BK Taiko performs all year round at a variety of events throughout New Mexico. We started 2025 with a cultural school event and will most likely finish the year with another cultural school event. This years performance events included Grand Openings, school cultural day events, city celebrations, lecture demonstrations at adult educational facilities, Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage events, school lecture demonstrations, and Obon at the Albuquerque Sasebo Japanese Garden. Performances have been in a variety of facilities large and small, including outdoors. This year we even participated in a Truck or Treat.
With our van we are able to bring the joy of Taiko throughout New Mexico. If you would like the thunderous sounds of Japanese Drumming at your event contact us at Taiko@BKWoW or 505-294-6993. We love sharing the Art of Japanese Drumming with the community.
Obon is a time for remembering and honoring ancestors, expressing gratitude for their influence, and strengthening family bonds. It’s a significant cultural and religious event for many Japanese people. It has been celebrated in Japan for over 500 years. Today the exact dates of Obon can vary by region, but it often falls in mid-August. It’s believed that during Obon, the spirits of the deceased return to visit their families. Lanterns are used to guide the spirits and on the 3rd day lanterns are floated down a river to symbolize the way of the souls back to the world of the dead.
ABQ BioPark and Albuquerque Sister Cities Foundation will celebrate Obon in the Sasebo Japanese Garden August 15th. Gates open at 6:30 pm and last entry is 8 pm. Bushido Kenkyukai dojo will lead a procession through the garden starting at 7pm. At 8pm Bushido Kenkyukai Taiko will perform on the pond deck.
Please contact the ABQ BioPark for event info and tickets.
School is starting in about a month and it is a great time to try our Kids Karate classes for FREE. Class sizes are a little smaller as families are winding up summer vacation. With kids is tough to know if your child will like the classes and stick with it. Bushido Kenkyukai offers 2 weeks of classes FREE so you can give it a try without financial investment.
Karate is a great way to get in shape and learn how to defend yourself. Regular core exercises are done with every warm up. Cardio drills are done on a regular basis. It is great for the mind and body. Our style is Okinawan Shorin Ryu Karate. Minimum age 7. No experience necessary. Try something new. No experience is necessary. Contact us for details (Bushi@BKWoW.com or 505-294-6993). Lets get started and do this.
Bushido Kenkyukai Karate Dojo is located in Albuquerque across the street from Kirtland AFB and half a block west of the National Museum of Nuclear Science & History, near Eubank & Central. We also offer military discounts and family discounts.
The year may be winding down and many are preparing for the holidays, but we are still performing in Albuquerque through the end of the year. Saturday November 30th, Wednesday December 11th, and Saturday December 28th BK Taiko will be performing in NW Albuquerque from 5:30pm to 7:30pm. These are outdoor performance and are weather dependent. (The event may proceed rain or snow, but our Japanese Taiko drums can not be out in the moisture.) Hopefully we will have beautiful New Mexico weather. Currently we can not announce the public venue until we receive approval from the event staff. Stay tuned for the Location announcement!
Bushido Kenkyukai has openings in their Kids Karate classes Tuesdays & Thursdays from 5:30pm to 6:30pm. The age range is 7 years to 13 years old. We teach Okinawan Shorin Ryu Karate. The first 2 weeks of classes are Free.
Bushido Kenkyukai is a Family friendly dojo. Classes are structured with Traditional Karate basics and values. The Youth are not only taught Karate basics, but Japanese terminology, Karate History, Basic Japanese etiquette & culture, personal safety, Disciple & Character (7 Virtues of Bushido), Sempai/Kohai, and basic physical fitness. With small class sizes your child will get plenty of one on one training. Our head instructor is a strong supporter of education and therefore students are required to keep a minimum grade point average in order to continue participation in Karate classes.
Belt level progression is based on the successful completion and understanding of basic skills needed for each level. Students are given a requirements sheet for each level which clearly defines the needed skills and minimum class time required for each belt level. Since everyone learns at a different pace there is no regular calendar set testing schedule. Students test when the instructor sees that the student has comprehension and demonstration capabilities required for that level. Students which are ready for testing will be scheduled to test and will not be held back to wait for a group testing.
Our head instructor is a 6th degree black belt in Shorin Ryu, 3rd degree black belt in Okinawan Kenpo Kobudo weapons, is a certified self defense instructor, has over 35 years of martial arts training, CPR certified, and has first aid training.
Happy New Year! BK Taiko is off to a busy start with several performances already scheduled.
February 3rd from 12pm to 12:30pm BK Taiko will be performing at The Scuba Company for their re-grand opening. This is FREE to the public and will be, weather permitting, outside right in front of the Scuba Company located at 2715 San Mateo Blvd NE Albuquerque, NM 87110
February 9th from 5pm to 6pm BK Taiko will be performing at PF Chang’s for Lunar New Year, Year of the Dragon. This is FREE to the public and will outside in from of PF Chang’s located at 4440 THE 25TH WAY NE, Albuquerque, NM
February 10th from 5pm to 6pm BK Taiko will be performing at PF Chang’s for Lunar New Year, Year of the Dragon. This is FREE to the public and will outside in from of PF Chang’s located at 4440 THE 25TH WAY NE, Albuquerque, NM
In addition BK Taiko has up coming public school Lecture Demonstrations and private events. Bookings are filling up fast this spring, especially for May which is Asian Pacific Islander Month. If you would like BK Taiko to perform at your event or school please contact us at Taiko@BKWoW.com or 505-294-6993.
BK Taiko has beginning Japanese Drumming class for kids and adults. You can start at anytime. Come try a class for FREE. Please contact us at Taiko@BKWoW.com or 505-294-6993. www.BKTaiko.com
Bushido Kenkyukai has a few openings in Youth Karate class on Tuesdays & Thursdays from 5:30pm to 6:30pm. The age range is 7 years to 13 years old. We teach Okinawan Shorin Ryu Karate. Try 2 weeks of classes for Free. Classes are structured with Traditional Karate basics and values. The Youth are not only taught Karate basics, but Japanese terminology, Karate History, Basic Japanese etiquette & culture, personal safety, Disciple & Character (7 Virtues of Bushido), Sempai/Kohai, and basic physical fitness. Our head instructor is a strong supporter of education and therefore students are required to keep a minimum grade point average in order to continue participation in Karate classes.
Our head instructor has over 35 years of martial arts training and is a 6th degree black belt Shorin Ryu, 3rd degree black belt in Okinawan Kenpo Kobudo, and a certified self defense instructor. With small class sizes, your child will not get lost and become another number as in some larger schools. In addition, with senior Adult Karate students often assisting with the youth classes there is plenty of one on one training.
Bushido Kenkyukai is a Family friendly dojo and offers a variety of periodic Japanese Cultural Arts activities in addition to its core year round Martial Arts Training and Taiko Japanese Drumming. Contact us for details.
Bushido Kebkyukai’s Taiko group will be performing Friday May 26th at the Isotopes Game. BK Taiko is performing from 5:15pm to 6pm as part of the Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month celebration. The group can be see as you enter the 3rd base gate at Isotopes park.
Asian American Pacific Islander Month honors the history, achievements, and struggles of Americans with Asian and Pacific Islander heritage. Originally established as Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week in May of 1979, Asian and Pacific American Heritage Month was first observed as a full month in 1990 and officially established in 1992. The month of May was chosen due to its significance as both the month during which the first Japanese immigrants arrived in the United States in 1843 and the month of the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad in 1869 by mainly Chinese immigrant workers.
2023 is the 20th anniversary of Bushido Kenkyukai Karate. As a young martial artist over 35 years ago I knew I would do Karate for the rest of my life, but I never imagined teaching Karate much less having a Dojo. I feel blessed and grateful.
The past few years as a martial artist have been sad, watching so many schools close permanently throughout New Mexico due to the pandemic and its consequences. Life has changed for everyone. Fewer people are interested in martial arts and have found other activities that came out of the quarantine of the pandemic. Also the cost of everything has risen drastically and families have had to cut back on activities to make ends meet. In addition we have lost so many martial arts pioneers, which is sad, but understandable as time goes on. Bushido Kenkyukai is blessed to have wonderful students, families, friends, and supporters which has helped us get through the tough times.
This year started slow and a little bumpy but we are still here and training. Our youth class is our largest class and it is great to see it growing. We always have room for more students, both youth and adult. Dojo is family, so the more the merrier.
This summer we plan to have a special celebration to commemorate our 20 years. We hope to invite as many of our past students as possible to join us in this happy occasion. Please reach out to us if you are a past student who has lost contact with us, we would like you to participate.
I look forward to many more years of training and hope Bushido Kenkyukai makes it another 20 years!
2021 is gone and 2022 is here! Thank goodness! The Covid-19 years have been difficult, but we are still here. Thank you to our students and their families, without you Bushido Kenkyukai would not have survived the past 2 years. Thank you for adjusting with all the health orders and constant unknown of what change we would have to make next. Thank you for your patience. Thank you to those that never left and rode the wave. Thank you to those that came back whether it was at the beginning of 2021 or the end.
Thank you to all our families, friends, and supporters of our programs. In 2020 Covid-19 caused the cancelation of all our events and performances. In 2021 we started the year off with a virtual performance for the National Museum of Nuclear Science & History’s celebration of Asian Pacific Islander month and finished the year with a live performance at Aki Matsuri Japanese Fall Festival at the New Mexico Veteran’s Memorial Park. Thank you to all event coordinators that gave us back the wonderful joy of performing & demonstrating.
Here is to a new year, with refreshing possibilities of a better year with prosperity & joy!
