Commercial Appeal article ~ May 2005 (Part 2)

Commerical Appeal article ~ May 2005 (Part 3)

>Bill Holt: Father of Kendo in the South

Arata Takiwara, Ken Strawn, Bill Holt, Harry Watanabe

The first Kendo dojo south of the Mason-Dixon line (with the possible exception of the Houston dojo started by Darell Craig) began in Atlanta in 1977 with Bill Holt, shodan, as the first instructor, and Harry Watanabe as his assistant. William Charles Holt was born in Fort Smith, Arkansas in 1938. The family moved to Decatur, Georgia where Bill was a standout on the Decatur High School Football team. He would later play semi-pro football when he was stationed in Southern California. Bill joined the marines after graduating from high school and would spend ten of the next twenty years in the far east. While stationed in Japan, he began Judo, eventually becoming All-Marine Corps Champion five times. In July of 1959, Bill married Sayoko Takaki. While in the Marine Corps, Bill took undergraduate degrees in psychology and related areas from the University of Hawaii and the University of Maryland. In 1974, Bill broke his arm doing Judo and his Judo sensei recommended that he take up Kendo to strengthen his arm. He began Kendo in the Shobukan Dojo in Hiroshima, Japan under Nomura Sensei (7-Dan). Upon retirement from the Marines in 1977, Bill entered West Georgia College (now the State University of West Georgia) in Carrollton, Georgia to work on his Masters Degree in Psychology. While there, he established the college Judo club. Searching for Judo supplies, he entered a martial arts supply shop owned and operated by Haruhide Harry Watanabe in Smyrna, Georgia. In the course of their conversation, Bill mentioned he was a shodan in Kendo and the following conversation ensued: Harry: Would you like to join our Kendo club? Bill: Oh, there is a Kendo club in Atlanta? Harry: There is now and you're the teacher. Thus began the first Kendo practice in the Southeast, initially called the Shobukan Kendo Dojo and later renamed the Georgia Kendo Alliance to include the practices at Peachtree City and a children's practice at the Atlanta's Georgia Japanese Language School.

Bill finished his Master's Degree and went on to receive a Doctor of Jurisprudence from the Woodrow Wilson College of Law. Georgia Kendo Alliance joined the Eastern United States Kendo Federation, centered in New York City. Bill and Harry participated in the first United States National Championships in Los Angeles in 1978 as members of EUSKF. At the Second US National Championships in Chicago in 1981, Bill’s nephew David, who had moved in with Bill and Sayoko three years earlier, placed third in the Youth group. GKA also hosted the very first Eastern US Kendo Championship Tournament in 1979. The problems of administering a dojo 850 miles from the rest of the Federation led Bill to envision a Southern Kendo Federation. Eventually there were enough Kendo clubs in the South to justify a separate federation. At the meeting of the National Board of Directors preceding the Fourth United States National Championship Tournament in New York City, Bill, with the full support of the EUSKF, applied for the Southeastern United States Kendo Federation to become the ninth regional federation of the Kendo Federation of the United States of America (KFUSA) and was accepted, effective January 1, 1988. Shortly afterward, Bill and Sayoko returned to Japan where Bill accepted a position to teach at Kumamoto Kodai Gakku, a private high school. Someday Bill will return to Georgia and be greatly surprised by the growth of the small federation he founded. ###

Article published in the SEUSKF NEWS, December 2001, volume 4, Number 3.
More Info: www.georgiakendo.com

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

>The Heart of Kendo

The aim of Kendo, and all Japanese martial arts ( Budo ), is not the perfection of a physical technique but the development of a flowing, flexible mind – a mind that is able to react to anything it confronts, instinctively, fearlessly, and without hesitation, regardless of the situation.

Harutane Chiba Sensei ( Hokushin Itto Ryu ) had a parable about water as it relates to training. “When you practice kata (forms) or shiai (free fight), the mind should always be the same: calm as a pond of water. Still water is like a mirror: it gives a picture of everything that is around it. But when the pound is disturbed, it reflects only the turmoil within its depts. One should always approach shiai with a composure like the reflection on water in a pond, so the mind is relaxed, ready to see the slightest movment of your opponent.”

To understand Budo properly you must coordinate your mental spirit with your physical body. The smallest movement in Kendo requires this coordination of body and mind. The body has no feeling without the five senses of the mind, yet the mind cannot exist without the presence of the physical body. If you do not coordinate these two elements, it would be like one hand trying to clap. Only when you both palms together will you produce the sound you seek. Only when you learn, through constant practice, to coordinate the body and the mind will you be able to realize their true function.


“The Heart of Kendo”
-Darrell Max Craig with /qv. of Chiba Sensei
http://www.shambhala.com/

Breath Control in Kendo

Originally printed Kendo World Magazine, Vol. 1 Issue 1, 2001.
by Steven Harwood.

So what is different about breathing in kendo? In kendo you are sometimes taught to breathe through your `belly' or to use abdominal breathing a term used widely to denote a method of breathing that utilises the abdominal muscles (largely the diaphragm) in contrast to typical chest-based breathing in which the main respiratory muscles are the intercostal muscles. However, the abdominal breathing taught in kendo is rather different to conventional abdominal breathing. For instance, in conventional abdominal breathing your abdomen swells out when you breathe in and `deflates' when you breathe out. However, in Kendo you are taught always to keep some tension in your lower abdomen with the result that the abdomen never `deflates' during exhalation and some kendo teachers advocate `reverse abdominal breathing' in which the lower abdomen actually swells during exhalation. Kendo's abdominal breathing has aims that go beyond simple respiratory gas exchange and is intrinsically connected with kendo's transfer of emphasis, not only physically but also psychologically, from the upper body to the lower body a holistic transfer of centre downwards.

The traditional oriental link between psychological state and breathing is now well documented and supported by scientific research. When you are in a calm psychological state your breathing is, of course, controlled and regular. It also tends to be deep abdominal breathing. When you are stressed and panicked your breathing will tend to `rise' becoming shallow and rapid, the extreme being hyperventilation. This idea of stability being `low' ("calm down") and excitement being `high' ("temper rises") is present in the West also, but the relationship between psyche and breathing is two-way. Breathing is affected by psychological state but can also effect a change in psychological state. Although breathing usually functions unconsciously it is one of the few such bodily functions that can be adjusted consciously resulting in the concept of breath control. This has long been utilised in the East where meditation technique usually attempts to replicate the breathing pattern of calmness, i.e. abdominal breathing, to attain a calm psychological state.

Indeed, that most Japanese of ascetic training, Zen, posits training of body (posture), breathing and mind as its essential elements. This extended essay will not attempt to explain kendo in terms of Zen Buddhism. I intend to keep the focus for the large part on breath control in actual technique. However, the principles of Kendo as laid down by the All-Japan Kendo Federation stipulate that its aim should be, through training in the techniques of kendo, to change you as a person. Kendo is said to be comprised of three types of training: physical; mental and ethical; it is a path, a michi, which should transform you not only physically but also lead to a different way of being psychologically, this is its stated purpose.

Therefore, as breath control seemed to be an important element in other Japanese ascetic training methods, it seemed to me that it might be equally important in kendo. If it were, then a study of it would reveal much not only about technique, the so-called physical aspect of the art, but also about the psychological content needed to attain the very highest levels. At the same time, if, through the medium of breath control, technique functioned simultaneously on both physical and psychological levels, it would shed light, in very concrete terms, on the oriental concept of mind-body unity, and lend credence to the martial arts' claims to be something more than physical exercise.

Over the next few issues I will examine how abdominal breathing is manifested in kendo starting from basic posture and clothing; footwork, basic striking actions and training patterns such as kiri-kaeshi and kakari-geiko. I will look at the relationship between abdominal breathing and ki-ai (vocalisation). I will consider its role in seme-ai (mutual probing for weaknesses prior to the strike); and look at how it can be taught in kata (form practice). Finally I will look at how some very senior kendo practitioners use it to enhance their training and consider its function at the very top level of the art.

The Sword Is the Person

Always remember that your style and behavior in Kendo will accurately reflect your personality. A quick-tempered player will produce quick-tempered Kendo. Likewise, a casual attitude will produce a casual style of Kendo. It goes without saying that you must have a large-scale personality to practice large-scale Kendo. One who performs particularly splendid Kendo will be the product of everything that he has lived and experienced. Your experiences and your life will inevitably affect your Kendo. You must cultivate both your mind and your body if you are to grasp the true essence of Kendo.

Enthusiasm and single-mindedness are the two most important qualities required for successful Kendo. In his Academic Learning as Work, Max Weber writes: “People who do not have the enthusiasm which enables them to feel no regret over the thought of spending a whole lifetime investigating one missing letter from an old moth-eater manuscript are unsuited to academic learning.” In Kendo, too, there are people who say “I perform keiko in order to strike just one perfect men.” The idea behind this is fundamental to Kendo, and shows that if the purpose is not to achieve fame, neither is to boast. A single-minded enthusiasm, with no expectation of material reward, is vital.

“The definitive guide of Kendo”
-Hiroshi Ozawa

Tournament and Promotional Results

We had a great time at the tournament and are sorry for those who wanted to make the trip, but couldn't.

There were over 140 players and 20 teams that competed at this tournament, which may prove to be the largest contingency in SEUSKF tournament history.

Here are the final results of each division. Congrats to all!
(note: Kanto Sho is the "Fighting Spirit" award)

Junior Youth (up to 13 years):
1st - Eamon Felton-Curtice (TMG)
2nd - Eun Park (GKA)
3rd - Hayato DeSouza (GKA)
3rd - Ah ???? (Koryo - Richmond, VA)

Senior Youth (14-17 yr olds)
1st - Yuki DeSouza (GKA)
2nd - Eric A. Gaddis (Karate Int. - Raleigh, NC)
3rd - Justin Moon (Washington)
3rd - G. Park (GKA)
Kanto Sho - Skaura Matsushita

Mudansha (18 & up, under Black Belt)
1st - Jason Lane (Charlotte)
2nd - Daryl Weade (Koryo)
3rd - Yasuhiro Yokote (Charlotte)
3rd - Tae Young Park (GKA)
Kanto Sho - Karina Vas (Orlando)

Shodan-Nidan
1st - Valera Vulfson (Memphis Kendo Club)
2nd - Chang Suk Oh (GKA)
3rd - Sekita ??? (TMG)
3rd - Herman Sai Perez Uehara (Triangle)
Kanto Sho - Katalin Nieves (South Florida)

Sandan and above
1st - Masaru Shimada (Charlotte Kendo Club)
2nd - Shinobu Maeda (TMG)
3rd - Frank Nieves (South Florida)
3rd - William Collazo (Shidogakuin Miami)
Kanto Sho - Royoko Barr (GKA)

Teams
1st - Charlotte Kendo Club
2nd - Triangle Kendo Club
3rd - TMG
3rd - Charleston Kendo Club

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Would also like to congratulate those from our dojo who passed their promotional:
Rogers Gossett - 3rd dan
Don Crittendon - 1st dan
Walter White - 1st dan

Welcome to the Memphis Kendo Blog!

This is the official blog of Memphis Kendo.  We practice the martial art of kendo, which is based on the principles of the katana (sword).  It is a fascinating art and a challenging sport.   We are based in Memphis, Tennessee and have approximately 30 members.    Come join us!