April 2011
Kenkyu Kai practice is on Friday, April 1st at JCCH Dojo from 7:30PM till 9:30PM. Mr. Seth Harris will report about Shinpan seminar in Chicago on March 19th and 20th.
Hanshi 8 dan Masuo Shinotsuka Sensei brought Kyoshi 7 dan Seiichiro Yasumura Sensei, Kyoshi 7 dan Yasuko Mori Sensei and Renshi 6 dan Kazuhide Inoue Sensei with him. They lead great learning sessions for us on March 9th - 10th. We hope that they will return and do same in the future.
Pacific Northwest Kendo Federation has new web site HYPERLINK "http://pnkf.org" http://pnkf.org. Please view it.
Kyoshi 8 dan Shozo Kato Sensei from New York, Hanshi 8 dan Masaharu Kakehashi Sensei from Japan as well as Marvin Kawabata, a Team USA member, will be in town around April 15th – 17th. You may remember that Marvin formerly of Hawaii, Mark Kawabata's brother, was the one who beat Japan Team captain to give Japan the 1st loss in World Championships in Taiwan. They may join us at Kaimuki Honbu and other dojo's practices.
Our Kaneohe branch dojo at Heeia State Park may start practices earlier on Mondays. We will let you know when the date and starting time are confirmed.
We will have our mid-year party on Wednesday, May 25th. We will start our practice early that day and end early to have our party. Mark your calendar and bring your friends and family members with you.
Kyoshi 7 dan Kazuyoshi Inoue Sensei of Fukuoka is planning to come and teach us again in June. We are looking forward to learning from him..
Kendo 8 dan examination is known to be the hardest examination in Japan because only 1 per cent of examinees pass. Shozo Kato Sensei of New York passed 8 dan in May last year. I was surprised to see him line up as the 1st person to practice with Fukumoto Hanshi on March 19th and with Ohta Hanshi on March 20th at Shinpan Seminar in Chicago. He was very fast to put men on and went to senseis. Some 8 dan achievers are happy and proud enough to stop practicing hard. Few display superiority complex. Rather, Kato Sensei is still practicing hard and goes to senseis whenever he has chances. When I asked him, he told me that he wanted to be a better 8 dan person than others. I am glad that I met him in kendo camp in Kitamoto, Japan, many years ago and kept contact with him throughout years. It is nice to have great motivator and mentor as a kendo friend.
Iwao Sato, Chief Instructor, Wahiawa Kendo Club