Photo courtesy of W. Sinclair A couple weekends ago our dojo traveled to Seattle to participate in the 17th Annual Kent Taikai, and there was definitely no shortage of great kendo to be had! This tournament is interesting in that it's only for sandan and below, so to me it feels like the competition is a bit closer and heated amongst the participating individuals and dojos. I say this because, in the team matches especially, there is no chance that I'll randomly be paired against a godan or rokudan, although on the other hand a lower kyu that gets paired against a sandan in a team match is probably feeling that sting that I'm talking about a bit more. This time out I wasn't in charge of any of the courts so I had free reign to cheer on my friends and fellow dojo mates (and help out when necessary, of course!). I was also able to visit with some of my kendo buddies, including my friend Mia. She was the inspiration for the post title, because when I saw her she t
One man's Kendo journey