We were fortunate to have 5 senses from Japan from September 25th through 30th. They

came to Kenyu Kai Dojo practice on 25th, though they just arrived in Hawaii that

morning. They assisted in shinpan duty at Kenshikan Kendo Club Shigeo Yoshinaga

Memorial Tournament on Sunday, September 27th. They were Mr. Takayoshi Ito, Mr.

Fumio Matsuzaki, Mr. Koji Kimura, Mr. Hisao Imazu, all 7 Dan and Mrs. Akemi Asaba,

6 Dan. We love senseis from Japan come and teach. We should take advantage and

practice with them in every opportunity. I did.

 

Our dojo members did well in Kenshikan Tournament but none including me ended up

with medals. We learned a lot and pinpointed things we have to practice to improve.

 

Our yearly fundraise, Zippy’s ticket sale, is in the midpoint. Thank you for those who

already helped us buy/sell tickets. Tickets are good till November 1st with 5 days grace

period. A ticket is $9. It gives you a choice of Chili, Portuguese Bean Soup, meat Sauce

and cookie dough. If you know that you will have unsold tickets, return them quickly so

we may transfer to persons who can sell more. We do not want you to lose them because

they are accountable like cash. Contact me if you need more tickets.

 

Pacific Northwest Kendo Tournament is on Saturday, November 7th. We are having

difficulty in getting Hawaii kenshis to go this year possibly due to World Kendo

Championships in Tokyo this year when people used up vacation time and funds.

 

We are excited to have Inoue Kazuyoshi Sensei from Fukuoka from November 4th till

19th. We are asking him to visit our club on Nov. 11th and 18th. Come and join us.

 

We are honored again to receive Kaida Akira Sensei, Hanshi 8 Dan, from Kagoshima

from November 13 for about 2 weeks. He can be with us at our dojo on Wednesday,

Nov. 18th. He is a super good teacher who had series in recent Kendo Nippon Magazine.

 

Next Hawaii Kendo Federation’s 1 Kyu and Dan examination will be held on Sunday,

January 10th, 2016. Normally we have one in November. Because of unforeseen

reasons, it moved to January. You have more time to practice for the examination.

 

I was so impressed by his words, “How can I make myself a better person through kendo

practices?” I could not stop writing to 100 years old Ohta Hirokata Sensei. But I did

not know his address. All Japan Kendo Federation kindly granted my request to forward

my letter to him. Lo and behold, he replied to me with 3 page beautifully handwritten

letter. He was in Hawaii about 40 years ago and had friendship practice with Hawaii

kenshis. He reminded me of Hawaii’s own Sato Torajiro Sensei. Sato Sensei was

practicing when he was ninety some years old and told me, “I never won in tournaments. But when I look around, no one my age is practicing. I won.” Ohta Sensei and Sato Sensei are true winners. They are my goals.