Lilac City Kendo Club

Beginners at Lilac City Kendo Club start as a group. The club takes new students in cohorts, with classes that begin every January, April, July and October, so that each group “learns together with a consistent curriculum focused on establishing good basics.”

After the beginner classes, students move into the main class, which the club describes as the place to continue into bogu (protective armor), alongside its ranked members. Iaido has its own class. Class days, times and practice venues are on the club's own schedule.

Four instructors teach: Chris Ruiz (Kendo 5th Dan), Marek Nelson (Kendo 4th Dan, Iaido 2nd Dan), and Jeff Lamb and Michael Rea (both Kendo 3rd Dan). Lilac City Kendo Club is a non-profit club, established in November 2024 and affiliated with the Pacific Northwest Kendo Federation (PNKF), under the All US Kendo Federation (AUSKF).

There's no trial class listed, so it pays to check with the club how a first practice works. It lists no separate youth class. Members under 18 or still in school pay the youth rate.