Johnson Cup Kendo Tournament in Cincinnati

We will be hosting the East Central United States Kendo Federation (ECUSKF) Johnson Cup Kendo Tournament on December 18th, 2010 along with "The TEA House Martial Arts and Learning Center". It will be held at the Corryville Recreation Center (where we hold Wednesday evening class) located at 2823 Eden Avenue, Cincinnati OH 45219. It is scheduled to start about 10:30 am until 4:30 pm. After the tournament there will be an open practice until about 5:30. The open practice is an opportunity for everyone to practice with the high ranking instructors of our region. If you are not practicing in Kendo armor, you can still participate. Don't forget to bring your shinai, and please wear your club tee shirt. Be sure to invite your friends and family to see this event. It is a chance to introduce them to what you do in Kendo. There is free admission and free parking

After we are finished at the Corryville Rec Center, we'll all gather at the Buffalo Wild Wings located at 200 Calhoun Street, Cincinnati OH 45219, for the ECUSKF Holiday Party. Normally the Northern Kentucky Kendo Club has its own Holiday Party, but this year since we are hosting the regional tournament, we'll have a combined function. During the celebration I'll give out certificates for special achievements of the year for things like; Student of the Year, Parent of the Year, Best Kote Strike, Best Footwork, and more....

Contact me by Friday December 10 if you are coming with friends or family. The dinner is $15 per person. We need to get a good head count for the restaurant, so contact me as soon as you know.

Jim-san

2010 Winter Hours at Corryville Recreation Center

A reminder for class this Wednesday Sept 15; we are returning to Winter hours at the Corryville Rec Center. This means that we are moving back to the Dance Studio, and we will will only have Kendo class. Kendo starts at 7:00 pm until 9:00 pm.

Jim

September 2010 Events

Before I get into the events for September, last month we had a referee seminar in Columbus, hosted by our regional federation. The referee seminars are a great opportunity to attend the training of the tournament referees. Even if you are not high enough in rank to judge, there is plenty of opportunity to participate in mock matches which give the referees a chance to tune their eyes for real Kendo tournament matches.

We also gave a demonstration of Iaido and Kendo to the Adult Program at the Kenton County Library on August 28th. We were well received and had fun talking with the people afterwards.

Coming up in September on the 11th, there will be a joint practice held in Indianapolis IN. It is hosted by our region. It will run from 1:00 pm until 3:00 pm. After practice everyone will get together for dinner at a local restaurant.

The following weekend September 17,18,19, there will a seminar in Cleveland. Friday evening will be an open practice. Saturday morning there will be Iaido practice. Saturday afternoon is a referee seminar. Sunday there will be a youth and student Kendo tournament for up to age 18. The weekend is hosted by the Greater Northeast United States Kendo Federation. The guest head instructor will be Shozo Kato Sensei. He is an 8th Dan in Kendo and 7th Dan in Iaido. It's not often you get to spar with someone that high in rank, not to mention Kato Sensei is one of the highest ranking Kendo instructors in the US.

Finally, another event on the 11th, there will be a seminar hosted by Aikido of Cincinnati. Carl Long is a high ranking Iaido instructor with the Muso Jikiden Eishin Ryu Iaido school of Iaido. He is very knowledgeable and very approachable when you have questions. If you would like to participate, contact Dick McKeever at Aikido of Cincinnati (513)984-0047 or (513)1976 or me. If you would like to watch a session, please contact me so I can get permission for you to watch but not participate.

Spring Meeting and Social Event

May 21, 2010 the Northern Kentucky Kendo Club had a Spring Meeting and Social Event at Matsuya Japanese Restaurant in Florence Ky. Before the meeting, there was a Club tee shirt presentation to members, with two special "Gold Shirts" awarded.

One of the shirts went to Justas Jodele, for his big improvements and dedication to practice in Kendo, and for maintaining a high grade point average at school. In Kendo, this past November Justas placed 3rd in both individual (14 to 16 yr olds) and team competition at the Kendo Youth Tournament in Lexington Ky. He worked hard after that, improved, and last month in April he won an individual first place at the youth tournament held at Michigan State University in the under 16 year old and younger division.

The second "Gold Shirt" was awarded to Gerald Meade for his work for the Club as "the invisible man". Gerald does many things to help maintain and grow our Club. He provides support in such a way as to not call attention to himself. His work is greatly appreciated. Congratulations to both Gerald and Justas!

The 2010 National Iaido Camp is June 10 through 13 in San Antonio. The National Kendo Summer Camp is July 2 through 4. If you need information about either event, please contact me.

Jim

2010 AUSKF Iaido National Summer Camp

The Iaido National Summer Camp arrangements are near complete. Right now it looks like it will be held June 9-13 at Trinity University in San Antonio Texas. There will be more details later

Jim

Time Change for Wednesday Evening Class in Cincinnati

Our class times for the Wednesday evening class is going to change this coming week due to a schedule change at the Corryville Rec Center in Cincinnati. We will start Kendo class at 7:00 pm Wednesday March 31. There will be no Iaido class at Corryville at least for a couple weeks. I'll let everyone know when our time will change again.

The Sunday morning schedule will not change for Step 'N Out dance studio in Covington KY.

Jim

European Sword Events

1.) This Sunday March 7th classes will be at the normal times in Covington at the Step'N Out Dance Studio (Iaido 8:00am until 9:15am, Kendo 9:30am until 11:00am). We will share the dance studio with the Cincinnati Fencing Academy and their coach, former Olympian Ed Wright. They will have a Fencing tournament that will start on the second floor while we are still practicing. Once we are done with Kendo, the fencers will move down to the first floor. It will be a good opportunity to watch a tournament using point weapons (foils). I've been invited to help judge the Fencing matches, so I might leave Kendo practice a little early.

2.) The following weekend March 13th and 14th, I'll be teaching a Japanese Swordsmanship class for the regional seminar of the Society of American Fight Directors (SAFD) at the Northern Kentucky University in Highland Heights KY. I'm scheduled to teach on Saturday the 13th. I'm planning to participate in some of their other classes as well. If you are interested in watching or participating in my class, let me know. It might be possible for me to get permission for you to visit and watch one of the other classes. The SAFD teaches Stage Combat to actors for use on stage, television and movies.

3.) Since I'll already have my goodies packed for the SAFD seminar, I'll have a sword presentation for Iaido class on Sunday March 14th at the Step 'N Out in Covington. I'll bring swords from my collection (broadsword, rapier, katana....) and we'll talk about how they are used and differences in their construction.

Jim