What is "Mendenkan"

 

The name of our group. “Mendenkan” aikido is derived from the last name of the instructor, Bruce Mendenhall.  It’s a bit of a play on words but Japanese kanji chosen to represent the name’s syllables reflects the philosophy we train by. “Men” is written as [免], which means to enable or allow,  “den” is [伝] which refers to “tradition”.  “Kan” is taken from “hall” because it refers to a building such as a training hall.  Taken together then, the name means a hall where tradition is fostered.