We had a successful dojo shinsa with the help of Memphis Kendo Club. In addition to the shinsa, we had a LR vs Memphis Team Taikai. This time around, Memphis managed to win the Cup.
Congratulations to our members for passing their rank examinations.
Pictures and official news will be posted on the main Arkansas Kendo Club webpage.
Our next order of business will be a seminar and shinsa in Nashville or Memphis in December hosted by the SEUSKF. There we will like to see one of our members try for ikkyu.
Good job everyone.
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Arkansas Kendo Club - Size
After a quick peek at the 2007 SWKIF Roster... Arkansas Kendo appears to be neck and neck for the 2nd largest dojo group in the entire SWKIF region, losing only to the Dallas group.
Dallas has about 40-50 members while AKC has about 20 give or take 3. The closest group next is the Oklahoma City Kendo group with Brian Mosley.
While it is great we have the membership numbers, the average age of our members is by far lower than the other dojos. A majority of our members are under 18 :P
Dallas has about 40-50 members while AKC has about 20 give or take 3. The closest group next is the Oklahoma City Kendo group with Brian Mosley.
While it is great we have the membership numbers, the average age of our members is by far lower than the other dojos. A majority of our members are under 18 :P
New News...
New event... October 28, 2007, is event day in Little Rock, AR.
At the start of the day, we will have a dojo shinsa with the aid of Memphis Kendo.
Afterwards, we will hold another team taikai against Memphis.
Lastly, open keiko with whoever.
Get info from An Giang or Kajitani sensei.
We are also trying to get a few more sensei invited to have bigger and better event. Everyone should mark their calendars and bring their friends.
By then, I should have had enough time to do some video editing of the team matches in Atlanta for the SEUSKF Championships. I will share them.
Thanks!
At the start of the day, we will have a dojo shinsa with the aid of Memphis Kendo.
Afterwards, we will hold another team taikai against Memphis.
Lastly, open keiko with whoever.
Get info from An Giang or Kajitani sensei.
We are also trying to get a few more sensei invited to have bigger and better event. Everyone should mark their calendars and bring their friends.
By then, I should have had enough time to do some video editing of the team matches in Atlanta for the SEUSKF Championships. I will share them.
Thanks!
In other news, our friend in Memphis (Rogers G) recently had a new born baby girl. Congrats to him.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
News... finally.
After a long and hot summer... (it is still hot), alot of our members have returned from summer vacation and practice is back into full swing. We would like to also welcome some new members to our group. Hopefully, they will continue to practice with us and join us soon in full bogu for more fun. Since my last blog entry, I have found out quite a few things from SEUSKF concerning AUSKF and a few other issues that may be of interest to people in our club. Let me first note, however, that the communications of SWKIF seems to be lacking quite a bit as I feel I am left out in numerous announcements however unimportant concerning national events and policies. There appears to be an election this fall for new board members for SWKIF and I may consider volunteering my time in an official position if nothing else then to get up-to-date information about kendo national news. It is not to say that our current board is inadequate; it is simply not able to 'keep up' with the expected speed of information dissemination. Of course being a member of the board is no picnic and I may not have the time to dedicate to doing the job myself, but I will not know until I try... or do. But enough of my rumbling, here is the news you were expecting... haha, I complain about lack of news and yet I myself do not update this blog as often... whatever. One last note... the general election will probably be held this fall in Denver at the fall seminar. I do not even know at this point in time if I will even attend the seminar. I am into a taikai/shiai mode right now for some reason.
National Issues
2009 AUSKF Championships will be held in Las Vegas, 4th of July weekend. If you are interested in going, let us know. I am sure there is a division or something for you.
International Kendo Federation (FIK) has passed new rules on promotionals. For 6 kyu to 2 kyu, the board of examiners must have 5 graders of 4 dan or higher. Since anything below 2 kyu really is not checked and enforced, I think the rule of 3 graders of 3 dan or higher as set by SWKIF will still apply for now. Come 1 kyu, you will need to test at a regional event anyway and I am sure there will be enough 4 dan or higher graders on the panel... and at that point, the rank will be more readily recognized internationally anyway.
Regional News
The fall event for SWKIF will be in Denver, CO, during the weekend of Oct 19 to 21st. The event will be a seminar, focusing on team taikai and whatnot in preparation of the 1st SWKIF Championships (Team and Individuals) held spring of 2008 also in Denver, CO. For that reason, I am debating on whether or not I will attend the fall seminar. I will go to the spring one for sure to participate in the Championships. Hopefully we will have a good Arkansas Kendo Club team present as well at that time in spring of 2008. Maybe we can get team jackets or something. Of course, there will be a shinsa that Sunday at both events.
There is a team taikai in Austin, TX, the weekend of Oct 12 to 14th... Texas Longhorn Team Taikai. It is an open invitational. If we can get enough people interested, we can go. I believe it is ~9 hours to Austin from here.
Southeast Kendo Federation (SEUSKF) will be holding their annual SEUSKF Championships the weekend of Oct 5 to 7th in Atlanta, GA. I have been invited to join the Memphis team at the taikai and so I will be going there. If anyone else is interested in participating in the taikai, please let me know. The event will allow 5 teams per dojo on 6 courts. I am sure Memphis will not mind some of us filling in their teams. I think they are able to presently fill up 4 teams with their current members. I went last year and it was very good.
Local News
Kajitani sensei will be bring a guest (friend from Minnesota) to practice this Sunday (August 19th). Everyone is encouraged to come and join in the practice. The guest will be at practice this Sunday and the following Friday.
We are trying to organize a shinsa late October this year for those who cannot attend an event to test rank. I plan on inviting Harry Dach sensei from Memphis as an additional grader. The problems I foresee is a) if anyone will be interested enough to test and b) with summer vacation just ending, if anyone/everyone will have had enough time to practice to actually improve their kendo for the next level. More will come...
I have polo shirts with our AKC logo embroidered. If anyone is interested in purchasing a shirt, please let me know. I will only place an order if there are enough people interested... ie: everyone or the majority. The cost will probably be $20-25 per shirt. That being said, we could probably also be able to get team jackets... if we could organize a team.
Alright, that is all I have for now. Peace out.
National Issues
2009 AUSKF Championships will be held in Las Vegas, 4th of July weekend. If you are interested in going, let us know. I am sure there is a division or something for you.
International Kendo Federation (FIK) has passed new rules on promotionals. For 6 kyu to 2 kyu, the board of examiners must have 5 graders of 4 dan or higher. Since anything below 2 kyu really is not checked and enforced, I think the rule of 3 graders of 3 dan or higher as set by SWKIF will still apply for now. Come 1 kyu, you will need to test at a regional event anyway and I am sure there will be enough 4 dan or higher graders on the panel... and at that point, the rank will be more readily recognized internationally anyway.
Regional News
The fall event for SWKIF will be in Denver, CO, during the weekend of Oct 19 to 21st. The event will be a seminar, focusing on team taikai and whatnot in preparation of the 1st SWKIF Championships (Team and Individuals) held spring of 2008 also in Denver, CO. For that reason, I am debating on whether or not I will attend the fall seminar. I will go to the spring one for sure to participate in the Championships. Hopefully we will have a good Arkansas Kendo Club team present as well at that time in spring of 2008. Maybe we can get team jackets or something. Of course, there will be a shinsa that Sunday at both events.
There is a team taikai in Austin, TX, the weekend of Oct 12 to 14th... Texas Longhorn Team Taikai. It is an open invitational. If we can get enough people interested, we can go. I believe it is ~9 hours to Austin from here.
Southeast Kendo Federation (SEUSKF) will be holding their annual SEUSKF Championships the weekend of Oct 5 to 7th in Atlanta, GA. I have been invited to join the Memphis team at the taikai and so I will be going there. If anyone else is interested in participating in the taikai, please let me know. The event will allow 5 teams per dojo on 6 courts. I am sure Memphis will not mind some of us filling in their teams. I think they are able to presently fill up 4 teams with their current members. I went last year and it was very good.
Local News
Kajitani sensei will be bring a guest (friend from Minnesota) to practice this Sunday (August 19th). Everyone is encouraged to come and join in the practice. The guest will be at practice this Sunday and the following Friday.
We are trying to organize a shinsa late October this year for those who cannot attend an event to test rank. I plan on inviting Harry Dach sensei from Memphis as an additional grader. The problems I foresee is a) if anyone will be interested enough to test and b) with summer vacation just ending, if anyone/everyone will have had enough time to practice to actually improve their kendo for the next level. More will come...
I have polo shirts with our AKC logo embroidered. If anyone is interested in purchasing a shirt, please let me know. I will only place an order if there are enough people interested... ie: everyone or the majority. The cost will probably be $20-25 per shirt. That being said, we could probably also be able to get team jackets... if we could organize a team.
Alright, that is all I have for now. Peace out.
Sunday, June 3, 2007
LR-Memphis Team Taikai
Exciting matches today at the first ever annual Mid-South Kendo Team Taikai aka LR-Memphis Team Taikai here in hot and humid Little Rock, AR. The Memphis group outnumbered us 15 to 10 in total numbers. Arkansas Kendo Club, however, managed to win the team taikai against Memphis with total wins of 8 to 4. The youth matches were looking pretty good and the adults did quite well too. There were also many family members present.
The taisho for Arkansas was Mike Sentany who now holds the AKC Trophy Cup. Two kantosho awards were given by Dr. Michio Kajitani sensei to Mathew of Arkansas and Tanaka of Memphis. Some people took video of the matches but I don't know if we will ever see them. The taikai ended around 10:45am. Then we preceed to have open keiko until 11:45. Afterwards, we all went to New China Buffet for lunch.
Aside from using up all of the AFB's tape to fix the floors and create the court, everything seemed to have went well. Cheers, until next time.
A special thank you to Mathew's mom for bringing the drinks.
The taisho for Arkansas was Mike Sentany who now holds the AKC Trophy Cup. Two kantosho awards were given by Dr. Michio Kajitani sensei to Mathew of Arkansas and Tanaka of Memphis. Some people took video of the matches but I don't know if we will ever see them. The taikai ended around 10:45am. Then we preceed to have open keiko until 11:45. Afterwards, we all went to New China Buffet for lunch.
Aside from using up all of the AFB's tape to fix the floors and create the court, everything seemed to have went well. Cheers, until next time.
A special thank you to Mathew's mom for bringing the drinks.
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Arkansas Kendo Club - Logo
After much brainstorming and time on my part with MS Paint, we've decided on a logo for our club through a general vote by our members at last weekend's BBQ. I'd like to thank again Mike Sentany for his hospitality. Here is our logo:
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
LR-Memphis Team Taikai
We have proposed a team taikai against Memphis Kendo. We are looking at (tentative):
Date: Sunday, June 3, 2007
Time: 9am to ~1pm
Place: Arkansas Festival Ballet
Fee: $10 per person
Deadline: May 25, 2007... to confirm final player list.
Memphis Kendo has potentially 19 people on their team so everyone needs to come and join in the shiai. Please see An Giang (avgiang@yahoo.com) for details.
After the taikai, there will be open practice for everyone. It would be a great opportunity to practice with people from other places.
Date: Sunday, June 3, 2007
Time: 9am to ~1pm
Place: Arkansas Festival Ballet
Fee: $10 per person
Deadline: May 25, 2007... to confirm final player list.
Memphis Kendo has potentially 19 people on their team so everyone needs to come and join in the shiai. Please see An Giang (avgiang@yahoo.com) for details.
After the taikai, there will be open practice for everyone. It would be a great opportunity to practice with people from other places.
Monday, April 23, 2007
Nabeshima Cup - Results
Those of us that went to Dallas, TX, for the Nabeshima Cup and Texas Open had a great time. We managed to meet a ton of new people and actually performed quite well in the taikai. Several of us that went for the shinsa also did very well during the examination. I won't list out everybody's name here but you can go to our main website for detailed information.
An overview of the results:
Shinsa: We had seven people testing at the shinsa. Afterwards, we have 1 new 5 kyu, 1 new 3 kyu, 1 new 7 kyu, and 3 new 6 kyu students. Congratulations to them.
Taikai: Michio Kajitani sensei won the fighting spirit award for the Texas Open. An Giang won the yudansha division at the Nabeshima Cup. Two others won 2nd and 3rd place at the youth division of the Nabeshima Cup. Congratulations to them.
Pictures will be posted on the main website as they become available as well as video of some of the shiai matches.
Congratulations again.
Looking ahead...
AUSKF Kendo Camp in Atlanta, GA, in late June
AUSKF Iaido Camp in Omaha, NE, in late July
SWKIF Kendo seminar in Denver, CO, in late October
SEKF Championships (Singles & Teams) in Atlanta, GA, in early Novemeber
SWKIF Championships (Singles & Teams) in Denver, CO, in April of 2008
... more information will come as they are available for distribution.
An overview of the results:
Shinsa: We had seven people testing at the shinsa. Afterwards, we have 1 new 5 kyu, 1 new 3 kyu, 1 new 7 kyu, and 3 new 6 kyu students. Congratulations to them.
Taikai: Michio Kajitani sensei won the fighting spirit award for the Texas Open. An Giang won the yudansha division at the Nabeshima Cup. Two others won 2nd and 3rd place at the youth division of the Nabeshima Cup. Congratulations to them.
Pictures will be posted on the main website as they become available as well as video of some of the shiai matches.
Congratulations again.
Looking ahead...
AUSKF Kendo Camp in Atlanta, GA, in late June
AUSKF Iaido Camp in Omaha, NE, in late July
SWKIF Kendo seminar in Denver, CO, in late October
SEKF Championships (Singles & Teams) in Atlanta, GA, in early Novemeber
SWKIF Championships (Singles & Teams) in Denver, CO, in April of 2008
... more information will come as they are available for distribution.
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Secondary Website
Our official website for Arkansas Kendo Club in Little Rock, AR, is:
www.arkansas-kendo.com
We have a secondary, unofficial, website at:
www.arkansas-kendo.bravehost.com
The secondary website will host information files and misc things while the main site will still be kept up-to-date on class schedule, location, and membership fees. The secondary website also provides a photo center that allows people to upload pictures. Please feel free to share your kendo related pictures or whatever. All I ask is that you keep it simply. Flooding or nonappropriate pictures will result in restricted uploading access. Of course, we will also have this blog at:
www.arkansas-kendo.blogspot.com
Thanks.
www.arkansas-kendo.com
We have a secondary, unofficial, website at:
www.arkansas-kendo.bravehost.com
The secondary website will host information files and misc things while the main site will still be kept up-to-date on class schedule, location, and membership fees. The secondary website also provides a photo center that allows people to upload pictures. Please feel free to share your kendo related pictures or whatever. All I ask is that you keep it simply. Flooding or nonappropriate pictures will result in restricted uploading access. Of course, we will also have this blog at:
www.arkansas-kendo.blogspot.com
Thanks.
Nabeshima Cup
A little over a week left until the Nabeshima Cup in Dallas, TX. We will have 10 people going along with some other family members. We will have 7 testing on Sunday for rank. It will be the biggest turnout ever from Arkansas to any major Kendo event in history.
Naturally, our regular practice on Friday and Sunday of that particular weekend will be cancelled since many of us will be in Dallas. We all hope to return with favorable news. Please spread the news that we will be accepting new students at the start of May as well.
Until further notice, our practice location will remain at the Arkansas Festival Dance Ballet. We are still in process on moving to a larger facility.
To look ahead, after the Nabeshima Cup in Dallas, there is a Kendo Summer Camp in Atlanta, GA, at the end of June with a Iaido Camp in Omaha, NE, at the end of July. The scheduled SWKIF fall event will be in Denver, CO, in late October.
As usual, you can speak with me if you want more information. Of course, I will post updates as provided here and in class.
Naturally, our regular practice on Friday and Sunday of that particular weekend will be cancelled since many of us will be in Dallas. We all hope to return with favorable news. Please spread the news that we will be accepting new students at the start of May as well.
Until further notice, our practice location will remain at the Arkansas Festival Dance Ballet. We are still in process on moving to a larger facility.
To look ahead, after the Nabeshima Cup in Dallas, there is a Kendo Summer Camp in Atlanta, GA, at the end of June with a Iaido Camp in Omaha, NE, at the end of July. The scheduled SWKIF fall event will be in Denver, CO, in late October.
As usual, you can speak with me if you want more information. Of course, I will post updates as provided here and in class.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Shiai & Shinsa Deadline
The absolute deadline for the registration of the shiai and the shinsa is April 1 in order to have enough time to deliver the package to its destination. Please forward all registration for the taikai to the appropriate address in Dallas. All other shinsa information should be passed to me to forward to the shinsa people.
Please make sure you all have your iternary sure for travel and hotel accommodations in Dallas. Also, please check the condition of your equipment and make sure everything is in good working order. Contact me or sensei if you have any questions or concerns about anything. We are expecting to make a good showing at the event. :)
Please make sure you all have your iternary sure for travel and hotel accommodations in Dallas. Also, please check the condition of your equipment and make sure everything is in good working order. Contact me or sensei if you have any questions or concerns about anything. We are expecting to make a good showing at the event. :)
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Nabeshima Cup Taikai
The information for the taikai is out and available. You can get it from the DFWKIK website or ask one of us. The deadline for registration for the taikai is April 6, 2007. So make sure you get it in early if you are interested in participating.
If you need help making accommodations for the taikai, let me know and I can give you some information.
We are recieving a guest from Colorado Ito Dojo on the 23rd of March (Friday) at the dance studio. Everyone should try to attend.
If you need help making accommodations for the taikai, let me know and I can give you some information.
We are recieving a guest from Colorado Ito Dojo on the 23rd of March (Friday) at the dance studio. Everyone should try to attend.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Kendo on 3-2-2007 is at the Dance Studio
Kendo this Friday (March 2, 2007) will be held at the dance studio instead of the church... Arkansas Festival Ballet in Breckenridge Village on Rodney Parham, behind Mt Fuji. Check out main site for address and directions.
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
AUSKF & SWKIF
We sent in the registration packet for the AUSKF & SWKIF. We had 17 people which is by far the largest group ever in Arkansas... woot.
And here it is...
newly created blog for Arkansas Kendo. Please direct any inquiries to avgiang@yahoo.com
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