Dojo Portræt, Kenseikai: Copenhagen Kendo Club Part I
Oldest Kendo club in Denmark
Population: GDRP
剣誠会 Kenseikai is the most common name for a kendojo in Japan
Membership Count: GDRP
Trainer Count: GDRP
Website: https://www.kenseikai.dk
Training frequency: 4 times weekly
Training level: No bogu classes, with bogu classes, beginner and advanced classes.
Kenseikai, formerly called Yushinkan, is the oldest dojo in Denmark. It was the first real kendo club formed, created simultaneously with the Danish Kendo Federation, and has since the beginning enjoyed the patronage of the esteemed hachidan, Saburo Iwatate. No other dojo in Denmark can claim to be half as old or has produced as many yudansha. Even today it boasts not only the only rokudan in the country, but also the most mid-level yudansha with currently seven yondan+ members. It’s membership is almost as large as all the west of the bridge dojos combined. No other club is as old or self sufficient.
So what do members say about Kenseikai?
“It was a whole lifestyle almost. I lived and breathed Kendo for a while. We got so into it. I guess it was empowering in a way. I don't have a lot of discipline from home and I never liked sports, I've been bullied and put down, but kendo made me feel like a badass. And the whole rough and tumble style of it then was awesome to me. I liked being yelled at and being hit in my back to make me run faster. It was what I personally needed at the time.
The tournaments and seminar journeys to Sweden had a sense of camaraderie about them and a feeling of belonging to something, a culture, a group. And of course, being crazy about samurai only made it more awesome. I always thought it was fun doing kata because it was just about being a cool samurai.
But the feeling of belonging and of finally being good at a sport, that's something I really remember. ” —2003-2006 period
“They liked to practice hard. Yosuke still do. Warming up would be 10 rounds of kilikaeshi. We would do three hour uchi komi with only one short water break halfway etc. People would drink beers and talk about kendo for hours. And several events would take place like the three days trip to Malmø for sugo cup sleeping together on cheap hostels, the Iwatate seminars that became yearly events, and club shiais, where everyone would tip in 50 kr.” — 2009-2012 period
“I really like the dedication of trainers and that we have a lot of training days throughout the week!”
—-2021-present
Kenseikai has held the most events with high level sensei of any dojo in Denmark. They have held several competitions and most recently hosted DKF’s first shodan shinsa in 15 years. The last shodan shinsa, was also held at Kenseikai, in conjunction with a number of hachidans visiting the country. For many years the name Kenseikai was nearly synonymous with Danish kendo. The entirety of DKF was primarily Kenseikai members for nearly two decades and the club continues to be a major force in Danish kendo today.