Kendo has a long history in Tacoma, with some the earliest reminisces by kendo practitioners dating back to the early 1930′s.
Tacoma Kendo & Iaido Club formally laid its roots in 1967 when the Tacoma Buddhist Temple sponsored the first kendo kai.  Rod Omoto Sensei serviced as its first head instructor, assisted by Mas Tanabe and Yosh Tanabe.
Tacoma Kendo Club held its first tournament in 1970. The Kendo Club separated from Tacoma Buddhist Temple in 1987 to become the Tacoma Kendo and Iaido Club.
Today, the Tacoma Kendo and Iaido Club has around 30 members active in kendo and another 10 in iaido.
The Tacoma Kendo & Iaido Club is a member of the All US Kendo Federation and the Pacific NW Kendo Federation. The club regularly competes in taikai throughout the Pacific Northwest. Moki Yoshikawa is the Head Sensei of TKIC and Rod Omoto is Senior Advisor.  Read an article from Furyu.com about Omoto Sensei.

Omoto Sensei

Omoto sensei was born in Hawaii in 1918.  As a young man he moved to Kyoto, Japan, to attend the Budo Senmon Gakko (Busen), a national school for training young men to become professional teachers of kendo.  He remained in Japan throughout World War II and returned to the United States in 1960.  He earned a degree from Oregon State University in engineering and then moved to Tacoma, Washington with his wife and two young daughters.
Omoto sensei is the founding Charter President of the Washington State Kendo Federation – now known as the Pacific Northwest Kendo Federation.  He is the Senior Advisor of the Tacoma Kendo & Iaido Club and is one of the Founders of the Kendo Club at the University of Washington.
Omoto sensei has earned the rank of 7th dan kyoshi and continues to teach kendo to any student with a desire to learn.  He teaches that kendo is a way of life – you can practice kendo in everything you do “In kendo, you have to be wide awake.”