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Rebirth

After the war, Kendo had to be
reintroduced from scratch. This
time, the pioneers were returned
servicemen Benjamin Hazard and
Gordon. Hazard had learned
Kendo while serving in Japan
between 1948 and 1952, while
Warner had done Kendo in Japan
before World War II and resumed it
afterward as a form of physical
therapy (He lost a leg at
Bougainville). In the spring of
1953, Hazard and Warner (both
were graduate students at the
University of California – Berkeley
Campus) established one of the
earliest Kendo Dojo in North
America after the war. They could
not do it without the support of
fencing coach Arthur Lane and
physical education dean Henry
Stone. Kendo both as a sport and
as well as a cultural activity has
been growing and spreading in
North America since then. The first
U.S. Kendo championship was
held in Los Angeles in 1978. The
Second U.S. championship was
held in Chicago in 1981. Kendo,
today in North America, consists of
over 2000 members spread across
seven regional federations
composed of 60 Dojo in 16 states.