How Do I Know Good Dojo?

by Chuck
(China, Henan, Zhnegzhou)

I'm new to this site, and let me say it’s pretty great.

I have a question though... I live in a city where they hate the Japanese like hell. Pretty much everything that I can find here is taekwondo and wushu, sanda and Muay Thai Kendo is just a monopoly here.

In my area there is only one school that I have heard of. It's a part of the Chinese kendo association. Once I heard about it I wanted to go have a look, but had no time. I called one of the masters and told me that he is a 2nd dan in kendo and was studied in Beijing. (That did seem to be believable) And the school does go to other international cities to compete. So, it sounds good right?

But, I saw the schedule, and it appears to be once a week, every Sunday from 2 to 5. So is that a good schedule or a bad one?

And before I go to check I would like to know how a real Kendo school should look like. Please describe how one should look like.

Thanks

Take care

Answer: Thanks for your question and compliment!

It is always important to check if your dōjō is affiliated to a legitimate kendō organization in China. What is legitimate? The dōjō should be affiliated to an organization that is affiliated to International Kendo Federation (FIK). Go and check this page for Chinese Organizations that are affialited to FIK.

Schedules are not very good measurement of how good the dōjō is. You really should go and check what they do. And it is very difficult to see if they are doing a real kendō so that is why it is important for you to check if the dōjō is affiliated to an organization that is an affiliate of FIK.

Go and watch a few times and listen to what the instructors are teaching to their students. If what they talk about is the same as the concept of kendō that All Japan Kendo Federation declares, then the instructors are very good.

Hope this helps.

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