About Okenjo

Okenjo is a small wood working company based in the Silvermine Mountains, in the midlands of County Tipperary, Ireland. The company was set up in 2006 by Brian Donohoe a 1st dan Aikido instructor.

Brian started training in 1990 with the West Wicklow Aikido Club. In 1992 he moved to the Irish Aikido Associations Whitefriars Aikido Club in Dublin and trained with them for a further 6 years. Following a move in 1998 to Galway city he kept up his links to the Whitefriars club in Dublin and upon finally settling in Tipperary he set up his own club.  Brian’s own Aikido club in Tipperary remains affiliated with the Irish Aikido Associationand through them the Irish Martial Arts Commission.

Brian received his Shodan from the Irish Aikido Association in 2005. Through 17 years of training with  various clubs and travelling to international seminars throughout Europe Brian saw a rising need for personalised practise weapons in aikido.

With a solid background in engineering Brian went on to experiment by making his own weapons and weapons for members of his club. This  developed into Brian's setting up of a business making hand crafted weapons  in order to offer people a more personalised weapon, affording them more comfort during practise through varying the style and measurements of the weapons according to the individuals height and hand dimensions.

Marking the weapons with the customers name in katakana seemed an obvious follow on from personalising the weapons as this makes the individuality of your personalised weapon more conspicuous. Brian's decision to use katakana on the weapons came about as it is common for Aikidoka (Aikido students) to display their name on their keikogi (Aikido training suit) in katakana, so displaying the same on their weapon only makes sense.

OKENJO weapons are fully hand made using electric hand tools.  No sophisticated industrial  machinery involved!!!!

Making a Bokken

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