Suigetsukan Dojo

Our dojo brother (William) Kendall Giddens passed away on October 10th after a brief battle with cancer. The joy and focus he brought to the mat whenever he was training was an inspiration to everyone around him. Old school dojo folk: James Woodard, Rebecca and others are gonna get together later tonight to talk on zoom. Let me know via pm/messenger if you want the link. Our class tonight will be dedicated to his memory.

Dear Suigetsukan Community,
We hope you are doing well in these uncertain times. We miss seeing you all in person, but we appreciate the new (and sometimes unexpected!) ways we've been able to connect with one another.
April 6th has passed, but we will continue to offer only online training through Zoom until the shelter in place order has been cancelled. It has been great to see how many of you have been making use of these classes. Though we all miss the physical contact that training brings us, we believe that the online classes will allow all of us to examine the arts we love in new ways that will further our learning.
You can find these classes list on our website. We are continuing to adjust classes to be most useful to our community, so thank you for your patience as we all navigate these new structures.
This time brings financial hardship for many of us, and we ask that only those of you who are financially able to do so continue to pay your memberships. If you are unable to maintain your dues, we understand and support your decision and want you to come to our zoom classes regardless. If you can, use our Paypal account (see the website under about-us/dojo-dues) or send a check to the dojo at 103 International Blvd. Oakland CA 94606. Please remember that when we re-open, you are welcome to train no matter what you can contribute.
As you are able, please take a moment to check in with those dojo members who are in high-risk categories to offer any help that minimizes their need to venture out in public and to let them know you are thinking of them. A phone-call or brief message goes a long way! If you are in need please use the dojo listserve to reach out to others in our community.
If you have any questions related to the above please email us at [email protected].
Take care of yourself and others!
In community,
The Suigetsukan teaching staff

Hi all,
We are starting Adult online and teen classes Saturday April 4th via Zoom. The schedule will be on the website and is as follows:
Aikido Wednesday 8pm and Saturday 10am
Toyama Ryu (Sword) Monday 8pm and Saturday 11am
Jujutsu Monday 7pm and Friday 7pm
Sparring/ Calistenics Wednesday 5:45pm
Instructors will be wearing Gis. We are asking you to do so, but it is fine if you do not.
If you are interested in classes please message me or the dojo for the links.
I know that this is a stressful time and respect that some of you may have your hands full and so please know that there is no pressure to attend the above. We hope to also upload most classes to the dojo youtube channel, so people can access them, if they cannot attend the zoom classes.
I hope this is finding you all doing as well as possible given these difficult times
Please take care and I miss you all
Mike

Hi all,
We are starting Adult online classes Saturday April 4th via Zoom. The schedule will be on the website and is as follows:
Aikido Wednesday 8pm and Saturday 10am
Sword Monday 8pm and Saturday 11am
Jujutsu Monday 7pm and Friday 7pm
Sparring/ Calistenics Wednesday 5:45pm
We will send instructions on how to access the classes. Classes are an hour long, please note all classes are at their regular times except for the Friday Jujutsu class. Instructors will be wearing Gis. We are encouraging you to do so, but not requiring it.
Please remember that I will teach 3 advanced classes for Brown and Black belts this week
Aikido Saturday at 10am, Sword Saturday 11am, Jujutsu Monday at 6pm
Please look for the zoom access info later today
I look forward to seeing you all there. I know that this is a stressful time and respect that some of you may have your hands full and so please know that there is no pressure to attend the above. We are working on a youtube talk about solo training and we hope to also upload most classes to the dojo youtube channel, so people can access them there, if you cannot attend the zoom classes.
I hope this is finding you all doing as well as possible given the circumstances
Please take care and I miss you all
Mike

Hi,
Ohana 2020 in Hawaii has been cancelled. So sorry, all of you who have been training so hard, particularly our younger students who have been saving up for so long and were really looking forward to what probably feels like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. On the bright side, a few of us are meeting so that we can begin with online dojo content soon. Also if anyone need particular support please reach out the dojo listserve.
Please take care of yourselves in this strange time
All the best
Mike

Dear Suigetsukan Community,

In times of crisis, we turn to family, friends, and the things that ground us. The dojo is all of that to us. It had been our hope to continue to offer the dojo as a place of community, of connection and of physical practice, but it is clear that we must now take action to protect each other and our communities from the COVID-19 pandemic.

After much difficult deliberation the teaching staff, has decided to temporarily close the dojo as of tomorrow March 17th, and remain closed through April 7th.

This time brings financial hardship for many of us, and we ask that only those of you who are financially able to do so continue to pay your memberships. Please use our Paypal account (see the website under about-us/dojo-dues) or send a check to the dojo at 103 International Blvd. Oakland CA 94606. If you are unable to maintain your dues, we understand and support your decision. Please remember that when we re-open, you are welcome to train no matter what you can contribute.

As you are able, please take a moment to check in with those dojo members who are in high-risk categories to offer any help that minimizes their need to venture out in public and to let them know you are thinking of them. A phone-call or brief message goes a long way!

We are working on keeping everyone engaged with online learning tools. It will take a few weeks to set it all up. So please keep an eye on your email inbox, on our website, our email list, and on Facebook for all updates. If you have any questions related to the closure please email us at [email protected].

Take care of yourself and others!

In community,
The Suigetsukan teaching staff

Our youth are fundraising to attend this year's Ohana conference. If you got any to spare, they would greatly appreciate it!

Send Suigetsukan to Ohana 2020! organized by Josie Chen I'm raising money to send students from Suigetsukan Dojo's youth program (myself included!)… Josie Chen needs your support for Send Suigetsukan to Ohana 2020!

Look forward to seeing you all there

Kilohana Kufferath Masters Seminar 2019 A Kilohana training intensive, offering instruction by masters of martial arts. For adults and youth, the arts include JUDO, JU JITSU, AIKIDO, AIKIBUJITSU, KAJUKENBO, KENPO, GOSHIN JITSU, ESKRIMA, and LUA. For further details, visit kilohanausa.com .

Kilohana Black Belt Weekend. Thank you to all the instructors and participants for your dedication and hard work.

February 8th, 9th, and 10th
Free to all, but donations are welcome

All regular classes are cancelled, but please feel free to join any class, and as many or as few classes, as you like. They are open to ALL levels, from absolute beginner to advanced students. This is a great chance to check out the other arts and interact with other dojomates you may not have had a chance to meet.

The ONE exception being the 9am Saturday morning "2000 Cuts" sword class: participants need to have already attended sword classes. This should not be a student's first experience with sword.

Potlucks!
Please come on Friday and Saturday EVEN IF YOU DID NOT TRAIN! Come and eat, bring a bit of food or drink to share if you like (no pressure there either). Above all, bring yourselves. Friends and family are welcome.

Food:
Be aware of food allergies. No nuts, please, just to be on the safer side. Best practice would be to label whatever delish dish you bring (i.e. "vegan", "vegetarian", "gluten free", "rampaging roast beast", etc). Listing ingredients may be helpful for those with allergies or food sensitivities. Thank you!

Suigetsukan Dojo updated their business hours.

To all students,
Don't forget to join Sensei Derek Baure this Saturday, August 20th for the Kilohana Aikido Kui Lima training clinic. He will be one of the guest instructors along side the great Prof. Michael Esmailzadeh and Prof. Rowdy Hall. It's will be held at the Suigetsukan dojo in Oakland from 10am -1pm. There's a $20 charge at the door but we'll worth it for the training.

https://www.gofundme.com/2g53hsxr

Click here to support Jon Quijano's Surgery Fund by Amy McCrery Hello, my name is Amy, I am starting this campaign for my Uncle John Quijano. John has encountered some health issues and is going to have surgery to remove a tumor from his brain. This is could be financially devastating for him and his wife, Billie Quijano unless we can step in and support th...

This year's Kilohana gathering. It was great training and a good time for everyone. Photo: Ernie DeMoss

The Kilohana brown/black belt training was a lot of fun. Thank you everybody for coming. Photo: Ernie DeMoss

From Annie Danger:

Hey trans women of the Bay Area! I'm teaching a trans women specific self defense basics course at Suigetsukan Dojo in October. It's sliding scale down to $0 and you should come.

Self Defense Basics for Trans Women
Instructor: Annie Danger
When: Three Sundays, October 11th, 18th, and 25th
Time: 1pm to 4pm
Location: Suigetsukan Dojo, 103 International in Oakland
Sliding scale [$0-$100], no one turned away for lack of funds
Registration: [email protected]

This will be a three-weekend course on self defense basics which will be specifically geared toward trans women. We will cover a set of techniques for defending against a single, unarmed attacker. (Further courses may be available in the future for multiple attackers and armed attackers.) These basics will provide students with a solid set of basic, versatile skills including de-escalation, striking, blocks, pressure points, and a few other useful tricks.

This class is geared specifically toward the challenges trans women face in domestic and street-based self-defense scenarios. The class will be led by Annie Danger, a trans woman and assisted by a mix of trans and cis women. The class is open to trans women and other people who were assigned male at birth and have some connection to trans feminine experience. This is a limited space for a reason, please respect it. If you identify as a trans woman or something close (there are definitely genderqueer people on a trans feminine spectrum here), please join us. We hope to create a very supportive space in which to get into this trauma-filled material.

Girl Army

http://girlarmy.org/?page_id=8

Classes and Workshops | Self Defense Basics for Trans Women Instructor: Annie Danger When: Three Sundays, October 11th, 18th, and 25th Time: 1pm to 4pm Location: Suigetsukan Dojo, 103 International in Oakland Sliding scale [$0-$100], no one turned away for lack of funds Registration: [email protected]

girlarmy.org Girl Army is a self-defense collective that began in 1994 through Suigetsukan Dojo. We are a community based collective, run entirely on volunteer work and some student contributions.

Our annual winter intensive is this weekend. We will have full days of classes Friday through Sunday (1/30-2/1). Full schedule up on our website (http://suigetsukan.org/class-schedule/). Students are welcome to try any of the classes all weekend long; classes will be geared for all levels including first timers. There is no charge for the weekend.

Suigetsukan was started at Gilman and we are happy to be represented at Gilman again.

Melisa Spence brings her Japanese Sword to Gilman and you can join! Bad Ass of the week: Melisa Spence Melisa (seated) seen her with some of her students :) Melisa just successfully launched a sliding scale payment "Toyama Ryu Battodo (Japanese sword) program" at ...

Here are all of us with our Kilohana awards. We had a great time.

Inside the mind of a warrior... Bad Ass of the week: Maija Soderholm (All photos taken by: Greg Manalo- Manalo Pictures) Highly skilled in the blade work of the Visayan Style Eskrima of Sonny Umpad, Maija is sharing her hard won ...

Congrats to Professor Mike Esmailzadeh on his hachidan promotion!