Canadian Iaido Association

Chris Tooley Sensei, Vice President

Chris Tooley Sensei holds the rank of ZNIR 7th Dan, which he received in 2024.

Chris Sensei has been practicing Iaido since 1999, when he was 17. He was first drawn to Japanese culture and Martial Arts as a very young boy, when he saw his father’s Karate books and the magnificent and exotic imagery of Japanese buildings and clothing. The sword drew particular interest, as his Father had a set of Iaito from his own travels before Chris Sensei was born. It was not until he saw his father practice Iaido on the porch of their house in the Yukon Territory that Chris Sensei discovered Iaido. After moving to Victoria permanently, Chris Sensei joined Shoshinkai (originally the CIA Iaido dojo in Victoria BC).

Starting around 2006-2007, Chris’ duties with the CIA expanded to teach classes, and has since expanded to become the CIA Vice President and previously Manager of Finances. Chris Sensei has been teaching in his own dojos in Greater Victoria: he taught in Oak Bay in 2014, and more recently in West Shore since January, 2015. Chris Sensei’s past teachers have been Ted Davis Sensei, Denton Hewgill Sensei, and Greg Williams Sensei. In 2013, through an official ceremony, Chris Sensei became a direct student of Takeji Itoh Sensei and has been under his tutelage since.

In the 2018 Summer Seminar, Chris Tooley Sensei was appointed the Vice President of the Canadian Iaido Association by Denton Hewgill Sensei, President of the Canadian Iaido Association. This appointment was then officially recognized by the ZNIR Kanto Region Federation.

When not teaching Iaido classes during the week, Chris Sensei spends a great deal of time in his garden, tending to various flowers and fruit trees. Professionally, Chris Sensei is a senior web developer and has been developing full stack web applications in one form or another since 2000.

Pertinent History:
Iaido – 26 years
Kendo – 1 year
Aikido – 1 year
Boxing – 1 year

Taikai History

29th year of Heisei (2017) 25th Hamamatsu Iaido Kyōgi Taikai, Rokudan no Bu, Top 16th Place

Last Edited: February 8, 2025