Koyama Dojo - Hakko Denshin Ryu JuJutsu

Labor Day weekend schedule:

Friday, September 4, and Saturday, September 5, run on the normal schedule. We're closed Monday, September 7, for the holiday.

Back on the mat Friday, September 11, at 7:00 pm. Have a great weekend, and stay safe.

Registration for the 2026 North American Tai Kai is now $265, and it closes September 21. If you're planning to be on the mat this October, now is the time.

October 2 to 4 in Livonia.
hakkodenshinryu.org/taikai

Today is the last day at $230. Standard pricing for the 2026 North American Tai Kai ends tonight. Tomorrow it's $265.

October 2 to 4 in Livonia.
hakkodenshinryu.org/taikai

Last 48 hours at $230. Standard pricing for the 2026 North American Tai Kai ends Monday, August 31. After that it's $265.

October 2 to 4 in Livonia.
hakkodenshinryu.org/taikai

Standard pricing ends August 31. Register at $230 before it moves to $265 on September 1.

October 2 to 4 in Livonia.
hakkodenshinryu.org/taikai

Teaching at the 2026 North American Tai Kai: Hanshi Alberto Blanco of Madrid, Spain.

Alberto met Soke Antonio García at a congress in Madrid in 1995, when the art was still called Hakko Ryu, and began traveling to the Hombu Dojo in Belgium to train. He earned his Kaiden Shihan in Tokyo in 2019, at the Tai Kai in Omiya, and was named Hanshi this year. He has trained since he was seven, across karate, judo, jiu-jitsu, kobudo and Filipino Kali, and for twenty-seven years his profession has been teaching martial arts. He leads HDRJJ España and teaches at clubs throughout the country.

Ask him what he wants students to take away and he does not talk about technique: "Martial arts is more than just throwing punches or grabbing a wrist."

On the mat October 2 to 4 in Livonia. Registration $230.
hakkodenshinryu.org/taikai

Saturday evening's banquet and rank recognition is open to family & friends. Guest seats are $75 through August 31, then $85 on September 1. Add one to your registration and close out the weekend together.

October 2 to 4 in Livonia.
hakkodenshinryu.org/taikai-banquet-guest

Traveling from Belgium for the 2026 North American Tai Kai: Hanshi Ku Tony Berkmans.

Tony first stepped onto a tatami mat on September 1, 1975, more than fifty years ago. A career officer in Belgium's national police who served as an instructor in defensive tactics, he found Hakko Ryu in 1987, founded his own dojo in 1989, and became a personal student of Soke Antonio García in the early nineties. Awarded Shihan in Japan in 2000, he rose to the Hanshi Ku designation and today serves as Senior Advisor to the Hakko Denshin Ryu European organization.

He has traveled the world alongside the Soke to teach the art. This October, that road leads to Livonia.

On the mat October 2 to 4 in Livonia. Registration $230.
hakkodenshinryu.org/taikai

Teaching at the 2026 North American Tai Kai: Renshi San Dai Kichu Aaron Allison of Norton, Ohio.

Aaron began training as a teenager at the Narrow Gate Dojo, where he was later asked to step in as Head Sensei. Training and teaching under Soke Michael J. LaMonica, he was promoted over nine years to Shihan, Kaiden, and San Dai Kichu at the Eighth Light Dojo.

He has since trained abroad with teachers from around the world, and most recently, following a formal review and additional training under Nidai Soke Antonio García, he was awarded the title of Renshi.

Today he is the head instructor of the Semai Torii Dojo.

On the mat October 2 to 4 in Livonia. Registration $230.
hakkodenshinryu.org/taikai

Teaching at the 2026 North American Tai Kai: Menkyo Kaiden Jim Cormier of Holliston, Massachusetts.

Jim opened his dojo, Cormier's Self Defense Academy, in 1987 and has been its head instructor ever since, personally teaching every class and promoting hundreds of black belts across nearly four decades. He was awarded Shihan by Soke Michael LaMonica in 2017 and Menkyo Kaiden by Soke Antonio García in 2023. Before the dojo, Jim spent the 1970s touring the Northeast with Brothers Kingdom, the folk-rock band he formed with his brothers, and he has never lost his passion for performing.

Nearly four decades of teaching, and this October he is still traveling to be on the mat.

On the mat October 2 to 4 in Livonia. Registration $230.
hakkodenshinryu.org/taikai