Featured School

Interview with Nicklaus Suino of Japanese Martial Arts Center

1. Who is the dojo’s founder and what prompted him/her to build the school? Is there any rich history behind its making?
The Japanese Martial Arts Center was founded by Nicklaus Suino Sensei. He sought to create a dojo in which the best aspects of budo could be found, such as excellence in technique, a serious but joyful atmosphere in practice, and character development through long-term, concentrated training.

2. What forms of Japanese martial arts do you teach in your school? Can you please share with us the history behind them?

We teach Eishin-Ryu Iaido, Judo, and Nihon Jujutsu. Eishin-Ryu Iaido comes to us through the late Yamaguchi Katsuo, Meijin 10th Dan, who traced his lineage back to Oe Masamichi, 17th Generation Headmaster. Our Judo and Nihon Jujutsu come from Sato Shizuya, Chief Director of Kokusai Budoin, who studied with Mifune Kyuzo and Ito Kazuo at the Kodokan both before and after World War II.

The Japanese Martial Arts Center was founded by Nicklaus Suino Sensei. He sought to create a dojo in which the best aspects of budo could be found, such as excellence in technique, a serious but joyful atmosphere in practice, and character development through long-term, concentrated training.

3. What are the principles and concepts that you uphold and try to instill in your students?

Understanding of technical principles, constant striving to improve, and a willingness to work with others to help them improve.

4. Why do you think it is important for people to learn martial arts?

Martial arts provide an environment where excellence and cooperation are encouraged. In many areas of life, politics, money, and social class make success difficult, but inside a good traditional dojo, one can work to better oneself, knowing that improvement is possible.

5. What difficulties and obstacles have you encountered so far with regards to teaching martial arts and how did you overcome them?

There are challenging students and difficulties in operating a dojo, but the main obstacles as an instructor are keeping one’s enthusiasm and being open minded to improvement. We have found that when our instructors are able to learn new techniques and to meet with even more advanced martial artists, they continue to learn and remain enthusiastic.

6. What advice and/or insights can you share with our readers who want to pursue their interest in the Japanese form of martial arts?

Read everything you can get your hands on. Search far and wide for the best instructor in your area. Commit yourself fully to your chosen art form. Practice nearly every day. Never stop training.

7. Can you give a short biography of your instructor(s)?

Born in 1960, Suino-Sensei began training in judo at the Ann Arbor YMCA in 1968. Beginning in 1979, he studied karate, aikido, and kung-fu at the Asian Martial Arts Studio, an Ann Arbor dojo where he was a member of the instructor’s training program and taught for a total of 10 years.

After earning his BA and MFA at the University of Michigan, Suino lived in Yokohama, Japan, between 1988 and 1992, where he studied judo, jujutsu (jujitsu), iaido (swordsmanship), and kyudo (archery). He studied iaido at the home dojo of the late Yamaguchi-Katsuo, one of the greatest of the WWII generation swordsmen. In 1989, he was appointed secretary to the Foreign Department of the International Martial Arts Federation, Tokyo HQ. He was four-time All-Tokyo forms champion in iaido at his rank level between 1989 and 1992, and
represented the Kanto region in the All-Japan tournament in Kyoto in 1992. He continues to visit Japan regularly, visiting and training with some of the world’s most respected instructors of aikido, iaido, judo, jujitsu, karate, and koryu bujutsu.

He is widely published in the martial arts, having sold over 50,000 copies of his books, including The Art of Japanese Swordsmanship, Practice Drills for Japanese Swordsmanship, Arts of Strength, Arts of Serenity, and its revised version, Budo Mind and Body, and Strategy in Japanese Swordsmanship. He is one of three primary directors of the Shudokan Martial Arts Association and a Michigan Regional Director for the US
branch of the International Martial Arts Federation (IMAF-Americas). He was director of ITAMA Dojo in East Lansing, Michigan, from 1993 until 2003. In 2006, he returned to Ann Arbor to open the Japanese Martial Arts Center, a traditional dojo offering classes in Jujutsu (jujitsu), judo, and iaido (art of drawing a samurai swords).

Suino Sensei has been called “one of North America’s foremost martial arts teachers.” His personal mission is to master the most profound aspects of Japanese heritage martial arts and pass them on to his students.

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