National Kendo Tournament 2005 (info)

To all SEUSKF Members, Please distribute the following information to all kenshi, especially those on the SEUSKF Team. 1. The following list is the final team that was sent to AUSKF. No further additions or changes can be made. Please check spellings of the last name and notify me immediately if there are any mistakes. I will need to order Name covers/NaFuda very soon. Congratulations to the SEUSKF team members. Men's Individual & Team Hara, Kentaro Nieves, Frank Hyun, Jin-Kee Komaki, Yoshiyuki Yoshida, Kotaro Quinn, Michael Vulfson, Valera Women's Individual & Team DeSouza, Reiko DeSouza, Yoshimi Hoang, Yatsuki Lane, Satomi Nieves, Katalin Takeyama, Yuka Vas, Karina Senior Youth Individual & Team DeSouza, Yuki Park, Ginpei Hara, Akira Nishi, Katsuhisa Sekita, Nobuhiro Junior Youth Individual & Team Park, Gindai Komaki, Ami Felton-Curtis, Eamon Senior Division - Individual Arai, Kunitoshi Parker, James Meade, Mike Murphy, Lew Goodwill-Individual Oh, Chang Kim, Daniel Uehara, Sai 2. All individual & team members must have their own MEJIRUSHI (Tasuki) red and white. I will bring all that I have which will cover about 20 people. 3. If you want Bento on Saturday and/or Sunday the cost is $10.00 for each day. I must have the order for o-bento placed no later than June 1st. The AUSKF will not accept individual orders. Please compile a list of those wanting bento and send checks made out to the "SEUSKF" to me ASAP. 4. Farewell Party is Sunday, July 3rd at Kensington Court Hotel at 6:00pm. I must have a list of those desiring to attend this party to AUSKF by June 1st. Cost $50 per person, $30 per person 4-10 years old, Free 0-3 years old. Again, the AUSKF will not accept individual orders only from the SEUSKF. Send your list and a check covering the cost made out to SEUSKF and send to me ASAP. 5. Hotels recommended by the AUSKF - discount rate will apply if requested number of rooms are booked prior to Jun 1st. Kensington Court Hotel Ann Arbor (Tournament Headquarters) 610 Hilton Blvd, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48108 1-800-344-7829 fax 1-734-995-1085 e-mail eboeve@kcourtaa.com Rates $69.00 (per room, per night) + 8% tax Holiday Inn Express (next to Kensington Court Hotel) 610 Hilton Blvd, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48108 1-800-344-7829 (same number as above) rate: $59.00 (per room, per night) + 8% tax Transportation: 30 minutes from Detroit International Airport to the above hotels - on your own. Hotel to University of Michigan Central Campus Recreation Building - Shuttle Bus-schedules posted at the hotel. 6. Schedules July 1st 10:00am-4:00pm Open Practice Tappan Middle School 4:00pm-6:00pm Shinpan Seminar, Tappan Middle School 4:00pm-6:00pm Manager's/Coach's Meeting, Kensington Court Hotel July 2nd 7:00am-8:00am Shinai-keiryo (length & weight inspection) These lines get long fast-so be early. This is each individual's responsibility. 8:00am Open Ceremony, Demonstration 10:00am-5:00pm Individual Championships. There will be about 6 courts running at one time with all divisions going at one time. The team manager and coach will try to help get people to the right courts, but ultimately Each person is responsible to get to their own court. July 3rd 8:00 Pre-Ceremony Assembly 8:30 Entrance of Teams 9:00 Team Championship, Goodwill Tournament 4:00pm Closing Ceremony 7. Shinai weights and measurements: Must comply with AUSKF specificagtions Junior Youth Length: <114>440 gm, Female >400 gm Kensaki width: Male >25mm, Female >24mm Senior Youth Length: <117>480gm, Kensaki width: >26mm All others: Length: <120>510gm, Female >440gm Kensaki Width: Male > 26mm, Female >25mm Sakigawa Length must be longer than 50mm. Tsuba Diameter must be less than 9 cm diameter. 8. Basic Rules a. Junior Youth can not us Jo-dan or use Tsuki. b. Individuals matches 1) Preliminary league round: 4 minutes - no encho - no hantei 2) Medal round: 4 minutes - unlimited encho - no hantei 3) Semifinal and Final: 5 minutes - unlimited encho - no hantei c. Team Matches: 4 minutes - no encho (except play offs) Semifinal and Final: 5 minutes - no encho (except play offs) d. Goodwill Matches: 4 minutes - 2 minute encho - Hantei semifinal and final: 4 minutes - unlimited encho e. Preliminary contests to determine ranking for medal rounds Junior Youth, Senior Youth, Women, and Men's Divisions - also for teams. No preliminary contests for Goodwill or Senior Divisions. 9. Shinpan: bring own set of Shinpan-ki Uniform: Plain, dark blue jacket; plain, gray trousers; plain, white shirt; plain deep red necktie; plain dark blue socks. 10. Special note: Yoshimi DeSouza successfully made it through the second round of team selection (in the top 20) for the AUSKF team for the world championships. Congradulations!!! James Parker President, SEUSKF

>Uchida Sensei comments during the practice

1. Voice - Your voice (kiai) should be twice as loud as the voice of your opponent. Practice strong voice, it very important.
2. Foot work- do not cross your feet right before a strike. Other words do not use Ayumi-ashi steps, very bad habit. Always use Suri-ashi (sliding step with leading right foot). Learn how to strike from comfortable distance for your body to avoid crossing your feet.
3. Kirikaeshi - Do not do body check (Taiatari) every time during kirikaeshi, sometimes just do Men and skip Taitari. This is specially good for beginners, so the body posture remains nice and proper.

>Kendo Hanshi OKUZONO KUNIYOSHI (8th Dan) Says…

Don’t strike with your hands, strike with your feet.
Don’t strike with your feet, strike with your hips.
Don’t strike with your hips, strike with your heart.

When I struck a wall trying to pass 7th dan, one sensei told me to “try and swing a light bokuto as heavily as possible.” I complied with this advice, but found it very difficult to do. I didn’t really understand the point. Instead, I thought that it would be far more beneficial to swing a heavy bokuto as if it were light, and this is precisely what I did. However, after about 6 months of training with a heavy bokuto, I sustained an injuty to my shoulder.I decided to try the light bokuto again, but still couldn’t grasp the point of swinging a light bokuto as if it were heavy. I started thinking about this while I practiced my suburi every day. I started to realize that if I swung the bokuto with my hande it felt very light. However, it felt a lot heavier when I concentrated on striking with my hips. At last I was striking to understand what he meant. However, if there was even the slightest element of confusion in my heart, no matter how much I tried to concentrate on striking from my hips, the kensen would wobble, and it would feel light again. I realized that to swing a light bokuto as if it were heavy required a balance of body an mind, and this was connected to the concept of heijoshin (placid or calm state of mind.) If you are able to maintain heijoshin, you will be able to react accordingly to anything that comes your way. This taught me the importance of the most fundamental concept in Kendo, kokoro (heart or soirit). Of course, this is easily put into words, but it has to be more then just understood on an intellectual level. In other words, it is extremely important that you make every effort to try and understand these concerts through mastery of technique.

OKUZONO KUNIYOSHI (8th Dan)

Kendo World Magazine- Vol 3. NO 1. 2004 (pg19)
www.kendo-world.com