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Shinzen Kai is hosting its first seminar.

The Summer Solstice Clinic, featuring Prof. Geoff Lane, sichidan, is scheduled for June 13-15.
Click here for a flier.

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6/10/2008: Nate Hill and Melissa Ranum did a fine job on their gokyu (blue belt) exams today. Melissa bravely did a no-hand sutemi that she wasn't expecting. Although she bounced off her head, she remained composed and performed admirably in her test. Nate showed beautiful zanshin, reminding us why form is as important as substance. Congratulations to both of you.

6/7/2008: Dan Pederson passed his Ikkyu test today in fine form. Juha Nyman served as his uke. And Ward Melenich sensei was on hand to evaluate and promote Dan. A great day!

5/27/2008: Chad Snyder passed his gokyu test today after years of dedicated training. Great job, Chad.

5/10/2008: Juha Nyman earned his nikyu today! A terrific exam, Juha, congratulations. Now, for ikkyu.

4/12/2008: With the promotion of Brant Lander to sankyu, Shinzen Kai now has FIVE brown belts (plus a couple who've gone astray). Congratulations, Brant!

3/22/2008: Monique Roerdink passed her gokyu exam, and showed her excellent kicking forms to boot!

1/26/2008: Tom Thiel passed his sankyu (brown belt) test in top form.

10/7/2007: Elsa Browning, Jarrett Kleitz and Ben Meyer all passed their Kukyu exam! Great job!

7/15/2007: Our first kids' class included Elsa Browning, Jarrett Kleitz and Ben Meyer. Congratulations!

5/12/2007: Frank Ginsbach passed his gokyu exam before leaving for India for a year to study. Congratulations!

12/1/2006 - Update: We had our first class in the new dojo, and we had a surprise visit from Sensei Ward Melenich! Juha was back on the mat after an extended absence! Ward, Dan B. Dan P., Fedja, Juha, Brant and Chad attended. And Frank, a new student, gave us a try. Unfortunately, we missed Tom and Brandon. But we'll keep the lights on for them. Kuroinukan dojo sent us two gifts: An escape from a turtle-up turnover into sankaku gatame (Tom's favorite ne waza); and an escape from kami shiho gatame.

12/1/2006 - We're moving again. We're joining Aikido of Minnesota at its new dojo. 710 N. Snelling Ave., Minneapolis, MN 55104. We'll be working out Tuesday evenings, 7:15 p.m.-9:15 p.m., and Saturdays, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. AJJF membership is required.

6/17/2006 - After living as ronin for a couple of months, we moved into The Shuharikan Dojo, 235 W. 7th St., St. Paul. What a great space!

4/15/2006 - Congratulations to Fedja Kecman on passing his sankyu test!

12/31/2005 - The first workout in the new dojo. Sensei Browning and Dan Pederson were the only diehards on New Year's Eve! It was a fun workout, followed by lunch and cervezas at El Loro.

12/18/2005 - Shinzen Kai hosted the second Minnesota Quarterly Danzan Ryu clinic. The theme was Yawara with movement: Aiki movements for jujitsuka. We had several guests from Aikido of Minnesota who joined in the four-hour seminar led by Sensei Browning.

05/31/2005 - Eric Mader skipped over gokyu and yonkyu and passed his sankyu exam with flying colors, despite having pulled a muscle in his abdomen just before class.

03/08/2005 - Congratulations to Fedja Kecman for his excellent performance on his Yonkyu (green belt) exam!

01/11/2005 - Congratulations to Dan Pederson for his promotion to Nikkyu Rank!

11/12/2004 - Congratulations to Brandon Johnson for his promotion to Sankyu Rank!

04/14/2004 - Congratulations to Fedja Kecman for his excellent performance on his gokyu (blue belt) exam!

06/11/2003 - Congratulations to Brandon Johnson for his promotion to Yonkyu Rank!

05/27/2003 - Congratulations to Dan Pederson and Juha Nyman for their promotion to Sankyu Rank!

03/28/2003 - 03/30/2003 - Dan Pederson and Dan Browning attend the AJJF National Convention in San Ramon, Calif. Also attending were Ward, Sohn, Randy and Leah from Duluth. Browning was promoted to sandan at the convention, despite completely dislocating a finger in the middle of his test (he finished the technique). Sohn was promoted to yodan. And Randy was promoted to shodan.

02/09/2002 - Feb. 9, 2003 - Dan Pederson was promoted to Yonkyu. Way to go Dan!

11/29/2002 - Kim Husband was promoted to Gokyu. Great job, Kim.

05/21/2002 - Congratulations to Aaron for his promotion to Sankyu Rank! - Pic #1 - Pic #2 - Congratulatory Throws (3mb) - DiVX Version

04/22/2002 - Midwest Judo & Jujitsu is sponsoring a very special 20th Annual Camp Kodenkan Midwest this year on July 26, 27, 28, 2002 (Fri p.m. to Sun afternoon) in Chicagoland. For more information see www.midwestjujitsu.org

04/17/2002 - Ward Melenich, Sensei of Kuroinukan in Duluth, taught a special two hour seminar on mat work and shime waza. Included among the favorites was the dreaded Udo choke, named after Quellmalz Udo, a famous German judoka.

03/11/2002 - At the 54th annual AJJF Convention, sensei Dan Browning was named editor of the Kiai Echo, the quarterly journal of the American Judo and Jujitsu Federation. Ward Melenich, sensei of Kuroinukan in Duluth, was named publisher. Dan Browning also competed in the nidan division of the national AJJF Freestyle Contest.

03/11/2002 - Sensei Dan Browning attended the 54th annual AJJF Convention.

02/18/2002 - Dan Pederson and Sensei Dan Browning attended the annual Duluth Winter Clinic. Prof. Geoff Lane led the clinic, which had a theme of "zanshin." Prof. Lane brought his extensive knowledge of freestyle jujutsu to Minnesota, preparing Shinzen Kai for the first statewide freestyle contest. Stay tuned...

02/02/2002 - Sensei Dan Browning and webmaster Juha Nyman were certified for taping techniques at the Duluth Clinic Feb. 2.

01/16/2002 - Ken Johnson and Sensei Dan Browning competed Jan. 16 in the annual Minnesota Jujutsu Kata Contest. Each won their divisions, though they had no competitors.

01/13/2002 - Congratulations to Dan for his promotion to Gokyu Rank!

01/11/2002 - The 54th Annual AJJF Convention is coming!
                    March 8-10, 2002
                    John Ascagua's Nugget
                    Sparks, Nevada (next to Reno)
                    Hosted by High Sierra Jujitsu
                    For more information click here

12/23/2001 - Congratulations to Ken for his promotion to Gokyu Rank!

12/04/2001 - The following AJJF sanctioned events are coming up:

- All MN AJJF Kata Contest
January 16th, 2002 7-9pm at The Kuroinukan (No pre-registration required)

- AJJF Taping Clinic
February 2nd, 2002 10-4pm at The Kuroinukan (Register before 30th on January to Ward Melenich)

- Duluth Winter Clinic
February 15-18th (President's Day Weekend), 2002 at The Kuroinukan (Register before 25th on January to Ward Melenich

11/27/2001 - New Shinzenkai website Opened, welcome!