About us
The School of Classical Japanese Martial Arts opened in St. Paul in 1996 on University Avenue at Cromwell, and moved to its current Northeast Minneapolis location in 2013. We are the Seishin Dojo of the classical tradition Kaze Arashi Ryu, under supervision of Henri Vilaire, menky kaiden.
The Japanese name Seishin is derived from Liu Sen in the province of Guangzhou, China, birthplace of the late warrior General Li Chi-Shen, grandfather of our principal instructor.
About our instructors
Shu Lee — principal instructor
| Aiki Ju Jutsu | Menkyo (5th dan) |
| Atemi Jutsu | Menkyo (5th dan) |
| Ken Jutsu | Moku Roku (3rd dan) |
| Atemi Jutsu | Moku Roku (3rd dan) |
Shu first experienced martial arts in 1966, then Aikido in 1981 and Kaze Arashi Ryu in 1987. His ranks have been awarded by Henri-Robert Vilaire, menkyo-kaiden. In addition to Minneapolis and St. Paul, he has taught the arts to adults and children in Feng Du, China, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, New York City and Rochester, New York, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and Phoenix, Arizona.
Shu has an M.S. in Finance and an M.B.A. He works as an IT consultant specializing in optimization software for retail.
Ben Thul
| Aiki Ju Jutsu | Moku Roku (3rd dan) |
| Atemi Jutsu | Moku Roku (3rd dan) |
| Ken Jutsu | Oku Iri (1st dan) |
| Atemi Jutsu | Oku Iri (1st dan) |
Ben started his martial education with Kaze Arashi Ryu in 1996 under Shu Lee while pursuing his undergraduate degree at the University of Minnesota.
Ben currently works as a SQL Server database administrator.
Matt Coe
| Aiki Ju Jutsu | Oku Iri (1st dan) |
| Atemi Jutsu | Oku Iri (1st dan) |
Matt has practiced martial arts for most of his life, beginning with instruction in Tae Kwon Do at the age of 8. He has also studied Judo, Shinkendo, and Capoeira.
Mhat has practiced Kaze Arashi Ryu since 2000 and holds Oku Iri certificates in aiki ju jutsu and atemi jutsu.