Great dojo, great instructors, great place to learn Iaido! Been going here consistently for almost 2 years. I've trained in Japanese sword martial arts for 5+ years in college but since then I haven't touched it. During the pandemic, I was looking for something to do and wanted to get back into it. I found this through some googling and since it was close to where I lived, I decided to check it out. Initially, we were training in the park and were socially-distancing, wearing masks, and following the county covid guidelines. Now we're training indoors, and restrictions have lifted. Other students may still choose to wear masks. The head instructor, Mikhail Sensei, is very skilled and informative which is something that caught my attention when I first checked them out. After training and teaching in this area for so many years, consistency and control are traits I look for when determining how skilled someone is with their weapon. He's very patient with beginners, he's very accommodating for people with injuries or physical-limitations who can't sit in seiza or tatehiza, and for people with experiences in handling iaitos, he'll move on teaching the next techniques sooner and with more emphasize on the finer details. If you're someone that has questions on the fine details of how to do techniques including all the who/what/when/where/how, be sure he'll answer most if not all of that. This style is directly taken from Esaka Sensei, whom Mikhail Sensei refers to numerous times from his training with said teacher in Japan and Esaka Sensei's book. Classes occur twice a week (Thurs and Sat) and he also has a class in Emeryville (Mon) usually for more advance lessons. If you're looking for a dojo to learn Iaido, work with some down-to-earth iaidokas, and improve your swordsmanship in a chill non-competitive martial art, this is the place to go and what I was looking for.
I have had the privilege of receiving instruction from Mikhail Sensei and have learned a great deal from him. He is highly knowledgeable, meticulous, and humble.
He does not need to demand loyalty and respect from his students, as he does much to contribute to their physical, mental, and even spiritual growth.
Mikhail Sensei is also known to participate in almost every seminar offered by the Kokusai Renmei and its member dojos, so he maintains a very strong lineage with Japan and its traditions.
