Over the years, I’ve been asked many times why we named the club the Hayakawa Kendo Club.

Most kendo clubs are geographically named after the city they’re located in. Using this method, the club would have been called the Welland Kendo Club. Nothing wrong with that…

…except it didn’t feel right. When I started the club, the whole “run your own club” thing was a complete unknown. Would there be enough students? Would we stay in Welland? Too many questions, not enough answers.

Moreover, I had a bigger vision. I think kendo’s awesome. I think more people should take kendo training. I see lots of potential for kendo in Niagara.

Naming the club after the city name put a limit on my vision. So, I named it the Hayakawa Kendo Club. “Haya” means fast and “kawa” means river. Every major city in Niagara was centered on a river. The club’s name was a reference to my broader vision for kendo in the region.

The second question I’ve been asked a lot is “Why don’t you call your club the Niagara Kendo Club?” I sort of did, just in Japanese 🙂

However, since we are now the only kendo club in the Niagara region, I think the time is right for a name change.

I put in a request to the CKF to change our name to the Niagara Kendo Club. It was approved and has been put in place. For our club members who have CKF logins, nothing has changed except you are now associated with the Niagara Kendo Club instead of the Hayakawa Kendo Club.

I’ve updated the logo, and eventually, we will have to update our nafuda/zekken (name tags) to reflect the new club name and logo.

Aside from that, I’m pondering how to foster more awareness and growth of kendo in the Niagara region. In other words, business as usual 🙂

I look forward to seeing you in the dojo.