Grading Success

Congratulations to Anthony Francis who passed his Shodan and Joshua Pullar who passed his Sandan grading at Mumeishi this weekend. Well done guys you've really put the work in so it's well deserved.

BKA Seminar and Kyusha Taikai - CANCELLED.

It's with regret that we've been forced to cancel the BKA Seminar and Kyusha Taikai. Unfortunately we did not secure enough pre-registrations to suggest the event would be sustainable. With a couple of other high profile events on the same day it was always going to be difficult to get numbers but the figures were even less than we expected. As a single dojo trying to put on a National event we could not afford the financial loss this would have caused.

We apologise for any inconvenience, all those who have pre-registered will receive a full refund of their registration and entry fee. Kyu grades wishing to compete in a tournament at their own level should look out for information regarding the Lidstone Taikai in London later this year.

Despite this setback we are also in discussion with the other North West dojos in organising a local Taikai. By sharing the competition we hope there will be increased support and shared risk/reward, therefore reducing the chance of cancellation.

Winter Training, week 2

Once again we threw ourselves into the fire of Winter Training with over 2000 suburi in some form or another. Numbers don't really matter, the effort in keeping together and giving your all does. Thanks to all who turned up and it's a sad farewell to Inaie Park who returns to Korea. Hopefully she'll come back and we'll see her again.

Next week is still winter training, of a sort. We will be back in hakama, keikogi and there will be bogu as well, but as Sensei said we will only use it late on in practice. Also, for all those wishing to be part of the 2012 club photograph this is your one chance to show your face. This was 2011, a veritable 'where are they now'...

Hopefully we'll see some returning faces and 2012's beginners can feature in next years photograph.

BKA Seminar and Kyusha Taikai, online booking now available, book NOW!

Booking for 2012 is available now, click here: http://www.membership.kendo.org.uk/html/book_events.php Don't forget to select the Taikai Entry in addition to the seminar if you wish to compete, and why wouldn't you?

Cardiff Regional Taikai

Joe posted this report of the Cardiff Regional Taikai at Akai Ryuu Kendo Club on Facebook

Well done to the lads. 

Yesterday was an amazing success. For everyone involved. After an early start (we left Jeff's at 6.30am), we talked kendo all the way to Cardiff, preparing ourselves for the first shiai of the year. It ws Jeff and Steve's first time so they must have been feeling slightly more nervous than myself.  

We arrived at the Akai ryuu dojo at around 9.30 and spent the first 20 mins saying hello as always happens (isn't kendo a lovely community), got changed and warmed up for a 10am start.  

We were pooled with Cheltenham, Akairyuu B and Akairyuu C. We were first on against a well experienced team from Cheltenham (the order was Jeff-senpo, Steve-chuken and myself-taisho). Jeff put in an amazing performance coming back from one men down to take it to shobu with good degote but unfortunately lost to a further men. Steve had a baptism of fire (very early on) with a strong competitor who scored two men against him. I fough John Richards who caught my men. I was lucky enough to score men back taking my match to hikiwake.  

We found ourselves going straight back on against Akairyuu B (the hosts). Jeff stormed in and nearly had raised flags for a kote and then a men and was unfortunate to end his match in hikiwake. Steve the did the same ending his match in hikiwake.  I managed to score kote against their taisho. A blinding result (2 hikiwake and a win) 

Our final match was tha last in the pool, so after some shinpan duty we got ready and went out against Akairyuu C. Jeff was very unlucky to have a point scored against him, but Steve managed a sprited effort to pull it back with a hikiwake. I knew what I had to do but was uinabl;e to gain the win we needed (sorry lads I did catch his kote 3 times but I had blocked the shinpan's line of sight!). We were very close to going through to the knock outs / semi-finals but I have to accept responsiblity for that not happening.   

I was incredibly proud of being part of the first Liverpool 3 man team to enter the Regional Welsh Taikai and even more proud to be able to fight along side Jeff and Steve. Well done lads, we'll get more points next time. We all have areas to work on and we know what they are. 

Thanks must go to James Ogle, Gary Mathlin and Anred Le Roux for organising this event and we need to plan another trip in August.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Sensei asked me to pass on his wishes that you all have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. This year has been quite a big one for the club. We have entered more competitions than ever before and been out and about with the kendo community, making friends and building on the previous years foundations for good kendo.

We held three beginner's nights and managed to keep some of those eager to start the long kendo journey. We lost quite a few members for one reason or another but a few returned from absences which brought vital skills and spirit back to the club.

We also held our first seminar and Kyusha Taikai on behalf of the BKA, inviting Howell Sensei to impart some of his vast knowledge into our training. The event went with only a few hitches, to be expected considering it was our first time, but overall it was a great success with around 40 people attending the weekend and 8 of the 24 kyusha competitors being home-grown and one of these coming 3rd.

2012 will be very different no doubt. We will still be holding the BKA Seminar and Kyusha Taikai on 31st March/1st April 2012 but whether we can field the same numbers as last year is hard to say. A number of us will be attempting gradings, ranging from ikkyu to sandan and your continued input and support will be invaluable in helping us be successful.

A reminder also that some may need to renew their BKA membership. If you have had problems recently it's because the dojo has also had to renew it's membership, this includes the insurance cover for both Sensei and those of us with the Coaching level. If you've had problems then they should be sorted by the end of the week [or next] so please try again, it should be OK.

And lastly a reminder of the training dates over the festive period and beyond, please try and make Wednesday's last practice of 2011:

Monday 19th December [kata] CLOSED
Wednesday 21st December, last practice of 2011
Wednesday 28th December CLOSED

2012
Wednesday 4th January, first practice of 2012 [Winter Training, tracksuits, no bogu required]Wednesday 11th January [Winter Training, tracksuits, no bogu required]
Monday 16th January [kata]
Wednesday 18th January [Club photograph]
Wednesday 25th January [beginner's night]

Thank you once again for your efforts over 2011.

CLOSED - Monday 19th December, Kata

Just to let you know that the Kata night of 19th December has been cancelled, as the school will be closed. Here's a reminder of the training dates over the festive period and beyond:

Monday 19th December [kata] CLOSED
Wednesday 21st December, last practice of 2011
Wednesday 28th December CLOSED

2012
Wednesday 4th January, first practice of 2012 [Winter Training, tracksuits, no bogu required]Wednesday 11th January [Winter Training, tracksuits, no bogu required]
Monday 16th January [kata]
Wednesday 18th January [Club photograph]
Wednesday 25th January [beginner's night]

Christmas/New Year Training Dates

Some club dates for your diary, though I'll update the Calendar too. If the situation changes we'll let you know.

Wednesday 30th November CLOSED 

Monday 5th December [kata]
Monday 19th December [kata]
Wednesday 21st December, last practice of 2011
Wednesday 28th December CLOSED
2012
Wednesday 4th January, first practice of 2012 [Winter Training, tracksuits, no bogu required]Wednesday 11th January [Winter Training, tracksuits, no bogu required]
Monday 16th January [kata]
Wednesday 18th January [Club photograph]
Wednesday 25th January [beginner's night]

Kata night

Thanks go out to the seven guys who turned up to kata last night. Sensei sent his apologies as he has been ill over the weekend. I really appreciate your turning up, your efforts and your patience with my tuition. Hopefully you were able to get some greater understanding through last nights practice.

At Liverpool Kendo Club we practice, on average, twice a month for two hours each session. Very few clubs nationwide will devote so much time to kata and certainly not in such detail. The club pays for the venue, and at £36 a session the more people that turn up the better value it is all round. Because we believe so strongly in the importance of kata and the benefits it has shown in the beginners who have attended for club members this lesson is FREE! The cost of practice is included in your monthly fees so the only thing stopping you going is getting there.

We will continue to subsidise kata sessions this but it's down to the individual to turn up, without this knowledge you will not be able to attend gradings both within the club and further down the line for National gradings.

If this was not enough to convince you of the importance of kata just remember it was only through kata that 'Daniel-san' wins in Karate Kid 3. Go on, do it for Mr Miyagi! ;)

Beginner's Nights all right for fighting.

Thanks to everyone who turned up for the Beginner's Night. I think there were eleven, hopefully we'll see you all back at the club next Wednesday, where it'll only get better and more confusing. Just a reminder to all that next week will be the first Wednesday of the month, which is 'fees night', £20 for the gainfully employed, £10 concessions. This includes all the Wednesday practices and any kata sessions.  Details of all practice dates are updated on the calendar so please keep an eye on it or add it to your RSS readers [details on the forum on how to do this, feed link below].
Liverpool Kendo Club Training Calendar RSS Feed


There is also kata on Monday, beginners welcome too. Some clubs find it can be difficult to grasp kata early on, but Sensei believes there is a lot a beginner can learn which can help with the Wednesday night sessions. We've also noticed those Beginners who attend kata progress much quicker than those that don't and as it's included in your fees anyway there's little excuse to not be there. So come along to Chesterfield High School in Crosby, details in the Training section.


Anyone who missed Beginner's Night and still wishes to attend, next week is your 'last chance to dance' until January 2012. Anyone who wants to try kendo can do so but after next week, for the benefit of all the beginners, you will have to wait till our next Beginner's Night. Thanks for your understanding. Oh some links for our new friends:


Liverpool Kendo Club is on Facebook
Liverpool Kendo Club Forum
Liverpool Kendo Club Google Calendar RSS
Liverpool Kendo Club Clothing (we make no profit from this)
British Kendo Association website

Beginner's Night 28th September 2011

Just to remind everyone that Wednesday is Beginner's Night. For existing members please try to be on time so we can get ready and please bring any spare shinai you have.

Beginners please be in the dojo no later than 7:15pm so we can go through all the Health and Safety aspects. Please remember to wear loose fitting clothes, tracksuit pants or three-quarter shorts are ideal. For more information click the Beginners link on the website. Just a reminder that your first session is free and if you cannot manage it this week then we will only accept new beginners up to October 5th [next week]. If you miss these dates anyone wishing to start kendo will have to wait until the next Beginner's Night in January 2012

Sir Frank Bowden Taikai 2011 - Round 1 Liverpool Vs Kobudokan

Sorry about the delay in posting this, I've actually uploaded the three sets of matches between ourselves, Kobudokan, Mumeishi and eventual winners Wakaba. Here are the Kobudokan matches:

Senpo -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEU0AfZYboc

Jiho -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UCN7uXqdRI

Chuken -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqgH0h_jDUU

Fukusho -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-xhmi5dBhc

Taisho -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5je8EN_QHoY

I'll post the remaining links once I've cleaned up all the youtube descriptions. It was a good day and overall the impression was that we fought well [although my 40 second match with Safraz Aziz will not sit alongside my highlights of the day :( ] Regardless, thanks for all your efforts we will continue to improve, as always.

Sir Frank Boden Memorial Taikai 2011

Once again members of Liverpool Kendo Club will go forth to compete in the biggest team even in the kendo calendar. It's a team that will feature old hands and new blood so we hope to go in with strong fighting spirit and see what we can achieve. The team features:

• Richard Crosbie
• Anthony Francis
• Martin O'Shaugnessy
• Dave Weston
• Joe Willmott

We'll try to update the blog as the action goes down.

Attendance

Thanks once again for attending last nights practice, in particular our visitors from near and far, your efforts were appreciated. It's been a good week for kendo in that we've had two days of Intensive Training with the British Squad and two weeks where new practice partners have stretched our abilities and challenged our skills.

Summer is a time where many dojo find numbers slowly drop off as there seem to be far more interesting things to do on a warm evening than stand in a hall and sweat yourself stupid for two hours. Thankfully, for the most part, we have had relatively good numbers attending which is rewarding for us as we are seeing people week in, week out, improving through our efforts. Presumably it's also rewarding for those who attend regularly as they will be experiencing that progression first hand and not feel intimidated by the challenges ahead.

It's understandable that every day life can impact on training which may prevent attendance, therefore can you please make every effort to let us know if you cannot come to practice. If we know individuals are not coming we can aim to start practice sooner rather than later. Aside from that, it's part of dojo etiquette and common courtesy to those who do attend that they will not be benefiting from your presence. More importantly, if you have been loaned club armour you have taken on the responsibility of turning up regularly. If you cannot make that commitment it is only fair that you return the bogu so that someone else who can be at practice every week can benefit and progress. For greater understanding of this please refer to my post on Giri 義理

So, if you can't make it to practice please let someone know through the forum, facebook or email [use the link at the bottom of http://www.liverpoolkendo.co.uk/]. There's plenty of options so there's really no excuse. Thank you for your understanding and as a reminder there is NO kata on Monday, it's a bank holiday so please DO NOT turn up, you'll be disappointed!

Last Night's Visitors

Thanks go out to Tom Widdows from Kobudokan Kendo Club, Dave Parkes from Oxford University Kendo Club and Mark Welsh from York Kendo Club, who attended practice. Tom has visited a couple of times and helped out with our support for the Etsu Restaurant Japan Fun Day Charity Event. Having a squad member turn up for practice is always a treat.

It was Dave's first time with us, although he did come to the Kyusha Taikai back in April. His Kendo was a real challenge for me, as you saw when his near perfect uchi-otoshi waza on my failed attempt at katate-tsuki sent my shinai across the dojo, always there to entertain. Lastly, it was regular visitor Mark Welsh's last visit for a while as he moves down south to start a new job. It's always a pleasure to have him visit and his kendo has improved greatly over the years, hopefully we'll see you again at Christmas, good luck with your new job

It's great to have visitors, the variety their kendo brings is extremely useful to mix in with the people we practice week in and week out. It's for this reason Sensei is keen to have us compete in competition so we can get out and experience kendo from around the country.

Equally, when those people come to you it makes it even easier, so take advantage of the Squad training this weekend:

Hope Park Sports Hall, Liverpool Hope University, Taggart Avenue, Liverpool, L16 9JD
Saturday 20th 14:30 - 18:00
Sunday 21st 09:30 - 13:00
Each session costs £5.

More information about intensive training with the GB Kendo Squad

Just to give you a little more information about Squad Training. Our old friend Daniel Antoni, now resident in Japan went to a couple of squad practices. You can read about his efforts on the Kobudokan Kendo Club forum. There's clear indication of how a session runs so forewarned is forearmed.

Additionally The Kendo Hypochondriac Blog also features a short report from the last squad training in Cardiff, you should be plugging that into your RSS readers as it's an interesting read from 'one of us' a 2nd Dan kendoka who's occasionally injured and is beset by the typical kendo concerns we all have.

And just to remind you, where, when and how much it is.

Hope Park Sports Hall, Liverpool Hope University, Taggart Avenue, Liverpool, L16 9JD
Saturday 20th 14:30 - 18:00
Sunday 21st 09:30 - 13:00
Each session costs £5.

PS don't forget to be on time tonight.

Intensive Training with the GB Kendo Squad

If you were unaware the GB Kendo Squad holds regular monthly training sessions, they are open to all BKA Kendo members. One goal of these sessions is to build a pool of talent from which the Great British Kendo Team will eventually be selected. In order to become a GB Kendo Team member, you must  be committed and demonstrate that you will make a consistent contribution to the BKA and the GB Kendo Squad. Joe has been attending these sessions regularly and his progress not only shows in the dojo but he has come close to being included in the team.

This weekend Saturday 20th and Sunday 21st August, Intensive training takes place here in Liverpool. They will be using the same venue as we did when holding the Kyusha Taikia:

Hope Park Sports Hall, Liverpool Hope University, Taggart Avenue, Liverpool, L16 9JD
Saturday 20th 14:30 - 18:00
Sunday 21st 09:30 - 13:00

Each session costs £5, so it's great value for money, three and a half hours of kendo with Britains strongest competetive kendoka under the watchful eye of the Squad coach. This is an event not to be missed as it is highly unlikely to return to Liverpool, but looks set to move to Wolverhampton, so if you get a taste for it this weekend you won't have to go to the ends of the Earth to show you're interested.

Rest assured though, this will be a hard practice, Joe has described it as 'relentless'. If you are up for the challenge you must remember you are joining practice with the GB Squad and it is your responsibility to do your best to improve their kendo as well as your own, they are not there to 'hold your hand'. Therefore if you want to participate please feel free to take advantage of this opportunity. Come with a strong fighting spirit to do your best and learn with the best. Equally if you are not in armour and wish to come along to watch you are more than welcoem to do so to learn what goes on and what it takes to be a squad member.

The Northern Open / The Komatsu Cup

Good luck to the two teams we are sending to The Northern Open / The Komatsu Cup this weekend. Hopefully you'll get some good experiences in Gateshead and show good fighting spirit on behalf of your club.

Hopefully Joe shoud be keeping me informed over the day so I can post updates online.

Ganbatte - Do your best!

Grading Success

Congrats to Geunsu Lee for passing his Nidan test at the Stoke grading this weekend. Nearly a year ago to the day he passed Shodan! So that shows that you can work hard and grade up to the next level within the minimum time frames set out by the BKA. Hopefully he'll have some information abut the weekend and how it went when next we meet.

Oh, and it transpires that Mark Welsh, regular visitor from York Kendo Club, also passed Nidan so we look forward to his next visit with great anticioation.
Next step on the ladder, back to square one.

Last Night's Visitor

Thanks go out to Sensei Mark Needham [5th dan] who came to practice last night. Needham Sensei runs the Bolton Kendo Club which practices on a Sunday between 10am and 12pm. His instruction is extremely valuable to us.

As a kyu grade he came 2nd in the Kyusha Taikai in 1995. Today he represents one of the highest grades in the North of England, so it's a lesson to us that with time, practice and effort we could all reach his level. Hopefully everyone got to take away some advice from Needham Sensei whatever he had to say to you please take time to focus on it at your next practice.

A number of Liverpool members regularly travel to Bolton to practice. If you wish to attend ask around, there may be a lift available, however please check with Sensei beforehand if this is OK. Sometimes it can be detrimental in the beginning of your kendo training to take instruction from too many instructors, Sensei will know best regarding your ability.