Congratulations to our club member, Cathleen Okabe-Hutchins who had passed 3 Dan

examination on March 17th in Houston thanks to Mark and Shamina Kerstein’s invitation. She is one of Hawaii ladies whom young kendo girls look up to.

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Fukushima Katsunao Sensei, Kendo Kyoshi 8 Dan and Iai-do 6 Dan, from Japan will be in town. He plans to teach us at Ken Yu Kai on Friday, March 30th, at Kenshikan on Saturday, March 31st and at Kaimuki, on Sunday, April 1st where he teaches both Iai-do and kendo. Please welcome him and be at those places to learn.

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Murakami Kazuhiko Sensei, Kyoshi 7 Dan, of Tokyo will arrive on Sunday, April 1st and leave on Wednesday, April 4th. Subject to change, he will be at Meikyokan and Mililani Kendo Club on Monday, April 2nd and Meikyokan and Kenshikan on Tuesday, April 3rd. Some of you may remember that he was stationed in Hickam Air Force Base as a liaison sent by Japanese Self-Defense Force about 19 years ago.

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Our Club is sponsoring children’s tournament and referee practice on Saturday, April 21st from 8:30AM at Wahiawa Hongwanji Social Hall. We will make it more of friend making and fun having event as well as learning. Our club will provide pizza afterward. Everyone is invited.

 

Nawada Shizuo Sensei, Vice-president of Noda City Kendo Federation in Chiba, will come to Hawaii from May 23rd till 27th and his practice schedules to follow later. We thank him for creating time to practice with us.

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Mark your calendar. Leeward Oahu Tournament will be on Sunday, June 24th at Mililani District Park Gym. I want our club members to participate and help as court attendant if you are in town. Two kendo equipment venders will be there for your equipment needs.

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Sasaki Hiroshi Sensei of Akita plans to visit us in June and Inoue Kazuyoshi Sensei of Fukuoka in July. We are looking forward to receiving them and learning from them.

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Team Hawaii for 17th World Kendo Championships in September this year in Korea has been practicing hard. Please donate tax deductible funds to Hawaii Kendo Federation for team members benefit.

 

If you have not got Wahiawa Kendo Club T-shirts, contact me for one. The cost is $15 each.

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Allied Forces believed that Kendo contributed Japan’s war efforts. So, after World War II kendo practices were prohibited in Japan. Kendo enthusiasts, including my father, continued to secretly practice until the ban was lifted several years later. Last December, we were told not to conduct practices till Federation’s insurance policy was negotiated. Luckily, kendo practice session was brief. But, I thought, “No one takes away kendo from me.” I planned to keep our dojo open for practices. Let us keep enjoying kendo practice safely without incidents.