2009 SEUSKF SHINSA and TAIKAI RESULTS (Memphis)

This past weekend, Memphis club members Walter White, Masumi Kamimura and Shinn Taniguchi made the trip to Washington, DC for the 2009 SEUSKF Tournament and Promotional.

I have not seen final results for the whole tournament yet, but all three of our club members were successful at the testing.

Walter White - 3.dan
Masumi Kamimura - 3.dan
Shinn Taniguchi - 3.kyu

Congrats to all!

So.. you want to purchase bogu...

Looking around the blog here, I recently stumbled onto an old post (FAQ) on purchasing bogu (and hakama and keikogi), what to look for, what to expect, etc.

The information is about as thorough as you can possibly get.

To access the blog entry, click on the BEGINNERS' CORNER and in the Quick Links section, at the bottom, you'll see a link to "ULTIMATE BOGU-BUYING FAQ."

..or you can click here: http://experiencedkendo.blogspot.com/2007/11/ultimate-bogu-buying-faq.html

Some of you are close to buying your own set and so you should find this information extremely helpful.

New video links in Beginner's Corner

I just put up some YouTube video links over in the Beginner's Corner related to Kendo Basics.

Pretty good stuff if you haven't already seen them.

Click on the link over in the right-hand column labeled BEGINNER'S CORNER for access...

2009 AUSKF Summer Camp RESOUNDING SUCCESS

Today, I recieved an email from our own Pat Register-sensei to be posted here for everyone: ++++++++++++++++++++ Dear Memphis Kendoka, I would just like to say how proud I am to be a part of Memphis Kendo. As an instructor and lifetime student, I am impressed by the way our club handled the task of hosting the National summer camp. I am particularly thankful to our instructors Yasuda and Gossett, but it would not have been possible without the help of our students who did their part. Again, I am humbled by the dedication of everyone involved, including family members and friends. If I have learned one thing during this weekend summer camp, it is to fully commit to your strike and take seriously every swing. Our kendo club showed this virtue in respect to the responsibility we had undertaken. By this, I am inspired. Be prepared to work harder than ever before to show your beautiful kendo and NEVER GIVE UP. Yours in Kendo, Patrick Register ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ For my own part, I would like to reiterate Register-sensei's points. I cannot thank everyone enough for helping to put on such a spectacularly successful summer camp. I received numerous compliments from everyone I came in contact with, especially from the visiting 8.dan sensei, Tagawa-sensei, Yoshida-sensei, Maeda-sensei, Marsten-sensei, Murakami-sensei, Strawn-sensei... the list goes on and on. As many of you know, there were people from all over the country who came to this event. There were a host of people who came in from the west coast, and even Robert Stroud-sensei DROVE from Idaho for the event. Even greater seemed to be the group that came from the New York area. EVERYONE was very impressed with the organization of the camp and the overall hospitality shown specifically by the Memphis group. All the big wigs know the challenges involved with undertaking a task like this and it did not go unnoticed. I'm overwhelmed by the help of our volunteers, especially in providing transportation between the hotel and gym, showing up early in the morning and driving folks back to the hotel late in the afternoon. Moreover, our volunteers took up the task of working the registration tables, running to the store for more ice and water, and picking up and delivering the bento on both days. Many of our parents put their family lives on hold to help out, which I know is not an easy thing to do. Very simply stated, these kinds of events NEVER run smoothly without the help of people sacrificing their personal time to ensure that things happen when and where they're supposed to happen. Without going into greater detail, I cannot avoid mentioning the tremendous efforts of Yasuda-sensei in everything he did to help organize things. Most people will never know how vital his efforts really were. Finally, I would like to say that I hope everyone was able to get something positive out of the weekend (kendo-related). As some of you know, I injured my foot halfway through Saturday's practice, so I found myself in much the same situation as the folks who were there but were limited in their ability to participate. It's incredible just how much you can pick up by watching and listening, so hopefully, the weekend's experience was very good for those both in and out of bogu. On a side note, I will be downloading many pictures from the weekend today and posting them in various places. If you are on Facebook, you need to find the profile for the Southeast US Kendo Federation... pictures will be posted there first. Later, they'll be posted in the photo section of this blog.

Zekken/Nafuda (name tag) for Memphis Kendo

Some of you new folks in bogu have been involved with kendo long enough for you to need a "nafuda" (or "zekken" or "thing-with-your-name-on-it-that-fits-on-the-tare"). This is something you need to think about (and order) if you are new to bogu, or not yet in bogu but are certain that you'll be sticking around for the long haul. Normally, I might suggest that you wait to order nafuda until you've been in bogu for a little while because if people don't quit kendo early in the process, many will quit kendo soon after getting into bogu. If you compete at a tournament, AUSKF by-laws actually mandate that you have one. It's also very handy to have if you go to seminars and such just so people can identify who you are. In order to maintain consistency (letter style, size, etc.) with those who already have them, we ask that you please place your order with E-BOGU at the following link: http://www.e-bogu.com//SearchResults.asp?Search=zekken If you order on your own, $35 is a fairly standard price to pay, regardless of what company you go with, so... please... go with E-bogu. If you go with anybody else, that's fine, but be advised that your nafuda may NOT look exactly like everyone else's. I have not visited the link at E-bogu recently, but they used to offer a discount of sorts if at least 5 were ordered at the same time. As well, they used to have free shipping for orders more than $100. So, the bottom line is that if you need a nafuda, you need to check on any possible discounts and talk to your dojomates to see who else needs one so that you can all go in together and place one big order. Ordering instructions: 1. access the above website linked. 2. click on "add to cart" and go through the process of filling out your information AND paying for the item 3. then PRINT OUT this form: http://www.e-bogu.com/Customer-Downloads/ZekkenOrderForm040220.pdf 4. on the form, write MEMPHIS across the top line; write your last name in Romanji (that's "English") on the bottom line; write your last name in Katakana (or Kanji, if applicable) vertically down the center. It doesn't have to be perfect handwriting, but it must be legible. If you are not absolutely 100% certain of how to spell your name in katakana, please consult the consortium of native speakers of Japanese at class. 5. after filling out the form in full (be sure to have your order # handy to write on the form as well), FAX the form to E-bogu. ***Obviously, you'll need several of these forms if you order as a group ****

Godogeiko and Shinsa this past weekend

Memphis Kendo was grateful to be visited by Yazaki-sensei, Imai-sensei and the Bullington family of Nashville Kendo Club for a godogeiko and shinsa this past weekend at Singleton Community Center. If you have pictures (especially group pictures), please email them to me and I'll put them up in the club's Photo Gallery. I have not been able to download my own pictures at this point, but check back for an update in the next few days. Shinsa (rank testing) results were as follows (I'm going on memory here..): *Lysa Walterhouse - 6.kyu Shinn Taniguchi - 4.kyu *Warren Oster - 4.kyu *Koki Kira - 4.kyu *Jim Atkins - 4.kyu William Thornton-Leonard - 3.kyu Chris Corleone - 2.kyu Iko Bullington (Nashville) - 1.kyu Chris Bullington (Nashville) - 1.kyu Jon Kahre - 1.kyu Chris Cole - 1.dan (* = denotes first time shinsa)

Memphis Kendo tied as 2nd largest in Southeast U.S.

With 32 members having joined SEUSKF/AUSKF for 2009, Memphis Kendo has once again tied as the SECOND LARGEST KENDO CLUB in the Southeast region, comprising clubs from Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. The 10 largest clubs of the SEUSKF: 1. GKA (Atlanta) - 59 members 2. MEMPHIS KENDO - 32 members ....Northern Virginia Budokai - 32 members 4. Gulf Coast Kendo Club (Florida) - 28 members 5. Koryo Dojo (Virginia) - 25 members 6. Triangle Kendo (Virginia) - 20 members 7. Baltimore-Annapolis Kendo (Maryland) - 20 members 8. Charlotte Kendo Club (North Carolina) - 19 members 9. Knoxville Kendo Club (Tennessee) - 17 members 10. Nashville Kendo Club (Tennessee) - 13 members Breakdown by STATE: 1. Georgia (85 members) 2. Virginia (72 members) 3. TENNESSEE (62 members) 4. Florida and North Carolina (49 members each) 6. Maryland (30 members) 7. South Carolina (4 members) (Charleston Kendo Club, Mejuro Iaido Kendo Kai of Ft Myers, Shin Sei Kai, and South Florida Kendo Club did not remit dues by the required deadline and were not included in this data). There are total of 23 kendo clubs/dojo in the SEUSKF that submitted dues by the deadline, with 351 individual members total.

Club Bogu rental

Please keep this in mind starting with March 2009... If you are using club bogu, there will be a $5/mo. charge. This is SEPARATE from the dues you pay directly to the Community Center. If you pay in cash, fine. If you pay with a check, please make it out to Memphis Kendo. In either case, payment should be put in an envelope with YOUR NAME and the MONTH clearly indicated. Payment should be given to Yasuda-sensei or Gossett-sensei. The reason this rental fee has been instituted is two-fold: 1. wear and tear on club bogu necessitates repair(s) and/or replacement over time, and 2. after using club bogu for a while, people need to be encouraged to purchase their own so that other beginners can use available club bogu.

MazkiyaUSA Bogu Supplier - Updated Website

MazkiyaUSA (the kendo equipment supplier that was here in Memphis last October for the SEUSKF tournament) has updated their website.

.. a whole new look with everything they have to offer.
.. orders can now be made directly on their website.

Check it out!
www.mazkiyausa.com

(There's also a link down the right-hand column of this blog that'll take you right to the site)

Practice with Nashville

Group picture after practice this past Sunday...

New Community Center Rules....

The next time you are at practice, you may notice a flyer for the Kendo and Iaido Class.

From this point forward, our club is apparently only able to accept students who are at least 12 yrs of age. If you are UNDER 12 yrs of age and are ALREADY in the class, then you have nothing to worry about. Please continue to show up for class as normal.
(I don't think we have anyone under 12, but...)

Likewise, it seems the Community Center has a policy that if you are UNDER 16 YEARS OF AGE, you must have a parent or guardian remain in attendance THROUGHOUT the practice.

Please be mindful of this.