Building a Foundation of Traditional Kendo

The Vancouver Kendo Club is one of the oldest kendo clubs in Canada. The Club can trace its roots to the early 1900s, and has a long history of developing strong kendoka (practitionners of kendo) and promoting kendo in the Vancouver area. A number of our members have been chosen to be members of the team representing Canada at the World Kendo Championships. We also sponsor an annual kendo tournament that attracts participants from all over North America.

Our instructors believe that the key to good kendo is strong fundamentals. Both beginners and senior kendoka work on the basic elements of kendo in every practice. We work to ensure that all our kendoka strive to follow one of the basic tenets of kendo: ki-ken-tai-ichi. Ki is spirit, ken is about handling the sword/shinai, and tai refers to body movement and posture. These elements, when they come together into one entity (ichi), are the requirements of a valid strike.

Vancouver Kendo Club strives to provide its members with physical and mental challenges that will help them grow into strong kendoka. We encourage our members to push themselves and challenge their limits. We emphasize the importance of courtesy, dedication and team spirit to kendo, and help fosters these ideals in the dojo and by organizing both kendo and non-kendo events.

Practice Schedule

Thursdays – 8pm to 10pm
(Last Thursday of each month dedicated to the practice of Shiai)

Fridays – 7pm to 10pm
(Last Friday of each month dedicated to the practice of Shiai)

Sundays – 3:30pm to 5:30pm

The September 2025 to August 2026 Practice Calendar can be found here.