Summer Camp

August 5-7th, 2005  Kalamazoo, Michigan

All photos by Dave Christman, unless otherwise noted.

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Photo by Cornelio Natividad
A rather good turn out this year, we had about 57 people come to camp. I heard from several people to went to the national AUSKF camp, and I was told ours was its rival in every way. But  what a camp!, it was possibly the hardest camp to get through in several years. Even though Yamanaka and Saito were in charge last year, they were even harder on us this year. Adding 6:15 am kata practices into the schedule. This made a grueling 4 practices in one day Saturday, the most ever in 22 years of tradition. My condition only allowed me to participate in the early morning kata practices. I know although, it didn't help to have the 500 yard walk down to the dojo and back for every practice. I personally loafed down there in the van because a couple of the oldest sensei just couldn't do that trip that many times in one weekend. But I spun my wheels going for bottled water for everybody, and buying ice to cool it.

Photo by Cornelio Natividad

Our teaching staff from Left to right: Yamanaka, Matsumoto, Saito, Tagawa, Sakamoto, Sugawara, Umeki, Matsuura, and Dr. Wu. (All are 5th dan or above.)

Photos by Cornelio Natividad

This is a good look at Yamanaka as he teaches, with Matsuura sensei ( right ) trying to do his absolute best to put into English the teachings and theories that Yamanaka sensei was expounding. I think he does the best job of any interpreter in the USA. As long as sensei doesn't ramble on too far, and give him too much to think about, he is the best.

Photo by Cornelio Natividad

We have a big beautiful triple gym, and thanks to Bob, & Billy (MSU) we got a few more fans to use from the Natatorium to help cool us down. It was a hot weekend, no doubt.

Photo by Cornelio Natividad

This is a good photo of Saito sensei, he can be intense, and it shows on his face.

I tried to get a picture of Tonya, Karl, and Stephen while they were being taught by Sakamoto, Sugawara, and Umeki sensei, but all of them were blurry. They worked very hard, along with Carolyn from Minnesota. I feel bad that no other dojo sent non-bogu beginners to summer camp, because they are welcome to come. We have never turned them away. It is true, though a total beginner is not a good idea, that is why I recommended to Russ that he wait till next year.
Yamanaka and Saito decided about 10:00 pm on Friday night that they wanted us in the dojo at 6:15 a.m. dressed in dogi and with a bokken. Well, quite a few people were out in Kalamazoo, and some people were already in bed, so they didn't even know about it. But most people made it there. The Sunday 6:15 kata practice though, saw quite a few blurry eyes, and green faces.

Saturday night, we party! and this year Yamanaka sensei decided to treat us to a little skit/dance routine that most of us Americans didn't quite understand, but he sang and danced and played the part of an fisherman using a hand held sieve-net fishing for eels, hence the cooler top. It represented the sieve. Everyone who knew the song sang and clapped along. The big laugh was when the "fisherman" turned his back and acted like he was taking a leak. These may be the only exclusive photos of this performance, as I think I was the only one with a camera handy.

I'm not sure anybody knew what the two cigarettes are for, but if someone out there knows please write me. It was very comical. Later Stacey Stahl from the University of Rochester in NY was talked into singing, and she has a great voice and a knowledge of some opera, and the sensei liked that. All in all, we messed the place up pretty good, but like good guests, we cleaned it up spic and span before we left the next day.

Officially, we asked sensei to come back next year to teach us again, but comically he deferred, saying we better poll everybody, because the students might hate him for all the hard practices. He then said truthfully, we should think about moving on to other good teachers too, for our benefit. In other words, we don't know if Yamanaka and Saito will be back in 2006. If not, then we know we have met and learned from a top-quality kendo man right here in the midwest.

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