Student club practices centuries-old martial arts

Don’t panic if you see people fighting in front of Romney Hall — at least not if it’s between 3 and 5 p.m. on Wednesdays and Fridays. The participants are part of the Kashima-Shunryu club, which practices a traditional Japanese martial art that involves hand-to-hand combat and weapons training. 

MSU is one of only four places in North America where you can learn Kasima-Skinryu in a way that is endorsed by the Kashima-Shinryu Federation of Martial Sciences. According to the Federation, the martial art was created in the 1500s and is the longest continually practiced martial art in Japan.

MSU's club was founded in 1992 by former professor Mark Taper, who has been practicing since 1987. Despite retiring in 2016, Taper is still the club’s sensei and makes appearances at most of the meetings.

Club President Ian Matteson is a master's student currently working towards his degree in paleontology. He joined the club in 2015 after seeing a flyer. 

“It has opened up a lot of opportunities I never really expected, in and outside of Kashima," Matteson said. “My sensei is someone I have worked a lot with for my thesis writing, and my writing in general. It is a community that helps [each other].”

On its website, the Kashima-Shinryu Federation of Martial Sciencesexplains that in Kashima, everything is connected. In order to master the practice and have the skill to use all possible techniques, students must master the basics of other martial arts. This can include kenjutsu — the art of swordsmanship — and jujutsu. 

Kashima is founded on philosophical five principles known as the “Fivefold Laws:” motion and stillness, organization and manifestation, offense and defense, emptiness and reality and yin and yang. These principles push students of Kashima beyond what they physically practice; they are guidelines for how they should live their lives as a whole.

MSU’s club currently has five members, but Matteson aims to increase student involvement. He said that maintaining a consistent membership is a challenge.

“It's relatively small, a lot of the students who have been with it have gone different ways,” Matteson said. “Everyone in the club is associated with some academia somehow, and so we understand school is important and studies are important, so we try to work around people's schedules as best we can,” Matteson said.

For those who may like to learn more, Matteson recommends the book “Legacies of the Sword” by Karl Friday. He said it chronicles the evolution of Kashima and its history. 

“[It is] a martial art that is multidisciplinary. We use multiple weapons — our main purpose is getting outside the expectations of our opponent and using their expectations against them,” Matteson said. “Aikido and a lot of jujitsu stuff comes from that same idea as Kashima.” 

According to Matteson, no prior experience in martial arts is needed to join the club. He said everybody is welcome, as long as you are willing to learn.

“We take whoever that wants to come practice. As long as they have an open mind, our doors are always open to people interested in practicing,” Matteson said.

To learn more about the Kashima-Shinryu club, contact raptors94@gmail.com.