Kendo Clubs and Dojos in Taiwan
There is no single public timetable for every dojo in Taiwan, and old link lists from university pages now point at dead blogs. This page explains the three kinds of place you can actually train, and names clubs that keep an official page. This month’s hours are on that page.
University clubs
A university kendo club is usually the easiest adult start if you are a student, and a common way graduates keep training. Clubs that appear year after year in ROCKA university results include Tamkang, National Taiwan University, National Chengchi, National Cheng Kung, Fu Jen, Taipei City University, and National Taiwan Normal University. Tamkang’s sports office dates the team to 1961 (ROC year 50). The alumni association, formed in 1969, later funded a hall built under a Japanese craftsman — the university calls it Taiwan’s first professional-standard kendo hall. Practice nights change with the semester. For contact, use the university’s current student-affairs or club page.
School teams
High-school and junior-high teams are why the student nationals can fill a gymnasium. ROCKA result headings name schools such as Taichung Municipal Dongshan High School (臺中東山高中) and Taichung Municipal Taichung Harbor Senior High School (臺中港高中) in the high-school men’s division. Some Taipei schools run a kendo speciality class; Qiangshu Junior High has publicly recruited for one. Parents should read that year’s student-championship regulations on rocka.org.tw before treating a school team as a path to sports-talent admission. The association has itself said, in interviews, that many children stop in junior high because of school pressure — a structural fact, not a reason to avoid a serious club.
Community dojos
Outside campus, adults and children train at named dojos. One example is Hsiung-Yueh (雄岳劍道館). Yueh Chien-chung is kyoshi 8-dan, with men’s-team third places at the 8th and 9th World Championships and the men’s-team coach at the 10th. Taiwan Panorama names him among Hsu Heng-hsiung’s students; that lineage is on the history page. Please check the dojo’s official page before a visit.
Where the rooms are
The thickest cluster is the Taipei basin: university gyms, the Taipei Gymnasium used for nationals, and Beitou for grading. Hsinchu, Taichung, Tainan (around National Cheng Kung), and Kaohsiung (around National Sun Yat-sen and Kaohsiung Medical University) each have school teams that travel to the nationals. A visitor from Hong Kong should start with ROCKA’s latest bulletin for the city of the next cup, then write through a university club’s or a dojo’s official page. The matching list is the Hong Kong dojo directory.
Representative places
These are places often mentioned in the north, centre, south, and east. Names with an official page can be opened directly. Group members are listed by the Republic of China Kendo Association, and this month’s time is on the club’s official page. 滌心館, Beitou, Shūdōkan, and Da’an also offer kendo or iaido classes.
North
Keelung, Taipei, New Taipei, Taoyuan, and Hsinchu. Taipei Kendo Hall trains at places such as the Taiwan University gym and is a base for the city team. Akashi, Datong, and Hozogen (Treasure Hill) have official pages. The Taiwan Kendo Club meets in Xinyi, at Xingchang Activity Centre in Wenshan, and around National Taiwan University in Da’an. Keelung Yi Xin Kan and the Keelung City Kendo Committee also train there. Zhongli District Kendo Committee runs local classes. Hsinchu Kendo Hall and Fengcheng Kendo train in Hsinchu; the Hsinchu City committee and Toufen Kendo, near the Miaoli line, have official pages.
Centre
Miaoli, Taichung, Changhua, and Nantou. Taichung has long-running dojos and the city sports association’s training points. Juchukan teaches kendo and iaido. Changhua and Nantou are carried mainly by school teams and the county committees’ adult and youth classes.
South
Yunlin, Chiayi, Tainan, Kaohsiung, and Pingtung. Kaohsiung is one of the strongest regions in the south, with older private dojos, the city kendo committee, and school clubs such as Chung-Cheng Industrial High School. Tainan and Chiayi use the city committees and local clubs, often in a school hall or an activity centre at a fixed hour.
East
Yilan, Hualien, and Taitung grow mainly through school teams, including Hualien Physical Education Senior High School and local elementary and high-school squads. County kendo committees introduce the art to adults and children.
Three ways in
University clubs suit current students: the threshold is low and seniors teach from the start, and after graduation most people move to a community dojo. School teams suit families already inside a school; a few schools, including Qiangshu, have recruited from outside, and the rest are school squads. Community dojos and county committees suit working adults and children, and they enrol through the year. Hours differ, so write before you visit. Ask the dojo what to bring.
Frequently asked questions
- Can I visit a Taiwan university club as a guest?
- Please write to the club first. Many welcome guests for keiko; some keep the floor for students during term. Arrive a little early and follow their reiho.
- Where may I confirm the place and time?
- Each club sets out the place and time on its official page. Rented halls and the semester timetable are sometimes adjusted, so a glance at that page before you visit is warmly suggested.
- Can I start with no experience?
- Yes. The first lessons are reiho, the grip, and footwork. Ask the club what to wear.
- Are ROCKA grades valid everywhere?
- ROCKA issues the certificates FIK authorises in Taiwan. Ask the host federation before you sit an examination abroad.