Aloha! Welcome to Ka Hale Na Ikaika Dojo.  We are a Danzan Ryu Jujutsu dojo in San Diego, CA - specifically Allied Gardens and a member of the American Judo and Jujitsu Federation (AJJF).  Our host school is the Allied Gardens School of Martial Arts. Ka Hale Na Ikaika Dojo is dedicated to the practice and propagation of Danzan Ryu Jujutsu, with an emphasis on practical self defense. We offer a safe, friendly, and healthy training environment that focuses on personal growth and development rather than sport or competition.  The instructors are Eric Atienza-Sensei and Peter Sweeny-Sensei.

Ka Hale Na Ikaika Dojo

The name Ka Hale Na Ikaika was chosen because of the Hawaiian roots of Danzan Ryu.  The art of jujutsu originated in the Far East, and is particularly Japanese in origin.  The founder of Danzan Ryu mastered and ultimately developed his art on the islands of Hawaii.  As a result, Master Okazaki named his art Danzan Ryu (Sandalwood Mountain Style), a common reference to the Hawaiian Islands. 

Sandalwood was once in abundance in Hawaii and a major resource during Okazaki’s time (turn of the 20th century) and many locals, particularly Chinese referred to Hawaii as the Sandalwood mountain island.  In Japanese the Chinese characters for Sandalwood mountain translate to Danzan.  It is in honor of the land he called home and those who taught him martial arts(particularly Wo Chong a Chinese Gung Fu Master who went outside the social norm and taught a non-Chinese, Okazaki) that he named his art Hawaiian Style or Danzan Ryu Jujutsu.

It is in memory of these humble origins the name, Ka Hale Na Ikaika was chosen.  Ka Hale is Hawaiian for, “the house.”  Na Ikaika translates into a “person who is strong”, or refers to “strength” or “determination in general.”  Loosely speaking it refers to a warrior.  Ka Hale Na Ikaika, the House of the Warrior or the House of Strength and Determination.

From a martial perspective it is through strength and determination that one can overcome challenges.  Self-defense on one level is a matter of self-awareness.  Once you have the inner strength and determination to face the moment you can successfully apply it to self-defense.  Once you have found your strength and are determined and focused, you can apply it to virtually any situation in life. 

It is through strength and determination that you can further develop your character.  It is through martial training at Ka Hale Na Ikaika that you can develop and hone your strength and determination. As in Okazaki’s time, Jujutsu is first a system to “perfect one’s character and second a self-defense system.”  It is to these ideals and similar aims that Ka Hale Na Ikaika Dojo was opened.