New Pacific Shintaido Board of Directors

New Pacific Shintaido Board of Directors

News

Published:

As of May 1, 2026, the Pacific Shintaido Board of Directors was reconstituted with five new members: Jennifer Peringer, Martha Rodriguez-Salazar, Tom Abbott, Jason Ravitz, and Matthew Spigelman. They had been nominated by the outgoing board—Shin Aoki, Cheryl Williams, and Derk Richardson—at an open Pacific Shintaido meeting in San Francisco on April 21. A survey of PacShin practitioners found no objections to their installment and no additional nominations, so the new board is in place and will serve for a minimum tenure of one year. Each new member brings a unique personal history of Shintaido experience and a unique set of skills that will benefit the organization. Shin, Cheryl, and Derk had worked together on the board for well over a decade. Among possible projects for the new board are revitalizing the PacShin website, supporting teachers and their classes, promoting the growth of Shintaido, enhancing PacShin social media presence, supporting regional workshops, and overseeing the organization of Kangeiko 2027 next January. 

The board can be reached at board@pacshin.shintaido.org

Exam Results Jan. 2026

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Published:
Hello Shintaido members,

Shintaido of America held exams for karate and bojutsu at Pacific Shintaido’s Jan. 2026 Kangeiko.  Examiners were Shin Aoki and Jennifer Peringer, with Mike Sheets as goresha. Thank you to Pacific Shintaido for providing the time and space in their Kangeiko and Shintaido of America for sponsoring and coordinating the exams.

In Shintaido karate, Nicole Masters received the rank of 9 kyu and Martha Rodriguez-Salazar received the rank of 5 kyu.

In Shintaido bojutsu, Jennifer Abejar received a rank of 8 kyu, Martha Rodriguez-Salazar and Sally Gaston received the rank of 2 kyu.

Again, thank you to the examinees for their performance, the examiners for their careful eyes and feedback, and all those who made these Shintaido exams possible.

SOA Happenings Spring 2026

News

Published:
Dear Fellow SOA members,
Scroll down to read spring announcements:
  • The new SOA Website is live
  • Two new Body Dialogue articles
  • SOA 2026 membership Drive
  • First edition of the SOA Ethics Handbook is available.
  • 19 April 2026 Masashi Minagawa book Launch
I.  New  SOA Website

After three months of intensive work by Sarah Baker, SOA Member & SOA website contractor and SOA YouTube Manager, and Jennifer Palmer-Farrington, our new SOA Webmaster, we are announcing the new SOA Website is live.

Visit our website at this link: Shintaido of America – Opening to Life

Read our Home Page, See updated photos, and read about multiple member benefits including links to many affiliates and partners of SOA. We look forward to your comments. As with any project, there is ongoing future work as we improve our content.

II. Two New Body Dialogue articles

During our hiatus, many Body Dialogue articles have been submitted. Here are two:

First is a tribute to Bela Breslau. As 2026 is our 50th Anniversary of the founding of Shintaido of America as a non-profit organization – SOA honors the ‘Mother of Shintaido of America’ – Bela Breslau. Read the article here:     Movers and Shakers of Shintaido – Tribute to Bela Breslau | Shintaido of America

Second is an article by Tomi Nagai-Rothe to honor the legacy of H.F. Ito. Read the article here:     Enacting Ito Sensei’s Legacy | Shintaido of America

III. SOA 2026 Membership Drive

Spring is here and it is time for the SOA 2026 Membership Drive. SOA membership supports  instructors and keiko in the USA and Canada. Our new SOA Website is possible because of the contributions of each member. Read the membership letter (attached). Pay your membership dues here: Store | Shintaido of America

IV. SOA Ethics Handbook

Many organizations govern themselves by a code of ethics/code of conduct. SOA is introducing the first edition of the SOA Ethics Handbook. This is a resource to members and instructors for both guidance on ethical matters and as a resource for ethical consultations. Read the SOA Ethics Handbook here: Member Materials | Shintaido of America

V. 19 April 2026 is Masashi Minagawa’s book Launch

Save the date: 19 April via ZOOM; 12noon PT, 3pm Eastern, 8pm UK, 9pm Europe.  More details to follow from Peter Furtado. Masashi Minagawa’s book is on Amazon and titled: Aikukan, A life in Shintaido.

Many of us are planning to wear our GTC T-shirts on the 19th: Aikukan  Space of Love. Order now to have them by the 19th of April. Here is the link.

Discover Our Exclusive Range at Shintaido of America Store

Share your comments with me and the SOA Board via Contact Us
Warmly,
Connie Borden
SOA President

Thank You, Rob Kedoin — Shintaido of America webmaster

Thank You, Rob Kedoin — Shintaido of America webmaster

2025, All Years, Body Dialogue Newsletter, News

After more than two decades of dedicated service, we would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to Rob Kedoin, who will be concluding his role as SOA webmaster in September 2025. Rob has faithfully stewarded our online presence since at least 2004, helping to make the SOA website an invaluable resource for both members and the public.

Under his guidance, the website has continually evolved—sharing information about Shintaido classes, our curriculum in karate, bojutsu, and kenjutsu, as well as providing vital updates about SOA examinations. Rob’s steady, behind-the-scenes support has ensured that these resources remained reliable and accessible to all.

In 2018, with the support of the SOA Board, Rob spearheaded a major upgrade that made the website fully compatible with iPhones and iPads—an improvement that drew many positive comments from our community. Most recently, in 2025, Rob worked with Board member David Palmer to successfully migrate the SOA website to Dreamhost, a new platform offering enhanced security and SSL certification. These improvements have strengthened our online presence and ensured that SOA continues to serve members with professionalism and care.

In addition to his technical expertise, Rob also contributed as a member of the SOA Board from 2006–2015. His long-standing commitment and countless volunteer hours have left a lasting mark on our organization.

Rob, thank you for your remarkable dedication, your vision, and your tireless efforts on behalf of SOA. We are deeply grateful for all that you have given, and we celebrate your many contributions with heartfelt appreciation.

Shintaido of America Keiko and Examinations – 13 September 2025 in San Francisco on Ocean Beach

Shintaido of America Keiko and Examinations – 13 September 2025 in San Francisco on Ocean Beach

News

Saturday the 13th was a foggy morning keiko on Ocean Beach. Eleven people attended. The sun came out in the afternoon with seven participants continuing. There were two Bojutsu keikos taught by Jennifer and Rob. Lunch was at a nearby café. 

The first keiko, taught by Rob Gaston, was focused on the continuous flow of eiko attack with morote-zuki and receiver using kohan, then letting the attack pass through with ryuhi continuing into eiko dai kumibo. 

The afternoon beach greeted us with blue sky and sunshine and Jennifer’s class reflected the bright feeling. We worked through basic boh toss, transferring our energy back and forth.  We finished with gentle neriai with one partner that eventually combined into larger groups and a final ecstatic group tenso.

Sally Gaston challenged two SOA examinations. Sally was 9 kyu in Karate and 4 kyu Bojutsu. She is now 7-kyu Karate and 3-kyu Bojutsu. Congratulations Sally!   Examiners were Shin Aoki, Jennifer Peringer and Robert Gaston.