NEW WEBSITE!!

Be sure to check out our new website at www.MemphisKendoAssociation.com !!

There is plenty of information about our Beginner's Program there!

First Kendo 6.dan Sensei in Memphis

On Sunday, August 28, 2022, Patrick Register-sensei made a bit of history on the Memphis martial arts' scene by becoming the first Memphis kenshi to be promoted to the rank of 6.dan at a rank testing held in Las Vegas during the 2022 AUSKF Summer Camp, by a grading panel consisting of sensei holding the highest rank achievable in the art of Kendo (which, with a normal less-than-1% pass rate itself, is boasted as the most difficult exam to pass in Japan, surpassing even that of the Japanese bar exam). It is truly an honor to be promoted by such an august group of sensei:

Yoshiteru TAGAWA-sensei (Kendo Hanshi, 8.dan)

- former AUSKF President and FIK Western Zone-Vice President

- U.S. National Kendo Team coach (1982, Sao Paulo, Brazil)

- first person to pass the 8.dan exam in Japan as an AUSKF-member

Shozo KATO-sensei (Kendo Kyoshi, 8.dan; Iaido Kyoshi, 7.dan)

- U.S. National Kendo Team head coach (1997 - Kyoto, Japan; 2000 - Santa Clara, CA)

- World Kendo Championship referee (2006 - Taipei, Taiwan)

- U.S. National Kendo Team manager (2012 - Novara, Italy)

- second person to pass the 8.dan exam in Japan as an AUSKF-member

Isato MATSUDA-sensei (Kendo Hanshi, 8.dan)

- All-Japan 8.dan Championship - 3rd Place (x2)

- All-Japan Kendo Championship - (x8)

- World Kendo Championship - (x1)

- Tozai Taiko (East/West) Championship (x10)

- All-Japan Teachers' Championship - 2nd place

- National Sports Festival - 2nd place (x1), 3rd place (x1)

Toshiya ISHIDA-sensei (Kendo Hanshi, 8.dan)

- Osaka Police Department Instructor

- Japan National Kendo Team manager

- All-Japan Kendo Championship - 1st place (x2)

- All-Japan 8.dan Kendo Championship - 1st place (x1)

- All-Japan 7.dan Kendo Championship - 1st place (x2)

- World Kendo Championship - 1st place (x4, team)

- All Japan Police Kendo Championship - 1st place (individual), 1st place (x3, team)

- Tozai Taiko (East/West) Championship - (x1)

Tanetoshi TERACHI-sensei (Kendo Kyoshi, 8.dan)

- Tokyo Police Department senior instructor (KEISHI-CHO)

- All-Japan Kendo Championship (x8)

- All-Japan 8.dan Kendo Championship (x4)

- World Kendo Championships - 1st place (x3, team)

- All-Japan Police Kendo Championship - 1st place (x2, individual), 1st place (x8, team)

- Tozai Taiko (East/West) Championship - (x1)

This is a tremendous accomplishment. CONGRATULATIONS, REGISTER-SENSEI!

MKA gives birth to new 4.dan sensei!!

Congratulations to Paul Westblade-sensei on successfully passing his 4.dan testing in Atlanta on Saturday, February 26, 2022!

This is a significant achievement for Paul and a great honor for Memphis Kendo Association.  As several people are aware, Paul passed the rank of 2.dan around the turn of the 21st century and then went on sabbatical for about 15 years.  He re-joined Memphis Kendo in 2018, and as a testament to his abilities, was able to pass the rank of 3.dan within a year of his return, which is absolutely no small feat.  After waiting the required minimal time to test for his next rank (3 years), he passed 4.dan on his first attempt, which is, again, no small feat.  The jump from 3.dan to 4.dan is the first (and very) significant step and achievement in a kenshi's career, and for most people --- notably even for those who aren't coming off a 15 year layoff --- it is not uncommon to be unsuccessful in the first few attempts.

With Westblade-sensei's achievement, Memphis Kendo is now able to boast the most sensei-level instructors (5) in its history:

Patrick Register-sensei (5.dan)
Kazuto Yasuda-sensei (5.dan)
Rogers Gossett-sensei (4.dan)
Tommy Ferguson-sensei (4.dan)
Paul Westblade-sensei (4.dan)

Congrats to Paul Westblade-sensei!

Takaaki Nakahama-sensei ~ "Grandfather" of Memphis Kendo Association

Pictured above is Takaaki Nakahama-sensei, Kendo Kyoshi 7.dan, of Iwakuni, Japan --- the Grandfather of Memphis Kendo.  He passed away untimely at age 44 due to cancer in 1989.

The "mon" (family crest) seen on Sensei's dodai in the picture above is that of a Lotus Leaf:
                                                      

2014 SEUSKF Tournament ~ MEMPHIS, TN ~ October 18-19, 2014

Visit this website for details:

http://2014seuskf.blogspot.com/

Congrats to Shinn Taniguchi!

Congrats to Shinn Taniguchi-san on successfully passing his 2.dan promotional in Atlanta over this past weekend!

2012 SEUSKF Shinsa/Taikai Results

Congrats to Shinn Taniguchi for taking 1st place in the Youth A Division of the 2012 SEUSKF tournament!

Congrats also to the successful candidates at the rank testing:
Atsushi Kurihara - 2.dan
Justin Reh - 2.dan
Keita Inaba - 2.kyu
Takayuki Kurihara - 3.kyu
Yuki Kurihara - 5.kyu

2012 SEUSKF Tournament and Promotional

‎2012 SEUSKF Tournament/Promotional Announcement:


Hosted by Georgia Kendo Association (GKA), the event will take place at the Lifetime Fitness Center in Atlanta on the weekend of October 6 and 7.

In a kind of 'twist' of things, the current announcement is that the rank promotional will take place on Saturday (Oct 6) and the tournament will take place on Sunday (Oct 7).

At this time, that's all there is to announce, but more information (along with application form(s) and deadline) will be coming soon.

2012 SEUSFK Western Sub-Region Shinsa Results

Congrats to the successful candidates from this past weekend's shina in Nashville:

Don Crittenden - 3.dan
Martin Tribo - 1.dan
Hiroto Inaba - 2.kyu
Patrick Faulkner - 3.kyu
Keita Inaba - 3.kyu
Takayuki Kurihara - 4.kyu

Memphis Kendo 2nd largest club in SEUSKF!

The 2012 SEUSKF dojo statistics have been released, reflecting that Memphis Kendo is the SECOND LARGEST club in the SEUSKF, among 30 total clubs covering 7 states in Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. Also interesting to note that 3 of the 4 clubs in the state of Tennessee are among the Top Ten largest in the region. The total list: 

1. Georgia Kendo Alliance (Atlanta) - 65 members 

2. MEMPHIS KENDO - 35 members 

3. Northern Virginia Budokai (Wash DC area) - 34 members 

4. Atlanta Kendo Kai (Atlanta) - 32 members 

5. NASHVILLE KENDO CLUB - 31 members 

6. Baltimore-Annapolis Kendo - 28 members 

7. South Florida Kendo Club (Miami) - 27 members 

8. Triangle Kendo and Iaido (Raleigh-Durham, NC) - 25 members 

9. KNOXVILLE KENDO CLUB - 22 members 

10. Koryo Dojo (Richmond, VA) - 21 members 

11. Charlotte Kendo Club (Charlotte, NC) - 17 members 

12. Gulf Coast Kendo Club (Tampa-area, FL) - 

13 members ...... Winthrop Kendo Club (Rock Hill, SC) - 13 members 

14. Summerlin Kendo Club (Bartow, FL) - 12 members 

15. North Raleigh Kendo Club (Raleigh, NC) - 11 members 

16. Tampa Kendo Club (Tampa, FL) - 10 members 

..... Georgia Japanese Language School Kendo Club (Atlanta) - 10 members 

..... Columbia Kendo Club (Columbia, SC) - 10 members 

..... Hampton Roads Kendo Club (Hampton Roads, VA) - 10 members 

20. Shudokan USA (Wash DC) - 9 members 

21. Sedokan Kendo (Boynton Beach, FL) - 8 members 

..... Virginia Beach Kendo and Iaido Club (Virginia Beach, VA) - 8 members 

23. UMBC Kendo Club (Baltimore, MD) - 6 members 

24. Central Florida Kendo Club (Orlando, FL) - 5 members

 ..... East Georgia Kendo Club (Athens, GA) - 5 members 

..... Peachtree City Kendo Association (Atlanta) - 5 members 

27. Seminole Kendo Club (Tallahassee, FL) - 4 members 

..... Tallahassee Kendo Club (Tallahassee, FL) - 4 members 

29. William & Mary Kendo Club (Williamsburg, VA) - 3 members 

30. JACKSON KENDO CLUB (Jackson, TN) - 2 members

Congrats

Congrats to Memphis Kendo's Warren Oster who successfully passed his 1.dan examination in Atlanta over the past weekend!

2012 AUSKF/SEUSKF Dues

2012 AUSKF/SEUSKF Dues --- Beginning this year, ALL Memphis Kendo members are REQUIRED to join AUSKF/SEUSKF. For 2012, dues are: $70 -- 18 yrs old and above $50 -- 17 yrs old and below DEADLINE IS WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 22nd CHECKS PAYABLE TO ***MEMPHIS KENDO *** Please submit your payment to Yasuda-sensei. Also be sure to include YOUR NAME, YOUR DATE OF BIRTH, and YOUR CURRENT RANK (if any). Be advised that you will also be required to sign an AUSKF/SEUSKF waiver of liability form at the same time you submit your payment to Yasuda-sensei. **FORMS WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE TO YOU IN CLASS**

New Members joining Memphis Kendo

After discussion among the Memphis Kendo instructors, it has been decided that, EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY, the club will only be accepting new members the first two weeks of the following months: 

December (2011) 

February (2012)

April 

June 

August

October 

December 

 This info will be cross-posted to the Club FAQ.

22nd SEUSKF Tournament and Testing results

Unofficial results from the 22nd SEUSKF Tournament/Testing held in Murfreesboro, TN:

Shinsa:
William Thornton-Leonard, 2.dan
Lysa Walterhouse, 1.dan
Shinnosuke Taniguchi, 1.dan
Justin Reh, 1.dan
Hiro Inaba, 3.kyu
Keita Inaba, 4.kyu

Taikai (169 Participants at this year's event):
Pat Register - Kanto Sho (Senior Division)
William Thornton-Leonard - 3rd Place (Youth B Division)
Shinn Taniguchi - 3rd Place (Youth C Division)
Justin Reh - 3rd Place (Mudansha Division)

KENDO DEMO ~ THIS SATURDAY, AUG 20

Memphis Kendo has been invited to put on a kendo demonstration at the Germantown International Festival THIS SATURDAY, AUG 20 from 3:30 to 3:45pm.

If you are able to participate in this event, please contact Yasuda-sensei as soon as possible to let him know.

Venue: 
Germantown Baptist Church
9450 Poplar Avenue
Germantown, TN  38139

Congrats to MK Members at the AUSKF Nationals!

This past weekend, several members of the Memphis Kendo competed at the All-U.S. Kendo Federation (AUSKF) National Championships in Atlanta.

Yuki Kasuya took 2nd place in the Senior Youth Division (Boys)
Masumi Kamimura took 2nd place in the Senior Youth Division (Girls)
Walter White took the Fighting Spirit award in the Senior Division

Related news...
The SEUSKF Women's Team took 3rd place in the Team Division (Women)
The SEUSKF Men's Team tied for 4th place in the Team Division (Men)
Shinobu Maeda-sensei took 2nd place in the Senior Division
Michio Kajitani-sensei (Little Rock, SWKIF) took 1st place in the Senior Division

Congrats to all!

MK at 1st Atlanta Taikai

Congratulations to the group of Yuki Kasuya, Masumi Kamimura, Warren Oster, Shinn Taniguchi, and William Thornton-Leonard at the Inaugural (that's 1st) Atlanta Taikai over the Memorial Day weekend.

Competing as a 5-man team (senpo Taniguchi, jiho Thornton, chuken Kamimura, fukusho Kasuya, and taisho Oster), the group had a very tough draw in the brackets.  The team completely swept the Atlanta Kendo Kai's C Team with 5 victories, 2 pts each, but were defeated in the next round by eventual 3rd place finisher, a very physically large GKA-B team.

In the individual divisions, Yuki Kasuya took 1st place in the Sr Youth division and 3rd place in the 3.dan+ division.  Masumi Kamimura took 3rd place in the Women's division and Shinn Taniguchi took 2nd place in the Jr Youth division.

Congrats to all on a good showing!

Congrats!

Congrats to Memphis Kendo's Justin Reh who passed 1.kyu this past weekend in Dallas at the Nabeshima Cup/Texas Open Taikai and Shinsa!

Jackson (TN) Kendo Club to Open (and other news)

SEVERAL NEWS ITEMS OF INTEREST:

**OFFICIAL OPENING OF JACKSON KENDO CLUB**

Tuesday, June 7, 2011 will mark the official opening of the Jackson Kendo Club in Jackson, TN.

The address for the practice (from 7pm to 9pm) is:

160 Campbell Street
Jackson, TN  38301

For more details, please see Justin Reh.
Please make plans to attend that practice if at all possible!

...OTHER NEWS:..

SATURDAY CLASS SCHEDULE ---
Unless otherwise indicated or communicated, Saturday Class will always be from 10am to 12pm, EVERY Saturday.

We will find a room in which to practice upon arrival... ALWAYS BE SURE TO BRING YOUR BOKUTO WITH YOU TO SATURDAY CLASS....  If there is no space available at the community center for regular practice, we will go outside and concentrate on Kendo Kata.

MONDAY CLASS SCHEDULE ---
Monday practice (still open only to those in bogu) will regularly take place in the main room/auditorium.

SATURDAY, MAY 14 -- KOBUDO MARTIAL ARTS EXPO (JACKSON, TN)
There is a scheduled martial arts expo taking place in Jackson on Saturday, May 14.
At this point, we don't have all the information about venue/times, but there is a good possibility Memphis will be invited to do a kendo demonstration.
VENUE:

Jackson State Community College

2046 N Parkway

Jackson, Tennessee

TIME:  12:30pm - 1:30pm (that's the window; actual length of demo to be determined)

AUSKF Member ID #

If you do not know your AUSKF ID #, here is the most-current list on record at SEUSKF:

Abidi - #005826
Barratt - #009015
Bui - #010718
Cole - #005827
Crittenden - #003271
Edge - #003258
Gossett - #003254
Inaba, H. - #010719
Inaba, K. - #011071
Kahre - #005828
Kamimura - #006323
Kasuya - #008052
Oster - #009018
Ransom, D. - #011426
Ransom, G. - #011425
Register - #006325
Reh - #011068
Schaal - #011070
Taniguchi, S. - #007904
Taniguchi, K. - #010721
Thornton, K. - #007907
Thornton-Leonard - #004123
Tribo, M. - #010724
Troyer - #004307
Walterhouse - #009014
White - #003257
Wynne (Sr), R. - #011429
Wynne (Jr), R. - #011428
Yasuda - #003255

Shinsa (Rank Testing) thoughts from Tsuyoshi Inoshita-sensei (7.dan)

Dr. Tsuyoshi Inoshita-sensei

Dr. Tsuyoshi Inoshita -- for those not in the know -- is a long-time friend of Memphis Kendo.  He is a board-certified physician, having practiced medicine for more than 35 years.  He also happens to be a Kendo Kyoshi 7.dan, AUSKF Officer (Recorder), President of the GNEUSKF, and founder of the Cleveland Kendo Association, which hosts arguably one of the largest and best-known perennial kendo tournaments in the country. 

During the weekend of the 23rd Annual Cleveland Taikai (March 26-27, 2011), Inoshita-sensei sat on the grading panel for Sunday's rank testing (up through 4.dan).  He recently offered his personal insights on shinsa, as an examiner, and has graciously granted his permission to have them re-posted here.

Kendo Shinsa - by Tsuyoshi Inoshita on Monday, March 28, 2011

Some questions were raised regarding kendo shinsa this weekend.  Although I am not a kendo expert by any stretch of the imagination, I often sit on the examining board at the local level.  My ideas about kendo shinsa are as follows:

For the shodan/nidan level, the mechanics of strikes with the shinai, body, and spirits in unison, especially with the proper posture, is the most important aspect.  For the sandan/yondan, you have to be able to apply what you have learned into an actual keiko situation.

You can call it understanding of riai of kendo (reasoning behind kendo movements).  It is essentially like moving up from the basics to applications, trivium to quadrivium, or from 教養 to 専門. 

Although it may not be appropriate, let me use the card game, Blackjack, as an example.

In Blackjack, you have to learn the basic rules of the game and be able to hit cards as close to 21 as possible without going over the number.  After this phase, however, you have to learn how to play in relation to the hands of the dealer.  If the dealer has 6 and you have 11, you have to double-down.  If the dealer has an ace and you have 12, then it would be silly to double down.  You cannot just [keep] hitting cards without paying attention to the dealer's hands.

The same thing can be said about kendo.  You have to learn the basics of kendo strikes, but eventually you have to know when and how to use those strikes in relation to your opponent.  Although we cannot overemphasize men strikes -- as they say, kendo starts with men and ends with men --, you cannot keep hitting men.  You have to look at the situation and may have to react accordingly with ojiwaza [counter-attack].  Of course, ultimately we want to reach the level where you make your opponent move with your strong seme and strike your opponent accordingly.

The other important aspect of kendo is that it is an art -- you have to show grace, beauty, elegance, and composure as well as strength.  Incessant, brutal strikes would not make you a sophisticated kendoist.

Let's practice kendo more and harder to make ourselves better kenshi!!

____________________________

Memphis Kendo gratefully thanks Inoshita-sensei for allowing his insight to be posted here for thought and reflection, and congratulates him and the Cleveland Kendo Association on yet another successful taikai!

2011 SEUSKF Members

Well, Kendo is obviously growing a little bit in the SEUSKF...

434 members representing 29 different dojos/clubs over 7 states have signed up for 2011.
This is an increase in 15 members since this time last year.

The Top 10:
1. Georgia Kendo Association -- 44
2. Nashville Kendo Club -- 36
3. Gulf Coast Kendo Club -- 35
    Northern Virginia Budokai -- 35
5. Atlanta Kendo Kai -- 31
    MEMPHIS KENDO  -- 31
7. Baltimore-Annapolis Kendo -- 24
8. Triangle Kendo and Iaido -- 23
9. Koryo Dojo -- 22
10. Knoxville Kendo Club -- 16

Memphis Kendo Members make All-SEUSKF Team!

The All-Southeast U.S. Kendo Federation (SEUSKF) Team has officially been announced.  With 35 total Team Members, almost a full 1/4 of the Team consists of members of Memphis Kendo.

Congratulations to the following Memphis Kendo members who were selected to compete at the AUSKF National Championships this Fall in Atlanta:

Masumi Kamimura (Sr Youth Individual and Women's Team)
Warren Oster (Mudansha Indvidual)
Justin Reh (Mudansha Individual)
Yuki Kasuya (Sr Youth Individual and Sr Youth Team)
William Thornton-Leonard (Sr Youth Individual and Sr Youth Team)
Lysa Walterhouse (Sr Youth Girls Individual)
Shinn Taniguchi (Jr Youth Boys Individual)
Walter White (Seniors Individual)

This is the largest contingency of Memphis Kendo members to be selected to the SEUSKF Team at one time.

The SEUSKF is a regional federation of the All-U.S. Kendo Federation (AUSKF) and consists of 29 different clubs/dojos covering 7 states (Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Maryland, Georgia, Tennessee, and Virginia).

Best of luck to all of our club members in representing not only the SEUSKF, but also the Memphis Kendo Club and its instructors!

Memphis Kendo members selected to previous SEUSKF Teams:
Kazuto Yasuda (Los Angeles, 2002)
Patrick Register (Cleveland, 1996 and Las Vegas, 1999)
Rogers Gossett (Cleveland, 1996 and Las Vegas, 1999)
Masumi Kamimura (Las Vegas, 2008)
Yuka Kamimura (Las Vegas, 2008)
William Thornton-Leonard (Las Vegas, 2008)
Jeremiah Mazurek (Las Vegas, 2008)
Valera Vulfson (Ann Arbor, 2005)

UPDATE ~ American Kitamoto Camp (Seattle) ~ Sept 1-5, 2011

There is still a limit of 30 participants for the camp.  If more than 30 people are interested in attending, there will be a selection process (out of necessity).

Visit the website:
http://americankendo.com/

...which includes a registration form if you are interested in participating.

There is also a Facebook page for this event:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=186075221406744

Jackson (TN) Kendo Club

Memphis Kendo's Justin Reh (2.kyu) is in the very early stages of trying to start a kendo program up the road in Jackson, TN.

A Facebook page for the program was recently created, so if you're on Facebook, please check it out and consider clicking on the LIKE button to show your support!

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jackson-Kendo-Club/176038672433187?v=wall

New SEUSKF Board of Directors announced

Results from the recent SEUSKF Board of Directors election have been announced.

Arai, Kunitoshi
Barr, Ryoko
Canada, Tina
Eitel, Robert
Hyun, Phillip
Maeda, Shinobu
Scanlon, Wayne
Souder, Robert
Watson, Mike

The new Board will meet in January to elect officers.

2011 AUSKF Education Tour

Kunihide KODA-sensei (Kyoshi, 8.dan) of Ibaragi, Japan will be conductin an education tour for the eastern region of the United States in February 2011. 

Koda-sensei is a professor at Tsuba University (Kendo Section Head). 

His SEUSKF visit will take place in Atlanta on Wed-Fri, February 9th - 11th.

This is the only information available for the time being.
(Potential seminar registration fees, scheduling, topics to be covered, etc. are not known at this time but will be made available as soon as possible).

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN GOING TO THIS EVENT (doesn't necessarily have to be all 3 days), PLEASE LET ME KNOW AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

(UPDATE) AUSKF National Championships

The 2011 AUSKF National Championships will be held on the campus of Emory University in Atlanta, GA.

The DATES for the event have been set for FRIDAY AND SATURDAY, AUGUST 12th-13th.
The dinner banquet will be Saturday night, of course, with no events scheduled for Saturday in order to permit travel back home on Sunday.

Keep in mind that SEUSKF Team tryouts are limited to certain individuals (see previous post on that matter) who have voluntarily committed to competing at the tournament should they are selected to the team.

Kunitoshi Arai-sensei passes 7.dan

Congrats to Arai-sensei of Georgia Kendo Association, who passed 7.dan this past weekend in Atlanta!

2010 SEUSKF Tournament and Testing Results

Congrats to a good showing by Memphis Kendo Club members at the 2010 SEUSKF tournament held this past weekend in Knoxville.  Cpmplete Tournament results will be posted as soon as the info is received.

TESTING RESULTS:
Yuki Kasuya - 3.dan
William Thornton-Leonard - 1.dan
Warren Oster - 1.kyu
Martin Tribo - 1.kyu
Rigelle Tran - 1.kyu
Lysa Walterhouse - 1.kyu
Shinnosuke Taniguchi - 1.kyu
Kazuo Taniguchi - 2.kyu
Justin Reh - 2.kyu
Courtney Schaal - 4.kyu
Keita Inaba - 5.kyu
Ryo Komaru - 5.kyu

TOURNAMENT RESULTS:
Youth Division A:
1st Place - Shinnosuke Taniguchi

Youth Division B:
3rd Place - William Thornton-Leonard

Youth Division C:
1st Place - Yuki Kasuya

Women's Division:
3rd Place - Masumi Kamimura

1.dan-3.dan Division:
1st Place - Yuki Kasuya

Mudansha Division:
Kanto Sho - Martin Tribo

SEUSKF Western Region Shinsa Results (Nashville testing results)

This past weekend, several members of Memphis Kendo travelled to Nashville for the 2010 SEUSKF's Western Region seminar and rank promotion. Players also made the trek from Little Rock (SWKIF), New Orleans, Knoxville, and Atlanta.

Congratulations to everyone!

Warren Oster - 2.kyu

Martin Tribo - 2.kyu

Shinn Taniguchi - 2.kyu

Lysa Walterhouse - 3.kyu

**Kazuo Taniguchi - 4.kyu

**Hiroto Inaba - 4.kyu

**Rigelle Tran - 4.kyu

**Phy Tran - 4.kyu

** Val Barratt - 5.kyu

**denotes first promotional