Only club practicing in Hawaii with masks, social distance and limited number of participants had to shut down after Stay at Home restriction was extended. On September 24th, the restriction was relaxed a little, but the club decided to refrain from practices till further notice.

 

Some dojos in Japan cautiously started their practices. All Japan Kendo Federation website shows their Dan promotion examinations as follows; 6 Dan Oct. 14th/7 Dan Oct. 15th - Hyogo 8 Dan Oct. 19th and 20th in Tokyo It shows that those who are 60 years and older should wear mask and shield. In this COVID-19 time, this is the time to advance more than others who just idle themselves in their homes. If you focus yourself in the areas to improve, do image training to move your bodies. This hardship becomes opportunities for you, then.

 

I am sad to announce that we will not be going to Pacific Northwest Kendo Federation Tournament in Kent, Washington, originally scheduled on November 7th.

 

18th World Kendo Championships scheduled from May 27 - 30, 2021 in Paris France have been postponed. It was very discouraging, but keep on maintaining your skill and performance levels. Encourage each other and work with each other if you can.

 

Social distancing should not make you distant from friendship. Keep in touch with your friends and family members. You can do that with various means.

 

I forwarded “Frequency of Kendo Injury Survey” by Mr. Neil Shimabukuro and Dr. Braxton Fukutomi to our club members. Please participate by sending Kendo Injury Form.

 

It is very hard to do our yearly Fund Raise, Zippy’s Ticket Sale, when we cannot meet each other and economy is down. In recent years, we have been asking people receive tickets and send back checks in mail. We will still do that. But we will print much less tickets and wait for the gathering restriction is lessened more. We want to have one sometime this year.

 

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed away on September 18th. She made judgments to improve gender equality and women’s rights. She graduated Columbia Law School joint 1st in her class. Yet, no law firms hired her. Discrimination against women was prevalent at that time.

 

Mrs. Keiko Sasaki’s articles was in 1st page of Kensoh magazine October issue. She and her husband are annual visitors in Hawaii, though this year’s one had to be cancelled due to COVID-19. In the article she wrote that she presented herself for kendo practice after being admitted into Waseda University in 1972. There were about 100 kendo student members in the club. But there were no female students. They told her that they were not accepting female Kenshis. After she visited and observed their practices in seiza position for a week, they gave up and reluctantly allowed her to join. Like Justice Ginsburg, Mrs. Sasaki faced discrimination. There were pioneers in every field. I have 3 granddaughters. I am hoping that all girls get equal opportunity as long as they have determination to pursue their goals.