History & Purpose

The purpose of Bluegrass Budokai is to promote positive growth among its members and the communities in which we live, through the disciplined practice of Japanese Budo (martial ways). The organization is a group of budoka dedicated to growing beyond the self-imposed limits of our minds, bodies and spirit.

We have three equally important purposes to our training.

1. The training we involve ourselves must be martially effective.
2. We must strive to have a safe training environment.
3. Our practice is historically accurate and close to its origins.

The Winchester, Kentucky dojo was started in February 1996 by Craig Caudill. Caudill Sensei continued to train and work in the school eventually becoming Chief Instructor and then ultimately founding Bluegrass Budokai in September of 2005.

The organization which started as a small group of persons interested in martial arts has grown into a dedicated group of practitioners training and working together without regard to ego and pride.

The logo for Bluegrass Budokai appears above and in many ways represents many of the things that we are.

The blue color represents the Kentucky bluegrass that was so prevalent at beginning of its statehood but can only be sparsely found throughout the state today. This can also be seen in the young shoots of bluegrass depicted over the blue portion of our logo. The red represents the rising sun of Japan, birthplace of the martial arts that we diligently practice, along with the bokken (wooden sword) which is a common practice weapon for virtually all Japanese budo, whether it be armed or unarmed defense in battle.

This all leads to who it is that we are. A group of those finding themselves in Kentucky, either by birth or transport, practicing diligently to keep the virtuous, ethical, vigorous practice formerly found in the Samurai alive, active, and appropriately applied in our world today.