About
the Sei Do Kai
| ABOUT |
DISCIPLINES |
SEMINARS |
| JOIN US |
PROJECTS | RESOURCES |
The Sei Do Kai began as a University of Guelph
registered club, operated under the U of G athletics programs. It
now operates at the Guelph Youth Dance Studios, 43 Quebec
Street. The club is open to anyone of any level, and always
welcomes new students and spectators. The Sei Do Kai is also a
member of the Canadian Kendo Federation,
Jodo-Canada,
and the Canadian Jodo
and Iaido Fund.
Sei Do Kai may be translated as quiet-active school. Our students strive to understand this unity of action and quiet in the sword practice and in their own lives. The arts are not simply for self-defence or learning how to use a weapon, but are intended as spiritual training.
The club has offered classes and seminars since the fall of 1987. At least once per year senior instructors are invited from Japan, and at other times instructors from other countries come to Guelph to teach. In 2023 we celebrate 33 years of the Guelph Spring Seminar, an international instructional seminar and grading under the Canadian Kendo Federation. The club has played a large role in the growth of jodo and iaido under the CKF, hosting many senior instructors at seminars, and many of our graduates founding clubs in other cities.
Instruction began with Iaido under Mr. Ohmi Goyo (kyoshi 7dan) of Toronto. Over the years we have added other arts to our curriculum. We concentrate on Iaido, Jodo and Niten Ichiryu, but we also occasionally practice other arts as you can see on the Disciplines page.
Anyone may attend classes. You can join the class at any time, we don't have a set intake period. Classes are small so this isn't a problem.
Sei Do Kai may be translated as quiet-active school. Our students strive to understand this unity of action and quiet in the sword practice and in their own lives. The arts are not simply for self-defence or learning how to use a weapon, but are intended as spiritual training.
The club has offered classes and seminars since the fall of 1987. At least once per year senior instructors are invited from Japan, and at other times instructors from other countries come to Guelph to teach. In 2023 we celebrate 33 years of the Guelph Spring Seminar, an international instructional seminar and grading under the Canadian Kendo Federation. The club has played a large role in the growth of jodo and iaido under the CKF, hosting many senior instructors at seminars, and many of our graduates founding clubs in other cities.
Instruction began with Iaido under Mr. Ohmi Goyo (kyoshi 7dan) of Toronto. Over the years we have added other arts to our curriculum. We concentrate on Iaido, Jodo and Niten Ichiryu, but we also occasionally practice other arts as you can see on the Disciplines page.
Anyone may attend classes. You can join the class at any time, we don't have a set intake period. Classes are small so this isn't a problem.
Our Instructors
Kim Taylor
Kim Taylor in blue with the fancy mustachio with some students from South America at the yearly spring seminar, 2015. Next to Kim is Guillermo Vargas, head of Chile Jodo.
In the background are long time students Dave Green, chief instructor of Tateyama dojo in Ottawa, and Denis Nikitenko of SDK, instructor of Kage Ryu and Niten Bo.
The chief instructor of the Sei Do Kai is Kim
Taylor who holds renshi seven dan rank in Iaido and renshi six
dan rank in Jodo, from the Candian
Kendo Federation. He has been the chief examiner of the
CKF Jodo section from its beginning until January 2023.
During his career, Kim has been president of the Ontario Kendo Federation, associate editor of the Journal of Asian Martial Arts, and editor of The Iaido Newsletter, a "little publication that could" which has gone from a local club newsletter to an international photocopied "zine", an internationally-distributed monthly print magazine and finally to an internet journal named The Iaido Journal. He publishes the Electronic Journals of Martial Arts and Sciences. He also published the Journal of Japanese Sword Arts. This journal is now out of publication, but If you would like to purchase back issues of the Journal of Japanese Sword Arts on paper (they've got cartoons!), click the link.
Kim is the author of several books and videos as well as almost daily essays at http://sdksupplies.com/001blog.html and more recently on Facebook concerning the sword and is also the owner of the Iaido-l mailing list. You can purchase several of the books and videos at the sdksupplies website.
Kim has created and hosted many seminars over the years, including the Guelph School of Japanese Sword Arts and the Guelph Spring Seminar, you can find out about them in the projects section as well as the current seminars section.
During his career, Kim has been president of the Ontario Kendo Federation, associate editor of the Journal of Asian Martial Arts, and editor of The Iaido Newsletter, a "little publication that could" which has gone from a local club newsletter to an international photocopied "zine", an internationally-distributed monthly print magazine and finally to an internet journal named The Iaido Journal. He publishes the Electronic Journals of Martial Arts and Sciences. He also published the Journal of Japanese Sword Arts. This journal is now out of publication, but If you would like to purchase back issues of the Journal of Japanese Sword Arts on paper (they've got cartoons!), click the link.
Kim is the author of several books and videos as well as almost daily essays at http://sdksupplies.com/001blog.html and more recently on Facebook concerning the sword and is also the owner of the Iaido-l mailing list. You can purchase several of the books and videos at the sdksupplies website.
Kim has created and hosted many seminars over the years, including the Guelph School of Japanese Sword Arts and the Guelph Spring Seminar, you can find out about them in the projects section as well as the current seminars section.
Kim teaches: ZNKR iaido, Muso Jikiden Eishin
Ryu iaido, Hosoda ryu iai, Keshi ryu iai, Kage ryu, Niten
Ichiryu, ZNKR jodo, Shindo Muso Ryu jodo, Uchida ryu tanjo,
Shinto ryu, and occasionally Aikido as well as the Gryphon
Claws self defence course. Kim has been practicing the martial
arts since 1980. He has written books and manuals on most of
these arts. He was also a pretty good photographer and writer,
and spent a happy career as a research technician at the
University of Guelph.
Pam Morgan
 |
Nicknamed the Pamurai, Pam started her training with the Sei Do Kai in 2007. She holds the rank of 5dan Iaido and 5dan Jodo from the Candian Kendo Federation. She has received full transmission of the Hyo Ho Niten Ichiryu practiced at the SDK. Pam is a past director of the CKF, and the treasurer of both the Canadian Jodo and Iaido Fund and Jodo-Canada. She organizes the Sei Do Kai seminars and is the dojo administrator for Sei Do Kai in Guelph and the Tombo Dojo on Sky Lake, near Wiarton. Pam has taught seminars and sat grading panels all across Canada and in Chile. She has attended numerous seminars in Japan and Europe. She also teaches in Kitchener. Pam teaches most of the arts we study at the SDK and has served as the model for many of our publications. She has also instructed the Gryphon Claws self defence course. |
For more information on the Sei Do Kai, please
feel free to contact Kim Taylor. You can email to Kim at kataylor@seidokai.ca.
You
can also contact club coordinator Pam Morgan directly.