NA
Noboru Akiyama
JKA certified · trained Tokyo Hombu 1992–2001
Teaches Mon / Wed / Sat
A patient teacher of kihon. Begins every beginner the same way he began: thirty minutes of zenkutsu-dachi, reminded to breathe.
道場
Karate · Aikido · Iaido
The first lesson is how to bow.
The last lesson is how to bow.
Dojo Seijaku is a small, traditional martial arts studio on the east side of the city. We teach Shotokan karate, Aikido, and Iaido in the slow, careful lineage of our teachers. Classes are quiet. Practice is long. No tournaments; no belts on the wall; nothing for sale but a little of our time.
214 Ash Street,
Portland OR 97214
1,100 sq. ft.
Tatami and sprung floor
Mon — Sun
Morning and evening keiko
JKA · Aikikai ·
ZNKR · AUSKF
I · Principles
Four words
we keep on the wall.
These are the dojo-kun. Written once, in brush, in 1998. Unchanged since. You are invited to read them aloud with us at the end of each class.
- 礼
Rei
The bow before the bow. Rei is the interval between one breath and the next — the moment you recognise that the room, the partner, the weapon are not yours. We enter borrowing. We leave with care.
- 心
Shin
A quiet mind does more than a clever one. Shin is the practice of being exactly where the foot lands. Not ahead of it, not behind it. The kata are only the long way around to this.
- 技
Gi
Ten thousand repetitions are not enough; they are a beginning. Gi is technique made quiet — the stance that does not argue, the cut that does not show effort, the throw that leaves no mark.
- 体
Tai
The body that trains will one day no longer train. Work it honestly while you have it. Tai is care for the knees, the hips, the small muscles beneath the shoulder blades that keep you upright past eighty.
The main hall, shortly after 05:45 keiko.
Calligraphy, gifted by O. Kanazawa, 2004.
II · Disciplines
Four ways
to begin the same work.
The disciplines look different. The underlying study is the same: a body that moves without argument, a mind that does not interrupt. Choose the door. Any door.
- 空手
Shotokan Karate
Long stances, linear power, kihon as meditation. Curriculum follows the JKA syllabus: Heian Shodan through Bassai Dai, then the senior kata — Kanku Dai, Jion, Empi, Gojushiho.
75 minutes
9th Kyu → 1st Dan + (white · yellow · orange · green · blue · purple · brown · black)
None for beginners. Adults 16+.
- 合気道
Aikido
Circular movement, irimi and tenkan, principled non-resistance. We train the Aikikai lineage — shomenuchi ikkyo through yonkyo, kokyu-ho, tachi-waza, and suwari-waza. Ukemi is taught slowly.
90 minutes
5th Kyu → 1st Dan (white belt throughout kyu grades; hakama at shodan)
Open to all adults. Prior martial experience not required.
- 居合道
Iaido
The art of drawing and sheathing the sword in a single attentive motion. Muso Jikiden Eishin-ryu. Beginners work with iaito — unsharpened training swords — for the first two years without exception.
60 minutes
10th Kyu → 5th Dan (no belt colour; rank recognised by federation certification)
Minimum age 18. Six-week probationary period. Iaito rental available.
- 剣道
Kendo
Shinai and bogu. Basic cuts, footwork (suri-ashi), ai-uchi, and the slow building of a correct kiai. Fridays only, with an open keiko on the last Sunday of the month.
90 minutes
6th Kyu → 3rd Dan (no belt; judged by kendo federation seminars)
Completion of the 8-week foundations course. Bogu provided for first six months.
III · Rank
A long road,
walked slowly.
Rank is an internal reckoning, not a reward. Years given here are typical, not prescribed. Some students walk this road faster; others take twice the time and arrive with twice the grace.
9th Kyu
Beginner
3–6 months
7th Kyu
Yellow
1 year
5th Kyu
Green
2 years
3rd Kyu
Blue
3 years
1st Kyu
Brown
4–5 years
Shodan
1st Dan — Black
5–7 years
Nidan
2nd Dan — Black
7–9 years
Sandan
3rd Dan — Black
10+ years
Shodan is not the finish line — it is the moment the student is considered ready to begin.
IV · Sensei
Four teachers.
Certified. Quiet.
MS
Mireille Sato
Aikikai Hombu registered · studied under Endo Seishiro shihan
Teaches Tue / Thu / Sun
Known for the slowness of her entry. She prefers small classes and careful ukemi to spectacle.
TO
Takeshi Orimoto
ZNKR certified · Muso Jikiden Eishin-ryu lineage
Teaches Wed evenings and Saturday mornings
Teaches that the draw is only the exhale of the bow. Does not raise his voice. Has not, in thirty-four years on the mat.
SD
Sam Dwyer
AUSKF certified · active competitor
Teaches Fri evenings
Runs the Friday kendo session and the Sunday open keiko. The only instructor here who will tell you a joke before a cut.
V · Weekly Keiko
The week,
in its quiet rhythm.
Keiko means practice. The schedule below is unchanging — the same hours every week, most weeks of the year. It is by this small, steady rhythm that a practice becomes a life.
Monday
- Morning Keiko (all ranks)60 min
- Adult Karate — Kyu grades75 min
- Aikido Basics90 min
Tuesday
- Iaido — beginners60 min
- Aikido — general90 min
Wednesday
- Morning Keiko (all ranks)60 min
- Karate — Dan grades90 min
- Iaido — intermediate75 min
Thursday
- Quiet practice (no instruction)60 min
- Aikido — general90 min
Friday
- Kendo — general90 min
- Karate — kata night60 min
Saturday
- Iaido — all levels90 min
- Children's Karate (7–12)60 min
- Adult Karate — open90 min
Sunday
- Aikido — weapons (bokken · jo)90 min
- Open Keiko (last Sunday / month)2 hours
VI · Reishiki
Seven small
customs.
Reishiki — the etiquette of the mat. Read these once before you arrive. You will not be tested on them. But they shape the room, and the room shapes the practice.
Bow at the entrance
On stepping onto the mat, face the shomen and bow once. This is not performance. It is the moment you put the day down.
Seiza when called
At the start and end of class we kneel in seiza. If an injury prevents this, cross-legged is welcome. Nothing is forced here.
Bow to the shomen, then the sensei
The shomen acknowledges the lineage. The sensei acknowledges the teacher in the room. The order matters.
Silence on the mat
Speak only to correct or to ask. A quiet dojo is not austere — it is a dojo that listens.
Keep the gi clean
Wash the gi after each session. Fold it. A wrinkled gi is a distracted mind. We provide a laundry locker for weekly students.
Handle weapons with care
Bokken, jo, and iaito are placed on the rack tsuka-right. Never stepped over. Never pointed at another practitioner — even in jest.
Sempai, kohai
The senior student helps the junior. The junior asks the senior, not the sensei, for the small corrections. This is how the dojo teaches itself.
VII · Equipment
Borrow before
you buy.
A proper gi and a good bokken are not inexpensive. We rent both — and the iaito — so you can learn what fits your hand before you spend anything more than tuition.
Cotton gi (standard weight)
Beginner · 6-month rental
Cotton gi (12 oz, competition)
Intermediate · 12-month rental
Bokken (Japanese white oak)
Aikido weapons class
Jo (short staff, 128 cm)
Aikido weapons class
Iaito (unsharpened training sword)
Iaido · first two years
Bogu set (men, do, kote, tare)
Kendo · first six months
Zori (mat sandals)
For walking off the mat
VIII · Questions
Before you
come in.
A handful of common questions. For anything else, you are welcome to sit in on a class — the back of the mat is always open to observers.
Yes. Most of our students begin at zero. We run an 8-week foundations course every March and September specifically for new karate students, and rolling admission for aikido and iaido. You will not be thrown into anything you are not ready for. The first six weeks are stances, bowing, and breathing.
"I was taught that a dojo is not a building. It is a room in which people agree, quietly, to tell each other the truth with their bodies. Come if that sounds right to you. Don't hurry. We have been here a long time and we are in no rush."
Noboru Akiyama
IX · Enrol
Come once.
Watch the keiko.
Decide afterwards.
No fees for your first visit. No commitment. Sit at the back of the mat, watch one hour of practice, and ask the sensei any question afterwards. If it feels like the right room, we will find you a gi at the end of the second week.
214 Ash Street
Portland, Oregon 97214
dojo@seijaku.studio
+1 (503) 555 0198
Monday — Sunday