Volume 31, number 11/12
November/December 2017
PNKF DATEBOOK
December 2017
- 12/10, 12/24, and 12/31: no practice at Seattle Kendo Kai.
January 2018
- 1/1: Hatsugeiko, Mon, 6:30am Seattle, St. Peter’s Episcopal Church Gym, 1610 S. King Street, Seattle.
- 1/1: Hatsugeiko, Mon, 9:30-11am, Obukan, Fulton Community Center, 68 SW Miles Street, Portland, OR.
- 1/6-7: Iaidaho 2018, Sat 12noon-5pm/Sun 10am-2:30pm, Iaido Seminar, on Seitei topics, competition, group enbu, and shinsa, Boise State University, Kinesiology Gym, Boise. Kendo Fri 1/5, 6:30-8pm, West Boise YMCA.
- 1/13: PNKF Board meeting, 9-11am, Sat, St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, 1610 S. King Street, Seattle.
- 1/27: PNKF Kata Seminar, Sat, 12noon-5pm, Chinook Middle School, 18650 42nd Avenue S., Seattle.
- 1/27: 2018 Intercollegiate Taikai, Sat, 10a, McKinnon Gym, University of Victoria, 3800 Finnery Road, Victoria BC.
February 2018
- 2/10: 56th Steveston Taikai, Sat, 9am, McMath High School, 4251 Garry Street, Richmond BC.
- 2/10-11: FIK America Zone Kendo Referee Seminar, Sat-Sun, Centre sportifETS, 1111 Notre-Dame Street West, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
- 2/10-11: Hoshu Dojo Jodo Mini-Camp, Sat 10am-5pm and Sun 7am-12pm, Justice Institute of British Columbia, New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada. Schedule: Sat 10am-5pm and Sun 7am-12pm.
- 2/24: 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 2018
- 3/17: Highline Taikai, Sat, doors open 8:30am, opening ceremonies 9:30am, White Center Community Center, 1321 SW 102nd Street, Seattle.
- 3/17-18: 22nd Annual Shoryuhai, Sat/Sun, Malkin Athletic Center, 39 Holyoke Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
- 3/24: PNKF Board meeting, 9-11am, Sat, Kent Commons Recreation Center, 525 4th Avenue N. (corner of 4th and James St.) Kent.
- 3/31: 30th Anniversary Kendo Tournament / GNEUSKF Championships, Sat, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland OH.
April 2018
- 4/1: GNEUSKF Kendo Education Seminar led by Masaharu Kakehashi Sensei, Hanshi 8th Dan, former chief instructor of Tokyo Metropolitan Kendo as well as GNEUSKF shinsa and Iaido seminar led by Shozo Kato Sensei, Kendo Kyoshi 8th Dan Iaido Kyoshi 7th Dan, Sun, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH.
- 4/8: 2018 AUSKF Jr. Nationals, Sun, Marina High School, Huntington Beach, California. The gym will be open the day before (April 7) for preparation.
- 4/14: UW Taikai, Sat, 10am, Intramural Activities Building (IMA), UW campus, Montlake Boulevard NE.
- 4/14-15: AUSKF Board meeting and Kodansha Shinsa, Sat-Sun, SCKO venue TBD.
- 4/21: PNKF Shinpan Seminar, Sat, 1-6pm, Highland Park Community Center, 14224 Bel-Red Road, Bellevue.
- 4/22: Cherry Blossom demo, Sun, Seattle Center.
May 2018
- 5/5: PNKF Board meeting, 9-11am, Sat, Kent Commons Recreation Center, 525 4th Avenue N. (corner of 4th and James St.) Kent.
- 5/19: Bellevue Junior Taikai, Sat, 9:30am-3pm, Highland Park Community Center, 14224 Bel-Red Road, Bellevue.
- 5/26: 52nd Vancouver Kendo Tournament, Sat, 10am-6pm, Byrne Creek Secondary School, 7777 18th Street, Burnaby, BC.
- 5/31-6/4: AUSKF Iaido Seminar, Salt Lake City.
June 2018
- 5/31-6/4: AUSKF Iaido Summer Camp and Jodo Seminar, Thu-Mon, with Iaido Hanshi 8th Dan Teruo Mitani and Iaido Kyoshi 8th Dan Atsumi Hatakenaka, Eccles Student Life Center, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT.
Schedule:
• Thursday (May 31, 2018) – Iaido Seminar (9:00 AM – 4:45 PM)
• Friday (June 1, 2018) – Iaido Seminar (9:00 AM – 4:30 PM)
• Saturday (June 2, 2018) – AUSKF Iaido Championships (9:00 AM – 4:30 PM)
• Sunday (June 3, 2018) – Iaido Shinsa (9:00 AM – 11:45 AM), Jodo Seminar (1:00 PM –
4:00 PM), Jodo Shinsa (4:00 PM – 5:00 PM)
• Monday (June 4, 2018) – Jodo Seminar (9:00 AM – 11:30 AM) - 6/9: Rose City Taikai.
- 6/14-17: 11th Annual US Nito Kendo Camp, Seminar, and Shinsa, Thu-Sun, with Ryoichi FUJII, Yamaguchi, Kyoshi 8 dan, Yoshihiro UGAJIN, Tokyo, Kyoshi 7 dan,Futoshi SATO, Chiba, Kyoshi 7 dan, Mitsuyoshi WADA, Tokyo, Kyoshi 7 dan, Taichi KISA, Osaka, Kyoshi 7 dan, and Ako FUJII, Yamaguchi, Renshi 6 dan, College of Idaho, J.A. Albertson Activities Center, Caldwell, Idaho.
Schedule:
* Thursday, (June 14, 2018) – 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm, Welcome Keiko
* Friday, (June 15, 2018) – 10:00 am – 5:00 pm, Seminar
* Saturday (June 16, 2018) – 9:00 am – 5:00 pm, Seminar (Banquet 6:30 pm)
* Sunday, (June 17, 2018) – 9:00 am – 3:30 pm, Shinsa and Taikai
July 2018
- 7/21: PNKF Board meeting, 9-11am, Sat, St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, 1610 S. King Street, Seattle.
August 2018
- 8/11: PNKF Shinsa, Kent Commons Recreation Center, 525 4th Avenue N. (corner of 4th and James St.) Kent.
September 2018
- 9/14-16: 17WKC, Fri/Sat/Sun, Seoul, Korea.
- 9/15: PNKF Board meeting, 9-11am, Sat, St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, 1610 S. King Street, Seattle.
- 9/28-9/30: PNKF Iaido Seminar and Tournament, Fri, Sat, Sun.
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 2018
- 10/6: PNKF Shinpan Seminar, Sat, 12noon-5pm, Kent Commons Recreation Center, 525 4th Avenue N. (corner of 4th and James St.) Kent.
- 10/20: Tacoma Taikai, Sat, 9:30am Opening Ceremonies (doors open at 8:30am), Curtis High School, 8425 40th Street West, University Place, WA 98466 (tentative).
November 2018
- 11/3: PNKF Taikai, Sat, Kent Commons Recreation Center, 525 4th Avenue N. (corner of 4th and James St.) Kent.
- 11/10: AUSKF Board meeting, Sat, venue TBD.
- 11/11: Kodansha Shinsa, Sun, venue TBD.
- 11/17: PNKF Board meeting, 9-11am, Sat, St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, 1610 S. King Street, Seattle.
December 2018
- 12/1: Kent Taikai, Sat, Kendo Commons Recreation Center, 525 4th Avenue N, (corner of 4th and James St.) Kent.
- 12/9: PNKF Jodo Shinsa.
PNKF BOARD NEWS
At their November 18, 2017 meeting, the new 2017/2018 Board was seated, and Officers were elected.
President – CJ Chaney (Sno-King), Vice-President – Doug Imanishi (Seattle),
Treasurer – Mary DeJong (Highline), Secretary – Tom Bolling (Bellevue). UW Advisor –
CJ Chaney.Other Board members are: Sean Blechschmidt (Bellevue), Cougar Capoeman (Tacoma), Frederic Fourie
(AiShinKai), Mark Frederick (Northwest), Noelle Grimes (Sno-King), Mart Hughes (Obukan), Taryn Imanishi (Cascade), Michael Mabale (Seattle), Curtis Marsten (Kent), Elizabeth Marsten (Highline), Vicki Marsten
(Federal Way), Tiarnan Marsten (Kent), Edward Olson (Tonbo), Chris Ruiz (Spokane), Russ Sinclair (Spokane), Robert Stroud
(Idaho), Val Vulfson (Northwest), Francis Walsh (UW), and David Yotsuuye (Bellevue).18th INVITATIONAL TACOMA KENDO TAIKAI – October 21, 2017, Curtis High School, University Place
9 and Under 10-12 Years Kyu 1st place - Ezra Cocoro-Marx, Federal Way 1st place - Jonathan Yu, Northwest 2nd place - Kaito Ayers, Sno-King 2nd place - Nicholas Chu, Bellevue 3rd place - Owen Kaufman, Portland 3rd place - Hana Koob, Bellevue Participant - Maddy Day, Kent Participant - Joey Oday, Tacoma Participant - Karis Kim, Tacoma 13-15 Years Kyu 16-18 Years Kyu 1st place - Taiki Miyamoto, Northwest 1st place - Kengo Underhill, Northwest 2nd place - Josh Kim, Federal Way 2nd place - Kyle Fukuda, Cascade 3rd place - Danny Chung, Cascade 3rd place - Michizane Ohata, Bellevue Adult 0-2 Kyu Adult 1 Kyu-1 Dan 1st place - Victor Blancarte, Sno-King 1st place - Cougar Capoeman, Tacoma 2nd place - Leo Gao, UW 2nd place - Philbert Lin, Bellevue 3rd place - Anthony Yorita, UW 3rd place - Gregory Vielhaber, Portland Youth Dan Adult 2-3 Dan 1st place - Andy Yuen, Seattle 1st place - Tiarnan Marsten, Kent 2nd place - Allison Kojima, Bellevue 2nd place - Koyo Yoshida, Everett 3rd place - Drake Imanishi, Seattle 3rd place - Koichi Toshima, Portland 15 and Under Team 1st place - Northwest A (J. Yu, Keiji Underhill, Taiki Miyamoto) 2nd place - Bellevue A (H. Koob, L. Ohata, S. Kojima) Senior Youth Team 1st place - Seattle (A. Yuen, Kengo Underhill, D. Imanishi) 2nd place - Cascade (K. Fukuda, T. Seyduzov, D. Yip) Mudansha Team 1st place - Bellevue (J. Jeon, H. Su, L. Ohata) 2nd place - UW (A. Yorita, L. Gao, T. Lee) National Anthem Singer - Alisa Yoshikawa Sportsmanship Pledge - Daniel Kao Shinpan Cho - David S. Yotsuuye
43rd ANNUAL PNKF KENDO TOURNAMENT – November 4, 2017, Kent Commons Recreation Center
10 Years and Under 11-12 Years 1st place - E. Chui, Steveston 1st place - H. Homma, Renbu 2nd place - N. Son, Renbu 2nd place - J. Hung, Steveston 3rd place - D. Buckham, UVictoria 3rd place - O. Benson, Youshinkan 3rd place - F. Benson, Youshinkan 3rd place - E. Cho, Renbu 13-15 Years High School Boys 1st place - R. Kim, Renbu 1st place - B. Liao, Bellevue 2nd place - A. Son, Renbu 2nd place - A. Yuen, Seattle 3rd place - B. Miki, Steveston 3rd place - E. Chui, Steveston 3rd place - T. Miyamoto, Northwest 3rd place - M. Ohata, Bellevue 0-4 Kyu 3-1 Kyu 1st place - H. Su, Bellevue 1st place - KE Underhill, Northwest 2nd place - G. Li, OSU 2nd place - C. Pak, Portland 3rd place - T. Chui, Steveston 3rd place - A. Yorita, UW 3rd place - J. Davis, Northwest 3rd place - Y. Paik, Tacoma Women Kyu Women Dan 1st place - K. McIntosh, Federal Way 1st place - W. Robillard, Steveston 2nd place - E. Law, UW 2nd place - N. Grimes, Sno-King 3rd place - J. Wong, Bellevue 3rd place - H. Yamada, Vancouver 3rd place - A. Tan, UW 3rd place - M. Oya, Palouse 1-2 Dan 3 Dan 1st place - E. Lee, Renbu 1st place - D. Miura, Hawaii 2nd place - B. Pae, Northwest 2nd place - T. Marsten, Kent 3rd place - D. Anzai, Obukan 3rd place - M. Yoneda, Kent 3rd place - D. Imanishi, Seattle 3rd place - I. Miki, Steveston 4 Dan and Above 1st place - H. Kim, Hawaii 2nd place - T. Yamada, Vancouver 3rd place - K. Kobayashi, Youshinkan 3rd place - S. Harris, Hawaii Junior Team 1st place - Renbu A (K. Squance, Y. Lee, A. Son, K. Itagaki, R. Kim) 2nd place - Steveston A (R. Nakano, C. Robillard, E. Chui, B. Miki, J. Hung) 3rd place - Renbu B (N. Son, KE Yoshimura, E. Cho, I. Son, H. Homma) 3rd place - Bellevue A (H. Koob, T. Koob, M. Tawara, T. Dage, S. Kojima) Senior Team 1st place - Vancouver (K. Darbyshire, J. Schmidt, H. Yamada, S. Jung, T. Yamada) 2nd place - Hawaii (V. Yancy, D. Miura, S. Harris, H. Kim, T. Buntin) 3rd place - Renbu (E. Lee, A. Espiritu, E. Kita, O. Young, D. Taguchi) 3rd place - Youshinkan (K. Kobayashi, K. Takeuchi, C. Takeuchi, J. Chien, T. Nakamura) Taikai Co-Chairs - CJ Chaney and Taryn Imanishi Shinpan Cho - Tatsuhiko Konno Court Manager - David S. Yotsuuye Sportsmanship Pledge - Allison Kojima Shoji Trophy - Kengo Underhill Presidential Service Award - Daniel Ichinaga Presidential Service Award - Darrick Lew
AIEA TAIHEIJI KENDO TOURNAMENT 2017 – November 19, 2017, Halawa Gym, Aiea, Oahu
Yonenbu (11 Years and Below) Shonenbu (12-14 Years Old) 1st place - Caden Matsumoto 1st place - Nobuhiko Tamura 2nd place - Ethan Amano 2nd place - Zachary Yamamoto 3rd place - Jacob Amano 3rd place - Mari Shimabukuro 3rd place - Ethan Suyama 3rd place - Brandyn Matsumoto Seinenbu-Nidan Women's 1st place - Brycen Kawakami 1st place - Nicole Chun 2nd place - Joshua Amano 2nd place - Megan Watanabe 3rd place - John Pitts 3rd place - Gale Mejia 3rd place - Eric Young 3rd place - Tina Kaku Yudansha 3+ Yudansha Masters 1st place - Hyun Kim 1st place - Iwao Sato 2nd place - Wesley Fujimoto 2nd place - Ken Sugano 3rd place - Christopher Goodin 3rd place - Bert Shibuya 3rd place - Daiki Miura 3rd place - Carl Nakamura Children's Team Adults' Team 1st place - Kenshikan A 1st place - Mililani A 2nd place - Kenshikan B 2nd place - Aiea Grand Champion Hyun Kim
21st KENT INVITATIONAL TOURNAMENT – December 2, 2017, Kentwood High School, Kent
10 Years and Under (Jr A) 3-1 Kyu 1st place - N. Chu, Bellevue 1st place - Ken Underhill, Northwest 2nd place - I. DeBlieck, Sno-King 2nd place - A. Yorita, UW 3rd place - JU Paik, Tacoma 3rd place - E. Lam, Kent 3rd place - D. Shilov, Highline 3rd place - B. Sprenger, Obukan 11-12 Years (Jr B) 1-2 Dan 1st place - H. Koob, Bellevue 1st place - J. Yamauchi, Cascade 2nd place - A. Mabale, Seattle 2nd place - B. Park, Bellevue 3rd place - P. Jewett, Spokane 3rd place - J. Higa, UW 3rd place - J. Yu, Northwest 3rd place - S. Sinclair, Spokane 13 to 15 Years (Jr C) 3-4 Dan 1st place - T. Miyamoto, Northwest 1st place - K. Yoshida, Everett 2nd place - T. Koob, Bellevue 2nd place - B. Imanishi, Cascade 3rd place - Kei Underhill, Northwest 3rd place - I. Morgan, Kent 3rd place - SA Wetlesen, Obukan 3rd place - T. Marsten, Kent 4th place - S. Day, Kent Women 4th place - T. Imanishi, Cascade 1st place - K. McManus, Kent 4th place - D. Huynh, Seattle 2nd place - M. Suzuki, Sno-King 4th place - M. Suzuki, Sno-King 3rd place - E. DeJong, Highline 3rd place - B. Park, Bellevue 4 Kyu and Under 1st place - H. Su, Bellevue 2nd place - T. Elliott, Spokane 3rd place - K. McIntosh, Federal Way 3rd place - B. Yorker, Kent Junior Team 1st place - Northwest (J. Yu, N. Underhill, Kei Underhill, T. Ting, T. Miyamoto) 2nd place - Cascade (DV Chung, D. Terao, A. Fukuda, C. Baker, D. Chung) 3rd place - Seattle (A. Mabale, S. Wetlesen, A. Fung, F. Mabale, K. Hale) 3rd place - Federal Way (E. Corcoro-Marx, M. Day, S. Lee, I. Lee, J. Kim) Senior Team 1st place - Kent Red (I. Morgan, K. McManus, S. Day, M. Yoneda, T. Marsten) 2nd place - Seattle (L. Durkan, A. Yen, D. Huynh, S. Guidi, M. Mabale) 3rd place - Bellevue (A. Kojima, M. Blechschmidt, B. Park, E. DeJong, L. Tsybert) 3rd place - Sno-King (D. Lew, T. Patana, A. Zee, M. Suzuki, CJ Chaney) Sportsmanship Pledge - Keeley McManus Head Shinpan - Curtis MarstenSHINKYU SHINSA
AUSKF KENDO KODANSHA SHINSA, November 12, 2017, Athletic Club Northeast, Atlanta, Georgia
6TH DAN:
Elizabeth Marsten, (PNKF).
PNKF JODO SHINSA, December 10, 2017, Mitchell Activity Center, Seattle Central College, Seattle
1ST KYU: Abigail Benoit (Tonbo), Duane Benoit (Tonbo), Robert Neff (Tonbo), Thomas Valencia (Yamakage Dojo
SWKIF), David Zambrano (Hoshu).THE LAST WORD
May 2004, marked the 100th Anniversary of Butoku Kai. I cannot travel any longer, and most of my
classmates are gone. Yet after all these years, I remember each word of our school song. It was composed
by Yabe Osamu of Ehime Prefecture, a student of the twenty-first graduating class in l935.Kanmu no Mikado itsu kimasu Miyai wa chikaki manabiya ni Yamato gokoro wo iya migaku Kore zo Busen no hokori naru Meiyo Renchi wo inochi to shi Shitsu Jitsu Koken Mune to shite Hibi ni isoshimu shuyo wa Warera kenji no tsutome zoya Tagai ni kitou tetsu wan ni Fukutsu no chisho atsuku moe Yama o mo nukan sono iki wa Hiroku Tenka wo doyomosanThe rough translation of the three verses is:
I'm proud to be learning and polishing my Yamato gokuro Japanese spirit at Busen, this institute of higher learning located near the Heian Jingu shrine. This is Busens pride. It is our duty to diligently and vigorously train daily to forge and temper our bodies and spirit together with honor, grace and simplicity. The world will sense that we have a tremendous force that never quits, the power to move mountains that will result in calming the world.I sang our school song in Japanese for my few remaining classmates at Busen, and recorded it on videotape.
In that way, despite all the years in the United States, I am with them as they celebrate and grieve, for
I am Japanese in spirit even though I know a wider world and love the plumeria and gentle breezes of my
boyhood in Hawaii as well as the cherry blossom.Last Days at Busen
I lived day by day and waited for the inevitable day I would leave Busen to report to the army. I didn’t
feel disloyal or even conflicted about serving in the Japanese army. To me it was just another war between
two countries. Neither my classmates nor the Japanese authorities questioned whether I was loyal to the
United States or Japan, even though I had dual citizenship. However, my Hawaiian background was likely
responsible for the government deciding not to send me to Tokyo to become an officer like my classmates.
Thus I never fought directly or in the Pacific Theater. My Hawaiian background likely saved my life.Discussions with my classmates were not abstract. When we ate together or had a few minutes of spare time,
we would celebrate, drink sake and talk Kendo. But Kendo talk was specific: how clever it had been to
divert a kote hit by a feint and win with a men hit. The superior player opens and is missed only by
inches when he goes for the men; he has to be very fast or be defeated at the kote or do.Kendo training is about action, not thinking; thinking requires time and distance from the practice. When
training, there is no room to think about yesterday or tomorrow, just this cut and that cut. When
fighting, thinking will kill you. Despite the books written about Kendo and other martial arts, words can
only delude us into, at best, partial understanding. There is “comprehension” that one cannot put into
words. We practice and that is educating the body in action. Miyamoto Musashi wrote that “you must study
this well” as he writes about methods, but always associates the “study” with comments such as: “You
must train hard to understand it” and “With detailed practice you should be able to understand it.”
Yes, listen, reflect and study but it requires physical practice; with enough “doing” the Do may become
part of you.So at Busen there was no time for book “study” of Kendo. Our “study” of Kendo was to watch, do, and do
over and over again, training our body to have “muscle memory”. Reflection is a part of Budo. It would
come, if ever, later. In fact, about 50 years later for me.So even though I don’t recall political discussion about going to war, I do remember my going away party.
We knew where I was going, and that those remaining would be following soon. In fact, mine was the last
party where a group could be gathered for a solitary send-off; the remaining students left en masse. So it
was a grand celebration! We laughed and played and ate and drank until we were literally rolling on the
floor, falling down laughing and dizzy with sake.–Rod Nobuto Omoto, Autobiography, edited by Charlotte Omoto, 2014, p. 30-32.
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