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Volume 5 Issue 2 |
Editor: Dave Christman | April 2003 |
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All Photos by D. Christman, unless noted |
Congratulations & Goodbye Our good pal Atsushi Ikenobu has graduated from WMU school of Aviation, and is on his way home to look for employment. He was sure an asset to our dojo, he earned his nidan and sandan while he was here. He helped a lot around the dojo, and we tried to make him speak as much English as possible for his own good. He was a lot of fun. Good Luck ! |
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| Cleveland
Taikai ( I was in
Colorado on vacation, and could not go, so the following article is the
Cleveland report from Matsuura.)
It's been a while since our club has had an opportunity to bring encouraging news from a tournament, but I am pleased to announce that we do this time. At first I was a bit discouraged since only myself, Jason Mills, and Bob Covill decided to travel to Cleveland to test our skills. Our newest student, Jennifer Perry also came along as a spectator and to cheer us guys along. I was as usual, miffed at the lack of participation in this event from our club, but that did not stop me from being encouraged for those who did make the commitment to attend. Bob Covill had never gone to a tournament before. In fact, he has been doing Kendo for only a little more than half a year. As expected, he was extremely nervous. Bob was impressive by winning two individual matches and one team match. He even gave the eventual 4th dan and up champion 'fits' in one team match before eventually being defeated. Bob showed very encouraging signs and we at BC Kendo Kai expect big things from him in the future. Jason Mills who has only been with us for two years, but is quickly becoming a veteran of the tournament scene, also did extremely well. He is the poster boy for dedication at our club. Not only does he attend most practices, he drives all the way from Toledo every Sunday to train with us. He won four individual matches and one team match. He showed great poise and a keen instinct for offense. Something I have been trying to get our entire club to adopt as a philosophy. As for myself, I did OK. |
I
have gotten myself into better physical condition lately, and I'm feeling
better. I'm moving like I used to back when I was living in Canada. Hopefully
I can keep this up. I'm scoring a lot of points as
I once did. I need to work on defense though. Since there were only three of us, we enlisted the help of the Detroit Kendo dojo to form a team. I do wish that a club our size can stop having to do this in the future. We won one round and lost to Etobicoke in the second. I felt Bob and Jason did very well in the team matches as well. |
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Photo by Jennifer Perry |
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| I'm sure that many of you have also noticed that Bob and Jason have improved vastly since their return from Cleveland. Training in the dojo is one thing, but to go out into the world to test your skills against others is another story. Personal thanks to Jason goes out to him from me, for being there with a water bottle during my matches. |
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Mack Visit One of my old students came back for a visit recently. Elaine Mack is now residing in the Chicago area. She was a member here 1989-1991. Currently she has joined up with Ken Pitchford sensei, and is studying a ko ryu called Mu Gai ryu. It has iaido and kendo aspects. She practiced with us both Sunday (kendo) and Wednesday (iaido). More on her visit click here. |
| Kan Visit Kan sensei dropped by for a visit with us on May 4th. As always, he had some good advice for us in general, and good tips for each student specifically. It was a good strong practice. In attendance were Bob C., Bob M., Jason, Atsushi, Craig, Jennifer, Matsuura, and myself. The one thing I'd like you all to know is this: He said we have a group of people together who are at a high enough level, that we can "train each other". A few years ago that wasn't true. Think about that. |  |
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5th dan kendo, Mr. Kan is likely to make his permanent residence here in the USA. He is at the moment trying to get shifted permanently to Indianapolis, IN. My personal observation about Kan sensei is he is very intense, and completely dedicated to whatever he is doing at the moment. He is a great example to respect and watch, as he truly leads by example. |
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Upcoming Events...... CHICAGO: Iaido Seminar.....May 17th - 18th Hosted by the Chicago Buddhist Temple Iaidojo. Download registration forms here KALAMAZOO: MWKF Summer Camp.....August 8th - 10th on the beautiful Kalamazoo College campus. I'm pleased to announce T.Hooper sensei from Ken Zen dojo in NYC will be our head instructor. That means iaido will be offered for the first time. Download registration forms here CHARLESTON: AUSKF National Summer Camp......Oct. 11-12 Being held at Citadel University in South Carolina. Top instructors from Japan and the U.S. will be there. A national testing board will hold a test also. |
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FOR SALE:Toshiba Digital Camera PDR-M1(1.5 megapixels) with 2 smart media cards.......$100 e-mail Dave dtc12(nospam)@attbi.com to reach me just remove the (nospam) from the previous address. |
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New Monthly Feature |
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I've collected a lot of stories, quotes, koans, and haiku. Here is one I really like: "Quick as the Wind, still as a Forest, Conquer like Fire, Immovable as a Mountain." (Takeda Shingen) His motto |
e-mail the editor: let me know your comments at: dtc12(nospam)@attbi.com to reach me just remove the (nospam) from previous address.
