Volume 30, number 1/2/3
January/February/March 2016
PNKF DATEBOOK
April 2016
- 4/1-3: 28th Cleveland Kendo Tournament / GNEUSKF Championships, Fri-Sun, weekend-long
exciting and instructive activities featuring Kendo Hanshi 8th Dan Mitsuru Hamasaki, former chief instructor of Tokyo Metropolitan Police, Case Western Reserve University. - 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, Radisson Hotel, 18118 International Blvd; and Kodansha Shinsa, Odyssey at Tyee Educational Complex, 4424 S. 188th Street, SeaTac. Shinsa schedule: April 9, Sat, building doors open at 4pm, gym available until 6:30pm. AUSKF Godo Keiko 5-6pm, must vacate building by 7pm. April 10, Sun, building doors open at 10:30am, gym available for warmup. Shinsa registration 12:30pm, Shinsa test begins at 1pm. Must clear building by 5:30pm.
- 4/16: UW Taikai, Sat, 10am, Intramural Activities Building (IMA), UW campus, Montlake
Boulevard NE. - 4/24: Cherry Blossom, Sun, 2:30-3pm, Seattle Center Armory (former name Center House),
main stage. - 4/29-30: SWKIF Kendo Seminar, Fri, 6:30-8pm; Tsutomu Ito Women’s Team Taikai and Ito Cup
Team
Taikai, Sat, 8:30am-5pm, Standley Lake High School, 9300 W. 104th Ave, Westminster, Colorado. - 4/30: 5th Garden State Kendo Tournament, Sat, 8:30am-6pm, City Sports Complex, 62 Route 4
East, Englewood, NJ.
May 2016
- 5/1: SWKIF Kendo Shinsa, up through 4th Dan, Sun, 8am-12noon, Standley Lake High School,
9300 W. 104th Ave, Westminster, Colorado. - 5/7: PNKF Board, Sat, 9-11am, Seattle location, 4001 Aurorah Avenue N., Seattle 98103.
- 5/21: Bellevue Junior Taikai, Sat, 9:30am-3pm, Highland Park Community Center, 14224
Bel-Red Road, Bellevue. - 5/28: 51st Annual Vancouver Kendo Tournament, Sat, 10am-6pm, gym open at 9am, Byrne Creek
Secondary School, 7777 18th Street, Burnaby, BC. - 5/29: AEUSKF Kendo Tournament, Sun, John Jay College Gym, 10th Avenue and 58th Street, New
York City.
June 2016
- 6/11: Rose City Taikai, Sat, time and location TBD, Portland.
- 6/17-19/2016: 9th US Nito Kendo Camp, Boise State University Campus, Boise, Idaho. Guest
instructors: Tadao TODA, Tokyo, Hanshi 8 dan; Yoshihiro UGAJIN, Tokyo, Kyoshi 7 dan; Hirotsugu SASAKI, Miyagi, Kyoshi 7 dan; Ryoichi FUJII, Yamaguchi, Kyoshi 7 dan; Futoshi SATO, Chiba, Renshi 7 dan; Ako FUJII, Yamaguchi, 6 dan. - 6/23-27: AUSKF Iaido Summer Camp, Thu thru Mon, Dallas Sportsplex, 5702 Alpha Road,
Dallas, TX.- Thursday and Friday, June 23/24: Iaido seminar led by guest sensei from Japan to be
announced - Saturday, June 25: 2016 AUSKF Iaido Championships
- Sunday, June 26: Iaido Shinsa, followed by afternoon Jodo workshop
- Monday morning, June 27: Jodo workshop ending at 12 noon
- Thursday and Friday, June 23/24: Iaido seminar led by guest sensei from Japan to be
- 6/26: Leeward Oahu Kendo Tournament, Sun, 8:30am, Mililani District Park Gym, 94-1150 Lanikuhana Avenue, Mililani.
July 2016
- 7/9-15: North American Women’s Seminar, Sat thru Fri, Broadview-Thompson Elementary School
East Gym/Bitter Lake 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. - 7/22-29: AJKF Foreign Leaders’ Seminar, Fri/Fri, Kitamoto, Japan.
- 7/23: PNKF Board, Sat, 9-11am, Seattle location, 4001 Aurora Avenue N., Seattle 98103.
August 2016
- 8/13: PNKF Shinsa, Sat, Iaido 9am-12noon; Kendo 12:30-4pm, open keiko 4-5pm, Kent Commons Recreation Center, 525 4th Avenue N. (corner of 4th and James St.) Kent.
- 8/13-14: AJKF/CKF Jodo Seminar and Shinsa, Sat/Sun, time and location TBD, Vancouver BC.
- 8/19-21: 2016 AUSKF Summer Camp, Fri-Sun, special guests and location TBD, Northern
California.
September 2016
- 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.
- Rain City Fencing, 1776 136th Place NE, Bellevue. Teachers: Iaido Kyoshi 8th Dan Hideo
October 2016
- 10/8: PNKF Shinpan Seminar, 12noon-4pm, open keiko 4-5pm, location TBD.
- 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).
- 9:30am Opening Ceremonies (doors open at 8:30am), Curtis High School, 8425 40th Street
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.
September 2018
- 9/14-16: 17WKC, Fri/Sat/Sun, Seoul, Korea.
MUSOKAI NEW LOCATION AND PRACTICE TIME
Starting April 6, Musokai training will move to the North Court of Rain City Fencing Center
(RCFC), 1776 136th Place NE, Bellevue, and will be on Wednesdays from 7:30 to 9pm.
11th ANNUAL PACIFIC INTERCOLLEGIATE TOURNAMENT – January 16, 2016, UBC, University Hill Secondary School
Non-Bogu Women 1 Kyu and Under 1st place - Po Chen, SFU 1st place - Jasmine Chao, Langara 2nd place - John Wragg, UBC 2nd place - Klaudine Go, UBC 3rd place - Colton Johnson, UBC 3rd place - Anna Ngo, UBC 3rd place - Erin Boe, Langara 3rd place - Aya Hioki, UBC Women 1 Dan and Above Men No Rank 1st place - Erica DeJong, UW 1st place - Matthew Chu, UBC 2nd place - Bernice Lin, UW 2nd place - Kevin Chiang, UBC 3rd place - Becca Hsu, SFU 3rd place - Johnson Nguyen, UBC 3rd place - Nikki Asano, SFU 3rd place - Jason Tang, Langara Men 1 Kyu and 1 Dan Men 2 Dan and Above 1st place - John Magaling, SFU 1st place - Tsuyoshi Hamanaka, UBC 2nd place - Spencer Myrtle, SFU 2nd place - Ryota Kuki, UBC 3rd place - Andrew Chen, UBC 3rd place - Masamitsu Sawaoka, SFU 3rd place - Long Le, UW 3rd place - Matthew Pomeroy, UVic Teams 1st place - UBC (T.Hamanaka,R.Kuki,K.Leung,J.Ohara,J.Li,A.Chen,R.Jacinto,E.Cheng,M.Chu) 2nd place - SFU (J.Magaling,K.Lee,C.Cheng,S.Ikoma,M.Morgan,B.Hsu,M.Sawaoka) 3rd place - UVic (T.Koyano,MattPomeroy,S.Nichols,K.Mercer,MarkPomeroy,S.Shan,M.Tahara) 3rd place - UW (B.Lin,L.Le,E.DeJong,C.Chan,M.Eum,A.Ngo,C.Blomquist) Fighting Spirit Award - Andrew Chen, UBC
54th ANNUAL STEVESTON KENDO TOURNAMENT – February 20, 2016, McMath High School
10 Years and Under 11 to 13 Years 14 to 15 Years
1st place - T. Ariga, Butokuden 1st place - M. Fukuoka, Tozenji 1st place - E. Lee, Renbu
2nd place - Y. Lee, Renbu 2nd place - K. Squance, Renbu 2nd place - S. Nichols, UVic
3rd place - K. Yoshimura, Renbu 3rd place - M. Iwai, Steveston 3rd place - K. Fukuda, Cascade
3rd place - I. Fujita, Renbu 3rd place - C. Robillard, Steveston 3rd place - K. Muramatsu, Steveston
0-4 Kyu 1-3 Kyu Ladies 1 Dan and Under
1st place - M. Park, Central 1st place - J. Magaling, SFU 1st place - K. McManus, Kent
2nd place - M. Chu, UBC 2nd place - D. Imanishi, Seattle 2nd place - J. Chao, Steveston
3rd place - N. Gardiner, Langara 3rd place - C. Capoeman, Tacoma 3rd place - S. Maekawa, SCKF
3rd place - F. Yoshimura, Renbu 3rd place - T. Shiomi, SFM 3rd place - A. Hioki, UBC
Ladies 2 Dan and Over 1-2 Dan 3 Dan
1st place - C. Takeuchi, Youshinkan 1st place - H. Nagano, UVic 1st place - R. Asato, Vancouver
2nd place - S. Suzuki, Tozenji 2nd place - S. Kim, Renbu 2nd place - S. Masamitsu, SFU
2nd place - J. Kurahashi, Renbu 3rd place - T. Koyano, UVic 3rd place - T. Okitsu, Tozenji
3rd place - L. Murao, Steveston 3rd place - S. O'Sullivan, Steveston 3rd place - I. Takagaki, Steveston
4 Dan and Above
1st place - T. Nozawa, Tozenji
2nd place - S. Kamata, Etobicoke
3rd place - T. Ariga, Butokuden
3rd place - D. Ara, Renbu
Junior Team Senior Team
1st place - Renbu A (K.Itagaki,R.Kim, 1st place - Ontario (E.Jeong,I.Lin
H.Chun,I.Kim,E.Lee) M.Otabe,E.Hung,S.Kamata)
2nd place - Steveston A (E.Chui,K.Muramatsu, 2nd place - Renbu (H.Shim,T.Kabata,
M.Iwai,A.Iwai,S.Ito) O.Young,E.Kita,J.Kurahashi)
3rd place - Bellevue (L.Ohata,B.Park, 3rd place - Youshinkan (J.Chien,Ke.Takeuchi,
M.Ohata,M.Blechschmidt,A.Kojima) Ka.Takeuchi,K.Kobayashi,C.Takeuchi)
3rd place - Steveston B (D.Chui,C.Robillard, 3rd place - Bellevue (D.Yu,F.Wessbecher,
A.Ito,A.Chang,R.Nakano) L.Tsybert,S.Blechschmidt,D.Park)
Sportsmanship Pledge - Jeremy Chiang Consul General of Japan S. Okada Trophy - C. Takeuchi, Youshinkan
2016 EAST COAST IAIDO SEMINAR TAIKAI – March 13, 2016, Holy Ghost Prep. School, Bensalem, Pennsylvania
Mudansha C Mudansha B 1st place - Albert Valentin III (IttoKai) 1st place - Minsoo Seon (Princeton) 2nd place - Shiro Kondo (KenZen) 2nd place - Kevin Huang (Shidogakuin) 3rd place - Benjamin Wingate (IttoKai) 3rd place - Michael Temple (Doshikai) 3rd place - Terry Lewis (Norwalk) 3rd place - Jeremie Clark (Doshikai) Mudansha A 1st Dan 1st place - David Dudek (KenZen) 1st place - Mitko Botev (Doshikai) 2rd place - Maryann Amici (KenZen) 2nd place - Jeffrey Heinze Fry (SeiZanKai) 3rd place - Abel Erives (Doshikai) 3rd place - Alec Milton (KenZen) 3rd place - Noriko Ambe (KenZen) 3rd place - James Cody Kroll (IttoKai) 2nd Dan 3rd Dan 1st place - Stephen Tomshaw (Shidogakuin) 1st place - Kevin Thibedeau (Ken Zen) 2nd place - John Mullin (KenZen), 2nd place - Narbeh Bagdasarian (PCIKendo) 3rd place - Leslie Williams (KenZen) 3rd place - Ji Ni (Nichibukan) 3rd place - Justin Lee (MuMonKai) 3rd place - Phillip VanDenBerghe (BaltimoreAnnapolis) 4th Dan 5th Dan 1st place - Patrick Suen (MuMonKai) 1st place - Paul Shin (Shidogakuin) 2nd place - Takanori Furuta (IttoKai) 2nd place - Terry Fukui (KenZen) 3rd place - Aram Kailian (Shidogakuin) 3nd place - Barry Poitras (Doshikai) 3rd place - Hanna Ikeda-Suen (MuMonKai) 3rd place - Isabella Church (Shidogakuin)
TATER TAIKAI – March 13, 2016, Boise State University
Kachinuki - Tie for first, Logan Lewis (Ore-Ida), Ken Tawara (BSU) Kojin sen, Individual - Ken Tawara (BSU), Matt Miller (Idaho) Dantai Sen, Red vs White Team Match - White Team
39th ANNIVERSARY HIGHLINE MUDANSHA CHALLENGE CUP – March 19, 2016, White Center
Yudansha Mudansha 1st place - T. Marsten, Kent 1st place - C. Capoeman, Tacoma 2nd place - K. McManus, Kent 2nd place - G. Wroblewski, Bellevue 3rd place - A. Law, Sno-King 3rd place - A. Yorita, UW 3rd place - J. DeJong, Highline 3rd place - S. Kua, UW Teams 1st place - Bellevue, 34 points 2nd place - UW, 31 points Sportsmanship Pledge - D. Sasaki, Highline
PASSAGE
Koji (Frank) Fukawa
On December 21, 2015, a major Southern California presence left us when Kendo Renshi 6th
Dan Koji (Frank) Fukawa passed away. Born November 16, 1926 in Lompoc, he lived there until
1942 when he and his family were interned at Poston, where they stayed until 1945, when they
moved to Ontario, Oregon. Enlisting in the Army, he served as an intelligence analyst during
the Allied occupation of Japan, 1946-1949, reaching the rank of sergeant. He then received an
AA degree from LA City College, and in 1955 married Kazumi Uwate, moving to La Marada in 1964.
An industrial chemist, Fukawa Sensei was an instructor at Norwalk Kendo Club, President, Vice
President, and Secretary of the SCKF, and a member of the Orange County Buddhist Temple.
Henry Shigeru Asai
A great friend and encouragement to many in the PNKF, Kendo Kyoshi 7th Dan and Iaido 4th
Dan Henry Shigeru Asai passed away December 24, 2015. Born in Walnut Grove January 1, 1920
where the family farmed, he later moved with them to Nagoya, but as war loomed in the late
1930s Henry was sent back to the US, and graduating from LA Polytechnic High School, he
enlisted in the Army. He was offered battlefield interpreting in MIS, but preferred to
complete cooking and baking school, serving in England, France, Italy, and Germany, followed by
a 40+ year career with Vons Markets. He began Kendo at age 50 at West LA, and went on to
contribute greatly to the formation of Venice Dojo and its programs. Traveling extensively to
participate vigorously in seminars, tournaments, and shinsa, with his life wisdom and unfailing
good humor, Asai Sensei was hugely kind and inspirational to many, especially those who may
have started Kendo later in life.
Our deepest condolences to the families and many friends of Fukawa Sensei and Asai
Sensei.
SHINKYU SHINSA
AJKF KODANSHA SHINSA, November 24, 2015, Nippon Budokan, Tokyo
KYOSHI: Iwao Sato (Wahiawa).
AJNF GODAN SHINSA, January 24, 2016, Nippon Budokan, Tokyo
5TH DAN: Karen Yesowich Schmucker, (PNNF), Kei Tsukamaki (PNNF).
PNKF IAIDO SHINSA, February 27, 2016, Tyee Educational Complex, SeaTac
3RD KYU: Ball (Tonbo), Khoi Duong (Kent), Ian Otto (Seattle), Donald Wentworth (Tonbo).
2ND KYU: Mikako Barlow (AiShinKai), Adam Clark (AiShinKai), Victor Whitman (Seattle).
1ST KYU: Thane Mittelstaedt (AiShinKai), Ken Tawara (Idaho). 1ST DAN: Ryan Atagi
(Idaho), Mart Hughes (Obukan), Francis Maier (Everett), Richard Milde (Tonbo). 2ND DAN:
Sam Wilkins (Everett). 3RD DAN: Narbeh Bagdasarian (SCKF), Frederick Fourie
(AiShinKai), Callie Goeke (RenMa), Lynn Miyauchi (Musokai).
PNKF KENDO SHINSA, February 27, 2016, Tyee Educational Complex, SeaTac
6TH KYU: Sean Kim (Seattle), Kai Kubal-Komoto (Federal Way), Aneurin Mabale (Seattle),
Taiki Miyamoto (Northwest), Uno Tate (Alaska), Kassidy Ting (Northwest), Timaeus Ting
(Northwest). 5TH KYU: Kyle Hale (Seattle), Daniel Kao (Tacoma), Hana Koob (Bellevue),
Drew Migita (Seattle). 4TH KYU: Kira Campbell (Sno-King), Emily Cho (Cascade), Helen
Fukuda (Cascade), Kiana Fukuda (Cascade), Kyle Fukuda (Cascade), Tom Fukuda (Cascade), Eugene
Kim (Seattle), Whitney Langford (Obukan), Ffion Mabale (Seattle), Francis Maier (Everett),
Darren Migita (Seattle), Sandra Mizuno (Seattle), Aska Mooko (Bellevue), Leonardo Ohata
(Bellevue), Michizane Ohata (Bellevue), Nagato Orita (Seattle), Joshua Paik (Tacoma), Keiji
Underhill (Northwest), Victor Whitman (Seattle), Donna Wilson (Seattle), Binah Yeung (Seattle).
3RD KYU: Benet Garcia (Bellevue), Hyunjun Jang (Cascade), Jinho Jeon (Bellevue), Mia Kao
(Tacoma), Raymond Kao (Tacoma), Josh Kim (Federal Way), Kasey Kitchel (Sno-King), Terry
Langford (Obukan), Elysia Midorikawa (Bellevue), Young-ki Paik (Tacoma), Catherine Park
(Bellevue), Tyler Peterson (Idaho), Ann Rubin (Tacoma), Sarah Tyree (UW), Kengo Underhill
(Northwest), Brayan Valdez-Cruz (Northwest). 2ND KYU: Cougar Capoeman (Tacoma), Timothy
Jaybush (Bellevue), Sunghi Kim (Northwest), Allison Kojima (Bellevue), Rachel Koo (Bellevue),
Evan Kriechbaum (Portland), Spencer Kua (UW), Elijah Lam (Everett), Long Le (UW), Brian LeSmith
(Edmonds), Carlos Matutes (Idaho), Gregory Vielhaber (Portland), Chris Vitale (OSU), Adrienne
Wilburn (Portland), Joshua Zheng (OSU). 1ST KYU: Clyde Bailey (Portland), Maya
Blechschmidt (Bellevue), Vincent DeBellis (Portland), Jihan Kim (OSU), Soo-Hyung Kim (Seattle),
Dan McLean (Portland), Peter Palmer (Northwest), Stephen Ting (Northwest), Adesanjo Wolfe
(Alaska), Tyler Yamashita (Seattle). 1ST DAN: Fritz Borchardt (Edmonds), Murray
Bratland (Bellevue), Addison Knappett (OSU), Alick Law (Sno-King), Soohmin Lee (Bellevue),
Brian Liao (Bellevue), Andrew Miller (Portland), Mikiyo Ohashi (Edmonds), Leo Shibata
(Bellevue), Andrew Yuen (Seattle). 2ND DAN: Fang-Ying Chu (Sno-King), Jane Higa
(Bellevue), Terry McManus (Kent), Andrew Nagasawa (Bellevue). 3RD DAN: Erik
Christianson (Edmonds), Mark Frederick (Northwest), Brandon Goh (Seattle), Apurva Jantrania
(Obukan), Su Hwan Kim (Northwest), Richard Lei (Seattle), Tero Patana (Sno-King). 4TH
DAN: CJ Chaney (Sno-King), Stephen Day (Kent), Masami Suzuki (Sno-King), Alfred Tan
(Northwest), Valera Vulfson (Northwest).
EAST COAST IAIDO SEMINAR SHINSA, March 13, 2016, Holy Ghost Prep. School, Bensalem,
Pennsylvania
4TH KYU: Davin Hattaway (Princeton), Chris Kim (Princeton), Andrew Park (Princeton).
3RD KYU: Dylan Abrams (Princeton), Dominique Alfandari (SeiZanKai), Enver Bajraktarevic
(KenZen), Soochul Bang (Shidogakuin), Helene Cousin (SeiZanKai), Kevin Ding (Princeton), James
Dover (Princeton), Ritchard Higham (KenZen), Peter Kim (Doshikai), Terry Lewis (Norwalk), Ina
Park (Princeton), Yoojin Seon (Princeton), Albert Valentin III (Itto Kai), Jonathan Velazco
(Princeton), Kathleen Villemaire (Doshikai), Di Wang (Shidogakuin), Benjamin Wingate (Itto
Kai), Jing Ye (Nichibukan). 2ND KYU: Axel Anderson (Doshikai), Jason Carl (Princeton),
Jerry Chen (Nichibukan), Jeremie Clark (Doshikai), Garry Dodd (Princeton), Kevin Huang
(Shidogakuin), Shiro Kondo (KenZen), Minsoo Seon (Princeton), Louis Thauvin (KenZen), Joshua
Yang (Princeton). 1ST KYU: Noriko Ambe (Ken Zen), Maryann Amici (Ken Zen), Mark
Gottlieb (Shidogakuin), Charles Johnson (Baltimore-Annapolis), Dmitry Murashchik
(Balt-Annapolis), Michael Temple (Doshikai), Akihiko Watanabe (Shidogakuin), Joseph Wong
(Shidogakuin. 1ST DAN: Victor Betts (Doshikai), Gary Cotton (Doshikai), David Dudek
(KenZen), Abel Erives (Doshikai). 2ND DAN: Mitko Botev (Doshikai), Jeffrey Heinze Fry
(SeiZanKai), Michael Kamish (Itto Kai), Szilvia Kovari-Krecsmary (Shidogakuin), James Cody
Kroll (Itto Kai), Yoonhee Macke (Shidogakuin). 3RD DAN: John Mullin (Ken Zen), Stephen
Tomshaw (Shidogakin).
THE LAST WORD
Ogawa Sensei taught me the traditional Japanese culture of Kyoto and how to endure and adapt to
cold and suffering, to gain confidence and become a Nihon Kendoist. Once in Kyoto, I had no
time to analyze, to be nervous. I did what others told me and thereby adjusted to the
circumstances (“Rin Ki Oh Hen”) of my new life. I say, no “Big Deal!” Day in and day out all I
did was:
sleep, then get up; eat, then move; sleep again, then get up again: Ne Te Oki Te; Tabe Te Ugoi Te Ne Te Oki Te.
The noodle shop gave me the only time – practically no time – for thinking, because my body
just got on with the job of eating by itself. “Move” meant chores, which continued because I
remained in my room at Kodo Kan, never living with my fellow students even after I finally
passed the entrance exam for Busen after graduating from Japanese high school and studying in
night school and was accepted as a formal student at Busen. Of course, “move” mostly meant
kendo practice.
Every morning from 6 AM to 7 AM I would do kangeiko, morning practice, at Busen. For the first
year, we only trained kirikaeshi the basic exercise of repeating side head cuts. That was for
the whole year! This is a very basic cut, and other students who had been tops in their high
schools were bored and would complain that they had already trained kote and other cuts
considered more advanced. “All you do is kirikaeshi; if you don?t like it, go home!” the
sempais would answer. These were the instructions of Ogawa Sensei and were not to be
contradicted. After the morning practice, from 7 AM to 8 AM, we ate breakfast.
Once I was officially accepted into Busen, I attended lectures from 8 AM to noon consisting of
more Japanese language, both modern and classic, and Japanese calligraphy. Calligraphy has long
been associated with the Samurai. In the first page of the Ground Book Miyamoto Musashi noted
that the “warrior’s is the two-fold Way of brush and sword, and he should have a taste for both
Ways.” Young men of the Japanese nobility of the Tokugawa period were educated solely in the
Chinese classics and exercising in word techniques. Brush and sword were to be in accord “bunbu
Itchi.”
Lunch was from noon to 1 PM. And then more keiko from 1 PM to 3 PM. Then from 3 PM to 4 PM was
afternoon practice, Koshuka (short training after regular training). This was the “voluntary
practice” which I had already learned was not really voluntary. If you didn’t attend, unless
you were a senior with other commitments to assist in keiko somewhere else, you didn’t belong
in Busen. After 4 PM I would go home to study. But I continued to clean the dojo and do all of
the chores I had done since arriving.
Finally it was time for evening practice at Kodo Kan when I would practice with Ogawa Sensei.
Kendo practice was a minimum of about six hours per day, but still less than the keiko of
Miyamoto Musashi! You could never practice too much.
–Rod Nobuto Omoto,
Autobiography, edited by Charlotte Omoto, 2014, p. 23-24. 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