In our previous posts, we covered how to create a legal entity for the dojo and how to maintain good standing. In this post, we cover joining the All United States Kendo Federation.
About the Authors
Mark Kerstein and Shamina Chang are attorneys at The Law Office of Mark A. Kerstein, based in Houston, Texas. They instruct and practice Iaido and Kendo at the Houston Kenshikan, LLC, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. They have helped create legal entities for several Kendo and Iaido organizations, as well as have helped those organizations achieve 501(c)(3) status.
AUSKF Membership
The International Kendo Federation recognizes one national federation per country. The AUSKF is the national Kendo federation of the United States. The AUSKF is divided into local federations. Each local federation consists of multiple Dojos.
In order for a Dojo to join the AUSKF, the Dojo needs to join a local federation. Each local federation has their own requirements for joining, so the Dojo will need to contact their local federation to find out what those requirements are. After a Dojo has joined the local federation, it is important for all of its members to register with the local and national federation.
Membership in the AUSKF comes with one essential perk that helps protect the Dojo and its instructors. Each registered individual is covered by an insurance policy that provides excess insurance coverage for medical costs associated with an injury suffered by a member during training or at a Kendo/Iaido event outside the Dojo. While the AUSKF insurance policy does not replace (and should not be viewed as replacing) an individual’s personal insurance policy, a claim made against the AUSKF policy will help cover certain medical expenses perhaps not covered by the individual’s medical insurance.
In addition, facility rentals for regular practice and events often require an insurance policy with higher policy limits than a Dojo can afford. The AUSKF has insurance for its member Dojo and Member Federations and will provide a copy of the policy covering the rental space upon request.
Conclusion
This concludes our series on the legal steps for starting a Dojo. Please keep in mind it is important to take all of these steps. In addition, there are a lot more steps required to effectively manage a Dojo, which we plan to cover soon. We hope that you have found this helpful and ask to let us know if there is anything you would like to see covered.
Disclaimer
Please understand we are not your lawyers and the contents of this post are not legal advice. This is a very basic guide and meant to inform based on publicly available information. We can, and have, helped people form entities in a number of states and can assist with the process, but to do so we would need to enter into an attorney-client relationship. Nothing about this post creates that relationship