[IAIDO-L] Kendo News - January/February/March 2016 Newsletter

[Thomas Bolling]

KENYU
Volume 30, number 1/2/3
January/February/March 2016
PNKF DATEBOOK
April 2016
* 4/1-3: 28th Cleveland Kendo Tournament / GNEUSKF Championships, Fri-Sun,
weekend-long exciting and instructive activities featuring Kendo Hanshi 8th Dan
Mitsuru Hamasaki, former chief instructor of Tokyo Metropolitan Police, Case
Western Reserve University.
* 4/2: PNKF Shinpan Seminar, 12noon-4pm, open keiko 4-5pm, Kent Commons
Recreation Center, 525 4th Avenue N. (corner of 4th & James St.) Kent.
* 4/9-10: AUSKF Board meeting, Radisson Hotel, 18118 International Blvd; and
Kodansha Shinsa, Tyee Educational Complex, 4424 S. 188th Street, SeaTac. Godo
keiko, Tyee, Sat, 5-6pm; Shinsa, Tyee, Sun, 12:30pm- .
* 4/16: UW Taikai, Sat, 10am, Intramural Activities Building (IMA), UW campus,
Montlake Boulevard NE.
* 4/24: Cherry Blossom, Sun, 2:30-3pm, Seattle Center Armory (former name
Center House), main stage.
* 4/29-30: SWKIF Kendo Seminar, Fri, 6:30-8pm; Tsutomu Ito Women's Team Taikai
and Ito Cup Team Taikai, Sat, 8:30am-5pm, Standley Lake High School, 9300 W.
104th Ave, Westminster, Colorado.
* 4/30: 5th Garden State Kendo Tournament, Sat, 8:30am-6pm, City Sports
Complex, 62 Route 4 East, Englewood, NJ.
May 2016
* 5/1: SWKIF Kendo Shinsa, up through 4th Dan, Sun, 8am-12noon, Standley Lake
High School, 9300 W. 104th Ave, Westminster, Colorado.
* 5/7: PNKF Board, Sat, 9-11am, Seattle location, 4001 Aurorah Avenue N.,
Seattle 98103.
* 5/21: Bellevue Junior Taikai, Sat, 9:30am-3pm, Highland Park Community
Center, 14224 Bel-Red Road, Bellevue.
* 5/28: 51st Annual Vancouver Kendo Tournament, Sat, 10am-6pm, gym open at 9am,
Byrne Creek Secondary School, 7777 18th Street, Burnaby, BC.
* 5/29: AEUSKF Kendo Tournament, Sun, John Jay College Gym, 10th Avenue and
58th Street, New York City.
June 2016
* 6/4: Rose City Taikai, Sat, 10am, Portland.
* 6/17-19/2016: 9th US Nito Kendo Camp, Boise State University Campus, Boise,
Idaho. Guest instructors: Tadao TODA, Tokyo, Hanshi 8 dan; Yoshihiro UGAJIN,
Tokyo, Kyoshi 7 dan; Hirotsugu SASAKI, Miyagi, Kyoshi 7 dan; Ryoichi FUJII,
Yamaguchi, Kyoshi 7 dan; Futoshi SATO, Chiba, Renshi 7 dan; Ako FUJII,
Yamaguchi, 6 dan.
* 6/23-27: AUSKF Iaido Summer Camp, Thu thru Mon, Dallas Sportsplex, 5702
Alpha Road, Dallas, TX.
* Thursday and Friday, June 23/24: Iaido seminar led by guest sensei from
Japan to be announced
* Saturday, June 25: 2016 AUSKF Iaido Championships
* Sunday, June 26: Iaido Shinsa, followed by afternoon Jodo workshop
* Monday morning, June 27: Jodo workshop ending at 12 noon
July 2016
* 7/9-15: North American Women's Seminar, Sat thru Fri, Broadview-Thompson
Elementary School East Gym/Bitter Lake Community Center Annex, 13052 Greenwood Ave N., Seattle.
* 7/16: 6th PNKF North American Women's Kendo Taikai, Sat, 9am, Renton
Community Center, 1715 SE Maple Valley Highway, Renton.
* 7/23: PNKF Board, Sat, 9-11am, Seattle location, 4001 Aurora Avenue N.,
Seattle 98103.
August 2016
* 8/13: PNKF Shinsa, Sat, Iaido 9am-12noon; Kendo 12:30-4pm, open keiko 4-5pm,
Tyee Educational Complex, 4424 S. 188th Street, SeaTac, located right off I-5 at S. 188th Street.
* 8/13-14: AJKF/CKF Jodo Seminar and Shinsa, Sat/Sun, time and location TBD,
Vancouver BC.
* 8/19-21: 2016 AUSKF Summer Camp, Fri-Sun, special guests and location TBD,
Northern California.
September 2016
* 9/17: PNKF Board, Sat, 3-5pm, Kent Commons Recreation Center, 525 4th Avenue
N. (corner of 4th & James St.) Kent.
* 9/23-25: PNKF Iaido Seminar, Fri/Sat/Sun.
o Rain City Fencing, 1776 136th Place NE, Bellevue. Teachers: Iaido Kyoshi
8th Dan Hideo Noguchi; and Iaido Kyoshi 7th Dan Shigehiro Aoki and Kaoru
Suzuki. Schedule: Fri, 7-9pm Jodo/Iaido; Sat, 9am-5pm Iaido; Sun 9am-12noon
Iaido Tournament; 1-5pm Iaido.
October 2016
* 10/8: PNKF Shinpan Seminar, 12noon-4pm, open keiko 4-5pm, location TBD.
* 10/22: Tacoma Taikai
o 9:30am Opening Ceremonies (doors open at 8:30am), Curtis High School,
8425 40th Street West, University Place, WA 98466 (tentative).
November 2016
* 11/5: PNKF Taikai, Sat, 9:30am, Kent Commons Recreation Center, 525 4th
Avenue N. (corner of 4th & James St.) Kent.
* 11/12: PNKF Board, Sat, 3-5pm, Kent Commons Recreation Center, 525 4th Avenue
N. (corner of 4th & James St.) Kent.
* 11/12-13, AUSKF Board, Sat/Sun, TBD.
December 2016
* 12/12: Kent Taikai, Sat, report time 9am, start 9:30am, Kent Commons
Recreation Center, 525 4th Avenue N. (corner of 4th & James St.) Kent.

MUSOKAI NEW LOCATION AND PRACTICE TIME
Starting April 6, Musokai training will move to the North Court of Rain
City Fencing Center (RCFC), 1776 136th Place NE, Bellevue, and will be on
Wednesdays from 7:30 to 9pm.

11th ANNUAL PACIFIC INTERCOLLEGIATE TOURNAMENT - January 16, 2016, UBC, University Hill Secondary School
Non-Bogu Women 1 Kyu and Under
1st place - Po Chen, SFU 1st place - Jasmine Chao, Langara
2nd place - John Wragg, UBC 2nd place - Klaudine Go, UBC
3rd place - Colton Johnson, UBC 3rd place - Anna Ngo, UBC
3rd place - Erin Boe, Langara 3rd place - Aya Hioki, UBC

Women 1 Dan and Above Men No Rank
1st place - Erica DeJong, UW 1st place - Matthew Chu, UBC
2nd place - Bernice Lin, UW 2nd place - Kevin Chiang, UBC
3rd place - Becca Hsu, SFU 3rd place - Johnson Nguyen, UBC
3rd place - Nikki Asano, SFU 3rd place - Jason Tang, Langara

Men 1 Kyu and 1 Dan Men 2 Dan and Above
1st place - John Magaling, SFU 1st place - Tsuyoshi Hamanaka, UBC
2nd place - Spencer Myrtle, SFU 2nd place - Ryota Kuki, UBC
3rd place - Andrew Chen, UBC 3rd place - Masamitsu Sawaoka, SFU
3rd place - Long Le, UW 3rd place - Matthew Pomeroy, UVic

Teams
1st place - UBC (T.Hamanaka,R.Kuki,K.Leung,J.Ohara,J.Li,A.Chen,R.Jacinto,E.Cheng,M.Chu)
2nd place - SFU (J.Magaling,K.Lee,C.Cheng,S.Ikoma,M.Morgan,B.Hsu,M.Sawaoka)
3rd place - UVic (T.Koyano,MattPomeroy,S.Nichols,K.Mercer,MarkPomeroy,S.Shan,M.Tahara)
3rd place - UW (B.Lin,L.Le,E.DeJong,C.Chan,M.Eum,A.Ngo,C.Blomquist)

Fighting Spirit Award - Andrew Chen, UBC

54th ANNUAL STEVESTON KENDO TOURNAMENT - February 20, 2016, McMath High School
10 Years and Under 11 to 13 Years 14 to 15 Years
1st place - T. Ariga, Butokuden 1st place - M. Fukuoka, Tozenji 1st place - E. Lee, Renbu
2nd place - Y. Lee, Renbu 2nd place - K. Squance, Renbu 2nd place - S. Nichols, UVic
3rd place - K. Yoshimura, Renbu 3rd place - M. Iwai, Steveston 3rd place - K. Fukuda, Cascade
3rd place - I. Fujita, Renbu 3rd place - C. Robillard, Steveston 3rd place - K. Muramatsu, Steveston

0-4 Kyu 1-3 Kyu Ladies 1 Dan and Under
1st place - M. Park, Central 1st place - J. Magaling, SFU 1st place - K. McManus, Kent
2nd place - M. Chu, UBC 2nd place - D. Imanishi, Seattle 2nd place - J. Chao, Steveston
3rd place - N. Gardiner, Langara 3rd place - C. Capoeman, Tacoma 3rd place - S. Maekawa, SCKF
3rd place - F. Yoshimura, Renbu 3rd place - T. Shiomi, SFM 3rd place - A. Hioki, UBC

Ladies 2 Dan and Over 1-2 Dan 3 Dan
1st place - C. Takeuchi, Youshinkan 1st place - H. Nagano, UVic 1st place - R. Asato, Vancouver
2nd place - S. Suzuki, Tozenji 2nd place - S. Kim, Renbu 2nd place - S. Masamitsu, SFU
2nd place - J. Kurahashi, Renbu 3rd place - T. Koyano, UVic 3rd place - T. Okitsu, Tozenji
3rd place - L. Murao, Steveston 3rd place - S. O'Sullivan, Steveston 3rd place - I. Takagaki, Steveston

4 Dan and Above
1st place - T. Nozawa, Tozenji
2nd place - S. Kamata, Etobicoke
3rd place - T. Ariga, Butokuden
3rd place - D. Ara, Renbu

Junior Team Senior Team
1st place - Renbu A (K.Itagaki,R.Kim, 1st place - Ontario (E.Jeong,I.Lin
H.Chun,I.Kim,E.Lee) M.Otabe,E.Hung,S.Kamata)
2nd place - Steveston A (E.Chui,K.Muramatsu, 2nd place - Renbu (H.Shim,T.Kabata,
M.Iwai,A.Iwai,S.Ito) O.Young,E.Kita,J.Kurahashi)
3rd place - Bellevue (L.Ohata,B.Park, 3rd place - Youshinkan (J.Chien,Ke.Takeuchi,
M.Ohata,M.Blechschmidt,A.Kojima) Ka.Takeuchi,K.Kobayashi,C.Takeuchi)
3rd place - Steveston B (D.Chui,C.Robillard, 3rd place - Bellevue (D.Yu,F.Wessbecher,
A.Ito,A.Chang,R.Nakano) L.Tsybert,S.Blechschmidt,D.Park)

Sportsmanship Pledge - Jeremy Chiang
Consul General of Japan S. Okada Trophy - C. Takeuchi, Youshinkan

2016 EAST COAST IAIDO SEMINAR TAIKAI - March 13, 2016, Holy Ghost Prep. School, Bensalem, Pennsylvania
Mudansha C Mudansha B
1st place - Albert Valentin III (IttoKai) 1st place - Minsoo Seon (Princeton)
2nd place - Shiro Kondo (KenZen) 2nd place - Kevin Huang (Shidogakuin)
3rd place - Benjamin Wingate (IttoKai) 3rd place - Michael Temple (Doshikai)
3rd place - Terry Lewis (Norwalk) 3rd place - Jeremie Clark (Doshikai)

Mudansha A 1st Dan
1st place - David Dudek (KenZen) 1st place - Mitko Botev (Doshikai)
2rd place - Maryann Amici (KenZen) 2nd place - Jeffrey Heinze Fry (SeiZanKai)
3rd place - Abel Erives (Doshikai) 3rd place - Alec Milton (KenZen)
3rd place - Noriko Ambe (KenZen) 3rd place - James Cody Kroll (IttoKai)

2nd Dan 3rd Dan
1st place - Stephen Tomshaw (Shidogakuin) 1st place - Kevin Thibedeau (Ken Zen)
2nd place - John Mullin (KenZen), 2nd place - Narbeh Bagdasarian (PCIKendo)
3rd place - Leslie Williams (KenZen) 3rd place - Ji Ni (Nichibukan)
3rd place - Justin Lee (MuMonKai) 3rd place - Phillip VanDenBerghe (BaltimoreAnnapolis)

4th Dan 5th Dan
1st place - Patrick Suen (MuMonKai) 1st place - Paul Shin (Shidogakuin)
2nd place - Takanori Furuta (IttoKai) 2nd place - Terry Fukui (KenZen)
3rd place - Aram Kailian (Shidogakuin) 3nd place - Barry Poitras (Doshikai)
3rd place - Hanna Ikeda-Suen (MuMonKai) 3rd place - Isabella Church (Shidogakuin)

TATER TAIKAI - March 13, 2016, Boise State University
Kachinuki - Tie for first, Logan Lewis (Ore-Ida), Ken Tawara (BSU)
Kojin sen, Individual - Ken Tawara (BSU), Matt Miller (Idaho)
Dantai Sen, Red vs White Team Match - White Team

39th ANNIVERSARY HIGHLINE MUDANSHA CHALLENGE CUP - March 19, 2016, White Center
Yudansha Mudansha
1st place - T. Marsten, Kent 1st place - C. Capoeman, Tacoma
2nd place - K. McManus, Kent 2nd place - G. Wroblewski, Bellevue
3rd place - A. Law, Sno-King 3rd place - A. Yorita, UW
3rd place - J. DeJong, Highline 3rd place - S. Kua, UW

Teams
1st place - Bellevue, 34 points 2nd place - UW, 31 points

Sportsmanship Pledge - D. Sasaki, Highline

PASSAGE
Koji (Frank) Fukawa
On December 21, 2015, a major Southern California presence left us when
Kendo Renshi 6th Dan Koji (Frank) Fukawa passed away. Born November 16, 1926 in
Lompoc, he lived there until 1942 when he and his family were interned at
Poston, where they stayed until 1945, when they moved to Ontario, Oregon.
Enlisting in the Army, he served as an intelligence analyst during the Allied
occupation of Japan, 1946-1949, reaching the rank of sergeant. He then received
an AA degree from LA City College, and in 1955 married Kazumi Uwate, moving to
La Marada in 1964. An industrial chemist, Fukawa Sensei was an instructor at
Norwalk Kendo Club, President, Vice President, and Secretary of the SCKF, and a
member of the Orange County Buddhist Temple.
Henry Shigeru Asai
A great friend and encouragement to many in the PNKF, Kendo Kyoshi 7th Dan
and Iaido 4th Dan Henry Shigeru Asai passed away December 24, 2015. Born in
Walnut Grove January 1, 1920 where the family farmed, he later moved with them
to Nagoya, but as war loomed in the late 1930s Henry was sent back to the US,
and graduating from LA Polytechnic High School, he enlisted in the Army. He was
offered battlefield interpreting in MIS, but preferred to complete cooking and
baking school, serving in England, France, Italy, and Germany, followed by a 40+
year career with Vons Markets. He began Kendo at age 50 at West LA, and went on
to contribute greatly to the formation of Venice Dojo and its programs.
Traveling extensively to participate vigorously in seminars, tournaments, and
shinsa, with his life wisdom and unfailing good humor, Asai Sensei was hugely
kind and inspirational to many, especially those who may have started Kendo
later in life.
Our deepest condolences to the families and many friends of Fukawa Sensei
and Asai Sensei.

SHINKYU SHINSA
AJKF KODANSHA SHINSA, November 24, 2015, Nippon Budokan, Tokyo
KYOSHI: Iwao Sato (Wahiawa).
AJNF GODAN SHINSA, January 24, 2016, Nippon Budokan, Tokyo
5TH DAN: Karen Yesowich Schmucker, (PNNF), Kei Tsukamaki (PNNF).
PNKF IAIDO SHINSA, February 27, 2016, Tyee Educational Complex, SeaTac
3RD KYU: Ball (Tonbo), Khoi Duong (Kent), Ian Otto (Seattle), Donald Wentworth
(Tonbo). 2ND KYU: Mikako Barlow (AiShinKai), Adam Clark (AiShinKai), Victor
Whitman (Seattle). 1ST KYU: Thane Mittelstaedt (AiShinKai), Ken Tawara
(Idaho). 1ST DAN: Ryan Atagi (Idaho), Mart Hughes (Obukan), Francic Maier
(Everett), Richard Milde (Tonbo). 2ND DAN: Sam Wilkins (Everett). 3RD DAN:
Narbeh Bagdasarian (SCKF), Frederick Fourie (AiShinKai), Callie Goeke (RenMa),
Lynn Miyauchi (Musokai).
PNKF KENDO SHINSA, February 27, 2016, Tyee Educational Complex, SeaTac
6TH KYU: Sean Kim (Seattle), Kai Kubal-Komoto (Federal Way), Aneurin Mabale
(Seattle), Taiki Miyamoto (Northwest), Uno Tate (Alaska), Kassidy Ting
(Northwest), Timaeus Ting (Northwest). 5TH KYU: Kyle Hale (Seattle), Daniel
Kao (Tacoma), Hana Koob (Bellevue), Drew Migita (Seattle). 4TH KYU: Kira
Campbell (Sno-King), Emily Cho (Cascade), Helen Fukuda (Cascade), Kiana Fukuda
(Cascade), Kyle Fukuda (Cascade), Tom Fukuda (Cascade), Eugene Kim (Seattle),
Whitney Langford (Obukan), Ffion Mabale (Seattle), Francis Maier (Everett),
Darren Migita (Seattle), Sandra Mizuno (Seattle), Aska Mooko (Bellevue),
Leonardo Ohata (Bellevue), Michizane Ohata (Bellevue), Nagato Orita (Seattle),
Joshua Paik (Tacoma), Keiji Underhill (Northwest), Victor Whitman (Seattle),
Donna Wilson (Seattle), Binah Yeung (Seattle). 3RD KYU: Benet Garcia
(Bellevue), Hyunjun Jang (Cascade), Jinho Jeon (Bellevue), Mia Kao (Tacoma),
Raymond Kao (Tacoma), Josh Kim (Federal Way), Kasey Kitchel (Sno-King), Terry
Langford (Obukan), Elysia Midorikawa (Bellevue), Young-ki Paik (Tacoma),
Catherine Park (Bellevue), Tyler Peterson (Idaho), Ann Rubin (Tacoma), Sarah
Tyree (UW), Kengo Underhill (Northwest), Brayan Valdez-Cruz (Northwest). 2ND
KYU: Cougar Capoeman (Tacoma), Timothy Jaybush (Bellevue), Sunghi Kim
(Northwest), Allison Kojima (Bellevue), Rachel Koo (Bellevue), Evan Kriechbaum
(Portland), Spencer Kua (UW), Elijah Lam (Everett), Long Le (UW), Brian LeSmith
(Edmonds), Carlos Matutes (Idaho), Gregory Vielhaber (Portland), Chris Vitale
(OSU), Adrienne Wilburn (Portland), Joshua Zheng (OSU). 1ST KYU: Clyde Bailey
(Portland), Maya Blechschmidt (Bellevue), Vincent DeBellis (Portland), Jihan Kim
(OSU), Soo-Hyung Kim (Seattle), Dan McLean (Portland), Peter Palmer (Northwest),
Stephen Ting (Northwest), Adesanjo Wolfe (Alaska), Tyler Yamashita (Seattle).
1ST DAN: Fritz Borchardt (Edmonds), Murray Bratland (Bellevue), Addison
Knappett (OSU), Alick Law (Sno-King), Soohmin Lee (Bellevue), Brian Liao
(Bellevue), Andrew Miller (Portland), Mikiyo Ohashi (Edmonds), Leo Shibata
(Bellevue), Andrew Yuen (Seattle). 2ND DAN: Fang-Ying Chu (Sno-King), Jane
Higa (Bellevue), Terry McManus (Kent), Andrew Nagasawa (Bellevue). 3RD DAN:
Erik Christianson (Edmonds), Mark Frederick (Northwest), Brandon Goh (Seattle),
Apurva Jantrania (Obukan), Su Hwan Kim (Northwest), Richard Lei (Seattle), Tero
Patana (Sno-King). 4TH DAN: CJ Chaney (Sno-King), Stephen Day (Kent), Masami
Suzuki (Sno-King), Alfred Tan (Northwest), Valera Vulfson (Northwest).
EAST COAST IAIDO SEMINAR SHINSA, March 13, 2016, Holy Ghost Prep. School, Bensalem, Pennsylvania
4TH KYU: Davin Hattaway (Princeton), Chris Kim (Princeton), Andrew Park
(Princeton). 3RD KYU: Dylan Abrams (Princeton), Dominique Alfandari
(SeiZanKai), Enver Bajraktarevic (KenZen), Soochul Bang (Shidogakuin), Helene
Cousin (SeiZanKai), Kevin Ding (Princeton), James Dover (Princeton), Ritchard
Higham (KenZen), Peter Kim (Doshikai), Terry Lewis (Norwalk), Ina Park
(Princeton), Yoojin Seon (Princeton), Albert Valentin III (Itto Kai), Jonathan
Velazco (Princeton), Kathleen Villemaire (Doshikai), Di Wang (Shidogakuin),
Benjamin Wingate (Itto Kai), Jing Ye (Nichibukan). 2ND KYU: Axel Anderson
(Doshikai), Jason Carl (Princeton), Jerry Chen (Nichibukan), Jeremie Clark
(Doshikai), Garry Dodd (Princeton), Kevin Huang (Shidogakuin), Shiro Kondo
(KenZen), Minsoo Seon (Princeton), Louis Thauvin (KenZen), Joshua Yang
(Princeton). 1ST KYU: Noriko Ambe (Ken Zen), Maryann Amici (Ken Zen), Mark
Gottlieb (Shidogakuin), Charles Johnson (Baltimore-Annapolis), Dmitry Murashchik
(Balt-Annapolis), Michael Temple (Doshikai), Akihiko Watanabe (Shidogakuin),
Joseph Wong (Shidogakuin. 1ST DAN: Victor Betts (Doshikai), Gary Cotton
(Doshikai), David Dudek (KenZen), Abel Erives (Doshikai). 2ND DAN: Mitko Botev
(Doshikai), Jeffrey Heinze Fry (SeiZanKai), Michael Kamish (Itto Kai), Szilvia
Kovari-Krecsmary (Shidogakuin), James Cody Kroll (Itto Kai), Yoonhee Macke
(Shidogakuin). 3RD DAN: John Mullin (Ken Zen), Stephen Tomshaw (Shidogakin).

THE LAST WORD

Ogawa Sensei taught me the traditional Japanese culture of Kyoto and how to
endure and adapt to cold and suffering, to gain confidence and become a Nihon
Kendoist. Once in Kyoto, I had no time to analyze, to be nervous. I did what
others told me and thereby adjusted to the circumstances ("Rin Ki Oh Hen") of my
new life. I say, no "Big Deal!" Day in and day out all I did was:

sleep, then get up;
eat, then move;
sleep again, then get up again:
Ne Te Oki Te;
Tabe Te Ugoi Te
Ne Te Oki Te.

The noodle shop gave me the only time - practically no time - for thinking,
because my body just got on with the job of eating by itself. "Move" meant
chores, which continued because I remained in my room at Kodo Kan, never living
with my fellow students even after I finally passed the entrance exam for Busen
after graduating from Japanese high school and studying in night school and was
accepted as a formal student at Busen. Of course, "move" mostly meant kendo
practice.

Every morning from 6 AM to 7 AM I would do kangeiko, morning practice, at Busen.
For the first year, we only trained kirikaeshi the basic exercise of repeating
side head cuts. That was for the whole year! This is a very basic cut, and other
students who had been tops in their high schools were bored and would complain
that they had already trained kote and other cuts considered more advanced. "All
you do is kirikaeshi; if you don't like it, go home!" the sempais would answer.
These were the instructions of Ogawa Sensei and were not to be contradicted.
After the morning practice, from 7 AM to 8 AM, we ate breakfast.

Once I was officially accepted into Busen, I attended lectures from 8 AM to noon
consisting of more Japanese language, both modern and classic, and Japanese
calligraphy. Calligraphy has long been associated with the Samurai. In the first
page of the Ground Book Miyamoto Musashi noted that the "warrior's is the
two-fold Way of brush and sword, and he should have a taste for both Ways."
Young men of the Japanese nobility of the Tokugawa period were educated solely
in the Chinese classics and exercising in word techniques. Brush and sword were
to be in accord "bunbu Itchi."

Lunch was from noon to 1 PM. And then more keiko from 1 PM to 3 PM. Then from 3
PM to 4 PM was afternoon practice, Koshuka (short training after regular
training). This was the "voluntary practice" which I had already learned was not
really voluntary. If you didn't attend, unless you were a senior with other
commitments to assist in keiko somewhere else, you didn't belong in Busen. After
4 PM I would go home to study. But I continued to clean the dojo and do all of
the chores I had done since arriving.

Finally it was time for evening practice at Kodo Kan when I would practice with
Ogawa Sensei. Kendo practice was a minimum of about six hours per day, but still
less than the keiko of Miyamoto Musashi! You could never practice too much.

--Rod Nobuto Omoto, Autobiography, edited by Charlotte Omoto, 2014, p. 23-24.
Available as free download at lulu.com.

Kenyu - Monthly Newsletter of the Pacific Northwest Kendo Federation
PLEASE NOTE: Kenyu Online IS THE EDITION OF RECORD FOR THIS NEWSLETTER -
http://www.pnkf.org/
Tom Bolling, Editor - 7318 23rd Avenue N.E., Seattle, WA 98115

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