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OUR STORY

Sydney Kendo Club (SKC) was founded in 1974 and is the longest running Kendo club in Australia. We are affiliated with the New South Wales Kendo Association (NSWKA) and Australian Kendo Renmei (AKR). Each week, we have two training sessions for adults. Many visitors train with us from other clubs, be it locally, nationally or internationally.

Our members come from many walks of life, with high school and university students, tradies, professionals, public servants, expats, retirees, mothers, fathers, and grandparents.

Our passionate and experienced team of volunteers provide our members with a rewarding learning experience and warm community in Kendo, and the Club overall is here to propagate the practice of Kendo, contribute to the local community and provide a home for international visitors.

SKC aims to represent the best of Kendo tradition while striving to improve Kendo in Australia by holding seminars with visiting Kendo Sensei. Our training schedules cover all skill levels from beginner to the experienced. Please feel free to contact us or drop in at a training session.

「錬技睦和」"Rengi Bokuwa" is our motto at Sydney Kendo Club. This means "We vow to train our skills and minds in harmony, keeping good terms with each other to become better human beings and to contribute to society". This is the ultimate goal of Kendo.

About: About

OUR EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

JESSIE JEUNG

President

IAN BEKEN

Secretary

RIZZI DE LEON

Treasurer

About: Team

CLUB SENSEI AND SENIOR MEMBERS

DANIEL STRENGER

Kendo 6 Dan Renshi

Daniel commenced Kendo in 1973 at the Muirfield and Epping Kendo Clubs, Sydney, and then in 1974 joined the Willoughby kendo Club at its inaugural training which subsequently became the Sydney Kendo Club. In 1979 he was a member of the Australian Kendo Renmei team that attended the World Kendo Championships in Sapporo, Japan. From 1982 Daniel commenced residency in Japan and from 1982-1983 was formally enrolled as a ‘Kendo research student - itakusei’ at Nippon Taiku Daigaku (Japan Sports Science University), Tokyo, as nominated by the Australian Kendo Renmei. From 1982 through to 1998 Daniel was a member of various Tokyo Kendo associations returning thereafter to Sydney. Daniel has been a Secretary and Treasurer of both the Sydney Kendo Club and Australian Kendo Renmei, and a member of the NSW Technical Committee. Daniel attained 6 Dan in 2017 in Aichi, Japan, and Renshi in 2018 in Tokyo.

VIVIAN YUNG

Kendo 5 Dan

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Vivian started Kendo at the Sydney Kendo Club in 2001. She has travelled multiple times to Japan for Kendo training and to overseas for international Kendo competitions.  Vivian has won the Australian Women's Individual title twice and team title multiple times. Vivian also represented Australia in both the individuals and team events in the 2006 Taiwan, 2009 Sao Paulo and 2012 Novara World Kendo Championships and achieved best 16 individual performance in 2009 and 2012. She was awarded the fighting spirit award for her outstanding performance in the 2012 World Kendo Championships. In 2013, Vivian represented Australia in the 2nd World Combat Games in St Petersburg, Russia.  She attained the rank of 5th Dan in 2015. Vivian has served as President of the Sydney Kendo Club and the Secretary of the Australian Kendo Renmei. In 2018, she served as the captain of the Women's Team in the World Kendo Championships held in Seoul, Korea. This team came 3rd in the world behind Japan and Korea.

ANDREW VAN HAMOND

Kendo 5 Dan

Andrew started Kendo at the Sydney Kendo Club in 2001. He is a former and present President of the NSW Kendo Association and has been the state Dan team coach in recent years. In 2013, he won the National Veteran's title. Andrew attained the rank of 5th Dan in 2016 in Tokyo.

NANAKO NAKAMURA

Kendo 5 Dan

Nanako Nakamura, a SKC member since 2020, currently holds a 5th Dan. She started Kendo in Tokyo at a young age and was a former member of the Waseda University Kendo club. Her active participation extends to Kendo clubs in Japan, Germany, and the Netherlands.

STEVEN LAWLEY

Kendo 4 Dan

Steven commenced Kendo in 1968, while still at High School. At that time Kendo training was held at various dojo around the Sydney area. Initially he was trained by Yoshida Sensei, subsequently by Takeuchi Sensei and many visiting Sensei. A great influence was Shizawa Sensei. In 1974 Steven started training at the new Sydney Kendo Club dojo which had started at Willoughby Dojo, where it still continues today.  Steven won the Australian Individual Championship in 1975, 78, 79, 81, 86, and 1988; the New South Wales Individual Championship in 1983, 1994, 1995. He also won the Queensland Open Championship in 1980.  He was the Captain of Australian Team at the World Championships in 1979, Sapporo, Japan, after which he attended the Foreign Kendo Leader Summer Seminar in Saitama Prefecture. He was again the Captain of the Australian Team at the 1988 World Championships in Seoul, Korea.  He has also been a past President of the Australian Kendo Renmei, past Secretary of Australian Kendo Renmei, and past Secretary of NSW Kendo Association, and also a past Member of the AKR Kendo Technical Board.
He was graded to 4th Dan in 1987 during the visit of Nakakura Sensei.

CHRIS BARBE

Kendo 4 Dan

Chris practiced Kendo as a teenager in France from 1977 to 1981. He restarted his kendo practice by joining Sydney Kendo Club in 2002. Since then he has been travelling with his bogu bag all around the world. Chris was awarded the rank of 4th Dan in August 2014. In 2019, Chris was selected as the Australian representative for the 'Kendo’s Foreign Leaders Seminar' in Kitamoto.

COLIN MINTER

Kendo 5 Dan

Colin started Kendo at the Sydney Kendo Club in 1979. Since then, Colin has represented NSW in the Australian Kendo Championships and represented Australia in competition in New Zealand. He also attended the Kitamoto Foreign Leaders Summer Camp. Colin attained the rank of Kendo 5 Dan in 2014. Colin now runs his own Dojo at Western Sydney Kendo Club at Ermington but regularly offers his support and trains at SKC.

About: Team
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