About the Adelaide Koryu Kenkyukai
The Adelaide Koryu Kenkyukai was established with the aim of practising and preserving classical Japanese martial arts (koryu bujutsu). We are a small group whose focus is on the quality of our practice and on maintaining the integrity of the traditions we have been entrusted to transmit.
We practise three ryū: Shindō Musō-ryū, Tatsumi-ryū, and Tenshin Bukō-ryū. Each is a distinct tradition with its own history, curriculum, and character. Together they represent a broad and complementary range of classical Japanese martial arts.
Our training is conducted in the spirit in which these arts have always been transmitted — through direct, disciplined practice under the guidance of qualified instructors, with attention to both the technical and the philosophical dimensions of the ryū.
What are koryu?
The term koryu bujutsu (古流武術), which is generally translated as “old-school martial arts”, refers to the classical schools of Japanese martial arts that were established prior to the Meiji Restoration of 1868. Koryu are living traditions whose curricula, forms, and transmission methods have been maintained for centuries.
Each koryu is organised around a set of kata (prearranged forms) through which the technical and strategic knowledge of the school is transmitted. The aim is not merely to memorise the kata, but rather to come to embody the principles and ‘become’ the ryū.
Koryu are typically small and selective. Transmission is done on a one-to-one basis and students are accepted on the basis of genuine interest and commitment.
Instructors
Bill Fettes
Bill began his study of Shindō Musō-ryū in 1980 under Paul Maloney in Sydney before travelling to Japan for a year where he studied under Kaminoda Tsunemori and Phil Relnick. He returned to Japan in 1985 where he studied with Kaminoda sensei for 8 years.
His study of Tenshin Bukō-ryū began in 1989 under Nitta Suzuyo Sensei, the 19th Sōke of the school. More recently, he has studied under the guidance of Liam Keeley shihan of the Melbourne Koryu Kenkyukai.
Bill holds the rank of menkyo kaiden in Shindō Musō-ryū and shihan in Tenshin Bukō-ryū.
Simon Roberts-Thomson
Simon began his study of koryu in 2005 with Tatsumi-ryū under Liam Keeley, and now also trains in Shindō Musō-ryū and Tenshin Bukō-ryū under Bill Fettes.
He holds the rank of gomokuroku in Shindō Musō-ryū, godan in Tatsumi-ryū, and chuden in Tenshin Bukō-ryū. He leads instruction in Tatsumi-ryū and assists in Shindō Musō-ryū and Tenshin Bukō-ryū.
