Budokan SA has had a long involvement in various forms of Bujutsu including Kenjutsu.
Hanshi Richard Salmon and Shihan Ray Ryan gave the first demonstration on Kenjutsu in South Africa on their return from Japan in the 1960s.
Ray Strodl was introduced to Kenjutsu and the use of bokken in Aikido by Shihan Ray Ryan at Budokan SA Honbo Dojo in Durban during the late 1970s to late 1998 when he moved to Gauteng.
He continued in the study of Kenjutsu since with Mune-Muso Kenjutsu school in Johannesburg, with Dr Eugene Botha Sensei.
He is now focused on practising Mugai Ryu Kenjutsu with Tombokai Bujutsu in Pretoria with Schalkwyk van der Merwe Sempai, with a view to introducing Kenjutsu to Budokan SA students.
Ray Strodl training with his Kenjustu teacher Schalkwyk van der Merwe 4th Dan Japanese graded in Mugai Ryu Kenjustu, at the Budokan “Zen Hut” in Randburg. Schalkwyk Sensei was preparing for a visit to Japan to train. He provided instruction to Ray, on Mugai Ryu basics and kata.
