Just as the buds on the trees were beginning to open and the flowers were beginning to bloom, Denver was hit with a pair of back to back spring snowstorms. The storms were beautiful, but they caused a lot of damage, ultimately making spring come very late this year. This photo was taken in the middle of April in the …
April 5th-12th, 2009 The elevation of the international airport outside the city of La Paz, Bolivia is 4000 meters above sea level. It is considered good manners to greet passengers visiting from lower elevations with a warm smile and an oxygen tank. Even as you leave the plane you can feel the lack of oxygen in the air. As AHAN …
What do you think of these drawings; what do you see? These pictures were drawn by children with very different cultural and social backgrounds. Some of these drawings are from Mindanao Island in the Philippines, drawn by children living in a village torn by civil war. In the room adjacent to the room where the children sat drawing pictures, one …
Nippon Kan General Headquarters’ 10,000 square foot facility and grounds house the Nippon Kan dojo, Domo Restaurant, gardens, museum and boarding facility. General upkeep and maintenance is a priority and could not be accomplished with out the support of so many of our students and staff. Cleaning, plumbing, electrical, heating, air conditioning, parking lot maintenance, auto repair and more are …
Thousands of children in the Denver school system have come to Nippon Kan for this cultural tour program, beginning way before Japan House Culture Center changed its name to Nippon Kan Culture Center. Nippon Kan first began as Japan House Culture Center in 1978 as a Japanese culture center offering classes in tea ceremony, flower arranging, Japanese language, brush calligraphy …
Same as usual. AHAN Nippon Kan General Headquarters Homeless Meal Service project continues into its 19th consecutive year. We are proud of the fact that with all of the support from staff and volunteers, we have been able to continue this service for so many years. For the first 5 or 6 years after I began this project, I was …
May-August 2009 AHAN Nippon Kan General Headquarters does not only support international projects to help those in need; the longest running service project of AHAN and Nippon Kan has been right here in Denver at the Denver Rescue Mission. In conjunction with the Denver Rescue Mission, Nippon Kan has served monthly dinners to the homeless for the last 19 years. …
March 22nd, 2009 This year, at the 14th annual bowling tournament between Nippon Kan and Enshin Karate, Nippon Kan won. This “friendly tournament” was originally thought up by Homma Kancho as a way to celebrate the birthday of long time friend and fellow Denver martial art pioneer, Joko Ninomiya Kancho, Founder of Enshin Karate. Unfortunately, this year’s tournament fell just …
March 10th-14th, 2009 Earlier plans to visit Myanmar were finally realized this past March with Homma Kancho’s exploratory tour. This visit was a surprise visit by design, and Homma Kancho went alone and unannounced. Homma Kancho was interested in learning about humanitarian organizations at work in Myanmar for possible ways AHAN might be able to contribute that are within our …
March 5th-March 8th, 2009 After leaving Nepal, Homma Kancho took a quick trip to Bangladesh to check on ongoing AHAN projects there. Currently AHAN supports two orphanages in Dhaka with one ton of rice per month, computers and other building, medical and school supplies. On this trip, Homma Kancho was also interested in researching a facility he had heard of …
Armed with 24-7 patches on their uniforms, the Nippon Kan uchideshi engage in a level of practice that is not easy. All in all, the current uchideshi are young, in good spirits and seem to enjoy their practice. With only a half day on Sundays to call their own, they have little time to rest, and this past Sunday, even …
Feb 26th-March 4th, 2009 After the seminar events in Kathmandu were complete, Homma Kancho and Yoon Sensei accompanied by me (Bishu Kanta) as guide, set out for the resort town of Pokhara, 240 kilometers west of Kathmandu. Martial arts are very popular in Pokhara and in the early morning hours, students gather around the sports center, some practicing inside, some …
Feb 26th-March 4th, 2009 Over 200 people attended this annual spring seminar conducted by Homma Kancho at the Nepal Multiple Martial Art Center. A unique mixture of Nepalese regular army soldiers, Nepal armed police, civilians and students made up the attending student body. The seminar was held for three days, and the group was divided into two levels of experience. …
Feb 26th-March 4th, 2009 Training Seminar for the Nepal Army Rangers Homma Kancho instructed a special spring training seminar for the Nepal Army Rangers this past Feb 26th-March 4th that concentrated on the teaching of original Aikido Nippon Kan NSDT (Nippon Kan Self Defense Techniques). There were over 500 Army Ranger Special Forces in attendance, and training was held outside …
February 20th-25th, 2009 Homma Kancho visited Aikidoka in two cities on Mindanao Island in the Philippines. At the end of last year, this area of Mindanao was a hot-bed of local terrorist activity which interrupted normal life in a number of ways. There was a high risk of kidnapping, and as a precaution, even the AHAN Nippon Kan Mindanao staff …
