[uphokyhuP]

I understand there are different Ryu, but was curious if there was an umbrella organisation that provided insurance, arranged seminars, maintained dojo lists and promoted the art in general. Nope! The closest thing to that would be the Dai Nippon Butokukai or the Nihon Kobudo Shinkokai. Both of these organizations are in Japan, and are more about the preservation of the koryu rather than the promotion of the koryu. Also, many legitimate koryu ryuha do not belong to either organization. To understand some of the differences between the koryu and more modern arts like kendo and karate, check out some of the articles at Koryu.com ... http://www.koryu.com/koryu-curious.html