Dojo Portrait, Roninkai, Næstveds Kendoklub Part II

Momo Skiba is the head trainer and found of Roninkai. She founded the club three years after she moved to Denmark from the United States with her family, because she wanted a place to train and share her passion for kendo with others. Her approach as a sensei iis that everyone is unique and has their own story and special needs, which you must understand and take into account if you want them to thrive.

Before Momo came to Denmark, she trained in over 10 different dojos in the US, Japan and China. She has had many experiences, both good and bad that has taught her the value of building a healthy and social dojo culture. Roninkai is thus a radically inclusive dojo, where anyone can learn kendo regardless of age, gender, physical or psychological handicap.

Aside from being the head instructor at Næstved kendo club, Roninkai, Momo was also extremely active in the founding of Kilikai- Frederiksberg and Copenhagens kendo club, which she started with several other experienced kendoka, because of a high demand in the Copenhagen area for a dojo with the same culture as Roninkai. She is the chairman of Kilikai and teaches Saturdays. Her ultimate goal is to become less and less involved and over time leave the dojo to a different experience kenshi, much like Yukio Kato gave his dojo Gakushinkan to David Mwaipaya.

Momo is also a member of the Danish Kendo Federation’s (DKF) board of directors, where she is known as an untiring workhorse. She has worked on many projects including restructuring and distribution of DKF’s kendo equipment and helping spread knowledge about kendo in Denmark.

Her favorite shinai is a smoked jisengata, size 39, because it smells good and is pretty. She also has a women’s weight kotogata with a pink tsuru, that she ws given by Yukio Kato that she really likes, but she only uses it when she fights really strong kendo player, because she feels like using a women’s weight shinai against a man isn’t fair when they are physically equally strong.

Some of Momo’s best memories include her bogu test, her first time wining a shiai against a good friend -an episode he also still talks about to this day. However the lion’s share of her good memories are from her time in Denmark over the past couple of years.

Momo’s hope for the future is that is that she can help ensure that there is always a place where everyone who wants to train kendo can have the opportunity to do so and that they are places you want to keep practicing at.