All California Kendo Tournament photos

[Ralutin]

Here are some of my photos from the All California
Kendo Tournament on Sunday, 9/2/07, in Fresno:

http://www.flickr.com/gp/38889126@N00/8Q3bAM

I know of at least two Southern Californian KW Forumites who are in a few of these photos...could there be more?

Enjoy!

[T.Lee]

results?

i see kinno sensei won something. congratulations to your dojo!

(yes i know ive been conspicuously absent lately, and shouldnt need to ask, feel free to give me crap anyway. )

[R Stroud]

... photos from the All California Kendo Tournament on Sunday, 9/2/07, in Fresno...

Thanks Dennis. As always it is Great to see your photos and have them made available to everyone.

Perhaps I miss the point, but why is it that the kendo decision makers in the US continue to put taikai right in the middle of National Holidays? I have always understood that the priority should be family, work, and then kendo. But with major taikai on the key summer holidays, it takes time away from family.

The federation's answer is that the family can go with participants to make it a family event. This Labor Day I spent the whole time in the mountains with my wife and kids and had a blast, if I had asked them to go to a kendo taikai instead I would have missed all the family fun we had.

And next summer the AUSKF is holding the US National Kendo Taikai on July 4th, and expects people to take their family to Vegas for the event. I for one can't imagine a less family oriented vacation destination, and don't see how one can spend long hours each day at a taikai and also be with family.

American citizens expect to spend holidays with family so, why do the US kendo federation decision makers ignore this point?

[Ralutin]

results?

i see kinno sensei won something. congratulations to your dojo!

(yes i know ive been conspicuously absent lately, and shouldnt need to ask, feel free to give me crap anyway. )

On behalf of OCB Dojo: Arigato gozaimashita! Kinno sensei placed third in the 4 dan and above division and was also on the SCKF team and scored two awesome do within a minute of each other during the team finals with NCKF. NCKF won the team taikai, though, 3-2...:mad: I also know that S. Domen from Norwalk placed in the Women's dan division and Y. Kariya, also from Norwalk, placed in the 1-3 dan division. I'll post more results as soon as I receive them.

[crap=Tyson]

So, where've you been? Great time to practice at OCB with the gym floor being re-finished, us practicing in the Social Hall on linoleum and in 90+ degree heat! :dead:

[/crap=Tyson]

Thanks Dennis. As always it is Great to see your photos and have them made available to everyone.

Perhaps I miss the point, but why is it that the kendo decision makers in the US continue to put taikai right in the middle of National Holidays? I have always understood that the priority should be family, work, and then kendo. But with major taikai on the key summer holidays, it takes time away from family.

The federation's answer is that the family can go with participants to make it a family event. This Labor Day I spent the whole time in the mountains with my wife and kids and had a blast, if I had asked them to go to a kendo taikai instead I would have missed all the family fun we had.

And next summer the AUSKF is holding the US National Kendo Taikai on July 4th, and expects people to take their family to Vegas for the event. I for one can't imagine a less family oriented vacation destination, and don't see how one can spend long hours each day at a taikai and also be with family.

American citizens expect to spend holidays with family so, why do the US kendo federation decision makers ignore this point?

Thanks, Stroud sensei. Shooting pictures makes watching endless kendo matches much more interesting!

Even though I don't have a wife and kids of my own, I totally bemoan with you on the fact that the kendo higher-ups don't take into account our U.S national holidays when scheduling major tournaments. The two summer bookend weekends (Memorial Day and Labor Day) I spent at kendo tournaments and I would've much rather enjoyed the entire weekend doing non-kendo or iaido related activities.

[Bokushingu]

arrgghh the first picture is that kote trap i fell into that probably cost the sckf the match against NCKF. Please tell Kinno sensei my deepest apology for letting them & the SCKF down. Next time I will perform better.

This taikai was their fourth time that i got so nervous i could taste bitterness in my tongue: The first time was when my ship went into combat in the first gulf war, the second time was during the stare down doing my first boxing match & the third was at the alter just before saying I do to my wife.

I actually squeezed two new blisters onto my left hand--my reaction time was like third--arrrghhhhh!

[tango]

fantastic pics!!!

Thanks for sharing..

[Sutemi]

Awesome pics! I'm kicking myself for opting out to do a programming competition that day. Alas!

[kuzu70]

arrgghh the first picture is that kote trap i fell into that probably cost the sckf the match against NCKF. Please tell Kinno sensei my deepest apology for letting them & the SCKF down. Next time I will perform better.

This taikai was their fourth time that i got so nervous i could taste bitterness in my tongue: The first time was when my ship went into combat in the first gulf war, the second time was during the stare down doing my first boxing match & the third was at the alter just before saying I do to my wife.

I actually squeezed two new blisters onto my left hand--my reaction time was like third--arrrghhhhh!

Don't be too hard on yourself. I think you looked good during your match.

[Ralutin]

arrgghh the first picture is that kote trap i fell into that probably cost the sckf the match against NCKF. Please tell Kinno sensei my deepest apology for letting them & the SCKF down. Next time I will perform better.

This taikai was their fourth time that i got so nervous i could taste bitterness in my tongue: The first time was when my ship went into combat in the first gulf war, the second time was during the stare down doing my first boxing match & the third was at the alter just before saying I do to my wife.

I actually squeezed two new blisters onto my left hand--my reaction time was like third--arrrghhhhh!

I agree with kuzu70. Was this your first experience in team shiai in a major tournament? If so, I'm sure you'll be on a few more down the road. Just brush this one off, continue to practice hard and you'll do better next time.

Ganbatte!

[Bokushingu]

Thankyou guys for the kind words and encouragement. although there's no excuse for my performance, I learned alot & feel honored to have been given a chance. :) I will just train harder :)

[JoonShik]

Great pictures. All the matches were great, except mine, haha.

[Koki]

Great pics...

But Dennis, I wonder if you have any pics of my match with Huh sensei in the team match between SCKF and CCKF? If you do, please upload.... I would really appreciate it.

Stroud sensei, I totally understand your point. However, the All California Kendo tournament and the All US Kendo tournament are held only once every three years, and there are also many other holidays during the years. I think my family can understand if I have to spend 2 days at a national tournament.

[Ralutin]

Great pics...

But Dennis, I wonder if you have any pics of my match with Huh sensei in the team match between SCKF and CCKF? If you do, please upload.... I would really appreciate it.


Thanks! I do, but most of them didn't pass snuff. The ones I posted went through alot of post-processing and some still were quite noisy or even a bit out of focus, as pointed out by my head instructor/professional photographer. I'll take another look at the ones that didn't make it and see if they're worth posting.

[yoda-waza]

...why is it that the kendo decision makers in the US continue to put taikai right in the middle of National Holidays? I have always understood that the priority should be family, work, and then kendo. But with major taikai on the key summer holidays, it takes time away from family....

American citizens expect to spend holidays with family so, why do the US kendo federation decision makers ignore this point?

I attended the tournament on the Sunday it was held and spent the Monday holiday with my family. I did not whine about having "my" national holiday limited to a single day. The holiday is a single Monday after all, isn't it?

[Bokushingu]

Great pics...

But Dennis, I wonder if you have any pics of my match with Huh sensei in the team match between SCKF and CCKF? If you do, please upload.... I would really appreciate it.


That was a really exciting match! Glad I had front row seats :)

[Theodore]

I attended the tournament on the Sunday it was held and spent the Monday holiday with my family. I did not whine about having "my" national holiday limited to a single day. The holiday is a single Monday after all, isn't it?

Actually, Congress in it's infinite wisdom has decreed that Labor Day falls on the first Monday in September, thus making it not a single day holiday but a three day holiday. Contrast that with other Federal holidays such as Christmas and the Fourth of July which fall on a date certain and are not necessarily three day holidays.

[yoda-waza]

Labor Day is a single day. The preceding Saturday and Sunday are just a weekend. Congress did not decree a three-day holiday but most of us enjoy Labor Day as such. When Christmas Day falls on a Monday, as it did last year, the same situation happens - many even stretch the Christmas holiday out to include New Years the following week.

The All California Tournament was very well attended - the largest turnout I've seen outside of Nationals. If you had to travel from out of state I can see how the middle Sunday would have busted up your holiday. I've heard that the date of next year's Nationals may be reconsidered because it is proving to be unpopular for this reason.

[Theodore]

Labor Day is a single day. The preceding Saturday and Sunday are just a weekend. Congress did not decree a three-day holiday but most of us enjoy Labor Day as such. When Christmas Day falls on a Monday, as it did last year, the same situation happens - many even stretch the Christmas holiday out to include New Years the following week.

You need to check the debate on the enactment of the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, P.L. 90-363, since it was clearly Congress's intent, in mandating that certain holidays fell on Monday, to insure that they were three day holidays.

Here is the Wikipedia entry:


The Uniform Monday Holiday Act (public law (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_law) no. 90-363) is a United States (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States) law (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law) that amended the federal holiday (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_holiday) provisions of the United States Code (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Code) to establish the observance of certain holidays on Mondays. The Act was signed into law on June 28, 1968 and took effect on January 1, 1971.[1] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uniform_Holidays_Bill#_note-0)
The Act moved Memorial Day (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memorial_Day), Washington's Birthday (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington%27s_Birthday), and Veterans Day (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veterans_Day) from fixed dates to designated Mondays and created a new holiday, Columbus Day (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbus_Day), which also falls on a Monday.[2] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uniform_Holidays_Bill#_note-snopes) The law was designed to give federal employees more three-day weekends.[2] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uniform_Holidays_Bill#_note-snopes) Veterans Day was eventually removed from this list of Monday holidays when it was moved back to its traditional date of November 11.

[Koki]

We had a total of 250 kenshi last Sunday... And yes, it was a very exciting tournament.

The team format was different. Each federation fielded 11 people consisting of two under 13, one 13-15, one 15-17, one adult kyu, two women, 3 yudansha, and one senior. Consequently, no one was able to tell who were going to be the winner. The matches between SCKO and NCKF was down to one point. So were the matches between SCKF and NCKF.

And then the matches in the senior division of Park sensei from SCKF, current all US champion of that division. And one of my friend actually said "This is not senior division... this is senior on steroid." They fought like they were 20-30 year old kenshi... hehe.

I hope everyone participating had a good time.

[Ralutin]

We had a total of 250 kenshi last Sunday... And yes, it was a very exciting tournament.

The team format was different. Each federation fielded 11 people consisting of two under 13, one 13-15, one 15-17, one adult kyu, two women, 3 yudansha, and one senior. Consequently, no one was able to tell who were going to be the winner. The matches between SCKO and NCKF was down to one point. So were the matches between SCKF and NCKF.

And then the matches in the senior division of Park sensei from SCKF, current all US champion of that division. And one of my friend actually said "This is not senior division... this is senior on steroid." They fought like they were 20-30 year old kenshi... hehe.

I hope everyone participating had a good time.

Do you have the results?

[Koki]

Sorry, I actually don't. However, let me check with Sakazaki sensei and Otani sensei. It may take a while though since I don't live in Fresno anymore.

[T.Lee]

Perhaps I miss the point, but why is it that the kendo decision makers in the US continue to put taikai right in the middle of National Holidays?

... why do the US kendo federation decision makers ignore this point?

im willing to guess they put it on a 3 day weekend to HELP accomodate travel for participants and their family, so they dont have to worry about going to work the next day. it is a 3-4 hour drive to either northern or southern california from fresno.

:bandit:

[Ralutin]

Sorry, I actually don't. However, let me check with Sakazaki sensei and Otani sensei. It may take a while though since I don't live in Fresno anymore.

Thanks. I actually sent a request to Otani sensei via e-mail yesterday too.

[Bokushingu]

I don't know; I did the taikai by taking the greyhound, spending a total of 18 hours in transportation, but I was still able to spend Labor day with my family. However my wife is born & raised in Tokyo & is buddhist/Shinto; so for her, many of our hoildays don't affect her. And because I'm a R.T. in a 300 bed hospital, I'm required to work 3 major Holidays (12hour shifts) so I'm used to having to spend holidays away from family...I do understand how many would feel though.

[Theodore]

im willing to guess they put it on a 3 day weekend to HELP accomodate travel for participants and their family, so they dont have to worry about going to work the next day. it is a 3-4 hour drive to either northern or southern california from fresno.

:bandit:


By that logic I'll be looking forward to the Christmas taikai then. :)

[Ignatz]

By that logic I'll be looking forward to the Christmas taikai then. :)

This year december 23 would work nicely because it will essentially be a four day weekend. It is a sunday and also the emperors birthday thus leaving christmas eve and christmas open.

[Theodore]

This year december 23 would work nicely because it will essentially be a four day weekend. It is a sunday and also the emperors birthday thus leaving christmas eve and christmas open.

hahaha. We'll see what Federation is willing to cross that bridge. :laugh:

[yoda-waza]

You need to check the debate on the enactment of the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, P.L. 90-363, since it was clearly Congress's intent, in mandating that certain holidays fell on Monday, to insure that they were three day holidays....

Really? Your Wikipedia entry read: "...The law was designed to give federal employees more three-day weekends...", not three-day holidays. All ten Federal holidays are single days. http://www.opm.gov/fedhol/2007.asp

Enough nit-picking, though. Let's see how Ignatz's Imperial Birthday Taikai pans out.

[JoonShik]

The team format was different. Each federation fielded 11 people consisting of two under 13, one 13-15, one 15-17, one adult kyu, two women, 3 yudansha, and one senior. Consequently, no one was able to tell who were going to be the winner. The matches between SCKO and NCKF was down to one point. So were the matches between SCKF and NCKF.
Does anyone know what the reason was for givin Yamaguchi Sensei (NCKF) the hansoku during the team match against Park Sensei (SCKF) in the senior match?

-That match, man, it was like a sumo match.

[Koki]

I think the shimpan were going to give a hansoku because Yamaguchi sensei was playing defensive kendo and kept the maai very close so Park sensei couldn't score. However, right after they gave it, the head judge of the court stopped the match and asked they to cancel the hansoku. I don't know what the head judge told the shushin. Anyway, it was canceled.

And yes... it was quite a match... not so much as a sumo match.. .but very physical... not typical at all for seniors. :D

[Bokushingu]

did anyone get to see the finals of the Shodan to san dan division? I was too busy watching the 4th to 5thdan division.

[JoonShik]

I think the shimpan were going to give a hansoku because Yamaguchi sensei was playing defensive kendo and kept the maai very close so Park sensei couldn't score. However, right after they gave it, the head judge of the court stopped the match and asked they to cancel the hansoku. I don't know what the head judge told the shushin. Anyway, it was canceled.

And yes... it was quite a match... not so much as a sumo match.. .but very physical... not typical at all for seniors. :D
Yamaguchi Sensei wasnt playin defensive, much. Actually from his account, Park sensei just kept coming in when Yamaguchi sensei tried to get out.

did anyone get to see the finals of the Shodan to san dan division? I was too busy watching the 4th to 5thdan division.
yea, it was pretty short, if I recall correctly.

[Ralutin]

Results posted here:

http://www.kendo-world.com/forum/showthread.php?p=280748#post280748