CKF NEWS
A official publication of the Canadian Kendo Federation, supporting Kendo, Iaido and Jodo	Issue 9 Sept 2000  http://kendo-canada.com

AT FIRST LOOK

I suspect the secret is mostly letting people know where you are so don't be afraid to put the word out.
 

I also note in several of the reports on summer camps that the younger generation of kendoka are starting to take a leading role. This is great, it's time the senior sensei got some help and it's wonderful to see the maturation of the federation. I hope I'll be around to see the same thing happening in the junior sections of iaido and jodo.

Speaking of which, the CKF now has a third section of practice with the beginning of national jodo grading at the Guelph Iaido/Jodo seminar in May. I hope you'll all join me in welcoming the new "little brother" to the family.
 

There is a couple of ways to get in touch with your fellow CKF members on the web that I'd like to mention.
 

1. The CKF website www.kendo-canada.com has a list of member dojo and their practice times (check yours!), a bit of a gift shop, and a guestbook. On the first page you'll see three links, two of them lead to a digital video of iaido and jodo. The third, for kendo is not linked yet because I haven't got around to videoing a bit of kendo. I promise it's high on the list! I also plan to get my ugly puss off of the iaido and jodo videos asap. A bit further down on the page you'll see a button that says join egroups. Click this!
 

2. The kendo-canada email list can be joined by clicking this button or by sending an email to: kendo-canada-subscribe@egroups.com and I would like to ask at least one person from each dojo to join. This is a typical email list with messages from each person going out to the rest of the list but there are also other parts of the site that you can access. The most important is the calendar which you can update with events that your club is hosting. Other parts provide disk space to put up photos or other files to share, a chat room, polls you can set up, links you can share and a database (don't ask me I haven't a clue what you'd use it for but it's there if you want to play with it). Check it out.
 

I think you'll all like what's happening in the federation over the next several months, it sure sounds good to me.
 

Kim Taylor

Editor
 

UPCOMING EVENTS
 

Sept 24, Jodo Workshop 12-5pm Guelph
Sept 27, JCCC Kendo club Hosts Osaka Kendo Delegation (info. In the news section)
Oct 1, Renseikan Dojo Opening, Pickering
Oct 8, Quebec Open Kendo Tournament in Montreal
Oct 12-15, Kendo Tournament in VENEZUELA (info. In the news section)
Oct 13-15, AEMMA western sword seminar/JCCC Budo celebration Toronto
Oct 21,22 Guelph Fall Sword Festival
Oct 22, Ontario Junior Kendo Tournament (info. In the news section)
Oct 28, Iaido/Kendo seminar, Ottawa
Nov 11, Kendo Tournament in Chicago (info. In the news section)
Nov 12, Jodo Workshop 12-5pm Guelph
Nov 12, Ontario Senior Kendo Tournament (info. In the news section)
Nov 25,26 Jodo seminar with S. Namitome hanshi.
Nov 26, CKF Jodo Gradings JCCC Toronto
Dec 3, CKF kendo/iaido gradings JCCC Toronto
 

38th ANNUAL STEVESTON KENDO TOURNAMENT
 - February 12, 2000
9 Years and Under
1st place - F. Michioka, NCKF
2nd place - N. Marumo, Sunrise
3rd place - H. Yamada, Vancouver
3rd place - L. Murao, Steveston

10 to 12 Years
1st place - K. Mori, NCKF
2nd place - R. Campbell, Steveston
3rd place - S. Inouye, Youshinkan
3rd place - K. Amadatsu, Steveston

13 to 15 Years
1st place - M. Omura, SCKF
2nd place - S. Yoo, SCKF
3rd place - K. Michioka, NCKF
3rd place - K. Kaneyoshi, Vancouver

Ladies 16 Years and Over
1st place - W. Nakano, Steveston
2nd place - M. Taguchi, Sunrise
3rd place - E. Marsten, UW
3rd place - R. Kubo, Hawaii

Non-Degree
1st place - J. Higo, Steveston
2nd place - G. Suzaka, Cascade
3rd place - E. Dycus, UW
3rd place - A. Oki, Cascade

1st to 3rd Dan
1st place - D. Yang, SCKF
2nd place - I. Miki, Sunrise
3rd place - E. Yamashita, Ontario
3rd place - G. Matsubayashi, Hawaii

4th Dan and Above
1st place - S. Asaoka, Youshinkan
2nd place - B. Asa, Ontario
3rd place - M. Raymond, Ontario
3rd Place - D. Taguchi, Sunrise

Junior Team
1st place - SCKF
2nd place - Youshinkan

Senior Team
1st place - SCKF
2nd place - Youshinkan

Akune Scholarship - Bill Chung
 

2000 West Coast Iaido Embu.
The Embu was held on Feb 13, 2000 in the Steveston Martial Arts Center. Twenty three braves souls from five schools and three organizations showed of their stuff.  They are listed below:

Mudansha
Nathan Lingle, Hokusei-iai (MJER, ZNIR),  M. Naruki, (MJER, ZNIR) Shodan
Anthony Pope, Hokusei-iai (MJER, ZNIR),  Paul Khan, UBC (MJER, ZNIR) Glen Bowers, Ishi Yama Ryu,  Garry Blaine, Shindo Munen Ryu,  Ben Lower, Ishi Yama Ryu
Nidan
Natan Cheifetz, Shin Ken Kai (MJER, ZNKR),  Tim Wilmot, Ishi Yama Ryu Judith Mack, Obukan (MSR),  Amie Hillaby, Shin Ken Kai (MJER, ZNKR) Lynda White, UBC (MJER, ZNIR)
Sandan
Darryl Louie, UBC (MJER, ZNIR),  Peter Hubert, Shin Ken Kai (MJER, ZNKR)
Jeff Nadeau, Shin Ken Kai (MJER, ZNKR),  Chee Ling, Shin Ken Kai (MJER, ZNKR)
Yondan
Catherine Maneker, Shin Ken Kai (MJER, ZNKR),  Bruce Campbell, Shin Ken Kai (MJER, ZNKR)
Hiro Inoue, UBC (MJER, ZNIR),  Daniel Kempling, Shindo Munen Ryu Rokudan
Russell McCartney, Ishi Yama Ryu
Ken Maneker, Shin Ken Kai (MJER, ZNKR)

Several things made this a great event.  The chance (and the pressure) to perform in from of our peers added a certain flavour and sharpens everyone.  Those who also attended last year got the chance to see the growth of others.  This year we had tamashigiri which many had never seen.  Finally the discussion afterwards was a highlight for all.
Special thanks to Russell McCartney of Ishiyama Ryu for allowing people to try cutting and to Ken Maneker-sensei for a beautiful display of Rokudan-level iai and in leading the tachiuchi-no-kurai.

A final thank you to all participants and spectators who took part in the Tea and Talk.  This year the topic was "Why do you Practice?". Almost everyone spoke to the topic as well as to several interesting side topics such as "What stops you from Practicing".  It was great get input from everyone - beginner to seasoned participants.

From the feedback surveys there was 100% agreement on the time (mid-February) and format.  So you can pencil in the second Sunday in Feb 2001 for the next embu.  We hope everyone will return, new people will attend and more kobudo arts will be added (jo, naginata, bo, etc). We will also think about adding teaching seminars for common topics like tenouchi, kirioshi, basic posture, maai, etc.  Watch Iaido-l for details.

In you have questions of comments on the West Coast Iaido Embu please contact me directly

Sincerely
Bruce Campbell
Shin Ken Kai Iaido
Vancouver, BC, CANADA
 

2000 Saskatoon Seminar Report
The 2000 Saskatoon Kendo Seminar was held on March 4th and 5th.  This was  our most successful seminar ever, with about 50 participants from  Saskatoon, Regina, Winnipeg, Calgary and Banff. We would like to thank the Canadian Kendo Federation and the B.C. Kendo Federation for their  support of this important annual event.

The head instructor was Shinichi Koike, from North West Kendo Club in  Seattle.  Koike-sensei was assisted by Bob Takagaki of Steveston Kendo  Club and David Mori of Brantford Kendo Club.  This was Mori-sensei's first  visit to Saskatoon. Koike-sensei and Takagaki-sensei were both returning  for their second visit.  We were pleasantly surprised when Shuya Shiono  of Banff came.  Shiono-sensei recently started up kendo again after a long  absence.  The host instructor was Ken Miyaoka of Saskatoon.

Koike-sensei taught seminars on Saturday morning and Sunday afternoon.  In  both sessions, he emphasized basics.  Takagaki-sensei commented that the  emphasis on basics made him consider just how hard the basics are. Koike-sensei's reply was that he was only teaching what he himself was  working on, and that he would take a similar approach even with national  team members.

Saturday afternoon we held our usual small taikai, which everyone enjoyed,  and followed that with dinner and a few games of pool.  Sunday morning  included a kata practice and a grading.  We had 12 candidates for ikkyu  and 9 candidates for shodan, of which 9 and 7 passed, respectively.

The results of the taikai are as follows:

Kids
1. Koichi Izumi (Regina)
2. Liam Meyer (Saskatoon)

Women
1. Fumiko Kitahara (Winnipeg)
2. Corie Namba (Winnipeg)

Mudansha
1. David Taguchi (Banff)
2. Koichiro Miyamoto (Winnipeg)

1-2 Dan
1. Masashi Tamura (Regina)
2. Lance Wall (Saskatoon)

3+ Dan
1. David Mori (Brantford)
2. Shuya Shiono (Banff)
 

UT Kendo Tournament
March 2000

Mudansha
1st: Minwoo Park, Il Kum Soon Do Kwan
2nd: Raymond Kim, York University
3rd: David Stankaitis, Montrèal; Joon Jung, York University

Women's Individual
1st: Yukiko Koriyama, JCCC
2nd: Catherine Thomson, JCCC
3rd: Yoko Kamata, Etobicoke; Lisa Yu, University of Waterloo

First and Second Degree
1st: Kunito Watanabe, Montrèal
2nd: Suresh Naidu, University of Waterloo
3rd: Makoto Adachi, Brock University; Huges Renaud, Takahashi

Third Dan and Up
1st: Robin Tanaka, University of Waterloo
2nd: Kyotaka Kamata, Etobicoke
3rd: Jin-Hwan Lee, York University; Yukiko Koriyama, JCCC

Team:
1st: JCCC A (Yukiko Koriyama, Seiji Kanno, Shane Asa, Taihei Juniri, Steve Nakatsu)
2nd: University of Waterloo A (Sung Yong Shim, Suresh Naidu, Kazuyoshi Hao, Hyun-June Choi, Robin Tanaka)
3rd: University of Toronto A, Etobicoke A

Fighting Spirit Award: Rob Perry, Etobicoke
Danny Saruyama Memorial Award: Evan Hastie, University of Waterloo.
 
 

25th ANNUAL U. WASHINGTON KENDO TOURNAMENT,

April 8, 2000

0-4 Kyu
1st place - J. Syring, Bellevue
2nd place - K. Lee, Renton
3rd place - J. Arntson, UW
3rd place - S. Moon, UBC

1-3 Kyu
1st place - J. Higo, Steveston
2nd place - D. Shiroo, WSU
3rd place - S. Yen, Seattle
3rd place - E. Dycus, UW

Women's Open
1st place - W. Nakano, Steveston
2nd place - E. Marsten, UW
3rd place - H. Okawara, Sunrise
3rd place - T. Anderson, Bellevue

1-3 Dan
1st place - G. Suzaka, Cascade
2nd place - D. DeJong, Highline
3rd place - A. Ueno, Vancouver
3rd place - N. Nakano, Steveston

4 Dan and Up
1st place - J. Watanabe, Sunrise
2nd place - B. McCarry, Highline
3rd place - D. Yotsuuye, Bellevue
3rd place - D. Harding, UBC

Team
1st place - Vancouver
2nd place - Steveston

Shoji Inspirational - Elizabeth Marsten

Ontario Junior Kendo Championships
May 21

-Bryan Asa

Just wanted to thank all of our participants, volunteers (from many dojo across Ontario) and sensei for an exciting Ontario Junior Kendo Championships held Sunday May 21. It was the first Kendo Tournament to be held at the new Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre (JCCC) at 6 Garamond Court. In addition, the tournament marked the return of the Basic Skills (non-bogu) competition and an increase in participation from previous years (which represents a great accomplishment given Detroit Kendo Club did not participate this year). Below are the results of the tournament. Once again we would like to thank all of our helpers with special recognition to Sanji Kanno Sensei (Referee in Chief), Park Sensei and his members (IKSDK demonstrating impressive progress) and Yoshida Sensei for an excellent lunch!!!
 

Basic Skills
1 T. Kato JCCC
2 K. Shibasaki JCCC
3 Z. Auzam JCCC

10 yrs and Under
1 JH. Lee IKSDK
2 K. Kibe Etobicoke
3 E. Kwon IKSDK

11-13yrs
1 J. Luy JCCC
2 P. Nakashima JCCC
3 R. Kato JCCC

14-15yrs
1 Y. Chavez Etobicoke
2 K. Enokido JCCC
3 SH. Lee JCCC

Team
1 JCCC A (K. Enokido, SH Lee and J. Luy)
2 Eto A (Y. Chavez, M. Wakabayashi and S. Kamata)

(exciting and close match as the winning team was not decided until the very last 4 seconds of the final match)

American Midwest tournament

The American Midwest tournament was held on the May 28 weekend in Detroit, Michigan with Ontario Kendo well represented with approximately 20 players from Etobicoke, JCCC, Tateyama (Ottawa), UofW and UofT. While the day was long (even with 6 courts), a great time was had by all.

Team Ontario enjoyed the following results:

Junior 15yrs and Under Individual 1st Place: Kazuyuki Enokido (JCCC)

Junior Team 2nd Place: Ontario A/Etobicoke Team (Shiho Kamata, Megumi Wakabayashi and June LeBlanc. 3rd Place: Ontario B/JCCC Team (Lisa Kanno, Yumiko Hao and Kazuyuki Enokido)

1st - 2nd Dan Individual 3rd Place: Chiharu Hao

Womens Individual 1st Place: Yukiko Kohriyama, 2nd Place: Chiharu Hao 3rd Place: Hana Ariga ('beautiful' men in the first round)

3rd Dan and Up Individual 2nd Place: Bryan Asa

Team 1st Place: Chiharu Hao, Eddie Yamashita, Taihei Juniri, Robin Tanaka, Bryan Asa
 

British Columbia Kendo Federation Junior Championships

- June 4, 2000, Steveston

Beginners Eliminations
1st place - C. Morimoto, Steveston
2nd place - N. Chang, Steveston
3rd place - T. Kikuchi, Steveston
3rd place - K. Turner, Steveston

10 Years and Under Eliminations
1st place - A. Tajiri, Renbu
2nd place - R. Aramaki, Sunrise
3rd place - L. Murao, Steveston
3rd place - N. Marumo, Sunrise

11-13 Years Eliminations
1st place - S. Marumo, Sunrise
2nd place - R. Nakata, Renbu
3rd place - Q. Morimoto, Steveston
3rd place - B. Imanishi, Cascade

14-15 Years Eliminations
1st place - J. Marsten, Highline
2nd place - M. Tajiri, Renbu
3rd place - H. Merley, Highline

Junior Team
1st place - Cascade
2nd place - Renbu

Red and White
1st place - B. Imanishi, Cascade
2nd place - R. Marumo, Sunrise
3rd place - J. Marsten, Highline

Fighting Spirit - E. Lachica, Cascade and G. Mizutani, Renbu.
 

Guelph School of Japanese Sword Arts

-Deborah Klens-Bigman, July 2000

Well, not to brag, but I just returned from U. of Guelph for Kim sama's annual Japanese sword fest. In spite of a lower turnout than we had last year, I had a great time. Actually, a lower turnout meant more attention from all the teachers, which I tried to take full advantage of.

At the kyudo workshop on Friday, we had perfect weather for outdoor shooting-- Sunny/cloudy and not too warm or windy. Contrary to some more crowded kyudo sessions, I was able to hold onto the same set of equipment, and had the attention of not one, but TWO instructors, all day long.

The Friday panel on spirituality in the martial arts created some lively discussion with the audience, even beyond the endurance of the panel, who started to feel real thirsty after awhile. Fortunately, we eventually adjourned to Gryph's pub across the street for more, uh, debate.

I spent Sat. and Sun. with not one but two excellently qualified naginata teachers, and I even got an hour or so to do some sword swinging on my own, a rare occurrence. The Saturday demo was even more varied than usual, since it featured some medieval European swordplay in addition to various iaido ryu, naginata, etc., etc. Not to mention the naginata/kendo grudge match..... Not to mention the rematch of same on Sunday afternoon.

Thanks to my co-organizers, Kim Taylor and Ray Sosnowski, all the instructors, and all my panelists -- Ray, Peter Boylan, Scott Brady and Lisa Brooks-- for a great weekend. We trained, we ate, we drank, we slept. Life should be like that all the time <sigh>.
 

Sunrise Kendo Camp

-Bruce Campbell

I represent Sunrise Kendo Club. We have two locations Honbu (home) Dojo in the Hastings Community Center in Vancouver, and the Coquitlam location in the Pinetree Community Center 1260 Pinetree Way, Coquitlam.

Last Saturday (sept. 2) we held our first Kendo Camp at the Nikkei Center - a brand new Japanese Cultural Center in Burnaby. About 30 people attended and we spent all day working on kata, kihon, reiho (Manners), and keiko.

We plan to hold this camp annually in lieu of a taikai. Next year we hope to hold the event a little later in the Fall to allow those dojo that do not practice in the summer to get up to speed. Eventually we hope to expand the event into a two-day gassuku and invite senior sensei from Japan as guest teachers.
 

Junior/Beginner Adult Kendo Camp

-Bryan Asa

Just wanted to thank and applaud the 17 "brave" participants who attended this year's (Sept. 2-3) Junior / Beginner Adult Kendo Camp on the weekend. This year's camp was the first to be held at the new JCCC and to include non-bogu players. With only one actual Kendo day, we had to cram all the Kendo-related activities (morning exercises, lessons on etiquette, Kendo basics, drills, lessons on refereeing, folding keiko-gi and hakama, proper packing of bogu, and "tough" kakarikeiko) into one day. We hope that all participants made new friends and had a lot of fun. The final practice involved a shiai between the students and instructors where each instructor was handicapped for the match (eg. shorter shinai, ankles tied together, restriction on points, etc.). The final match was between Juniri Sensei and 5 students.

We would like to thank Michael Attard, Kazuyuki, Yumiko, Yuuki, Shiho, Ryo, Taku, Agnes, Man-Kwan, ManSan, Grace, Kentaro Miura, Paul, Michael Poon, Ken Shibasaki, Megumi and Andrea for coming out. Everybody played very well (and survived). In addition, we would like to thank all the instructors (Bryan Asa, Steve Nakatsu, Shane Asa, Matthew Raymond, Robin Tanaka, Kiyotaka Kamata, Andrew Asa, Eddie Yamashita, and Dave Young) and volunteers (Gary Nakashima, Mr+Mrs Ma and Mrs. Kamata). A special thanks goes out to Mr. Taihei Juniri for bringing new ideas and lessons to our camp. He will also be forever known for his "enthusiasm" during the motodachi kakarikeiko lesson.

We would also like to thank the participants of the upcoming Kendo Golf Fund Raising event which will contribute to the operation of the camp. Thanks!!
 

Saskatoon Kendo Club Moves

-Neil Gendzwill,

The main club news for Saskatoon Kendo Club is that we've moved. We're now part of the Saskatoon YMCA's martial arts program, and our practice times are Sundays from 3-5 and Wednesdays from 7-9, starting Sept 17.
 

JCCC Kendo Club

CLUB SCHEDULE September 2000

Sun Sept 10 First Regular Practice of the 1999-2000 Season
Tue 26 Welcome party for Osaka Kendo Delegation*
Wed 27 Goodwill Practice and Goodwill Shiai*

* Toronto will be welcoming back the student Kendo delegation from Osaka University led by Hamaguchi Sensei and Tsubouchi Sensei. A welcome party will be held for the delegation on Tuesday and a Special Goodwill Practice and Shiai for all Canadian Kendoists to get the opportunity to practise with the Osaka students will be hosted on Wednesday at the JCCC from 7:00-9:00pm.
 

October

FROM THE VENEZUELAN KENDO FEDERATION:

Dear Friends,
Last year October, we held our first Copa del Caribe in Aruba. For the first time, Kendoka from Dominican Republic, Venezuela and Aruba as well as visitors from NY attended this tournament, which was won by Mr. Sawada of the Dominican Republic. Ebihara Sensei 7 Dan from Ken Zen NY supervised this successful event. This time, we plan to organize this event once again but this time in Maracaibo, Venezuela. The dates will probably be October 12-15 (Thursday -Sunday). We cordially invite you and your dojo members to participate in this event.

The provisional program is as follows:

Thursday 12 Arrival of delegations. Welcome keiko in the evening. Friday 13 Seminar lead by Sensei Daniel Ebihara Kyoshi 7th Dan(morning). (afternoon) Visit to the Indian Village on Sinamaica Lake (birth place of Venezuela's name).

Saturday 14 Individual competition (morning) and Team competition (afternoon). Farewell Keiko. Sayonara Party. Sunday 15 Exams (morning). Departure of delegations (afternoon).

The main objective of this event is to foster and expand Kendo activities in the South American and Central American zone. We therefore invite all kendoka from the Americas and other parts of the world to join in this tropical Caribbean Kendo event.

For more information, please contact: VENEZUELAN KENDO FEDERATION Atten. Alejandro Guilln: phone /fax: + 58-61-524234

e-mail: la_gocha@yahoo.com

We hope to see you in Maracaibo!
 

JCCC Fall Festival

Sat Oct14 - Sun 15

The JCCC will be hosting a Fall Festival with a focus on martial arts. Demonstrations and lectures on various topics will be presented.
 

Ont. Junior Kendo Tournament

Sun Oct 22, Ontario Junior Kendo Tournament at the Etobicoke Olympium (394-8822) 590 Rathburn Rd. Registration @ 8:30am
 

Guelph Fall Sword Festival

If you're not heading for the Jr. Kendo tournament you might want to check out the first fall sword festival at the University of Guelph Oct 21 and 22. Topics include Zen Ken iaido, Zen Ken jodo, Niten Ichi-ryu and the cane for self defence. A real mix of arts for a fun weekend. 9am to 5pm each day. Contact Kim Taylor for more details.
 

November

12^th MWKF Kendo Tournament

- Yoshi Kurokawa,

Dear Kendoists,
We are pleased to announce the date of 12th Annual MWKF Tournament.

Date: Saturday, Nov. 11th, 2000

Location: Niles, IL. (Northwest Suburbs of Chicago)

The information packet with more details will be sent to each dojo soon. Meanwhile, we will be putting the Tournament information on the Chicago Kendo Dojo web site.

http://www.chicagokendo.org/

(However, it is still under construction.... Sorry!!)

Please pass this information to your fellow dojo members. Hope to see you in November!

Yoshi Kurokawa
Chicago Kendo Dojo
http://www.chicagokendo.org/
 

Ontario Senior Kendo Tournament

Sun Oct12 Ontario Senior Kendo Tournament at the Toronto JCCC Registration @ 8:30am ($25.00 per participant)
 

CKF Fundraising Help

Looking to raise some money for the club? The CKF has some souvenirs and instructional videos that will help! Contact the Executive for details.
 

Cub Reporter Position Open

Want to make sure all your club news is included in the next CKF News? Join our cub reporter brigade, send your news, photos, tournament results and other items to Kim Taylor, or to our chief news-hound, Mike Castellini at

phone : (905) 662 - 1287

Email : castle_dweller@hotmail.com
 

Remember, all complaints about the CKF News will be listened to carefully and then a request for a story will be issued.

Until next time,
Keep Swinging!

We welcome all inquiries, letters, comments, articles, announcements, photos and tournament reports to Kim Taylor, Editor, 44 Inkerman St. Guelph Ontario or email them to kataylor@uoguelph.ca