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| Photo courtesy of Kendo Photography |
Well it's been a while! This is not from lack of motivation to write, though. No, it's more because our club is in a transition period and has been looking for a new location to train at for a few months now. Unfortunately the market around our area is hectic at the moment, but we've been doing our best to train when we can and I've personally been doing my best to get out to Seattle and train when I can, as well. Speaking of, I was just there last weekend for a 3-day summer camp hosted by none other than Brandon Harada Sensei, of US national team fame. Many, many thanks to him for flying to our corner of the US and helping create such a successful experience.
Friday I drove out to Bellevue training, where we were gathering for a mock kodansha shinsa. We broke into groups of new 4 dans (1 year or less), more experience 4 dan that may have already attempted 5 dan, and then current 5 dan and 6 dan ranks. My group. the new yondan (baby yondans, as we called ourselves), were first up, and I was the third match in. We ran things as close to a real shinsa as possible, except that our panel consisted of Harada Sensei and Imanishi Sensei only and we periodically stopped to go over each of the groups and get immediate feedback. My rounds, in my mind, went pretty well although not as well as I would have liked. We gathered up after the five of us in our group were done to receive our feedback, though, and I was surprised to hear Harada Sensei comment that I was the closest to passing 5 dan out of our group. Score! He gave me some pointers to work on, as well, but I was happy to hear that it went fairly well. Even happier because I still have three years until I'm eligible to test so I'll have plenty of time to improve everything as best I can. Each group followed the same format, receiving tailored feedback and advice as we went, and we ended the night with around 45 minutes of godo geiko/open floor. I wasn't able to get Harada Sensei that night for keiko but I did enjoy keiko with many others that night.
Saturday morning we were back at it! We had a short session with Harada Sensei before the PNKF shinsa that day, and he had us focus on striking with proper arm and hand position. He showed us a drill that he uses himself to get used to striking with his hands and arms in the optimal position and had us run through a few rounds of it, striking both men and kote-men. He then had us rotate and do shinsa geiko, where we sparred with emphasis on imagining being at a grading ourselves. Again, I had plenty of time to go with a wide range of people including some new faces to the Seattle/PNKF area. We ran all the way up until about an hour before the shinsa kicked off, at which point we had a lunch break and I was able to sit with Harada Sensei and get to know him and ask him some questions real quick.
I stayed for the shinsa, as I was volunteering for the first time and was assigned as tachiai for one of the courts. For those that don't know, this is the person that directs the action on the court. They start and stop the matches as well as call out the participants and bring them back to the center when they start wandering way. I was really nervous, since I'd never done it before, but we had a couple of great court coordinators helping us along and making sure everyone was in order and ready to go once they were called. The matches went smoothly and I was also able to get a front row seat to three of my dojo mates that were testing for 1 kyu. They did their best and I'm happy to say that all of them passed!
After the shinsa was done we went into another session of open floor. This time I was determined to keiko with Harada Sensei and quickly jumped in line behind my friend once he was suited up. I got a few minutes with him and he, unsurprisingly, tore me apart, but he also gave me a few strikes and I was able to get some good feedback from him in the end. I ended out the day with a few other sensei and friends that I haven't seen in a while. I was also able to visit with Harada Sensei during dinner, where my friends and I talked with him and some of our new kendo friends about all kinds of things. It was a very enlightening evening!
Sunday morning was the last day of the camp, and the day was dedicated to a bit of shiai practice versus jodan and nito, as well as shinpan practice for most everyone that was there. It had been a couple months since I did shinpan duty, the last time at the Rose City Taikai in Portland, so I got some much needed practice and feedback. We emphasized judging kids' matches, and the kids delivered for us. The one thing I find hardest about judging kids is setting that bar at a point they can attain while keeping it fair. I'm still way off from where I need to be but, again, I'm grateful for the practice and feedback I received. The day ended with more godo geiko and I was able to get a few more sensei and friend, including Stroud Sensei, whom I haven't done keiko with probably since the last time I was in Boise a few years ago.
All in all, a great weekend, lots of kendo action and advice and now I'm hungry to get back to our own training so I can start putting it all to good use. Looking forward to the next event and more keiko with everyone, including Harada Sensei, in the future!
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