. Beginners are many, sempais are few and
really experienced kendoka are rarities.
Many clubs operate under the jurisdiction of larger sports clubs
that feature many other disciplines. No club owns their own
dojo and very few have the luxury of training always in one and
the same place. Usually the halls are shared with cheerleaders,
floorball-players and others, who sneer at the smell left behind
after a hard day’s keiko. Most kendoka get their training hours
from cities and municipalities, which means that they train in
public schools’ sports halls owned by the city.
When asked, “who is in charge of your club?” Finnish kendokas
do not name their sensei (we have not one, but many and they
come to visit us, when they can), they instead name the person
who negotiates their training hours with the city sports board,
who does the bookkeeping for the club and who teaches beginners
without being an actual teacher.
In kendo we have the luxury of naming many very highly skilled
6th, 7th and 8th dan from Japan when asked who our sensei is.
For some years now, we have also had two of our own 6th dans.
The beauty of it is, they do not limit their knowledge and hard
work in kendo only to the benefit of their own club, they share
it with all the 700 kendoka we have in Finland. Sharing could
be named something that is very typical for Finnish kendo life.
Maybe it’s due to the Finns’ protestant work ethic and sense of
“kristillinen tasajako” (sharing equally according to Christian
values), but the idea in this Association has for a long time been
to make everything together, humbly, not raising one person
above the other.
For iaido and jodo the dedication to certain senseis and their
teachings is, of course, a different matter due to the different
nature of the disciplines. Their senseis however also come from
abroad and do not reside here permanently, so that the effect is
the same. Teaching from senseis comes, when they are able to
travel here. Other times it is the sempais’ responsibility to keep
things up and running.
3
January 12th, 2007

What one might come to notice is that one of the major challenges
is making people stay with the discipline and continue
practising. There is no weight of history, no pressure from parents
or sense of tradition here when it comes to budo. People
however have a sense for the foreign and the exotic. They are
perhaps mostly drawn to budo because of it being “different” and
because of people’s interest in other cultures and cultural others.
These can be great tools for filling up beginner’s courses, but it
is hard to build something lasting on impulses and whimsical
actions. The truth remains, that you cannot develop, unless you
exercise, sweat and get tired. You cannot become good, unless
you dedicate yourself to something and are ready to sacrifice
your spare time. This is what most people might find the most
difficult part.
In Finland this small problem is even more visible than it might
be in a larger country. People are very willing to try out new
things, but it is hard to find people who dedicate themselves to
one thing. The writers of these short essays are all exceptional in
that way, that they have decided to “follow the path” of iaido,
jodo and/or kendo and have dedicated themselves to forwarding
something that they believe in. The thanks for kendo making it
through its first 20 years in Finland goes not only to all senseis
(of course to them!), who have taught people over the years but
also to all, who have taken up time to hang up advertisements,
coach beginner’s classes, get wrapped up in paper work, sit in
endless meetings and wonder where all this is going to, travel
abroad for further instruction in their discipline and spend most
of their holidays practicing budo instead on lying on a beach
Presidents of The Finnish Kendo Association
1988
Tarja Takayama
1988-1992
Riku Joki
1993
Mervi Porevuo
1994-1996
Jukka Jalava
1997-1998
Kari Jääskeläinen
1999-2000
Jukka Uusisalo
2001- present
Ari Lehtinen
somewhere. (And I personally can’t even imagine, what organizing
kendo events and activities must have been like “in the old
days”, before the emergence of SMS-messages, cellular phones,
e-mails, dojo homepages on the internet and communication
made easy by technological advances.)
Thanks to people’s input we’ve seen a lot of positive developments:
the gradual addition of iaido and jodo into the Association’s
programme, an enormous increase in the amount of
juniors starting out, the start of new clubs in new cities, development
in the way things are organized nationwide and a more if
not professional, then educated approach to instructing people
in their everyday practice.
The essays portrayed here also serve to give an impression on
each club’s personality (and on the people who form the club).
Some have a very no-nonsense and focused approach to life (and
budo, as some might agree, can be an essential part of life). Others
have a penchant for laughter and social gatherings. During
these past 20 years people have chosen different approaches to
doing these disciplines we call kendo, iaido and jodo. Despite
this we all work together for furthering our cause and making
the next 20 years even better.
4
Please enjoy this bit of kendo history,
Emilia Vuorinen
Editor,
Spokesperson for the FKA

Congratulations to the 20-year old Finnish Kendo Association
Today there are many faces present, who’ve played some part in
the FKA’s development during all these years. There are older
and younger practitioners who all have together incommon,
that they want to develop as swordsmen and women and as human
beings. These people, You, are the 20-year old FKA, that we
are celebrating today. The development of fencing skills should
go without saying since this is, after all, a federation focused on
fencing.
On the FKA’s official tenugui stands written: michi bito, ”A human
on the road”. I wonder if we always find the time to think
about our develoment as people, about our treading this road.
In a certain way we are prisoners of time. We’re busy with our
working careers, our families, our friends and our hobbies. Years
ago, when there were a couple hundred of us it was easier to say
that the kendoists are like family. Our numbers have grown
since then, but the idea should be the same: We work as one. The
current family’s members come from the three disciplines represented
in our Association. We should regard these three more as
one single discipline than as three different ones. The people we
meet at camps and tournaments around the world are also a part
of the same family.
We are the Kendo Association, but the name as such doesn’t give
away everything that is going on inside the Association. All our
own members know, that our Association has practitioners of
iaido, jodo and kendo. In the future I see the possibility of our
Association being even larger than this. What’s important? Is the
discipline more important than the way it is taught? I think that
you can practice flower arrangement, tea ceremony, calligraphy,
budo or any other thing in the world using the same mentality. In
the disciplines we practice and the others I just mentioned there
are efficient ways of sharing obtained knowledge and existing
aesthetic notions with future generations. These ways have been
developed by some wise men of the past
Little things matter, form matters. Does form fit together with
our disciplines’ images today? Has the ideology of budo a future
here? Does it just remain a thought that isn’t tried out in practice?
Will our modern times and the human need for efficiency
put it in the background? Budo has so far been the common
factor of our three disciplines, hopefully it will remain so in the
future as well.
Does the world need people who can swing a shinai or a sword?
Our disciplines give the opportunity to cross swords in the name
of friendship. Friendship is the bridge that leads to a different
and changed world and we can offer this opportunity to anyone
who just happens to find himself among us or who has deliberately
looked us up. It’s easier for people to get acquainted with
eachother when they already share something incommon. Let’s
pass this good thing that we have here (our family, friendship)
around. We didn’t come up with it ourselves, but we will keep it
alive and pass it on. Somebody has (or somebodies have) once
been through great trouble developing our way of studying,
defining goals that need to be achieved and telling people how
to achieve them.
Iaido and jodo have been in our Association for a shorter while.
The twenty years we celebrate now belong to kendo. Thanks to
this goes to the clubs’ instructors, officials of the FKA and all
practitioners. The past years have however changed kendo. In
Finland the change has been less visible that elsewhere in the
world. In shiai the form has been replaced by speed and force.
It’s been a choice. The question is, has it been a good or a bad
one? Everyone can answer this for themselves. What will happen
next?
Next Spring in Finland we will see into which direction Lordi
has changed the Eurovision Song Contest. In 2009 the World
Kendo Championships in Brazil will tell, where kendo is going
in the world. It’s not that interesting to see who wins. It’s more
interesting to see what the ways, forms and styles that each country
has chosen for themselves, will be as we all head out to fight
for the championship.
5
With 20th Anniversary Greetings,
Ari Lehtinen
Chairman, FKA

Dear Kendo Friends,
Now that Finnish kendo is celebrating its 20th anniversary I
have been asked to reminisce what the world of kendo was like in
Finland in the beginning of the 1990’s. What best in my mind
describes that period is the true fighting spirit that our kendo
community demonstrated when organizing successfully under
difficult circumstances the 12th European Kendo Championships
in Turku 9.-11.4.1993.
At that time there were only six kendo clubs in Finland: Rendaino
in Turku, Fudo Kamae in Tampere, Dai Kuma Ken Kai in Pori,
Joo Ken Kai in Hämeenlinna, Josaiki/Kendo in Porvoo and
Ki-Ken-Tai-Icchi in Helsinki. The kendo community was young
but fearless. For a small group of people like this organizing the
European Championships was an enormous effort. It meant
practically that every kendoka in Finland had some part in the
organization of these championships in order to get everything
ready in time for national teams representing 17 European countries.
This meant long hours and hard work especially for those
of that were also members of the Finnish national team.
How did we manage to do it? Kendo is the art of Japanese
swordsmanship – a road of lifelong struggle of self-development
through hard training according to the principles of the sword.
This hard training strengthens the body and mind and helps us
face the world with strong spirit, sincerity and love. Drawing
strength from kendo philosophy and tradition and by joining
forces together we were able to overcome our limitations and
turn them into strengths. At that time we were all working for
something that we held close to our hearts – the future of kendo
in Finland. Today the kendo community is celebrating that future
made reality! Congratulations.
Though the way of kendo is not part of my everyday life anymore,
I will always carry the sprit of kendo in my heart. I wish
many happy returns for Finnish kendo in the future. Keep the
true kendo spirit alive!
Mervi Porevuo
Editor’s note: Helsinki and the FKA prepare to host the 22nd European
Kendo Championships 21st – 23rd of March 2008. Please visit our website at:
http://www.ekc2008.com/
Kendo:
The Way of Progressing
as a Human
Kendo has been practiced in Finland for 20 years. How is it that
this particular exotic discipline has succeeded in the competition
for how we spend our spare time, when there have never
been more disciplines and sports to choose from and our modern
society is moving on at a speed never seen before? It is a historical
fact that kendo was brought to Finland and encountered
by people of whom a sufficient number have taken up the way
of the sword. Thus both qualitative and quantitative growth has
become possible. But why does a bunch of Finns feel, that kendo
is their discipline?
The operative past of kendo is bloody. In the beginning it was
about how to use the Japanese sword in the most efficient way
possible as an instrument of combat. After that, the use of the
sword became more formal and was reserved exclusively for the
upper class, the samurai. The peaceful time that followed the
warring states period (sengoku jidai) saw less conflict than before.
This was the reason for the development of an ideological
side for the use of the sword.
The operative phase of kendo stopped, when Japan ceased to be a
feudal society in the late 19th century. It did not turn into something
fully speculative or symbolic which is more “between the
ears”, even though the attempt to kill an opponent had become
a memory of the distant past. The end of the operative phase
meant also a rise of democracy. Now the way of the sword was
open to anyone regardless of social status or gender (For me the
most extraordinary experience were the World Championships
in kendo, when I had to fight a gentleman from Hawaii, who was
missing both his legs).
The ZNKR website features an indirect answer to the question I
posed in the first paragraph.
A bunch of Finns has discovered that kendo is an excellent means
for moulding the mind and body and progressing as a human being.
It is clear that this interpretation is my own as a former president
of the Finnish Kendo Association (1994-1996) and that it
doesn’t necessarily correspond to the current Association’s and
its representatives’ view of things.
6
I wish Finnish kendo many successful years to come.
Jukka Jalava

ZNKR Iaido has, depending on how you want to look at it, been
in Finland nearly twice as long as kendo or then only half as long.
Confused? Intrigued? Ok, let me try and explain but hang in
there, to tell the story of ZNKR iaido in Finland we need to go
back to Japan and the age of the samurai.
Iai is often translated as the art of drawing the sword, (which
has led to more than one person asking what kind of pencils do
they need) this coming from the fact that the art’s distinguishing
feature is the act of unsheathing the sword becoming a strike.
The word iai comes from the expression ”Tsune ni itte kyuu ni
awasu”, roughly translated, ”Be prepared for any situation!”.
Hayashizaki Shinsuke Shigenobu is attributed with having created
iai in the fifteenth century. His father had been killed by a
swordsman of great skill and he was honour bound to avenge
him. As there was no way the young Shigenobu could beat the
villain using conventional fencing techniques, he had to come
up with something new and daring.
When he met his opponent, who in time-honoured tradition
had unsheathed his sword and stood en garde, Shigenobu just
stood there, sword in scabbard. As a result, his opponent could
not gauge his reach or his intention and thus was at a loss what to
do. Until it was too late of course.
So effective was this new, innovative style that it spawned a new
school of swordsmanship, Hayashizaki Ryu, which then led
to other schools being formed, some of which exist today but
most of which died with their teachers. These schools are often
referred to as iaijutsu, as their goal was to teach practical skills to
professional swordsmen.
In 1870 came the Meiji Restoration and Japan’s modernisation.
In with the new and out with the old. One of the things to go
was the samurai class and the need for professional swordsmen.
Thanks to the likes of Kano Jigoro, Ueshiba Morihei, Yamaoka
Tesshu and, in the case of iai, Nakayama Hakudo, the old martial
skills were not completely lost. Instead they were rationalised
ZNKR Iaido in Finland
and transformed from military arts to ways for personal development
or Do. The particular art that Nakayama developed was
called Muso Shinden Ryu and was almost synonymous with
iaido until the creation of ZNKR iaido in the 1960s.
Muso Shinden Ryu, Muso Jikiden Eishin Ryu, Toyama Ryu,
Suioryu, Hoki Ryu, Tamiya Ryu to mention but a few, are examples
of what are generally known as koryu. Each one these “old
schools” has a comprehensive curriculum of kata which can be
over one hundred in some schools and covering a multitude of
weapons. Some have their own organisations; some belong to
bigger ones for example, the Dai Nippon Butokuden, Zen Nihon
Iaido Renmei and of course, the Zen Nihon Kendo Renmei
or ZNKR.
In 1968, the ZNKR launched its “Seitei kata” or representative
forms, a “Best of Iaido collection” one could say. These were
intended to give an overview of the essence of iaido to beginners
in the art as well as giving a “common language” and a unifying
factor to the various koryu in the ZNKR.
With me so far? Now that you have an idea of the iaido’s background
in Japan I hope it will make it simpler to understand the
situation in Finland.
The first documented time iaido was practised in Finland was at
an aikido seminar in May 1971 in Pietarsaari. Ichimura Toshikazu
sensei, who was a 6th dan renshi in iaido, would teach ZNKR
iaido in addition to aikido. From this time the bond between
aikido and iaido in Finland has been strong with successive sensei
keeping up the tradition of teaching aikido and iaido. One
of the prime movers in Swedish iaido, Komaki sensei, ( 7th dan
iaido renshi, 6th dan kendo) taught ZNKR Iaido in Finland in
1980 as did Michioka sensei (kendo kyoshi 7th dan, iaido kyoshi
7th dan) with the help of Watanabe-sensei (iaido 5th dan) and
Konno sensei (kendo 6th dan, iaido 4th dan) in Turku in 1983.
The first official iaido and jodo seminar to be organised by the
FKA was held in 1997 in Pori under the tutelage of Momiyama
sensei(Renshi 6th dan).
9

Despite the early start, ZNKR Iaido would not be officially
recognised in Finland until 2000. Instead, other styles under different
organisations would flourish the largest following having
MUSO SHINDEN RYU under Takada-sensei (iaido kyoshi
8th dan) who visited Scandinavia for the first time in 1986.
ZNKR iaido was kept alive largely through the efforts of Mikko
Salonen who had a training group in Helsinki. Things were to
change in 1999 when José Martinez-Abarca moved to Finland
and became the main trainer in Helsinki and the FKA’s first (and
up to now only) official iaido representative.
Iaido became an official part of the FKA in 2000 and in the same
year a Kyu grading system was implemented. This year Finns also
made their debut on the international iaido scene taking part in
the summer seminar in Great Britain and Sakari Myllymäki was
the first Finn to grade 1 kyu in Europe. Asko Pitkänen of jodo
fame has the honour of being the first Finn to grade 1st dan in
Japan.
In 2001 Finns ventured into the world of iaido competition
taking part in the European Championships in Brussels. This
was more of a reconnaissance mission in which the social aspect
of iaido was explored to the full also not to mention Belgium’s
finest ales!
In 2002 Finns took part in the Swedish Iaido Open seminar
and competition (head sensei Tadashi Fujita, Hanshi 8th dan)
where the Iivonen brothers graded 1 kyu and brought home four
competition medals.
Finland’s first full, official team took part in the European Championships
in Stockholm
in 2004 and Niklas Dahl became the first Finn to win a medal.
The following year, Raili Parkkonen (4th dan iaido) joined Finland’s
ranks. Raili, who was born in Finland, grew up in Sweden
where she lives and practises iaido. After regaining her Finnish
nationality, she joined the team and won the ”Fighting Spirit”
medal in Bologna!
This year the medal count was doubled with both José Martinez-
Abarca and Niilo Kiesiläinen winning ”Fighting Spirit” medals
in Brighton.
Although it is easy to measure our development through success
in competition, this is by no means the raison d’étre of ZNKR
iaido. More important are the promotion of iaido around Finland
and the raising of the quality of iaido practised in Finland.
To help us, we have had the help of notable visitors including-
Morihiro Kimura (Kyoshi 8th dan), Takao Momiyama (Renshi
6th dan), Peter West (Renshi 6th dan), Rolf Radakovits (6th
dan) and most recently Robert Rodriguez (Renshi 6th dan).
Thanks to them, we have been able to build a solid base for
ZNKR Iaido in Finland. It is being practised regularly in four
cities with more to come in the near future as we continue growing
and improving. Our strength does not come from the quantity
of our members but from the quality of their commitment
to maintain the standards and traditions handed down to us by
those who go ahead, our sensei. We look forward to your help
and support to make Iaido an integral part of the activity of the
Finnish Kendo Association.
10
José Martinez-Abarca
Iaido-bu

The Development of Jodo in the FKA
Kendo had just arrived in Finland as a new discipline, when one
very resolute 23 year-old young man packed his backpack, flew
to Japan and found kendo, iaido and jodo at their very origin.
Asko Pitkänen had practiced aikido, which gave him the idea to
travel to Japan in January 1987. Asko tells the following of his
experiences:
“I had heard of kendo even before ever going to Japan, but I first
saw it being played when I visited Osaka castle. There was a huge
dojo located in the castle area and it was filled to the brim with
children and youngsters practicing kendo. Their kiai could be
heard from afar in the park and drew my attention to the dojo
as I passed. I was astonished and stayed to watch the entire keiko
which proceeded from suburi to kakari geiko and further still
to the eldest children’s ji-geiko. This moment woke my interest
in kendo. Through the ZNKR I received information how and
where to start practising.”
“This time in Osaka marked the beginning for a two-year period,
which I spent in Tokyo at the Kyumeikan dojo practicing
kendo, jodo and iaido. In the jodo practice I received especially
intensive instruction, because there were only three pupils. Our
instructor was Goto-san, 5th dan. I still remember the almost
undivided attention that I received in that little group. The
teacher focused entirely on guiding our group. In addition to
that, I was impressed by the fact that the teacher travelled so far
to teach so few. He was never away and I felt bad if I had to miss
practice because of a cold or something. I trained practically every
day in Japan and at best there were 9 practice sessions a week.
I graded 2nd dan both in kendo and jodo and 1st dan in iaido
while there. It was a wonderful time, with many experiences and
teachings to offer.”
11
The return to the old country
“I returned to Finland in January 1989 and resumed practice
at Ki-Ken-Tai-Icchi up to September that year, when I moved
Turku to study. That’s when I joined Rendaino. My own kendo
developed immensely under the guidance of the FKA senseis. I
played kendo actively until 1994. I believe I’m the first kendoka
in Finland with an internationally registered dan grade. I haven’t
really practised iaido after my return, because my knees couldn’t
take the stress. I still however see the practise of iaido as a very
integral part of Japanese fencing as a whole, because it is very
different to use a shinai or a wooden sword from wielding a steel
blade, which doesn’t forgive bad or missed cuts. In that light it
would be good for everyone to try out a blade even though they
didn’t perform the kata on one’s knees. The sword is, after all, the
one thing that unites the three disciplines practiced in the FKA.
Returning the sword to its sheath is another thing. This means
that everyone should train also with a “real” sword as well in jodo
as kendo circles, so that the feel for the blade, the weapon itself
wouldn’t be lost. At the same time people would be acquainted
with the respect for and humility in front of the sword which is
typical for Japanese fencing.”

“In these kendo years jodo has been mostly practice by myself, so
that I don’t forget the techniques. Those who have participated
in national kendo camps might recall those times when it was
possible to try out jodo. Between the years 1994 and 2000 there
was a small group of us in Turku that practiced jodo irregularly.
At the turn of the millenium I was approached by José Martinez-Abarca,
who started jodo practice in Helsinki as part of
iaido. Together we arranged the first, joint iaido and jodo camp
in Turku on the 24th and 25th of November 2001. This camp
was actually the beginning of official jodo activity within the
FKA. The first practice and camps were held in Helsinki and I
was there to help teach the basics. Little by little, a small nuclear
group formed in Ki-Ken-Tai-Icchi and they were the ones forming
the base for jodo activity in Finland today.”
The practice of jodo establishes itself
“After the FKA’s administration decided to add jodo as an official
discipline to its agenda in fall 2002, it became necessary
to invite foreign teachers. The first guest, Peter West (iaido 6th
dan, jodo 4th dan) from Cornwall, Great Britain visited Finland
twice in 2003. In May 2003 the first Finnish jodo gradings were
held. In April of the following year the FKA invited a teacher
from Sweden, Takao Momiyama sensei (iaido and jodo 6th dan,
kendo 5th dan), who was already well known to Finnish kendoka.
This was the beginning of regular visits, during which we
have been able to enjoy quality teaching under the instruction of
able and pleasant teachers, namely the power figures from Sweden,
Takao Momiyama sensei and Rolf Radakovits sensei (iaido
6th dan, jodo 5th dan).”
“Finnish jodoka have participated in foreign gasshuku actively
since 2003, when the first practitioners visited Ishido sensei’s
camp in Brighton, Great Britain. The knowledge obtained from
these camps was utilized in practice back home in Finland. Finns
participated in an international competition for the first time in
the 2004 European Championships held in Stockholm.
In fact, this was their first venture in any competition. After that,
jodoka have participated in competitions every year and the first
successes in the European Championships of 2006 are a clear
sign of development in Finnish jodo. It shows that the FKA has
made some good choices when it comes to teachers and taking
the first baby steps on the road of the jo. Those who compete
have devoted themselves to practice and this has naturally played
a very important part in our success, for without it development
couldn’t happen.”
“I have mostly played a supporting role in Finnish jodo activity.
The real thanks for making jodo grow and establish itself
belongs to people like Mikko Lehmusvyöry and Timo Reenpää
who are ardent devotees of the discipline. Naturally the FKA’s
commitment to develop jodo as a part of its official agenda has
been crucial for lasting development. Thanks to this, more and
more Finns have the opportunity to enjoy the fascinating world
of jodo. The greatest thanks must go to Takao Momiyama sensei
and Rolf Radakovits sensei and their efforts and commitment in
taking Finnish jodo further on its road into the future.”
12
Asko Pitkänen
Asko Pitkänen (jodo and kendo 3rd dan) is our most
advanced jodoka practicing ZNKR jodo and his input
in the birth of jodo in Finland is crucial. He is the jodo
instructor in Turku Kendo Club Rendaino and sempai
to the jodoka in Helsinki. Asko coaches the national
team and also represents Finland in international taikai
himself.
There are over 50 grade holders in jodo in Finland these
days and the numbers are going up constantly. There’s
regular jodo activity in two cities up to now: Helsinki
and Turku. In the near future we aspire to have even more
jodoka and introduce the practice of jodo into many
more clubs and cities.
Timo Reenpää
Photo: Riikka Sundqvist

The Statistical Tengu
Sensei Connections in Finland
The FKA had the priviledge of receiving senseis sent by the
ZNKR each year between 1990 and 1996. These haken senseis
have done lots of good work with raising the standards of Finnish
kendo and building up connections between the ZNKR and
the FKA. Unfortunately, times, politics and ideals change, and
it has become difficult to dispatch a sensei abroad from Japan
ZNKR senseis in Finland
1990-93 Takahashi Tōru, 7th dan Kyoshi
(Tokyo Geijutsu Daigaku, Tokyo National University
of Fine Arts and Music, Official of the IKF)
1994 Mutō Shizuo, 7th dan Kyoshi
(Fukushima Police, Kendo World Champion 1991)
1995 Ishizuka Yoshifumi, 8th dan Kyoshi
(Osaka Police)
1996 Onda Kōji, 7th dan Kyoshi
(Keishichō, Tokyo Metropolitan Police)
1997 Ōshige Koichirō, 7th dan Kyoshi
(Miyazaki police, Japan)
1998 Kondō Wataru, 7th dan Kyoshi
(Tokushima Police)
1999 Yokoyama Naoya, 7th dan Kyoshi
(Yokohama Kokuritsu Daigaku,
Yokohama National University)
2000 Ōta Yoriyasu, 7th dan Kyoshi
(Osaka Kyoiku Daigaku,
Osaka University of Education)
As it happens, we have the priviledge of knowing also other senseis,
who have found their way to Finland through other channels
and mediums and have thus become “Finland-senseis” on
their own (some even return here as often as they can):
Iwatate Saburō, 8th dan Hanshi
(Chiba Police, retired), originally sent to Finland by IKF
Tahara Hironori, 8th dan Hanshi,
(Keishichō, retired) originally sent to Finland by IKF
Inoue Shigeaki, 8th dan Hanshi (Nara)
Andō Kozō, 7th dan,
(Waseda University) came to Finland in the early days
of Finnish Kendo
Uematsu Daihachirō, 7th dan (Japan Self Defence Forces,
retired) as military attaché in Finland 1987-1990
Nō Noriko, 7th dan Kyoshi (Shōfūkan Dōjō, Chiba)
for as long as three months (which was the usual duration of the
sensei’s visits). We still have the benefit of knowing already so
many senseis, who have been to Finland during these 16 years.
We always will have the possibility to draw on the wisdom of our
”Finland-senseis”.
13
2001 Takeda Ryuichi, 7th dan Kyoshi
(Yamagata Daigaku, Yamagata University)
2002 Yamagami Shinichi, 8th dan Kyoshi
(Kagawa Daigaku, Kagawa University,
Takamatsu)
2003 Yagisawa Makoto, 7th dan Kyoshi
(Nihon Tai-iku Daigaku,
Nippon Sports Science University, Tokyo)
2004 Iwakiri, Kimiharu, 7th dan Kyoshi
(Kokusai Budo Daigaku,
International Budo University, Katsu-ura)
2005 Sakai Toshinobu, 7th dan Kyoshi
(Tsukuba Daigaku, Tsukuba University)
2006 (spring) Yoshino Hisaya, 7th dan Renshi
(Chiba Police)
2006 (winter) Hara Toshiyuki, 7th dan Kyoshi
(National Police Agency Imperial Guard, Tokyo)
Kazuma Kōji, 7th dan Kyoshi
(Kogakuin Daigaku, Kogakuin University, Tokyo)
Saitō Kōji, 7th dan Kyoshi (Sendai University)
Kobayashi Hideshirō, 7th dan Kyoshi (Niigata University)
Of course, senseis, sempais, collaborators and friends are many,
the following should at least be noted:
Emilio Gomez, 7th dan (Spain/Belgium), Claude Pruvoust,
7th dan (France), Chaudron Laurent, 6th dan (France), Brutschi
Hervé, 6th dan (France), Felix Hoff, 4th dan (Germany),
Angela Neumeister, 4th dan (Germany), Kagaya Makoto, 5th
dan (Japan), Fukunaga Tatsushige, 5th dan (Japan), Saiga Daisuke,
5th dan (Japan), Shigehide Miyagawa, 7th dan (Japan)

The FKA’s members 1996-2006
204 191 186 230 333 378 431 454 699 726 660
1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Dan-holders (based on EKF 2005 statistics)
14

International shiai success over the years
1989EKCin Amsterdam, The Netherlands
The Finnish Kendo Association becomes a member of the European
Kendo Federation
1990EKCin Berlin, Germany
Markus Frey receives the Fighting Spirit-award
1991WKC in Toronto
1993EKC in Turku, Finland,
Participants from 18 countries. Ladies’ team wins bronze, Mikko
Salonen receives the Fighting Spirit-award
1994WKC in Paris, France
Men’s team among the best eight, Markus Frey receives the
Fighting Spirit-award
1995EKC in Glasgow, Scotland
1996EKC in Miskolc, Hungary
Ladies’ team wins gold, men’s team wins bronze
1997WKC in Kyoto, Japan
Mikko Salonen and Susanna Porevuo receive both the Fighting
Spirit-award, Ladies team is among the best eight
1998EKC in Basel, Switzerland
Ladies’ team wins silver, Susanna Porevuo wins bronze
1999EKC in Lourdes, France
Ladies’ team wins gold, Outi Kääriäinen wins bronze
2000WKC in Santa Clara, USA
2001EKC in Bologna, Italy
Ladies’ team wins gold
2002EKC in Nantes, France
Susanna Porevuo wins silver
2003WKC in Glasgow, Scotland
Mikko Salonen is among the best eight, receives the Fighting
Spirit-award
2004EKC in Budapest, Hungary
Ladie’s team wins bronze, Mia Raitanen receives the Fighting
Spirit-award
2005EKC in Bern, Switzerland
2006WKC in Taipei, Taiwan
Markus Frey receives the Fighting Spirit-award
2007EKC in Lissabon, Portugal
2008EKC in Helsinki, Finland !
15
Source FKA

2 19
Club Year of entry into the FKA
1 KKTI, Helsinki 1986
2 Rendaino, Turku 1987
3 Porvoo Kendo Club 1988
4 Fudo Kamae, Tampere 1991
5 Dai Kuma Ken Kai, Pori 1992
6 Kaigara, Kouvola 1993
7 Go Dai Ken, Forssa 1993
8 Joo Ken Kai, Hämeenlinna 1993
9 Aikiken Budo Club, Jyväskylä 1996
10 Mikkeli Judo Club / Kendo 1996
11 Erä Ken Kai, Helsinki 1997
12 Gu Dou Ken Kai, Kotka 1998
5
7
16
4
18
14
8 21
13
20 6
22
11
23 15
1
3
12
100 km
Club Year of entry into the FKA
13 Sysmä taido Club/Kendo 1998
14 Hokufuu, Oulu 1999
15 Helsinki University Kendo Club, Helsinki 1999
16 Shi Dai Shi Go, Kokkola 2001
17 Sho Ken Kai, Kuopio 2002
18 Tenshu Ken Kai, Tornio 2004
19 Dai Kenshin Kai, Turun Yliopisto 2004
20 Shi Ken Kai, Lahti 2005
21 Yuu Ken Kai, Hauho 2005
22 Hyvinkää Kendo Club 2005
23 Leppävaara Budo Club, Espoo 2006
Cities not currently active on the kendo front:
Forssa, Jyväskylä and Sysmä
16
9
17
10

When kendo was first introduced to Finland
during the seminar in Porvoo in November
1986, it was clear that Helsinki
nearby had the most potential, and indeed
the Ki-Ken-Tai-Icchi kendo club was soon
founded by our first kendo generation.
Two persons from Helsinki participating
in the Porvoo seminar already had some experience in budo:
48-year old Per-Uno “Peruna” Björklund and 18-year old high
school student Jukka Jalava. Per-Uno was teaching judo to juniors
at Meidokan club and he organised the first training sessions
for kendo at the Olympic Stadium’s judo tatami. In the beginning
there were about 15 persons with shinais and ice-hockey
protectors training only for one hour a week on Sundays. The
training was based on a video, which was shot during the Porvoo
seminar and a German kendo book, Kendo. Lehrbuch des japanischen
Schwertkampes by Oshima Kotaro and Ando Kozo.
Itchy name
At the training it was decided that a kendo club should be founded
in Helsinki. The founding took place at the Olympic Stadium
on the 21st of December in 1986. The founding members were
Per-Uno (chairman), Kare Pohjavirta (secretary), Jukka Jalava
(treasurer), Jari Mitro (member), Leslie Quagraine (member),
Panu Reinelä, Antti Hyvönen and Kalle Fabritius. Choosing
a name for the club was tricky but then Kare spotted the term
ki-ken-tai-icchi in the german kendo book. Leslie thought the
term sounded ‘itchy’ but the chairman’s vote was decisive. In
December a letter from the chairman was sent to Felix Hoff in
Hamburg inviting him to teach at the first kendo seminar in
Helsinki on 10.-11. of January in 1987 and asking him to bring
Angela Neumeister with him. In the beginning activities were
sponsored by Per-Uno but also Jukka and Kare did their share of
organizing. In January bogus were ordered and Angela promised
to bring a Japanese university student along with her in March.
At this point, Per-Uno left abroad for about a month and loitering
around at the Meidokan tatami seemed to displease some
of the older judokas. More people joined the training. Stewart
Gray and his nephew Ville Helasvuo were lured in by Leslie. A
new training location was found at the Åshöjden High school
which was Jukka’s school. Soon the bogu arrived as well and
more people joined in the training among them Mikko Salonen
and Markus Frey.
At first the weekend seminars were very important and the
programme tended to be quite hard and resemble the German
system created by Ando Kozo sensei. Ando sensei also
visited Finland three times together with Angela. A more lasting
impression was left with Col. Uematsu Daihachiro. His help
proved crucial during the first years and his appearance was a
stroke of luck indeed. Nobody had thought of informing the
Helsinki Kendo Club
Ki-Ken-Tai-Icchi
Japanese Embassy in Helsinki about kendo’s arrival in Finland.
Still, a letter sent to the Japanese Kendo Federation by the Finnish
kendo beginners had been shown to Uematsu before his
departure to Finland. He took up the post as the military attaché
of the Embassy in Helsinki only half a year after the first seminar
in Porvoo. It took him a while to settle down in the new country
but when he was ready with that, he looked up where and when
the kendo training in Helsinki was. He then just showed up one
day at the training and his legendary words after watching the
then pretty elementary and unorganized training, were “I think
I can help you.” And indeed he did. He participated in the training
regularly and the early trainers progressed very much during
his three-year-stay in the country.
Other visitors from Germany and neighbouring Sweden also
played an important role in the development of Finnish kendo.
The year 1988 was rich in events: more training time was
acquired at the Arkadia High Scool and the first organised beginner’s
course was held. Among new faces was Riku Joki who
had plans for Finnish kendo. While he concentrated on building
connections the youngsters concentrated on training and
they were soon visiting seminars abroad as well. Already in 1989
Mikko, Markus and Jukka were teaching the beginners. Soon
also Kari Jääskeläinen joined their ranks.
Takahashi’s era
The presence of a sensei is vital and the weekend seminars can
only take you so far.
The beginner’s course in the Spring of 1990 was a very exceptional
one because a Japanese sensei, Tooru Takahashi sent by
the All Japan Kendo Federation was teaching the course. Among
the beginners were the Porevuo Sisters Mervi and Susanna.
Takahashi sensei visited Finland altogether four times between
1990 and 1993 and this continuum undoubtedly was
very important for the development of kendo not only in Helsinki
but in the whole country.
One more lucky strike for Helsinki was the arrival of two
gentlemen from Japan: Tatsushige “ Fugis” Fukunaga and Daisuke
Saiga. Fukunaga was a researcher at Alko (alcohol company
owned by the state) and kendo 5th dan and Saiga, also 5th dan,
was working with Mitsui company. They stayed in Finland until
1993 when the European Championships were held in Turku.
Mr. Saiga invited the kendokas to his home many times and took
great concern over whether the championships would turn out
a successful event.
The golden years of All Japan Kendo Federation
haken sensei system
Takahashi sensei was only the first one in a long series of great
teachers sent by the All Japan Kendo Federation, the “haken” or
dispatched sensei. Most of the senseis had their “home base” in
17
Heini Inkinen
Chairman
KKTI
photo: Markus Frey

Helsinki, while they still traveled around other kendo cities as
well and the people training in Ki-Ken-Tai-Icchi had perhaps
more chances to train with them than others and made friends
with them. The teachers Shizuo Muto (1994), Yoshifumi Ishizuka
(1995), Wataru Kondo (1996), Koichiro Ooshige (1997),
Koji Onda (1998), Naoya Yokoyama (1998), Yoriyasu Ohta
(2000), Ryuichi Takeda (2001), Shinichi Yamagami (2002),
Makoto Yagisawa (2003), Kimiharu Iwakiri (2004), Toshinobu
Sakai (2005) and Hisaya Yoshino and Toshiyuki Hara (2006)
all contributed to the fact that so many members of Ki-ken-Tai-
Icchi have played big roles in the Finnish National Team. The
teachers also left as their legacy many good training methods
which are still in use here. Cooperation with the senseis continues
still on many levels.
The dream of a dojo
The search for a training location was always a central problem
for the kendo activities in Helsinki. Since the beginning the club
has trained at some ten different locations. Mainly at different
school gymnasiums. There were always problems with cancellations
and lack of storage room. A search for our own dojo had
been going on slowly for some time in 2004 when fate stepped
in once again. Chairman Pekka Nurminen was calling around
Helsinki’s training facilities in search of a training time replacing
some training hours cancelled by another school gymnasium
again. He happened to call the Olympic stadium which then
had been under renovation and its training halls unused after the
World Athletic Championships in the Summer of 2005.
They asked whether the club would be interested in moving
to the Olympic Stadium for good. So, by chance, a space of our
own was granted to us by the grace of Helsinki city and one lucky
phone call. Now the first kendo dojo in Finland equipped with
a shiai-jo, actually two of them, has been in use since the Fall of
2005. There are also two storage rooms which have put a stop
to the endless dragging of bogu bags around. Now the dream is
to one day renew the dojo floor to meet good kendo standards
for real. Also iaido and jodo training in our club takes place in
the same dojo. Ki-Ken-Tai–Icchi has returned to its birthplace
and the circle has been completed. In 1986 there were some 15
persons involved. Now there are about 250 more or less active
members. This includes about 90 juniors (under 19 years old).
This makes Ki-Ken-Tai-Icchi by far the biggest kendo club in
Finland and one of the biggest ones in Europe as well.
The second dojo
Ki-Ken-Tai-Icchi club has always been an international community.
Since the very beginning we have had representatives
of several countries – Great Britain, Japan, Russia, Korea to
mention a few. This club has always been a fun community as
well. The Friday training has always been popular because people
head out for a beer after the keiko and nothing tastes better than
a pint of something cold with the friends after a hard keiko. So,
almost as important and unforgettable as the training locations
are the pubs that we have been holding dear as our second dojos
– Imaamin keinutuoli, Paavo N., Yang’s and the legendary Casablanca,
Takahashi’s favourite place.
There is not enough space here to tell all the interesting and
funny tales but Ki-ken-tai-icchi’s training is open for anyone
willing to train together with us and join us for the fun time
outside the training as well.
18

Turku is the fifth largest city in Finland
with about 175 000 inhabitants and is
located on the south coast of Finland. It’s
our oldest city (established in the 13th
century) and also the former capital of
Finland before Helsinki.
Rendaino was founded April 8th 1987,
which makes it one of the oldest kendo clubs in Finland.
Its activity is focused on kendo but also jodo has been practised
there since the club’s very beginning. Currently, kendo is
practised twice and jodo once a week. The club’s size has varied
over the years and right now, junior activity is on the rise. The
club would like to name as its VIPs all the people who participate
in its practice. Training halls are and have been located all around
town. Kendokas’ feet have left no school or other establishment
that has a wooden floor untouched during many years’ worth of
Turku Kendo Club
Rendaino
19
David Hammarström
Treasurer
Rendaino
photo: Rendaino
keiko and gasshuku. During its entire existence, the club has had
many visits from senseis, hosted many camps and its members
have participated in international competitions and gasshuku.
The future looks very bright right now. The only task that
Rendaino has set for itself is that kendo will be practised also in
the future on “sekä tois puol että täl puol jokke” (typical proverb
in Turku area dialect: “this and that side of the river as well”. Turku
city is split in two by the Aura River. “Täl puol”, “this side” is the
old side of town and “tois puol”, “that side” is the city centre.)
The animal that would best describe kendoka from Turku
would be ”Posankka” (something like “Pigduck”), which can
be seen in the area around Aura. Posankka couldn’t be made the
club’s official symbol however, since it was first sighted only in
1999. Like it’s cheerful pink outer appearance would suggest,
neither the Posankka nor the people from Turku take themselves,
or out-of-towners too seriously.

Porvoo Kendo Club
Porvoo (much like its kendo club) is a small and resilient city of
over 47 000 people on the southern coast
on Finland and it’s located only 50 km
away from Helsinki. The city of Porvoo
was, in fact the stage for kendo’s first arrival
in Finland. In 1986, Shirokawa Judo
Club arranged a kyudo camp there with
Felix Hoff from Hamburg as instructor.
Hoff was at that time 5th dan in kyudo
but he also held 4th dan in kendo.
The thought of importing kendo to Finland for good arose
during that camp and people from Porvoo decided to host a
joint kyudo and kendo camp in the same year. Felix Hoff promised
to instruct this time round, as well.
Porvoo invested heavily in marketing and a few hundred
camp invitations were sent to different budo clubs in various
parts of Finland. The ads sparked interest and over 60 people
participated in the first Finnish kendo camp ever.
Regular kendo activity didn’t begin properly in Porvoo for
another few years until the practice of kendo was started under
the sheltering wings of the club Yosaiki which had several Japanese
martial arts in its selection.
In the early 90s the kendo section of Yosaiki consisted of less
than 10 people. After the mid 90s the most active members had
moved away from the region in order to pursue their studies
and kendo activity ceased entirely. A break of several years fol-
lowed before the practice of kendo started again. In this context
the administration of kendo in Porvoo shifted from being a
subordinate of Yosaiki to having a club of its own – the recently
established Porvoo kendo club.
In the last couple of years we’ve had more members in our club
than ever before. The top year was 2005, when the club boasted
an astonishing 26 members. Regrettably, only a few have seen it
as necessary to continue on the long and rocky, but extremely
pleasant, road of kendo.
The Porvoo kendo world has always been strongly influenced
by Kari Jääskeläinen, 5th dan, under whose instruction the Porvoo
kendoka have treaded their path of kendo.
Since early times, active kendoka in Porvoo have included
Dan Welander, 2nd dan and Teppo Ruohtula, 1st dan. Also
Anssi Ruohtula, 2nd dan is one of the most loyal members of
the club, even though he is by now a resident of Helsinki and
therefore visits Porvoo quite seldomly. Successes in shiai, fame
and honour have been brought to Porvoo by the young Atte
Nousiainen, 1st dan, who has successfully represented Porvoo
on various occasions within and outside of Finland’s borders.
At the present time, all active kendoka from Porvoo can be
fitted into one single car. This is a good thing, though, since in
the last year or two the Porvoo people have visited Tapanila Erä
Ken Kai’s practice in Helsinki quite frequently. This way there’s
always room for those who want to come along!
20
Teppo Ruohtula
Chairman
Porvoo Kendo Club

Tampere is Finland’s second largest city
with about 300 000 inhabitants in the
city and surrounding areas. Tampere is
known for its lakes, its history as an industrial
city, its blood sausages and foremost,
its inhabitants’ typically unyielding
attitude towards life and direct way
of putting things. Tampere has also been called “the Manchester
of Finland”, or more informally, “Manse”.
The practice of kendo began in Tampere in 1991, making
2006 the club’s 15th anniversary. Although Ilkka Nurminen,
Fudo Kamae’s first ever president, is the only original member
from the club’s dawn still training, the club itself has been active
through all these years. Nine people from Tampere, who
were interested in kendo travelled to a kendo camp in Turku in
May 1991 in order to learn its secrets . Encouraged by the camp,
they decided to put up their own club back in Häme (one of the
southern regions of Finland).
Tampere Kendo Club
Fudo Kamae
During the founding meeting of the club on June 6th 1991,
Jussi Pakkanen came up with the idea to call the club ”Fudo
Kamae”. Based on what understanding the founders had of the
Japanese language at that time, they thought the phrase meant
”unyielding attitude and kamae”. This also described the way the
club was to be led from that time on.
Without much delay they decided to organize their very own
kendo camp, which was led by Kerstin Herbs from Germany.
With two camp’s worth of experience they started practising
regularly. Besides Ilkka Nurminen, practice was supervised by
Jukka and Tuomo Mäntyniemi and Kimmo Kaukonen. Of the
old sempai only Kaukonen and Nurminen have continued practising.
”We had immense motivation and interest, which led us
forward. We led practice with the help of what we could remember
(from the two earlier camps) and our own activity guiding
us,” Nurminen recalls. At present, the situation for kendo in
Tampere looks very good from the viewpoint of kendoka and
senseis alike. The club has 60 members of which 20 train actively.
Most kendoka still are men, but recently one has been pleased to
see the numbers of female kendoka rising. Also, the beginner’s
courses have been very popular.
The club has also been successful in shiai. Tampere has won
the Finnish Team Championships once and achieved silver and
bronze several times. Pauli Petäjämäki has won the Finnish Individuals
twice.
”We have right now a good nuclear group and every chance
in life to develop our club even further. Our task is, above all, to
support our active kendoka and arrange all kinds of motivating
activity on top of normal, everyday practice,” says present chairman
Mika Kihlakaski.
International winds are also blowing: the ZNKR has sent senseis
every year also to Tampere. The first Japanese senseis to visit
were, among others, Takahashi sensei and Iwatate sensei. The
story also goes that Takahashi sensei designed the Japanese kanji
for Fudo Kamae’s logo. Sensei grew quite fond of how clean and
pure the city of Tampere was and gave the club an emblem,
which means ”clear water”. What could this mean for Tampere
kendo then? It could stand for a clear and resolute mind, among
other things.
”Kendo is first and foremost a mental activity – not just a
physical one,” says Kihlakaski.
21
Heidi Häyrynen
Spokesperson
Fudo Kamae
photo: Fudo Kamae

Pori, our tenth largest city (population over 76 000) on the
west coast could be called ”kendo city” since our Association’s
presidents for the past eight years have been from here. Dai
kuma means big bear, while ken kai stands for sword school. The
”big bear” is derived from the city’s Swedish name: Björneborg
(bear city/castle). And indeed, a bear symbolizes the city and its
inhabitants quite well. As for the kendo club in Pori, one could
say it is small but feisty.
Dai Kuma Ken Kai is rather a small club but one which has
been very active since its creation. The Pori kendoists are known
throughout the kendo world for, among other things, their
annual camp. This has now grown into a large, international
gasshuku: the Pori Jazz Kendo Camp and these days includes
instruction in all three association disciplines: kendo, iaido and
jodo. Back in the 90s, the Pori people were also known for arranging
winter (and aurora viewing) camps in Raattama, Lapland.
Junior activity has also been very intensive in Pori: The club
has participated each year in Kokemäki Pitkis-Sport which is a
huge summer camp where children and youngsters can try out
new sports and budo disciplines.
The club was founded in January 1992 in the wake of the first
beginners’ course ever held there. At first the club received help
in instructing from Rendaino in Turku and Fudo Kamae in Tampere.
On top of this, the members of the newly established club
participated eagerly in camps held in various parts of Finland
as well as abroad. Otherwise the training was held in a hearty
”pioneering spirit”, on one’s own with mostly Kari Ruuhilahti
(by then 6th kyu, now 4th dan) doing the instructing.
A good example of the good old pioneering spirit is the old
story of the time, when Ruuhilahti went to his first international
taikai abroad. When he arrived on location to register for the
shiai, he was asked which dan he held. He announced happily:
”I’ve got 2nd kyu.” Pori was the place, from where people ventured
boldly into the world to gather some experience. With the
same openness the club has also invited other kendoists and senseis
to Pori, thus pioneering also in official kendo education in
Finland: The Pori Art School was the first school ever in Finland
to have kendo in its official curriculum from 1995 to 1997 and
worked together on this with Dai Kuma Ken Kai.
Pori Kendo Club
Dai Kuma Ken Kai
Of the founding members the following are still very active
in kendo: Kari Ruuhilahti, Pertti Kyläniemi, Ari Kyläniemi and
Mika Kihlakaski (who has migrated to Tampere and leads Fudo
Kamae now). Also, Ari Lehtinen has been a very visible figure in
the Finnish kendo world, as he has been not only the president
of the club but also of the entire FKA for many years (”kendo
old-timers” still remember this fondly). The first time, that Ari
showed up at practice in Pori was in 1993, wearing a red jogging
suit. Despite this, Ari has ever since done a lot of work for kendo,
iaido and jodo in Pori and other cities.
Members of Dai Kuma Ken Kai have been seen over the years
as members of the men’s and women’s national teams. Maria Pettersson,
for example, was there when the Finnish ladies won gold
in the EKC of 1996. In addition to this, in the national teams
have fought: Kari Ruuhilahti, Pertti Kyläniemi, Ari Kyläniemi,
Elina Paala and Jukka Uusisalo. Also the national team in iaido
has representatives from Pori in the forms of Jukka Uusisalo and
Jari Riikonen
Pori has also had success in the Finnish Individual Championships.
Kari Ruuhilahti won the title in 1996 and Ari Kyläniemi
in 2005. Pertti Kyläniemi has won either gold or silver so many
times that one has lost count and he has won twice the esteemed
Dan cup.
The most important thing isn’t success in shiai though, but
good spirit. In the last years Pertti Kyläniemi has put a lot of
work into the club and been the principal instructor at practice.
His coaching has taught people a lot and everyone has always left
practice feeling perked up and ready to go. At times practice is
held only with a small ensemble, other times there are more participants,
but the focus is always on the right attitude and kendo
based on good kihon. Some have been very active in training and
others not so much, but everyone is, despite this, always most
welcome to join practice. In recent years it has been a delight to
see many new kendokas showing up. Before, there could be years
when there were no new recruits for the beginner’s course during
the whole year. Things are looking up now and it seems that
people from Satakunta (the region, where Pori is located), who
are normally very inward and slow to accept new things, have
found kendo.
A year or two ago somebody congratulated the club’s president
on the great amount of viewers in a kendo show arranged by
the club. With a smile on his face, Ari told him: ”Ever forward,
said the granny in the snowdrift”*
* = “Ettepäi, sano Mummo lumihanges.” – the Finnish version
of,”It ain’t over ‘til the fat lady sings.”
22
Satu Evilampi
Dai Kuma Ken Kai
Photo: Dai Kuma Ken Kai
Muto-sensei’s visit in Pori 1994
Practice at the Art School dojo (left to right):
beginner Ari Lehtinen, Jukka Uusisalo, Pertti Kyläniemi, Ari
Kyläniemi, Marjo Mikola, Kari Ruuhilahti, Muto-sensei, Kari
Jääskeläinen (KKTI) and Satu Evilampi.

Kouvola is a city of over 97 000 inhabitants in Kymenlaakso,
Kyme valley. It is situated close to the city of Kotka, home of Gu
Dou Ken Kai.
Kendo has been practised in Kouvola since the early 1990s.
The day-to-day business of running practice, ordering equipment
and handling inquiries from those interested in kendo
are handled by our club leader, but we are also part of a larger
organization called Kaigara, a budo club that also offers Aikido
practice to its members.
When the previous kendo club leader Juha Latikka left Kouvola
due to work commitments in spring 2002, a small group
of active club members took it in turns to keep spirits up and
training going. In autumn 2002, with the intake of new practitioners,
the club found its current leader, Pasi Ahonen. Pasi
came to Kouvola in 2002 after 10 years of living and working
abroad. He began his kendo training in 1996 at the University of
Victoria Kendo Club in Canada with Sensei Ted Davis, a fifthdan
kendoka and seventh-dan iaidoka. The club has also been
fortunate to enjoy training support from Jari Heino, who leads
the kendo club in Kotka. Mikko Salonen and Susanna Porevuo
Kendo was introduced in Forssa in 1993. The town of Forssa has
an ideal location on the kendo map of Finland, since it is located
in a triangle between Helsinki, Turku and Tampere. Pori isn’t
that far away either. In fact, between 1993 and 1996 Kari Ruuhi-
Kouvola Kendo Club
Budo Club Kaigara
Forssa kendo club
23
Mrinalini Greedharry
Kaigara
Photo: Antti Ollikka
from Ki-Ken-Tai-Icchi have also been important friends to our
club. In 2003 they visited the club to run our first weekend camp
and give guidance, and we hope the collaboration continues in
the future.
Our club has enjoyed good public interest every autumn
with the start of the beginner’s course . This year there are 11 active
kendoka, 7 with bogu and 4 beginners. At the moment we
have few women in the club, though at times our club members
have been predominantly female. The Kouvola kendoka are active
in their practice and work hard for their kendo. For such a
small club it is of course difficult to organise gradings, even for
beginners. The role of the various kendo camps and other events
organized by the Finnish Kendo Association is therefore crucial
in keeping kendo alive in Kouvola.
Links and contacts:
Kouvola kendo email: kaigarakendo@hotmail.com, pasiahonen@hotmail.com
Kouvola kendo webpages: kouvolakaigara.blogspot.com
See also:
University of Victoria Kendo Club: www.uvickendoclub.tz4.com
Go Dai Ken Tengu
lahti from Pori was the person in charge of kendo in Forssa. After
him a person called Tuukka Salo took over the club’s administration.
Tuukka moved away and the club started fading after that.

Joo Ken Kai was founded in 1993. Legend has it that the beginning
was quite tumultuous (as it often is, of course): People were
at times more interested in wrestling each other (in the regular
sense of the word but also in the more carnal one…) than practicing
the basics of kendo. The fledgling start has however been
overcome by now.
The ship, which was Joo Ken Kai was steered by Mika Ulaska
in the mid 90s. He retired from the club already by the end of
the 90s. With him vanished also the majority of all kendoka, of
whom there were about 20 at the time as the result of some crisis.
This was solved when Niko Saikkonen, by then 4th kyu, took responsibility
of practice together with Sanna Tammisto. In a few
years time the amount of kendoka went up from two to twenty.
It was no picnic, though. It took a lot of work to get the slow
people from Häme region up and moving (Editor’s note: This is
true. It is nationally recognised that people from Häme or Tavastia
are really slow). And then there’s Häme’s present to Finnish
kendo: Hemppa! Heino Vakkilainen is a prime specimen and an
example of the positive effects of kendo: how a slouching, selfsatisfied,
wet-behind-the-ear boy can be turned into an upright
and confident man, who means everything he says and manages
In Jyväskylä a man called Kai Koskinen set up to start kendo activity
around 1996. Kai Koskinen is the head instructor at Aikiken
Budo Club with ranks in such disciplines as aikido, ju-jutsu,
bo-jutsu and iai-jutsu. He trained kendo himself for a while and
Hämeenlinna Kendo Club
Joo Ken Kai
Jyväskylä Kendo Club
Aikiken Budo Club
any task given to him with certainty.
The status of our kendo club is stable. There are about twenty
kendoists, including as many as eight juniors. The most active
members are a part of everything: national team circle, the
FKA’s coaching programme, administrative tasks in the FKA
and other projects on the kendo front. Our club organizes each
year various activities. The most known and most popular of
them is probably “Linna-Kendo” gasshuku (“Castle Kendo”),
also known as “the Kyu Camp”. We also try to attend ourselves to
as many camps and competitions as possible. As well as kendo,
iaido has also been practised in Hämeenlinna. Our club’s trophy
shelf boasts many achievements: gold medals from both the kyu
cup individual and team championships (for higher and lower
kyu grades), one gold from the Dan Cup and two bronze medals
from the Finnish National Individual Championships, three
Fighting Spirit awards and one silver and one bronze from various
international open tournaments. In the Finnish National
team championships Hämeenlinna has been among the best
eight for some years now. I wonder how this year could bring us
another step forward?
24
Sanna Saikkonen
Treasurer
Joo Ken Kai
Tengu
kendo was featured in Aikikens demonstrations among other
budo disciplines. There however hasn’t been enough interest
among people in Jyväskylä and no beginner’s courses have been
held.

Mikkeli Judo Club/Kendo
Mikkeli is our other kendo city in the region of Savo (the southern
part). It is the regional capital of eastern Finland and has
about 48 000 inhabitants. It is located in the “lake-region” of
Finland (järvi-Suomi) with several lakes in and around its area.
Saimaa, the biggest lake in Finland (and 4th largest in Europe)
reaches the city’s centre.
Kendo arrived in Mikkeli at the end of 1996. The city had
active judo and karate clubs with around 200 budoka in each
club. Both of these clubs were interested in adding kendo to their
selection as well and for beginning kendoka in Mikkeli it was
easier to become a member of an existing budo club, as they have
finances and ready access to training halls. Mikkeli Judo Club
won the competition for kendo, since the Karate Club had just
recently added kickboxing to their selection.
In the beginning, the kendoka got only one training session a
week. The word about kendo spread through the grapevine and
thanks to that there were between three and seven kendoka in
each keiko (at that time they were all beginners, of course). Timo
Reenpää (who is the former editor of Tengu, by the way) from
Helsinki wrote an article in the newspaper “Savot”, which was
published a little before the start of the first beginner’s course.
This article got 30 people interested enough to show up for the
course. The first beginner’s course was led by Kari Jääskeläinen
from Helsinki and several people from Pori: Kari Ruuhilahti,
Jukka Uusisalo and Maria Pettersson. There was also one kendo
lesson per week (at least in the year 1997 to Tengu’s knowledge)
at the Adult Education Centre Mikkeli, where staff of the centre
could participate.
Later on the FKA’s current president (at that time a Pori
kendoka) Ari Lehtinen spent some time in Mikkeli. For many
years after that kendo activity was led by Veli-Matti Linna. The
Mikkeli club has had some more silent years in between but now
club administration has been taken over by Heino Vakkilainen,
or Hemppa, who is originally from Hämeenlinna and whom the
Hämeenlinna kendoka have kindly christened “their present to
the Finnish kendo world”. The club is one of Finland’s smallest
clubs with only 3 active members, but activity is on the rise again
as the club prepares to host a national team meeting in early
2007.
In 1997 there was a lot of talk about building a budo centre in
Mikkeli and making Mikkeli the “Mecca of Budo” in Finland. By
now, the centre, by the name of Wisa-areena, has been built and
the Mikkeli kendoka train there twice a week.
(Most of this article is based on an older one, written by Ari Lehtinen
and published in Tengu no.4/1997)
25
Emilia Vuorinen
Spokesperson
FKA

Tapanila is a north eastern part of Helsinki and Tapanilan Erä
is the name of a sports club in northern Helsinki. The Club
itself was formed in the year 1933 and by now it has 18 different
sports disciplines in its selection ranging from rock climbing to
archery, not forgetting more traditional sports. Since there are
three kendo clubs in Helsinki, one most often refers simply to
“Tapanila”.
The practiceof kendo began in Tapanila in the autumn of
1997 as the club’s first beginner’s course started. Nowadays Erä
Ken Kai’s beginner’s courses start twice a year, the first in January
Tapanilan Erä
Erä Ken Kai kendo club
26
Jarkko Lakkisto
Erä Ken Kai
and the second in September. The more advanced kendoka train
around the year, as long as the Tapanila Sports Centre is open.
The average kendoka in Tapanila is male and 30-40 years old,
but recently the trend has been for parents to start practising
together with their children. Right now the age of practitioners
ranges from 11 yrs to 47 yrs, the average thus being 33 years.
The main instructor at Erä Ken Kai is Kari P. Jääskeläinen,
5th dan. There are about 30 active kendoka in Tapanila as we
speak (plus a very fluctuating amount of beginners). Of these 30,
10% are yudansha. Practice is held three times a week, altogether
5 hours a week. Included in this is 1½ hours of Nihon-Kendo-
No-Kata and Go-Gyo-No-Kata every week. There are also regular
visitors from other kendo clubs from the capital city area and
the kendoka from Erä participate actively in national gasshukus.
Up till now, the Zen Nippon Kendo Renmei has every year sent a
sensei to tour the country. The ZNKR senseis have always visited
also Erä Ken Kai. Some of the Erä Ken Kai members also come
to Helsinki kendo club KKTI to practice Seitei jodo.

The City of Kotka is the home of legendary Finnish
musician Juha ”Junnu” Vainio and the cradle
of Finnish heavy metal music. (It’s also the biggest
city in Kymenlaakso County, close to the Russian
border, on the shore of the Baltic Sea). From this
city springs also Gu Do Ken Kai. Kotka Kendo
Club was born in 1998 with Matti Tulikoura
making the delivery. The dojo was established at
Mussalon Oras’ (a local sports club) idyllic club
house that went by the name ”Saaripirtti” (island
cottage). This cost the club about 50 ancient Finnish
marks per year/per person. Due to this, the
practice of kendo has always been rather cheap in
Kotka. Today it costs about 9 euros per year.
The first kendo practice was held with help
from people who formed the Finnish national
team at that time. They trained the weekend
through at Saaripirtti and the people from Kotka
tried to suck in as much information as possible. The shocking,
mundane truth about kendo was revealed to them as soon as
the weekend was over though. Every part of their body hurt and
there was no one to teach them anymore. Being the perky people
that they were, they started to train by themselves. They had
made all kinds of drawings on paper and their memory worked
to a satisfying extent. ”Do ya remember Teemu when we did like
this. Was the leg on this side or the other?” ”I dunno, but let’s try
out which one feels more sensible...” (spoken in true, Kymenlaakso
dialect, which is untranslatable). Everyone took turns in
leading practice and went to camps to learn more and to have
their errors corrected. Books and videos gave many tips, which
were tried out in real life as well. Little by little, the swaying of
sticks started to resemble kendo.
Kotka Kendo Club
Gu Do Ken Kai
In the same year Kondo sensei visited Finland and he named
the club after watching the Kotka kendokas engaging in their
activities for a day or two. Thus GU DO KEN KAI was born:
”Sword school for eternal searching and thirst for knowledge”.
The name of the club and the difficulty in interpreting it has
been challenging even for some Japanese: perhaps the reason for
this is the state of mind typical for Kotka?
Kendo was etched upon their hearts and they wanted to
try competing as well. In the Kyu Cup of the year 2000, Team
Kotka (Petri Peltola, Teemu Peltola, and Jari Heino) snatched
the winner’s trophy and in the individuals Heino won gold. In
2001 the Finnish Team Championships in Pori yielded the team
third place. The three went on to train with the national team
and their first international competition was the Five Nations
Tournament in Helsinki in 2000. In the same year Heino served
his country in the European Championships in Bologna, Italy
and the following year Teemu Peltola joined him for the EC in
Nantes, France. One wonders though, whether the years are correct.
Believe it if you will.
Right now Heino is the only one of the original founding
members who still trains in Kotka (”Sepe”(Petri) moved to
Turku and Teemu to Helsinki). The remaining Kotka aborigines
have fled the scene little by little. The responsibility for leading
practice lies therefore with Heino. Training has also been led in
Kotka by Riku ”Pikkarainen” Pakkanen and Ville Ritola.
The club has always suffered from the brain drain as young
kendoka change town with studies on their mind. Still, kendo
has a foothold in Kotka, even though the number of kendoka is
sometimes very small. At present Kotka has started a group for
juniors. Practice goes on.
Welcome to Kotka! Come to train kendo or just for the heck
of it. Rock Rock!
27
Jari Heino
Chairman
Gu Do Ken Kai

The Kendo Club of the Northern Wind
For a long time Oulu held the unofficial title of being the most
northern kendo club in the world (now lost to the city of Tornio
and maybe to Rovaniemi in the future). Oulu is the sixth largest
city in Finland with over 130 000 inhabitants. It is also a
university city with a rapidly growing population known for its
advances in technology around which most commerce focuses
in the northern part of Finland. In other words, it is the ideal
place for locating a kendo club.
The Finnish Kendo map started to fill out in the late 90s and
took a giant leap up north with the introduction of kendo in
Oulu and the founding of Oulu Kendo Club Hokufuu.
Everything began with Toni Kuure, who came from a small
town called Tornio, posting up ads in 1998. He wanted to gather
together people who might be interested in kendo since there
was no existing venue for its practice in Oulu. Among the people
who read his ad was Jarmo Sakko who had already played kendo
whilst living in Sweden. Jarmo promised to help people to get
started and so practice could begin already at their first meeting.
Soon Jarmo noticed though that a part of the beginners
hadn’t prepared themselves by bringing along something to hit
with and so, being a professional gym teacher, he quickly dug up
a bunch of floorball sticks and the first kendo practice in Oulu
could begin. Because of this there could be no delay in ordering
shinais from abroad and for the next practice people were
already equipped and swaying about with broomsticks.
In the spring of 1999 it was time for the first camp with sempai
as instructors coming in from Helsinki and Pori. Around the
same time it became necessary to found a club. In the founding
Oulu Kendo Club
Hokufuu
meeting people were mostly preoccupied with choosing a name
for the club. Finally it was agreed on, that the club should be
named Oulu Kendo Club Hokufuu. Hokufuu stands for north
wind or northern wind and anyone who has ever visited Oulu
can quite easily understand the name’s origin.
It felt like winning the lottery for the Oulu kendoka, when
Ari Kyläniemi, who was already quite experienced in kendo,
decided to move from Pori to Oulu in order to study at Oulu
University.
It was probably the first time for Oulu University and its faculty
of computer science to be so highly lauded, when Ari first
started asking his Oulu kendo friends for advice where to begin
his studies.
At the moment there are around 40 members in the club,
some juniors, others university students.
Of these people around 20 are active. They visit national and
international camps often and also try to arrange gasshukus of
their own at suitable intervals. Very often after camps and practise,
the indigo hued kendo folk gathers in its regular meeting
places, which are located around the Rotuaari (a famous shopping
street in the centre of Oulu): Café Biskett or Restaurant
Pannu.
Other kendo-supporting activities besides after-kendo haven’t
been forgotten: in the summer some kendoka have been seen in
the park, playing petanque and in the future they also plan to
expand their knowledge by trying “mölkky” (a sort of Finnish
red-neck-version of bowling). Should you ever find yourself in
the area, you are most welcome to join practice.
28
Mika Kankainen
Hokufuu &
Kaj Kostiander
Tenshu Ken Kai

Sysmä Taido Club/Kendo Tengu
Kendo activity started in Sysmä around 1998. It was started after
Kai Hänninen, who had been training aikido and taido traveled
to Japan. That’s where he also started practicing kendo and he
wanted to continue practicing after his return to Sysmä. The ken-
Kokkola is a city of over 35 000 inhabitants in Keski-Pohjanmaa
region, Central Ostrobothnia. Kendo was introduced here
around 1998 in February according to the FKA’s journals. It is
practised in the sports club Kokkolan Jymy, which has sports
disciplines ranging from dancing to powerlifting.
The kendoka in Kokkola train three times a week at Renlund
and Halkokari Schools. There are just over ten members in the
club currently.
Kokkola Kendo Club
Shi Dai Shi Go
dokas got training hours from the local Sysmä Taido club and
for some time they trained twice a week. Time however is not
always on a fledgling young club’s side and in the new millenium
things on the kendo front in Sysmä have been rather quiet.
29
Emilia Vuorinen
Spokesperson
FKA

Helsinki University
Helsinki University: the biggest (38 000
students in eleven faculties), oldest (est.
1640) and most beautiful University in
Finland, that has one of the wealthiest
student unions in the world to sponsor
club activity – Is there a better place to
start a kendo club than this? Our club has
the honour of being the first, actual university club in Finland.
To the confusion of some Japanese visitors though, university
kendo in Finland doesn’t mean exactly the same thing as in Japan.
Unfortunately, so far the University of Helsinki doesn’t
give out credits for doing kendo (big shame!). Otherwise, we’d
probably already have some professors amidst our ranks.
Henrik Snellman (5th dan) founded the Helsinki University
Kendo Club in 1998 and it was accepted into the FKA in 1999.
Our club is best known for its sauna parties and in March 2003
we partied hard in celebration of its five-year existence. After having
recovered from the collective hangover we started planning
our 10-year anniversary in 2008. Henrik has wound up in Turku
now, but the club is run by Sakari Jokinen (3rd dan), Noora Virtanen
(3rd dan) and Emilia Vuorinen (3rd dan), who were given
lots of responsibility right from the very beginning. More recent
additions to the club’s organization are: Elina Holamo (3rd kyu)
and Thomas Vikberg (2nd kyu). The true everyday life of the
club however revolves very much around all those kendoka who
practise at the club. There are around twenty active kendoka,
who form at present the nuclear group, and we also get visitors
from other clubs. Markus Frey of Ki-Ken-Tai-Icchi Kendo Club
has worked intensively on developing our club and has been the
instructor at our asa geiko for some years now.
It’s typical for university students to lead very active and
mobile lives and such is the case also in university kendo in Finland.
Many start kendo and practise for a while, but only a small
part of them stays and carries on practising. There is a constant
flux in the amount of members and there are just as many good
years (member wise) as there are bad ones. Those who continue
practising usually participate in a multitude of activities more or
less involved with kendo (and some can be found at every single
event possible).
We would not have made it through our first years without the
help of our neighboring clubs and now, even with several years
of experience we are at home also in the practise of other clubs
in Helsinki. Activity and mobility are two words that I think
describe our club best. When something happens on the kendo
front, Helsinki University kendoka are sure to be around.
Kendo Club
Hard practice brings all kinds of results: shiai success, places
in the national team, kyu and dan grades, new skills, responsibility
in the FKA’s administration and/or development. Our members
have achieved all of these things during the last year – and
also in the years before that.
(photo: Finnish Team Championships, March 11th, 2006.
The University’s team won first place). These are things to be
truly glad about, but an even more valuable asset is the fact that
the university kendoka work very well together everyday, every
keiko. The atmosphere in the club and also outside of it is good.
In five years time we will hopefully still have asa geiko, even
more hard working kendoka and instructors, beginner’s courses
bulging with newcomers of whom an even greater number continue
practising kendo and perhaps finds it to be a lifelong occupation
or lifestyle even.
We also hope to have many more sauna parties, joint projects
within the club as well as together with other clubs. Our university
club is a good place to grow attached to kendo and to
train others to do so as well. The work won’t be in vain, even if a
member’s road should lead to another club in the future. It is all
for the better of our kendo community. Kendo can also be fun,
and at the university, it is.
30
Noora Virtanen
Chairman
Helsinki University Kendo Club
Photo: Noora Virtanen
(left to right
front: Sakari Jokinen, Emilia Vuorinen, Tuomas Lehto
back: Sauli Järvenpää, Taro Morimoto)

Kuopio is a city of 90 000 inhabitants in the heart of Savo,
eastern Finland. It’s in an area known for its summer cottages
(most Finns move to the countryside during their holidays), a
regional dish called “kalakukko” (“fish rooster”) and the tower
of “Puijo”. People from the area of Savo are renowned for being
talkative, lively, humorous and according to some evil tongues,
crooked. There is nothing crooked about kendo in Savo though.
Kuopio is one of the FKA’s younger clubs and is known for its
enthusiastic young kendokas. In recent years we have expanded
our influence, among other things cooperating with Hokufuu
in Oulu and helping to start kendo activity in the nearby city of
Joensuu.
Kendo arrived in the city of Kuopio in 2002. In the beginning,
shinais were swaying in the local judo club, but an independent
club was founded the following year, 2003. The club was named
by Yagisawa-sensei, 7th dan, who visited during the summer of
2003 in Kuopio. The story goes that sensei was surprised to come
to Kuopio and find that it was such a young club – not only in
terms of the age of the club but of its members, who were in their
teens. After leaving Kuopio he told other people “And there were
these young girls, chirping like little birds. You have to look after
this club, they are so young.” The word “Shô” could be (very)
freely translated as “when a young bird is trying out its wings for
the first time”
Kuopio Kendo Club has become known as the Finnish “teenage
club”, that very actively trains its young, who then, to the
club’s misfortune, escape in pursuit of their studies to other cities
and other clubs around Finland. There are around 20 members
right now. We train regularly four times a week, but since schools
in Kuopio city have a tendency of cancelling practice on their
premises quite often, there are actually less training hours than
Kuopio Kendo Club
Shô Ken Kai
this. Hard work pays off, though, since two our members are very
active in the national team circle and there are a relatively good
number of dan grade holders coming from the club already.
We also practise regularly iaido and in fact, Vesa Hätinen
brought home a medal from the very first Finnish National
Championships held in 2006.
Despite our small numbers our presence is felt and heard all
over Finland. We are eager camp-goers and you cannot escape
the corruptiveness of the Savo dialect (Editor’s note: Nor can
you escape the fact, that due to migration, very many people in
the southernmost part of Finland have their roots in Savo – in
fact, 30 % of the FKA’s administration is of Savo origin now
or are married to someone from Savo. Beware of the Savo mob,
resistance is futile... )
31
Sami Hyvönen &
Claudia Schäfer
Shô Ken Kai,
Emilia Vuorinen
Spokesperson FKA
Photo: Shô Ken Kai

Tornio is an industrial city of over 22 000 inhabitants in Finnish
Lapland.
The practice of kendo started in Tornio in March 2004, when
Kaj Kostiander, who had already played kendo elsewhere decided,
that he couldn’t live without it.
The first show was arranged with the help of some Oulu kendoka
at David Club (a gym), which is located in the basement of a
local shopping centre. There were over 100 spectators gathering
around and gaping in awe, when the noise started hitting the
corridors. The linoleum-covered concrete floor taught the kendoka
from Tornio an important lesson for the next few months:
how to make an ultra-light fumikomi. Soon, luckily enough, we
were given a new practice hall nearby at Seminaari School which
had wooden floors.
There are around fifteen active kendoka in Tornio, some
of who come from the neighbouring country Sweden. After
all, Tornio and its western neighbour Haaparanta(Finnish)/
Haparanda(Swedish) are practically one and the same city. Cooperation
with the Oulu Kendo Club Hokufuu has been active
and benefited both clubs. Oulu has lent a helping hand in
instructing and developing Tornio Kendo Club. Thus they have
also given up their their unofficial title of “northernmost kendo
club in the world” to their “northern little brother”. Tornio,
Tornio Kendo Club
Tenshu Ken Kai
however, is already preparing to pass this title on to the city of
Rovaniemi, from whence two beginners have started to train actively
in Tornio. There is also cooperation over national borders,
especially with the Club in Luulaja(Finnish)/Luleå(Swedish),
Sweden. Luulaja is only a 1.5 hour drive away.
A couple of camps have also been arranged in Tornio, with
Kari P. Jääskeläinen (5th dan kendo) as instructor. There have
been participants from all around Finland and the Seminaari
School summer camps have got a legendary reputation as having
a uniquely Japanese climate. The School’s air conditioning
doesn’t work during the summer, even when it’s hot, the windows
cannot be opened and the front door is located on the floor
above the training hall. In Tornio, kendo camps are thus enjoyed
hot, moist and lacking of air.
If our club were an animal, it would be a salmon living in the
Tornio River. Even if most of its life is lived down south, the best
places for reproducing are up north in Lapland.
Our club’s emblem is a silhouette of a tower in front of the
rising sun. “Tenshu” of Tenshu Ken Kai means “castle tower”,
something, which also happens to be pictured in the crest of the
city of Tornio.
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Where we want to be in five years time: Alive!
Kaj Kostiander
Chairman
Tenshu Ken Kai
Photo: Tenshu Ken Kai

The short but all the more colourful history of our club reaches
back to the year 2004. Our club was conceived (figuratively
speaking) by two more experienced kendoka: Henrik Snellman
and Jari Lampinen. Even though kendo had already been
practised in Turku before, the idea and plans to start a kendo
club for students had been under consideration for a long time
as well as the desire to look for new ways to do kendo in Turku.
After the University opened its doors to kendo by offering funds
for equipment and free space for practice, the first keiko in the
University’s history was held on January 29th 2005 with 18 eager
new beginners.
On the following May Day’s eve 13 newcomers, who had
pulled through the beginner’s course rose to the 6th kyu level
in the club’s first grading. In June the club organized its first
gasshuku, with Uematsu sensei, Kaneko sensei and Nakamura
sensei (all 7th dan) as its instructors. Since Uematsu sensei,
someone who has influenced Finnish kendo very much in its
first years, didn’t at that time have a specific club he could be a
“godparent” to, he was invited by Henrik Snellman to be the sensei
of Dai Kenshin Kai. Upon their arrival the senseis presented
us a gift, which we look upon with great pride; a shield carved
from cherry wood which has our name written on it in kanji.
Later on, the shield was hung in an honorary spot, on the lobby
wall next to the entrance of the Turku University Educational
Faculty’s sports hall entrance.
Our club is now two years old. In October 2006 our club
received happy news: Our club had finally been officially registered
as “Turku Universities Kendo Club Dai Kenshin Kai”.
Our activities, which have been directed at University students
and staff has included active training on university grounds
and elsewhere, camps, sauna parties and gatherings. We’ve had
the pleasure to enjoy the company of the Japanese senseis Sakai
Toshinobu, 7th dan (spring 2005), Nakamura (summer 2005),
Nagaoka (summer 2006), Uematsu Daihachiro, 7th dan and
Turku Universities Kendo Club
Dai Kenshin Kai
Kaneko (summer 2005 and spring 2006) who have visited and
taught at our club.
We have constantly about 10 active members. The central
figures in our club are Janne Lindstedt (chairman and in charge
of the beginners) and the “founding fathers”: Henrik Snellman
(sempai, idealist and still very strongly active in the background)
and Jari Lampinen (sempai, sponsor and importer of kendo
equipment). We’ve visited the Finnish Kendo capital, Helsinki,
on several occasions, we’ve participated in shiai in Hämeenlinna
and two of our members have participated abroad in Stockholm
Open and the grading ceremony held on the same occasion. We
are also planning for the future a 2-3 week training excursion to
kendo’s homeland, Japan.
The future looks kind of foggy, despite all this and everything
depends on how eagerly we manage to strive towards our goals
and destinations and how much we believe in the future of our
club. We have enough strong will, interest and eagerness to pass
around, but we sometimes lack the courage to go out and do
things independently. Even in our club, which is still in its infancy,
we can find those who want to cling on to old habits and
aspirations and cannot see, how bright the future could be if we
could let go of the past.
33
Hannes Merisaari
Former vice president
and spokesperson
Dai Kenshin Kai
Photo: Dai Kenshin Kai

Lahti is the seventh largest city in Finland
and located 100 km northeast of
Helsinki.
Lahti Kendo Club was founded on
27th May 2004 and gained membership
of the FKA 26th February 2005. Sakai
Toshinobu, (7th dan, University of Tsukuba,
ZNKR national team coach 2005) visited Lahti in 2005
and named our club “Shi Ken Kai”, after which the club officially
changed its name from Lahden Kendoseura ry (ry=registered
association) to Lahden Kendoseura Shi Ken Kai ry in 2005.
Niko Saikkonen of Hämeenlinna’s Joo Ken Kai has designed
our club logo as a result of winning the logo competition held
in 2006.
Training sessions are held in the Kiveriö School sports hall on
Wednesdays and Fridays. As of September 2006 there has also
been practice on Sundays in the Kivimaa Elementary School
sports hall. In addition, Shi Ken Kai has had the privilege of participating
in the keiko of the kendo clubs of Hämeenlinna and
Hauho, who have also kindly lent a helping hand in instructing
beginners and more advanced people alike. It has been a good
”A Hau – a Hau, and then a Hou Hou” (”Hau – Hau ja sitten
Hou – Hou”). So began a song by the famous Finnish singersongwriter
Juice Leskinen (who just recently passed away). That
song was practically all I knew about Hauho when I moved there
in 2003.
The tinier than tiny kendo club Yuu Ken Kai was established
in 2004. The club was named by Iwakiri sensei and could be
translated quite freely to “knights protecting the castle” (Editor’s
note: This is a little verbal pun: the castle refers to the city of
Hämeenlinna, “Häme castle” and the knights would thus be the
family Saikkonen)
Right now we have two ”members”: Niko and Sanna Saikkonen.
The idea behind the club was on one hand to let the people
from Joo Ken Kai in Hämeenlinna get more hours of training
from the Eteläinen Elementary School in Hauho. Like in many
other clubs, the high training fees paid by the members had been
causing some irritation in Hämeenlinna. The club had to reduce
training hours because of the club’s financial situation. It was a
Lahti Kendo Club
Shi Ken Kai
Hauho Kendo Club
Yuu Ken Kai
experience to have Joo Ken Kai take Lahti Kendo Club under its
wings and help it grow into what it is today.
The first beginner’s course was held in autumn 2004. 25 people
participated out of which 18 took the 6th kyu grading. The
next beginner’s course had just as many beginners and 19 people
were given the 6th kyu. In the autumn of 2006 Lahti Kendo
Club’s third beginner’s course started along with 15 newcomers.
The club has about 50 members, out of which half are under
18 years of age. There has been a kendo boom among juniors
(most kendoka in Finland still start as adults) in recent times
of which Lahti Kendo Club is a good example. There are about
10 to 15 active kendoka attending each practice. None of the
founding members are at present active in the club though.
Shi Ken Kai has already had many visitors in its few years of
its existence. Sakai sensei and the people from Hämeenlinna
and Hauho were already mentioned above. Saito Koji (7th dan,
University of Sendai) visited in 2005. Various kendoka from the
cities of Kuopio, Porvoo and Tampere have also dropped by to
do some keiko. We eagerly anticipate more visitors for the year
2007. Welcome to Lahti!
34
Olli Winberg
Shi Ken Kai
Emilia Vuorinen
Spokesperson
FKA
Photo: Shi Ken Kai
Niko Saikkonen
Chairman
Joo Ken Kai & Yuu Ken Kai
happy surprise to notice that the county of Hauho didn’t charge
anything for the first two years for the use of its training halls
(Editor’s note: and in Finland, most schools are owned by cities
and counties and clubs can use their sports facilities for training
in the evenings), even if the club had up to four training sessions
(from 1 to 2 hours) a week.
On the other hand, we thought that the club in Hauho could
function as a support for new kendo clubs. Yuu Ken Kai has been
active in the starting out of kendo activity in the following cities:
Kuopio, Lahti and Hyvinkää. Yuu Ken Kai has also organized
loads of other activities, for example national team gatherings
and iaido sessions. We hope that in the future we could organize
something that is open to all kendokas in the new, full-size sports
hall of Hauho county.
The ambitious goal for Yuu Ken Kai is to become the biggest
kendo club in Finland – related to the size of the population in
Hauho, of course.

Hyvinkää Kendo Club
Hyvinkää is a small city of over 43 000
inhabitants approximately 50 kilometers
north of Helsinki and its also very
close to the cities of Hämeenlinna and
Lahti.
Hyvinkää has had kendo activity already
for a few years now. Practice started
with the help of Hämeenlinna Kendo Club Joo Ken Kai after
Mika Lindroos from Hyvinkää attended their beginner’s course
in Hämeenlinna. The first kendo show of Hyvinkää was held in
January 2005. It was noted already in advance in a local newspaper
and that’s why spectators were numerous.
Following the show people who were interested formed the
first beginner’s course, which was instructed by Niko and Sanna
Saikkonen as well as Ari Pietiläinen. The course was held at the
local Swedish School, which ever since has acted as the club’s reg-
ular training place. In Spring and Summer of 2005 Ari Lehtinen
from Pori visited Hyvinkää as an instructor. Hyvinkää Kendo
Club was founded in April 2005 and a new beginner’s course
began in the same year in Autumn coached by Ari Lehtinen.
The third beginner’s course was started in Autumn of 2006, now
with the city’s own kendokas Mika Lindroos and Antti ”Ana”
Vartiainen doing the instructing.
The club has around ten kendokas, who have also participated
in camps and the Kyu Cup with great success. In October 2006
the club had a very special opportunity to get acquainted with
naginata as David D’hose from the Belgian naginata national
team visited Hyvinkää and joined practice.
It’s our hope that the amount of members in the club will go
up with future beginner’s courses, which have aroused interest
in the city. The small but active Hyvinkää Kendo Club bids all
visiting kendokas very welcome to Hyvinkää!
Leppävaara Budo Club
Leppävaara Budo Club is one of the FKA’s youngest clubs. Leppävaara
is a part of Espoo, the second largest city in Finland
and neighbour to the city of Helsinki. Leppävaara Budo Club
started operating in 2004 with iaido as its sole discipline. The
beginning was rather tumultuous.
Early in the year 2006 José Martinez-Abarca (4th dan iaido,
1st dan jodo ) held an iaido and jodo demonstration in Leppävaara.
As a result of this demonstration the club decided
to apply for membership of the Finnish Kendo Association.
Membership was granted in April 2006 and the form of iaido
being practised was changed to ZNKR Seitei iaido. José is the
instructor in our club and we try to visit Ki-Ken-Tai-Icchi’s iaido
practice in Helsinki as often as possible.
In the autumn of 2006 the club started a beginner’s class for
juniors, which is instructed by Akseli Korhonen (3rd dan kendo),
also a member of KKTI. The beginner’s class is filled with
enthusiastic young kendoka aged 10 years and above. The club
specializes in activities for children, young people and families.
The iaidoka train twice a week and the kendo juniors once.
There average amount of people participating in iaido sessions
is six and in kendo around the same. In the autumn of 2006, a
joint beginner’s course for iaido and jodo was organized in Es-
Espoo
35
Mika Lindroos
Chairman
Hyvinkää Kendo Club
Petri Alestalo
Leppävaara Budo Club &
Emilia Vuorinen
Spokesperson
FKA
Photo: Petri Alestalo
poo with instructors from the FKA helping out. The organisers
hope that this will turn out to be a continuous, annual tradition
for the club.
Within the next five years the club hopes to see growth in the
amount of active, practising members and to root kendo and
jodo (which are both still taking baby steps in the club) deeply
into its weekly routine.
Petri Alestalo, Mikko Boiakhtchan and Paulus Artimo run
the club.

In 2006 a beginner’s course started in Joensuu, close to the eastern
border to Russia and beyond the mythical “wolf barrier” (a
finnish expression for a place located really far, far away, “where
the wolves dwell”). Joensuu is in fact one of the biggest cities
in North Karelia (pop. 58 000) and a university city at that, so
it is fertile ground for starting a kendo club. The person taking
initiative in Joensuu has been Ainomaija Paakkinen, originally
from Dai Kenshin Kai in Turku. The beginners have been taught
with help from Shô Ken Kai in Kuopio and the paper work for
forming a club has been set in motion. The club has already
established itself pretty well, so all that remains to be done is for
them to join the FKA officially. This is something, that probably
on the agenda in 2007.
Rovaniemi, the city on the Polar Circle (and home to two mythical
figures: Santa Claus and Eurovision Song Contest winner
Mr. Lordi) is another city that has been starting kendo activity
lately. This city is also a very potential place for a kendo club. It’s
the administrative and commercial center of Lapland and actu-
Future hopes...?
ally, the largest city in Europe – in sheer size, that is (8,016 km²).
Most of this area is covered by forest. But no worries, there’s
always room for a few more kendokas. The cities of Tornio and
Oulu are relatively close and beginners from Rovaniemi have
visited Tenshu Ken Kai’s beginner’s course in 2006. There are at
least three very enthusiastic people there, waiting to get things
started. The year 2007 will show how things will develop in the
future.
36

Photo Gallery
37

Pori
Turku
Kokkola
Tornio
Oulu
Kuopio
Mikkeli
Tampere
Hämeenlinna
Lahti Kouvola
Hyvinkää
Kotka
Porvoo
Helsinki
Espoo