February 2011
Kenkyu kai practice this month will feature shinpan hou according to Mr. Carl Nakamura. It will be on Friday, Feb.4th at JCCH dojo from 7:30PM.
Mr. Masayuki Yamada, Kyoshi 7dan, from Iwate Prefecture of Japan paid his annual visit in Hawaii in January. It was awesome to be able to practice with him on Jan. 9th and 11th. I hope that more kenshis of his caliber visit Hawaii.
The following kenshis will represent Hawaii in 49th Steveston Tournament in Canada on Saturday, Feb. 19th: Zoe Yamamoto, Corinna Sato, Megan Watanabe, Todd Sato, Enaj Alabanza, Kevin Chun, Neill Warrington, Braxton Fukutomi, James Okada, Ken Sato and Seth Harris. Mrs. Cindy Fukutomi, Mrs. Lori Chun and I with several others will chaperon them. Enjoy the trip and good luck in the tournament.
25 students lead by Yoshimura Sensei and Sasaki Sensei from Tokai University of Japan will visit Hawaii and have kendo camp from Feb. 25th to Mar. 3rd. They will also practice with Hawaii kenshis. We are looking forward to practicing with them and develop friendship among youth.
We are collecting Hawaii Kendo Federation and Club dues. If you have not paid yet, please do so soon.
Our club T-shirt sale is on. Those who live in mainland USA and Canada and go to 49th Steveston Tournament on Feb. 19th or shinpan seminar in Chicago on Mar. 19th let me know if you can help our club. I will bring some T-shirts with me for you. S, M, L and XL size T-shirts are USD15 each.
Tom Bolling Sensei of Pacific Northwest Kendo Federation is now out of Hospital after lung surgery. He is sad because he may not be able to keiko with bogu on now. I am sure that he will be a good instructor without bogu for beginners. We are praying for his quick recovery so that he can resume teaching young ones.
Before Kaimuki practice on Sunday, Jan. 23rd, Mr. Tusha Buntin told me that he suffered tendonitis on his left elbow. The acupuncture did not help. Rather, the elbow got swollen. He came to practice with me anyway. I told him to reduce his arm power and raise and down shinai lightly and just snap at the impact. He did well. In fact, to my eyes he did better than his usual power hit. His hits were smoother.
As I grow older, I live with pain and aches. But I don't quit practicing. You should practice with your disability or limitation. In Mr. Buntin's case he could reduce his excessive power and made his hits better.
Iwao Sato, Chief Instructor, Wahiawa Kendo Club