Kenyu – November/December 2017

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 Marsten
    

    SHINKYU 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 doyomosan
    

    The 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


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