Meet Our Instructors
Chris Ruiz
Kendo 5th Dan
Chris began his kendo journey in 2009 with the Spokane Kendo Club, where he has been an active member for the past fifteen years. He has been a constant presence at seminars, tournaments, and other events throughout the Pacific Northwest Kendo Federation.
Chris also travels regularly to train all over the US and Canada and has made many friendships throughout his trips. He has had the opportunity to train regularly with members and coaches from the US and Canadian national teams, which has been integral to his growth and improvement in this martial art.
He has also been a two-time member of the Pacific Northwest Kendo Federation men’s team, and in 2023 was selected as the Assistant Coach for the men’s team. Chris was awarded the rank of 5 Dan by the All US Kendo Federation in 2023 and continues to train hard to improve himself and give his best to his students.
Justin Lamb
Kendo 4th Dan
Justin began his kendo journey in 2005 with the Spokane Kendo Club, where he had been an active member for 19 years. He was awarded the rank of Kendo 4th dan in 2018.
Justin practices a style of kendo called nito-ryu – which utilizes two swords, in addition to the traditional single-sword style. He seeks to improve both styles simultaneously to improve himself as a kenshi.
Justin has been an active tournament participent, and has placed 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in both individual and team divisions.
Marek Nelson
Kendo 4th Dan
Iaido 2nd Dan
Marek’s accomplishments include taking 2nd place in the Master’s division (50+ years) at the 2023 PNKF regional tournament, participating in the 2023 AUSKF National Championships in the Seniors Division, and placing 1st place in the 1-3 dan Senior division (45+ years) at the 2012 Kent Kendo Club tournament.
Marek has done some form of martial arts most of his life. Starting with Judo and Tang Soo Do in highschool, Tae Kwon Do in college, and Shotokan karate in graduate school. He started practicing kendo in 2007 after moving to Spokane, and received kendo 4 dan in 2023 and iaido 2 dan in 2024.
Jeff Lamb
Kendo 3rd Dan
Jeff started Kendo in 2006 at the age of 39, and was hooked right from the start. Throughout the years, he has been active attending seminars and tournaments in the Pacific Northwest Kendo Federation. In tournaments, Jeff won 1st place in the Senior Team division at the Kent Kendo Club tournament in 2009 and 2012, and 1st place in the 1-3 Dan Senior division at Kent in 2014.
In 2010, Jeff attended the 3rd Niten Ichi-Ryu Musashi-Kai U.S. seminar to learn nito-ryu (two-sword) style kendo and was immediately drawn to it. Since, he has trained and fought exclusively using two swords while also attending successive U.S. nito seminars.
In 2017, Jeff achieved the rank of 3rd dan while testing using nito-ryu. He considers this one of his greatest achievements. Bouncing back from a family tragedy in 2021, he is endeavoring to once again pass with two swords to pass the 4th dan exam.
Michael Rea
Kendo 3rd Dan
Growing up, Michael practiced Shotokan karate, achieving the rank of 1st Dan in 2005. He discovered kendo in 2013 and has been training ever since. He began his kendo journey in 2013 at Maryland Kendo Club until 2016. During 2017 he trained with Shuji Matsushita sensei at Shudokan Kendo Dojo in Pennsylvania. From 2018 to 2024, he trained at Spokane Kendo Club where he achieved the rank of 3rd Dan in 2024.
Michael regularly competes in tournaments and attends national seminars to continue his learning. Moreover, he currently is a member of the Pacific Northwest Kendo Federation’s (PNKF) Education Committee and has served in this capacity since 2019.