Kodenkan Budo School (now Seibukan Budo) - Nihon Kobudo Hozonkai

Memories of My School's Origins in These Times of Physical Recovery

Zaragoza, May 3, 2022

- The Kodenkan Budo School (now Seibukan Budo) - Nihon Kobudo Hozonkai was founded in 1987 at the American Air Base in Zaragoza by Master Edward Cooper and a group of enthusiastic young martial arts practitioners, among whom I was included.

- Cooper Sensei had previously served for many years as a member of the U.S. Air Force in Hawaii and Okinawa. He was an expert in Karatedo (Gojuryu), Judo - Jujutsu (Danzanryu), Aikido (Iwamaryu), and Iaido (Eishinryu).

- Kodenkan was the name that the Japanese master Okazaki gave to his dojo in Hawaii, which served as the foundation for our practice of Judo - Jujutsu from the Danzanryu - Yoshinryu styles in the 1980s. This was before I became acquainted with the Yoseikan Jujutsu style in France in 1992.

- The name Kodenkan - 古伝館 has different interpretations and can be translated as "the place where elders teach tradition," "the place of ancient traditions," or "the place where the elders – the more advanced – teach the newcomers – the less advanced."

- The teaching method I learned was based on the Hawaiian word kokua, which means "helping each other."

- In Western didactics, this teaching method is known as "peer or cooperative learning," and I have applied it for more than 30 years up to the present in martial arts instruction in recreational, educational, and functional settings. It is the best teaching method.

- Nihon Kobudo Hozonkai refers to the study and preservation of traditional Japanese martial arts. In those years, it referred specifically to Okinawa Goju Ryu Karatedo / Kobudo and the Eishin school of Iaido.

- In 1992-93, I became a member of Seibukan Japan, and since then, I have traveled to Japan about twenty times to learn about the martial traditions that are part of its culture.

- Since 1980, I have learned from numerous instructors, trainers, and masters, both Spanish and foreign, whether connected to martial arts or not. I have primarily taught Jujutsu and Aikido in the Yoseikan styles.

- Most of my Japanese masters have now passed away, and I hope that the generational and organizational transition will take place soon.

- In 2012, my esteemed master Cooper passed away in Boston, USA, at the age of 72. Thanks to him, I was able to train with renowned Japanese masters of Karatedo and Kobudo.

- In 2018, I changed the name from Kodenkan Budo - Nihon Kobudo Hozonkai to Seibukan Budo - Nihon Kobudo Hozonkai. Both share the same spirit and teaching method.

- Seibukan Budo refers to the learning and teaching of various modern martial arts, Shinbudo, while Nihon Kobudo Hozonkai pertains to classical Japanese martial arts, Kobudo.

- My school is called Seibukan - 正武館, meaning kan (place), bu (shi) (warrior), sei (righteous). It is a place (kan) where the ancient traditions (Koden) of martial arts (Budo) are learned.