Club History

Ka Muso Kai's Roots

Chris Gilham sensei started the Ka Muso Kai in Calgary in July 2004 under the name of the Calgary Iaido Club. In 1996 Chris moved from Windsor, Ontario to Tokyo, Japan to teach English as a Foreign Language and train at the home dojo of Japanese Goju-Ryu Karate. Soon after reaching Japan Chris discovered Iaido (Japanese Swordsmanship) and entered the Koganei City Iaido Club, located in the Greater Tokyo Area.

Since that time, Chris' sensei has been Yamamoto, Shotaro, 7th dan Kyoshi, of the All Japan Kendo Federation. Chris trained directly with Yamamoto sensei for four years. Yamamoto sensei came to Canada for the first time in August of 2009 to lead a three day seminar in Iaido. Shortly after this visit the Calgary Iaido Club asked sensei if he would honour them with a Japanese name for the organization. The Calgary Iaido Club and its affiliated clubs were renamed Ka Muso Kai in January 2010.

All Ka Muso Kai dojos and its members are affiliated with the Canadian Kendo Federation.

Ka Muso Kai Calgary Today

Today, the Calgary dojo practices four martial arts: Iaido, Jodo, Hyoho Niten Ichi Ryu and Kage Ryu. However, our primary art will always be Iaido.

Ka Muso Kai in Saskatoon

The Saskatoon Iaido Club began as an offshoot of Ka Muso Kai Calgary in 2008 when Colin Pitman moved to Saskatoon, only to find no one practicing Iaido. Shortly after his move, he began teaching a small group of students in the Saskatoon area. Since then, the club has grown to double in size and in 2014 the Saskatoon Iaido Club was recognized by the Canadian Kendo Federation as a registered dojo.

Ka Muso Kai in Antigonish

Chris moved to Antigonish, Nova Scotia, in August 2013 and works as an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Education at St. Francis Xavier University. Like Colin, Chris discovered that he was the only one in his area practicing Iaido.

He launched Ka Muso Kai Antigonish in the Fall of 2014. The club ran a successful seminar with Kim Taylor sensei from Sei Do Kai in January 2015. 

Please contact Chris Gilham sensei directly with regards to learning Iaido and training information.

Our Vision

Our club aims to be a welcoming and relaxing environment for all who wish to train with us. While practice is typically performed individually, we encourage our members to help one another, provide feedback, and give constructive criticism to help all of our members to grow and improve their Iaido, Jodo, Niten, and/or Kage Ryu technique.