Kenyu – September/October/November

Volume 29, number 9/10/11

September/October/November 2015

PNKF DATEBOOK

December 2015

• 12/12: Kent Taikai, Sat, report time 9am, start 9:30am,
  Kent Commons Recreation Center, 525 4th Avenue N. (corner of 4th & James St.), Kent.

January 2016

• 1/9: PNKF Kata Seminar, Sat, 12noon-5pm with godo keiko for the last 45 minutes, Chinook Middle School,
  18650 42nd Ave S, SeaTac WA 98188.

• 1/9-10: “Kokusai Budo Daigakku, Kazuhiza Kaneda Iaido Seminar” Sat/Sun, Boise State University, Boise Idaho.
  • featuring Iaido Kyoshi 8th Dan Kaneda Kazuhisa Sensei, instructor at International Budo University, Katsuura Japan, 8 time
    All Japan Iaido National Champion, author of “Iai no Kihon” (Iai Basics) Book and DVD set I & II,
    Info: http://www.idaho-kendo.com/iaido/iaido-seminar/
• 1/16: PNKF Board, Sat, 3-5pm, Kent Commons Recreation Center, 525 4th Avenue N. (corner of 4th & James St.), Kent.
• 1/16-17: AUSKF Adult/Mudansha Seminar, Sat/Sun, Las Vegas.

February 2016

• 2/13/14: 18th Detroit Taikai, Seminar, and Shinsa Sat/Sun, Novi, Michigan.
  • Distinuished guests, the Eiga brothers, Kendo Kyoshi 8th Dan Eiga
    Hideyuki and Eiga Naoki, from Hokkaido.
• 2/20: Steveston Taikai, Sat, 9am, McMath High School, 4251 Garry Street, Richmond BC.
• 2/27: PNKF Shinsa, Sat, Iaido 9am-12noon; Kendo 12:30-4pm, open keiko 4-5pm, Tyee Educational Complex, 4424 S. 188th Street, SeaTac, located right off I-5 at S. 188th Street.

March 2016

• 3/19: Highline Taikai, Sat, TBD, White Center Community Center, 1321 SW 102nd St
  Seattle, WA.

• 3/26: PNKF Board, Sat, 3-5pm, Kent Commons Recreation Center, 525 4th Avenue N. (corner of 4th & James St.), Kent.

April 2016

• 4/2: PNKF Shinpan Seminar, 12noon-4pm, open keiko 4-5pm, Kent Commons Recreation Center, 525 4th Avenue N. (corner of 4th & James St.), Kent.
• 4/9-10: AUSKF Board meeting and Kodansha Shinsa.
• 4/16: UW Taikai, Sat, 10am, Intramural Activities Building (IMA), UW campus, Montlake Boulevard N.E.
• 4/22,23,24: Cherry Blossom probable dates.

May 2016

• 5/7: PNKF Board, Sat, 3-5pm, Kent Commons Recreation Center, 525 4th Avenue N. (corner of 4th & James St.), Kent.
• 5/21: Bellevue Junior Taikai, Sat, 9:30am-3pm, Highland Park Community Center
  14224 Bel-Red Rd, Bellevue.

June 2016

• 6/11: Rose City Taikai, Sat, 10am, Portland.
• 6/17-19/2016: 9th US Nito Kendo Camp, Boise State University Campus, Boise, Idaho.
• 6/23-27: AUSKF Iaido Summer Camp, Thu thru Mon, Dallas.

July 2016

• 7/9-15: North American Women’s Seminar, Sat thru Fri,
  Broadview-Thompson Elementary School East Gym/Bitterlake Community Center Annex,
  13052 Greenwood Ave N., Seattle.

• 7/16: 6th PNKF North American Women’s Kendo Taikai, Sat, 9am, Renton Community Center, 1715 SE Maple Valley Highway, Renton.
• 7/23: PNKF Board, Sat, 3-5pm, Kent Commons Recreation Center, 525 4th Avenue N. (corner of 4th & James St.), Kent.

August 2016

• 8/13: PNKF Shinsa, Sat, Iaido 9am-12noon; Kendo 12:30-4pm, open keiko 4-5pm, Tyee Educational Complex, 4424 S. 188th Street, SeaTac, located right off I-5 at S. 188th Street.

September2016

• 9/17: PNKF Board, Sat, 3-5pm, Kent Commons Recreation Center, 525 4th Avenue N. (corner of 4th & James St.), Kent.
• 9/23-25: PNKF Iaido Seminar, Fri/Sat/Sun.
  • Rain City Fencing, 1776 136th Place NE, Bellevue. Teachers: Iaido Kyoshi 8th Dan Hideo Noguchi; and
    Iaido Kyoshi 7th Dan Shigehiro Aoki and Kaoru Suzuki. Schedule: Fri, 7-9pm Jodo/Iaido; Sat, 9am-5pm
    Iaido; Sun 9am-12noon Iaido Tournament; 1-5pm Iaido.

October 2016

• 10/8: PNKF Shinpan Seminar, 12noon-4pm, open keiko 4-5pm, Kent Commons Recreation Center, 525 4th Avenue N. (corner of 4th & James St.), Kent.
• 10/22: Tacoma Taikai
  • 9:30am Opening Ceremonies (doors open at 8:30am), Curtis High School, 8425 40th Street West, University Place, WA
    98466 (tentative)

November 2016

* 11/5: PNKF Taikai, Sat, 9:30am, Kent Commons Recreation Center, 525 4th Avenue N. (corner of 4th & James St.), Kent.
* 11/12: PNKF Board, Sat, 3-5pm, Kent Commons Recreation Center, 525 4th Avenue N. (corner of 4th & James St.), Kent.
* 11/12-13, AUSKF Board, Sat/Sun, TBD.

December 2016

• 12/12: Kent Taikai, Sat, report time 9am, start 9:30am, Kent Commons Recreation Center, 525 4th Avenue N. (corner of 4th & James St.), Kent.

PNKF BOARD OF DIRECTORS 2015/2016

At their November 21, 2015 meeting, the PNKF Board elected officers. President – David Yotsuuye; Vice President – Doug
Imanishi; Secretary of Internal Affairs – Brian Blomquist; Recording Secretary – Thomas Bolling; Treasurer – Mary DeJong.

The Directors are: Jonathan Bannister (AiShinKai), Brian Blomquist (Everett), Connor Blomquist (UW), Thomas Bolling
(Bellevue), Jaered Croes (Portland), Mark Frederick (Northwest), An Giang (Northwest), Noelle Grimes (Sno-King), Nathan Holtorf
(Obukan), Doug Imanishi (Seattle), Addison Knappett (OSU), Michael Mabale (Seattle), Curtis Marsten (Kent), Vicki Marsten
(Kent), Edward Olson (Tonbo), Robert Stroud (Idaho), Val Vulfson (Northwest), Aaron Yen (Seattle), and David Yotsuuye
(Bellevue). Jeff Marsten (Bellevue/Highline/Sno-King) continues as Advisor. CJ Chaney (Sno-King) was elected UW Advisor.
Shinichi Koike and Jeff Marsten are members of the AUSKF Board of Directors.

9th ANNUAL PNKF IAIDO TAIKAI – September 27, 2015, Rain City Fencing Center, Bellevue, Washington

Mudansha                                  Yudansha 1-2 Dan
1st place - T. Mittelstaedt, AiShinKai    1st place - C. Goeke, Renma
2nd place - V. Whitman, Seattle           2nd place - C. Parkins, Renma
3rd place - R. DeAnda, Everett            3rd Place - N. Bagdasarian, Pasadena
3rd place - I. Otto, Seattle              3rd Place - L. Sukiassyan, San Fernando Valley

Yudansha 3-4 Dan (Noguchi Cup)            Teams (Murosako Cup)
1st place - H. Fukumoto, Seattle          1st place - Musokai (G. Goerlitz, L. Miyauchi, I. Otto)
2nd place - S. Kozawa, Seattle            2nd place - Everett (B. Blomquist, L. Sukiassyan, R. DeAnda)
3rd place - G. Goerlitz, Musokai
3rd place - M. Ando, Alaska

9th ALL CHINA KENDO TOURNAMENT – October 17/18, 2015, Shenzhen, China

Women Individual                                       Men Individual 
1st place - Zhenzhen Qin, Chengdu Wuxianliu            1st place - Zhonglin Zhang, Beijing Wushu
2nd place - Huifang Yang, Guangzhou Wude               2nd place - Peng Ha, Shenzhen Mo Jian
3rd place - Mengyu Wang, Beijing Ren Shin Kan          3rd place - Liang Ma, Beijing Ren Shin Kan 
3rd place - Elizabeth Bergen-Bartel, Chengdu Wuxianliu 3rd place - Xuan Chen, Ningbo Kendo Ai Hao Hui

Women Team                                Men Team
1st place - Shanghai United               1st place - Shenzhen Mo Jian
2nd place - Chengdu                       2nd place - Beijing Ren Shin Kan
3rd place - Guangzhou Dao Guan A          3rd place - Wuhan Lian Dao A
3rd place - Chengdu-Chongqing United      3rd place - Beijing

16th INVITATIONAL TACOMA KENDO TAIKAI – October 24, 2015, Curtis High School, University Place

9 and Under                               10-12 Kyu
1st place - Kai Kubal-Komoto, Federal Way 1st place - Keiji Underhill, Northwest
2nd place - Devan Chung, Cascade          2nd place - Danny Chung, Cascade
3rd place - Dan Terao, Cascade            3rd place - Josh Kim, Federal Way

13-15 Kyu                                 16-18 Kyu 
1st place - Kengo Underhill, Northwest    1st place - Jun-Wing Chen, Bellevue
2nd place - Allison Kojima, Bellevue      2nd place - Noah Larson, Federal Way
3rd place - Betty Park, Bellevue          3rd place - David Yip, Cascade

Adult 0-2 Kyu                             Adult 1 Kyu-1 Dan
1st place - Joshua Wigant, Portland       1st place - Terry McManus, Kent
2nd place - Su-Hwan Kim, Northwest        2nd place - Alick Law, Sno-King
3rd place - Long Le, UW                   3rd place - Nicholas Cook, Portland

Youth Dan                                 Adult 2-3 Dan
1st place - Tiarnan Marsten, Kent         1st place - Aaron Yen, Seattle
2nd place - Keeley McManus, Kent          2nd place - Stephen Day, Kent
3rd place - Jennifer DeJong, Highline     3rd place - Bernice Lin, Bellevue

Junior Team
1st place - Bellevue Red (B. Park, M. Blechschmidt, A. Kojima)
2nd place - Bellevue White (L. Ohata, L. Shibata, M. Ohata)

Senior Team
1st place - Kent B (K. McManus, E. Ishii, T. Marsten)
2nd place - Kent A (T. McManus, N. Larson, S. Day)

National Anthem Singer - Alisa Yoshikawa
Sportsmanship Pledge - Mia Kao
Award Presentation - Alisa Yoshikawa
Shinpan Cho - David S. Yotsuuye

41st ANNUAL PNKF KENDO TOURNAMENT – November 7, 2015, Kent

10 Years and Under                        11-12 Years
1st place - C. Robillard, Steveston       1st place - B. Miki, Steveston
2nd place - H. Homma, Renbu               2nd place - L. Ohata, Bellevue
3rd place - K. Squance, Renbu             3rd place - K. Underhill, Northwest
3rd place - R. Nakano, Steveston          3rd place - H. Asaoka, Youshinkan

13-15 Years                               High School Girls
1st place - E. Lee, Renbu                 1st place - B. Park, Bellevue
2nd place - M. Iwai, Steveston            2nd place - J. DeJong, Highline
3rd place - K. Muramatsu, Steveston       3rd place - J. Higa, Bellevue
3rd place - H. Kim, Bellevue              3rd place - M. Blechschmidt, Bellevue

High School Boys                          Women Kyu
1st place - T. Okitsu, Tozenji            1st place - S. Tyree, UW
2nd place - L. Oka, Tozenji               2nd place - H. Nguyen, Edmonds
3rd place - T. Marsten, Kent              3rd place - S. Rotenberg, Steveston
3rd place - B. Liao, Bellevue             3rd place - A. Tesar, Vancouver

0-4 Kyu                                   3-1 Kyu
1st place - Y. Cheng, UBC                 1st place - K. Toyokawa, Tacoma
2nd place - E. Cheng, UBC                 2nd place - G. Vielhaber, Portland
3rd place - O. Young, Renbu               3rd place - L. Le, UW
3rd place - C. Pak, Portland              3rd place - A. Knappett, OSU

Women Dan                                 1-2 Dan
1st place - J. Kurahashi, Renbu           1st place - T. Saito, Vancouver
2nd place - C. Takeuchi, Youshinkan       2nd place - D. Yao, Steveston
3rd place - M. Suzuki, Sno-King           3rd place - H. Shim, Renbu
3rd place - K. Takeuchi, Youshinkan       3rd place - V. Ruiz, Mexico

3 Dan                                     4 Dan and Above
1st place - Y. Yoshikawa, Northwest       1st place - B. Imanishi, Cascade
2nd place - E. Porras, Mexico             2nd place - N. Tanimura, Seattle
3rd place - J. Okada, Cascade             3rd place - A. Giang, Northwest
3rd place - K. Takeuchi, Youshinkan       3rd place - M. Mabale, Seattle

Junior Team
1st place - Bellevue A (B. Park, H. Kim, A. Kojima, M. Blechschmidt, B. Liao)
2nd place - Renbu (H. Chun, R. Kim, E. Lee, K. Squance, I. Kim)
3rd place - Tozenji (N. Horikawa, A. Shimizu, M. Watanabe, K. Kono, J. An)
3rd place - Cascade A (H. Jang, JY Lee, K. Fukuda, JW Lee, D. Chung)

Senior Team
1st place - Vancouver (T. Saito, T. Yamada, H. Yamada, Hi. Yamada, J. Schmidt)
2nd place - Steveston (S. O Sullivan, I. Miki, N. Nakano, K. Iwai, I. Takagaki)
3rd place - Mexico (V. Ruiz, C. Rogairo, CJ Chaney, E. Porras, P. Garcia)
3rd place - Youshinkan (Ke. Takeuchi, J. Chien, Ka. Takeuchi, A. Xie, K. Kobayashi)

Sportsmanship Pledge - Tiarnan Marsten   Shinpan Cho - Shinichi Koike
Shoji Trophy - Andrew Nagasawa, Bellevue

SHINKYU SHINSA

NCKF KENDO SHINSA, November 1, 2015, Stanford University

3RD DAN: Erica Tam (San Jose).

AUSKF KODANSHA SHINSA, November 15, 2015, Novi, Michigan

5TH DAN: Ryan Atagi (Idaho).

AJKF KODANSHA SHINSA, November 15, 2015, Aichi, Nagoya

6TH DAN: David Yeo (Singapore).

AJKF KODANSHA SHINSA, November 24, 2015, Nippon Budokan, Tokyo

6TH DAN: Daisaku David Taguchi (Chinook).

7TH DAN: Mark Uchida (Bunshinkan).

THE LAST WORD

I remember my send-off. There was a big party with good food. It was a party of enough importance that my mother offered
beer she made and stored under the house for several of the older men, including Miura Sensei. My father never drank, not even
for this party which was as much congratulatory for him as for me. All our neighbors and classmates attended. Everyone in the
Japanese community was proud and my success would also be their success. I was embarrassed that my trip to Japan was not as
wonderful to me as it was to them. But I showed humble enthusiasm for my good fortune and truly great appreciation to my father
and Miura Sensei for making this possible.

Miura Sensei gave me one of his own books in Japanese as a going away gift. My father had purchased my ticket and would
provide the money for my expenses at Busen. It was more than any of the other neighbors in our poor community could have
provided. I thanked everyone, especially Miura Sensei, even though I was not much of a reader.

Miura Sensei helped me pack. He was pleased with the condition of my shinais and my hakama, and made sure I didn’t forget
the book he had given me: “Kendo” by Takano Sasaburo Sensei, which I still have and reread today. He told me I could read it
during my twenty-day journey. “The book will provide a review,” he explained, “of the Kendo principles we’ve spoken of and help
you practice Japanese. Now you can read the words of Miyamoto Musashi. You will arrive well prepared. And on deck, don’t forget
suburi. Remember, you can do suburi anywhere. You can do it sitting down if there is no room to stand or too much rolling on
the ship to gain good footing.” I promised him I would study and practice.

I was somewhat interested in “The Book of Five Rings” which was contained in Sasaburo Sensei’s book. Miyamoto Musashi, the
author of “The Book of Five Rings”, had become a hero to me. Musashi, born in 1584, is the greatest swordsman in Japanese
history. I thought I would probably enjoy his accounts of battles, especially since he slew a man in a one-on-one battle when
he was just thirteen. Besides, this was a short section within the larger book of “Kendo”, and I thought I could read it
quickly. I felt I was fluent in Japanese, so did not intend to study too diligently; suburi was more attractive to me. I would
keep in shape and be ready for my first practice at Busen, rather than any philosophical discussions. Practice was the
practical course of action.

I started to read the book Miura Sensei gave me while I was waiting to steam out of the harbor. I was surprised to find
how difficult it was to translate and understand the book. But I rationalized that this was old-style Japanese so I should be
fine with modern Japanese. I assumed Old Japanese was of little relevance to my education.

I was mistaken about everything concerning the trip to Busen. I manage to read the introduction and first chapter, “Chi No
Maki” or the “Ground Book” of the “Book of Five Rings.” It was about twelve pages long but described no action filled battles.
But I never read another page after the ship steamed from the harbor, and I never did a minute of suburi. What do I remember of
the twenty-day voyage? Nothing! Well, not exactly nothing. I remember the head, the ship’s toilet in the hall by my room. My
head in the head! I decided I should have learned surfing instead of kendo for this trip because I was seasick the entire time.
There isn’t anything more miserable. I stood on deck and tried to gulp cool air; I tried to walk; I tried to meditate; I tried
to hold my breath, to keep my eyes closed, to keep my eyes focused on one object. I tried eating, and not eating. Nothing
helped. Lying on my bunk with no movement and no food in my stomach was the best I could do. No reading, no suburi – nothing.
This was not Samurai spirit. Twenty days seemed an eternity. I wanted to set my foot on solid ground!

–Rod Nobuto Omoto,
Autobiography, edited by Charlotte Omoto, 2014, p. 21-22. Available as free download at lulu.com.

PLEASE NOTE – THIS KENYU ONLINE IS THE EDITION OF RECORD

Kenyu – Monthly Newsletter of the Pacific Northwest Kendo Federation
Tom Bolling, Editor – 7318 23rd Avenue N.E., Seattle, WA 98115