All Japan championships this November

[Kagerou]

Anyone going? I'm taking the day off work. It's on the 3rd in case you haven't seen it yet.

[The Limp]

Well...it's a little far away...
Is there somewhere on the internet where I can watch it? (as "live" as possible)
Is it on TV?

[Kagerou]

Should be on NHK sports if you can get it....don't know about live casting on the net. This was more of a question to us folks living in Japan. It'd be nice to have someone else to watch it with and talk to.

[xvikingx]

I will most likely be there. The 3rd is a national holiday.

[tamaki]

I will most likely be there. The 3rd is a national holiday.

National Culture Day or smth like that..I m gonna be there too.Bought ticket last month:)

[Fudo-Shin]

I will be there, I gots 2 Arena seats.

[Darknails]

I'll be there too!
My friend in Tokyo recommends me to get the 1000 yen seat cuz he says it's got a better view. But might be up to personally taste.

[tamaki]

I'll be there too!
My friend in Tokyo recommends me to get the 1000 yen seat cuz he says it's got a better view. But might be up to personally taste.

I wouldn't say that.These seats are too far from the action.I'd say the 3000 ones if you are on a budget,or the arena ones (if you can pay) are really the best!

[xvikingx]

Got my arena ticket clipped to the fridge.
Now the important question.... Where are we going for beers?

[Fudo-Shin]

Got my arena ticket clipped to the fridge.
Now the important question.... Where are we going for beers?Firstly, how am I going to give my missus' the 'slip' in order to enjoy the beers? :smoker:

[The great I AM]

Firstly, how am I going to give my missus' the 'slip' in order to enjoy the beers? :smoker:I'll give your missus "the slip" and you can have a beer.....

[Fudo-Shin]

I'll give your missus "the slip" and you can have a beer.....:eek: Take a man's grave that quick? What if I told you she was 185cm, 120kg Serbian Weightlifter! Man, she squeeze the greatness out of you while she calls you 'Dirty boy Sanchez'. 　

[xvikingx]

Firstly, how am I going to give my missus' the 'slip' in order to enjoy the beers? :smoker:

Roofies.... chicks dig it.

[The great I AM]

:eek: Take a man's grave that quick? What if I told you she was 185cm, 120kg Serbian Weightlifter! Man, she squeeze the greatness out of you while she calls you 'Dirty boy Sanchez'. 　Then I would say I'm taller and just as heavy, so she would sit down and do as shes told! Snoogins.

[Fudo-Shin]

Then I would say I'm taller and just as heavy, so she would sit down and do as shes told! Snoogins.Well, Gibbozilla! I'll send over Rasputia :wink:. You know we have a saying here in Oz....

"If you're gonna cut a man's grass make sure you mow the whole damm lawn".

Thanks for the beer! :)

[Tashoho]

I'm going to Japan 1/11/2007 from TAS for watching Championship and will stay for 2 weeks...
Can I buy a championship's ticket at the door?

[Kenshi]

Yes. You can buy at least the On-The-Day tickets. I think they are about 1-2,000 yen.

The draw has been decided: http://www.kendo.or.jp/competition/leading/champ_55.html

[Tashoho]

Thanks Kenshi ^^

[xvikingx]

Thanks for posting the ladder. Hadn't check the site in a while...

[Tashoho]

Please help...
Welcome all recommendations ^^
Max $40...

Thanks

[xvikingx]

Try a capsule hotel. $40 is gonig to be tough in Tokyo.

[baysun]

Anyone going? I'm taking the day off work. It's on the 3rd in case you haven't seen it yet.

I am in for the ALL Japan Taikai!
Can't go to Police Championships today though/WORKING/...
Also very interested in USA Team tryouts and other teams!!!

[Masahiro]

so that's 5 matches they have to fight in order to get to the finals right? Takanabe's got a hard bracket to fight out of. .. I wish for the uchimura sensation again, however, I don't think it's likely. If Shodai and Uchimura end up fighting each other, and one of our KW forum-ites happens to film it, please I beg of you to post it. It would be a sin to miss such a match up.

p.s are we taking bets on the taikai? :ponder:

[tamaki]

Please help...
Welcome all recommendations ^^
Max $40...

Thanks

Capsule hotel! Or spa! 3000-4000 yen

[Kendoka]

Please help...
Welcome all recommendations ^^
Max $40...

Thanks

Google Suzuki Ryokan. It's great, close to JR Yamanote line and the train from the airport, a few minutes from Ueno and from Tokyo Central, 1 train change to get the Budokan, good food nearby, yada, yada, yada.

[Kendoka]

http://www.kendo-world.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-7012.html

[Kagerou]

WOOO HOOOO!!!!!! FOUR MORE DAYS UNTIL THE TOURNIE!!!!! Yes I'm excited.....

[Masahiro]

let's make a wedger, on who will win this year's AJKC. ...shall we?

[Kenshi]

Uchimura for the ni-renpa??..... I want Terumoto or Sato to win though....

[The great I AM]

Uchimura for the ni-renpa??..... I want Terumoto or Sato to win though....Ditto on all 3, but I'm gonna be watching the guy doing NITO in the first round get smashed around by Hirao first....

[Masahiro]

20 beers, on Terumoto and Sato ending up in the top 8 but no repeat for uchimura.

[Kagerou]

Ditto on all 3, but I'm gonna be watching the guy doing NITO in the first round get smashed around by Hirao first....

Sadist....but then again he's a masocist. :alien:

[The great I AM]

20 beers, on Terumoto and Sato ending up in the top 8 but no repeat for uchimura.I don't know. I saw him with my own eyes at the keisatsu indies, an dhe looked awfully sharp. Though he did have a close shave with Shodai Kenji, he has a knack of coming out of the riskier tighter situations. He did it last year when he lost ippon in 10 seconds to Touyama...

[Kenshi]

What prefecture is nito boy from?? Must be some 田舎 place??? (maybe)

[The great I AM]

What prefecture is nito boy from?? Must be some 田舎 place??? (maybe)It certainly is! He's from Tokushima.......

[Kenshi]

It certainly is! He's from Tokushima.......

heh heh, then it stands to reason!! I hope he gets a good seeing too.

I hope you nito boys are noting this conversation down in your notebooks!!

[Fudo-Shin]

I was watching the Aichi boys training a few days ago. Shimizu was looking awfully sharp,..I would wager that Shimizu and Uchimura make it to the top 8 again (maybe some personal bias there for Shimizu). I back Uchimura to make it there because of his previously mentioned knack for doing well under pressure and no doubt all eyes will be on him. Just who will actually win? I wouldn't dare to guess. Come and say Hi to the whitey sitting at West 5 if you are walking past. :)

[ZtefaNNN[K]]

I´m an Uchimura fan. ...but Takanabe is also within my favorites.

[Kagerou]

anyone bringing a video camera?

[Kenshi]

From the junkesho it will be show (almost?) live on NHK. The KW boys always get front seats for the shiai and will release a couple of vids. What they do with the other footage I dont know.

Always at least one of the kendo mags will release a DVD later in Nov. Last year both did, and one of them was reaaaaally good: it showed all the ippon in all the fights, plus a couple of selected full matches.

First time?

[Kenshi]

The ZNKRs website is updating their results page pretty quickly. Its not instant, but its good!!!! Here is the page:

http://www.kendo.or.jp/competition/leading/champ_55_top.html (Japanese)

Reload for updates.

Round 4 sees Uchimura vs Sato (Osaka) .... I hope Sato smashes the little guy!!

[Kenshi]

Uchimura OUT.

[Kenshi]

Out of the last 4, 3 are from Osaka: Sato, Teramoto, Kiwada.....

[Kenshi]

Final: Teramoto (Osaka) vs Takanabe (Kanagawa)

[Kenshi]

Teramoto .... OSAKA!

[Kenshi]

Terumoto Shoji, 32, 6dan, Osaka Police.
Click here to see a picture (http://www.flickr.com/photos/eikenkai/777274280).
6th Time to enter the All Japans. Has never been placed before.
All Japan Police Team Championships, 1st place 4 times
All Japan Police Individual Championships, one 2nd and one 3rd place.
In the Japanese Team for the 14th WKC.
etc

This years all Japans saw the matches extended to 10 minutes for the semis and the final. Takanabe looked totally ace... on fire even, while Teramoto looked a bit wary. Takanabe scored a good men on Teramoto in about 2mins.... 6 minutes later (with 2 remaining) Teramoto evens the score with a men-uchi. It then went into encho, and Teramoto scored a men after about 3 minutes.

From the start it looked like Takanabe would take it easily.... but somehow Teramoto fought back and took the title. Go Osaka.

[Legionario]

Thanks for the precious updates Kenshi. :laugh:

[Kenshi]

Glad someones reading it!

All my mates are in Tokyo watching the event, while im left alone in Osaka watching TV!!!!!! Sucks being poor.

[Legionario]

Sucks being poor.
:( :( sniff

[ben]

...
This years all Japans saw the matches extended to 10 minutes for the semis and the final. Takanabe looked totally ace... on fire even, while Teramoto looked a bit wary. Takanabe scored a good men on Teramoto in about 2mins.... 6 minutes later (with 2 remaining) Teramoto evens the score with a men-uchi. It then went into encho, and Teramoto scored a men after about 3 minutes...

What's the reasoning behind the time extension? By your description above, sounds like if this had been fought last year, Takanabe would have won, and deservedly so.

Curious...

b

PS - Thanks for the updates, kudos for you. But hey, I'm not there either, AND I can't watch it on TV, so man up.

[Kenshi]

I dont know the reason... let me check this months kendo mags and ask some of the guys.

Im not sure your reasoning is correct ---> had it only been a 5min shiai I think Teramoto would have played a different game. He was v.patient.

[kendokamax]

Nice! He seemed to always strugle in All-Japan.
Congratulation to Budai OB !

[Stephen]

Cheers for all the updates Kenshi.

Just have to hang out for the vids to come through:)

btw - was there any stand out matches or ippon?

[James]

IMHO the Sempai - Kohai fight between Sato and Teramoto,
some might think it not so exciting watching people who really
know each other, but everything got stripped down to
seme and timing, I kept expecting Sato to pull something out of the bag,
but he just looked duped when Teramoto timed dMen right.

I had to work (on a National Holiday WTF) so I got the missus to tape the NHK
broadcast to watch when I got home. When I saw the Osaka domination of the quarter finals, all I could think was
damn George is out mad drunk right now while I am sitting at home, so I immediately
started praying that Takanabe had won.

So Takanabe lost and George-no-mates was at home, I can't tell if I am winning or not.

Oh yes! yesterday I went to the local コンビ二 and after a purchase they showed me two boxes,
imagine the blue pill, red pill scene in Matrix but with a Brown and Beige cardboard
box with a whole cut in the front of each one. They told me to chose one, I put my
hand in the beige one and pulled out a ticket.
They then asked if I would like a free can of beer.
勝った！

[Kenshi]

Jimbo, you still alive??

I only saw the TV footage, but the Sempai-Kohai, Sato vs Teramoto, fight looked totally great. I have the pleasure to seeing these guys compete at close hand reasonably often. The last twice ive seen them battle was at the kokutai (http://www.flickr.com/photos/eikenkai/515723653/) and the all-japan (http://www.flickr.com/photos/eikenkai/1348938829/) preliminaries (check out 2nd link in particular). In both cases Teramoto won.

Teramoto was in the winning team (off-course Osaka!) for the all-japan-police champs this year (2nd year in a row), and got 2nd in the individual police champs (losing to uchimura).. so he was always in with a chance.

Good stuff.

[Kenshi]

Stop Press: someones already uploaded pics on flickr (http://www.flickr.com/photos/7369638@N02/).... yay

[James]

Hey George,
yeah we have been busy with re-establishing our lives up in Miyagi,
so not been in touch with people so much.
Although did get down to Tokyo for the last asageiko at Noma,
take a peek at the new Kodansha dojo, and hook up with some people.

You certainly are in the heart of where good kendo is at the moment,
and you seem to have a real discipline with posting your kendo blogs and photos;
I know how much time this stuff takes, so it's great you keep it up for all of us.

Hope to get out West sometime in the new year - time/child/work permitting.

from the Frozen North
j

[Stephen]

Dodaichi85 is a legend, pure and simple.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_nQw9zTHk0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Xk2-a7andM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LaOwKknA2Ks

[Stephen]

he must have taken the final off, and put it back on - heres the new link

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeNX3Bousrg

[Kenshi]

Cheers for the links. The final is only the encho....... im gonna do a katsugi-like-men at keiko tonight.... yay.

Jimbo>will email you tonight/tomorrow....

[EBP2K2]

that was awesome. i was almost in tears after teramoto's men.

[Big One]

I just want to express a pure love to Dodaichi85. :laugh:

[Masahiro]

someone one owes me 20 beers.. .. he who shall remain unnamed should confess now, for i will make light of the penalty. ..hahahaa, j/k. wow, they were some intense matchs.

[Legionario]

It's Shōdai time...

http://youtube.com/watch?v=ji4in5bIir8

Against Uchimura. :jaguar:

[Legionario]

More Kenji Shōdai kendo just uploaded by dodaichi85:

vs Mori
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nt7oVooz78M

vs Kuraoka
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRxKz99C0fY


:eek: :cool: ;)

[Kenshi]

Some comments from people that actually went please!!!

It seems this was a v.good taikai... much better than last year. Goddamit.

[The great I AM]

Some comments from people that actually went please!!!

It seems this was a v.good taikai... much better than last year. Goddamit.I had fun.

[xvikingx]

I thought it was a great show. I was sure Takanabe was going to take it this year so the final match was a pleasant surprise (not to mention nerve wracking!). Sato did Osaka proud; he dominated in all his matches. The semi-final between him and Teramoto was superb.
I think it was Gibbo who predicted the nito guy getting trounced but he was actually quite strong and destroyed his first opponent, even though he was knocked out in the 2nd round. Uchimura kote-ed his way into the top four, getting points in all his matches but the first up, that was until he faced off with Sato. Everyone was pretty shocked when Sato scored men right of the bat.
It was quite obvious that Uchimura was the pony, so when he was out the crowd started rallying for Takanabe. For those who can go back and watch the videos of the match, you will notice that the crowd cheers and claps for every attempt from Uchimura and Takanabe but is pretty quiet when any of the Osaka boys do anything (unless they scored). Even the commentators would get worked up every time Either of them would make an attempt at something. I heard people in the crowd making haughty comments like, “What’s this? Osaka is all over the finals” Hmph, pardon me while I turn my nose up at you Kanto knobbers.

[The great I AM]

I think it was Gibbo who predicted the nito guy getting trounced but he was actually quite strong and destroyed his first opponent, even though he was knocked out in the 2nd round.That guy was ace, and he scored a quality kote against Hirao too. I was quietly gutted to myself when he lost.


I heard people in the crowd making haughty comments like, “What’s this? Osaka is all over the finals” Hmph, pardon me while I turn my nose up at you Kanto knobbers.Thats the first time they've done that. The only time any other place came close was Tokyo a few years back, but that was second, third, third, when Ando beat Iwasa in the finals and Koseki and Harada came 3rd.

Shoudai vs Uchimura was ace.

[xvikingx]

That guy was ace, and he scored a quality kote against Hirao too. I was quietly gutted to myself when he lost.
He was incredible. I don’t see much nito and what I do see usually is ugly. This guy changed my opinion.


Shoudai vs Uchimura was ace.
That was a good one. Shoudai was great to watch.
My favorite match of the day was the last one of the first round on court 2 (can’t remember the names and don’t have my program handy). It was nail biter.

[The great I AM]

That was a good one. Shoudai was great to watch.
My favorite match of the day was the last one of the first round on court 2 (can’t remember the names and don’t have my program handy). It was nail biter.Blokey from Oita ken, and Shikano from Yamanashi (?). Shikano was the youngest entrant, 23 years old, fresh out of Kokushikan. He looked genki! I expect he's the latest in the next round of teachers who dominate countryside prefectures, like Sato M, Mori, Tazaki etc.

[AlexM]

Terumoto Shoji, 32, 6dan, Osaka Police.
Click here to see a picture (http://www.flickr.com/photos/eikenkai/777274280)
This years all Japans saw the matches extended to 10 minutes for the semis and the final.

I guess they figured they may as well extend the match officially instead of just having five minutes of regulation play followed by ten minutes of encho... Now encho only lasts five minutes :P

I've only seen snippets of the tournament so far (thanks to dodaichi85 and Youtube) but I have to say that I've "discovered" Takanabe's kendo. It's pretty damn sweet. Teramoto was strong though... I think I'm starting to recognize the Budai-style of kendo.

How open is the Osaka police force to letting people practice with them?

[xvikingx]

Blokey from Oita ken, and Shikano from Yamanashi (?). Shikano was the youngest entrant, 23 years old, fresh out of Kokushikan. He looked genki! I expect he's the latest in the next round of teachers who dominate countryside prefectures, like Sato M, Mori, Tazaki etc.

Could be but I can’t say for sure. It was two bumpkins that I had never heard of (not that that means anything).

[The great I AM]

How open is the Osaka police force to letting people practice with them?Er, its not. Its invite only. Thats as far as I know though. I'm pretty sure that with the exception of the "keishichou" asageiko in Tokyo, most if not all other police practises are closed.

On a side note, I'm well pleased it was Teramoto in the end. Not just because I've met him a few times, but because he's a big smiley fella with a great sense of humour. Takanabe always seems distant and surly, for instance he was the only guy I saw refusing autographs. Shame that. I think Takanabe's kendo is wonderful, but I think Teramoto will make a better "champ".

edit:
Could be but I can’t say for sure. It was two bumpkins that I had never heard of (not that that means anything).Definately was, because I was watching the same one!

[Fudo-Shin]

I was sure Takanabe was going to take it this year so the final match was a pleasant surprise (not to mention nerve wracking!).Me too, Takanabe was just ripping through most of his opponents in the opening rounds, although most matches (including his) throughout the day made it into encho. But he was looking very strong all day.

Sato did Osaka proud; he dominated in all his matches.What a man, What a man!!! I think Uchimura's kendo is physically faster and stronger... but Sato (IMO) knew exactly what he was dealing with due to his experience and therefore knew how to handle him. Funny thing he scored Men straight after hajime, exactly the same thing that Toyama Senshu did last year, I bet Uchimura won't let that happen again! I believe Sato's strategy was far superior and he did exactly what was required on the day. The crowd was abuzz after that win,...Well done Sato!


I could have almost cried when the Aichi boys (Toyama and Shimizu Senshu) got knocked out in the 1st round, big change from last year. Toyama had a questionable men scored on him (around the ear) and it seemed he looked around for clarification from the Shimpan, but he respected and accepted the call. I can now vouch for these guys being "Top Blokes" after some personal experiences with them, and I believe they will come back strong again next year.

BTW, if anyone ever goes to watch the All J's for the 1st time like I did this year, a little advice, don't buy an Arena seat ticket, 2nd floor is where you wanna be (If you want to be able to see anything).

[AlexM]

Er, its not. Its invite only. Thats as far as I know though. I'm pretty sure that with the exception of the "keishichou" asageiko in Tokyo, most if not all other police practises are closed.


Well that's disappointing but not unexpected. Freaking prima donna police officers... think they're so hot.. (assorted grumbling). I kid because I envy. You know it's tough to practice with cops when keishichou is considered the "open" dojo.

Who will be the successor to Mitsunobu Sato I wonder... and Tachibana too, I miss Tachibana.

Why do non police officers sometimes have the more interesting kendo at the ZNKT?

[Kenshi]

There are some strong nito guys out there, but they are far and few between. Good ones are good though.


How open is the Osaka police force to letting people practice with them?

Well "police" doesnt really mean anything when you talk in kendo terms. All over the country there are police stations and police keikos that you can easily get yourself into. Especially in the countryside they can serve as kendo community centres. Ive mentioned this a few times over the years. If you want to get into the hard core police tokuren training then its just as Gibbo says: you basically need connections/invite.

There are plenty amazing kenshi out there that will keep you busy without having to beg your way into a police dojo anyway.

[xvikingx]

What a man, What a man!!!
Indeed, I bet he has a huge wang. His forearms are massive! His gi cuffs were hugging his arms.
Uuuhhh... Putting that aside. Both he and Teramoto were ace to watch because they were totally relaxed. I was watching both Sato and Uchimura off court before their match and Uchimura twitching and bouncing of the walls while Sato was very calm and laughing with the people around him. He did a little suburi before going out but otherwise was cool as a cucumber.

[AlexM]

All over the country there are police stations and police keikos that you can easily get yourself into. Especially in the countryside they can serve as kendo community centres.

Yeah, that's what I figured and why I asked specifically about the Osaka police's practices. I know that they, and Tokyo, have "dedicated" kendo squads so it must be a bit of an ordeal to get into a practice (If you were a Premiership football player would you want any idiot to stroll in for a practice every once in awhile?)

I didn't want to disagree with Gibbo but it must be at least a bit easier to get into a police practice outside of Tokyo and Osaka (hopefully). I'm sure I could play a pretty convincing lost Westerner and get a pity practice out of them.

Does anyone know how Aichi-ken did this year? What ever happened to Ando and Chikamoto?

[The great I AM]

Who will be the successor to Mitsunobu Sato I wonder... and Tachibana too, I miss Tachibana. Sato M's successor is plainly Shikano. He was top, and had a great match with Wakou from Hokkaido when he was knocked out. At only 23 he's got plenty of time and potential by the bucket loads. As for Tachibana, there was a guy from Tokyo called Takamura who is an office worker (I forget which company) but I'm not sure I liked his kendo much. He's obviously strong, thats of no doubt, but not particularly "nice to watch" if you get what I mean. I agree about Tachibana though, I loved watching his matches and thought his kendo was superb.


Indeed, I bet he has a huge wang. His forearms are massive! His gi cuffs were hugging his arms.
Uuuhhh... Putting that aside. Both he and Teramoto were ace to watch because they were totally relaxed. I was watching both Sato and Uchimura off court before their match and Uchimura twitching and bouncing of the walls while Sato was very calm and laughing with the people around him. He did a little suburi before going out but otherwise was cool as a cucumber.Sato forgot his tenugui though....

I thought Teramoto was a bean pole until I saw his forearms too, waaaaaay chunkier than the rest of him looks!

I think the big difference between Uchimura and Sato was that Sato was actually enjoying himself, and the occaision, that much was plainly obvious. Poor old Ucchan had the weight of expectancy on his shoulders, especially after winning the Police Indies for the second year in a row. Poor fella! I love his kendo, but I was well pleased to see Sato pound his head!

[The great I AM]

I didn't want to disagree with Gibbo but it must be at least a bit easier to get into a police practice outside of Tokyo and Osaka (hopefully). I'm sure I could play a pretty convincing lost Westerner and get a pity practice out of them.

Does anyone know how Aichi-ken did this year? What ever happened to Ando and Chikamoto?Good luck with the "pity practise".

Aichi faded to nothing this year. In fact most of the "young fella's with potential" became first round casualties this year, like Takasaka from Shizuoka. I thought his jodan was great last year, and he only lost narrowly to Uchimura then too, but barely a peep this year. Same for Toyama and Shimizu.

Half of Tokyo went without a peep this year too! Hirao, Terachi and Nakada all out in the first round. Something strange afoot at the Circle K me thinks.

[Kenshi]

The Osaka Ascendancy.

I feel the power.

[The great I AM]

The Osaka Ascendancy.

I feel the power.
Well done, George. It took longer than I expected before this came out!

[Fudo-Shin]

Does anyone know how Aichi-ken did this year? What ever happened to Ando and Chikamoto?Chikamoto was not training recently due to some kind of injury, instead he was overseeing a practice that I watched recently at the Aichi budokan. Not sure about Ando, he was also there but not training. But either way I have a feeling they might both be getting a little old for AJ's and are just taking on more of the Sensei role, at least Chikamoto anyway. Judging by what I saw at the renshu (Aichi-ken), I don't think they would allow anyone who is non-police (and high level Senshu at that) to train with them. But then again, maybe that is more so during the lead up to the AJ's.

[Fudo-Shin]

Indeed, I bet he has a huge wang...Too true, maybe it's almost as big as mine!

[xvikingx]

Sato forgot his tenugui though....

Heh heh heh that’s right he did!
Teramoto is pretty big but Sato is truly massive. He has got a huge frame. When he checked Teramoto’s mengane and he scored men I winced. It must be like getting hit by a truck.

[xvikingx]

Too true, maybe it's almost as big as mine!

Ah hah, touche'.

[The great I AM]

Heh heh heh that’s right he did!
Teramoto is pretty big but Sato is truly massive. He has got a huge frame. When he checked Teramoto’s mengane and he scored men I winced. It must be like getting hit by a truck.Their whole dojo is filled with meaty chunky rozzers. Sato, Ishida, Seike, Taniyama, Hagihara. Even Kiwada is thickset for a japanese fella, and I don't recall having seen anyone particularly "lythe"! I thought Teramoto was wirey.....

[xvikingx]

The Osaka Ascendancy.

I feel the power.

Kansai had a great showing this year. The nara player was the only one who didn't make out of the first round.

[Fudo-Shin]

The Osaka Ascendancy.

I feel the power.Theme song time: It's a long way to the shop if you want a sausage roll!

Or..you could..choose another one.

[xvikingx]

Even Kiwada is thickset for a japanese fella.....

Which reminds me Kiwada should not be left out of the praise, he did fantastic. Very good debut.

[Kenshi]

Well done, George. It took longer than I expected before this came out!

Yeah baby!

Its been Osaka the whole year (apart from kokutai, but that was obviously rigged in Akitas favour!!)

[kendokamax]

Sato M's successor is plainly Shikano. He was top, and had a great match with Wakou from Hokkaido when he was knocked out. At only 23 he's got plenty of time and potential by the bucket loads.


Shikano has the same background as Sato Mitsunobu (Kogota Nourin koukou - Kokushikan). But I think their kendo look quite different!

I know a guy from budai who participated this year from chiba-kenkei, Kotani. I saw that he lost against wakou on the first round. How was he?

I agree with you Gibbo. I had a chance to talk a bit to Teramoto in Taiwan and he was very nice.

[ahmed61086]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=QKTlXAtt

Here is a video of the Nito match. Pretty good looking nito.

[JSchmidt]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=QKTlXAtt

Here is a video of the Nito match. Pretty good looking nito.

Bad url?..

[Obulco]

Try this

http://youtube.com/watch?v=QKTlXAttJsQ

[ZtefaNNN[K]]

very impressive nito indeed.

[Neil Gendzwill]

Eh. Wasn't a big fan of that kote they called. He's got kind of a bent-over kamae, too. I'm sure he'd take me apart in seconds but he's not my favourite.

[ahmed61086]

I agree, he doesn't stand perfectly straight, but as for nito, I have only seen toda sensei do it better.

Well, I have only seen about 10-20 people do nito...

[Fudo-Shin]

I say that due to him making it through the 1st round, his kendo speaks for itself. Not everyone has flashy kendo that appeases the eye but cross shinai with them and you can soon feel out of your depth as I'm sure everyone knows. He was sure a crowd pleaser anyway...

[Kenshi]

Well, I have only seen about 10-20 people do nito...

Thats more people than I have... and I live in the land of kendo. A very telling statement there!

Ive seen two people of at least his level and one almost definetly stronger than him (who I actually managed a scrap with). He was a musashikai boy.

[ahmed61086]

Thats more people than I have... and I live in the land of kendo. A very telling statement there!

Ive seen two people of at least his level and one almost definetly stronger than him (who I actually managed a scrap with). He was a musashikai boy.

Musashikai? Is that the dojo that teaches nito exclusivly? I dont know anything, so please dont laugh.

Yeh, nito is pretty popular around here. Just in the Kumdo community in NJ, we have about 6 or 7 gusy who do nito, a few a which have pretty decent nito. Then a few from the Kendo community as well. And I have obviously seen videso of matthew raymond, itokazu(sp?), and Toda, ect. It comes close to about 20 people I have seen in real life and on video.

There is actually a girl in my Dojang who starting practicing nito, dont know how serious she is about it though. And we have two gentlemen in my dojo practicing it as well.

[ZtefaNNN[K]]

I don´t really have a conflict with his torso posture, he is a bit inclinated towards the front, but his back is straight.. I was adviced once to use that inclination of my torso and keeping my back straight all the time and it really helped me to improve my shikake waza.

[xvikingx]

;293756']I don´t really have a conflict with his torso posture, he is a bit inclinated towards the front, but his back is straight.. I was adviced once to use that inclination of my torso and keeping my back straight all the time and it really helped me to improve my shikake waza.

I would have to agree with this. He doesn’t seem any more bent or hunched over than Uchimura was on practically every kote he scored.

[Kenshi]

I dont know anything, so please dont laugh.

At least you are cute!!

musashikai.jp (http://musashikai.jp/)

[ahmed61086]

At least you are cute!!

musashikai.jp (http://musashikai.jp/)

Thanks for both the link and the compliment. Too bad most of it is in japanese. :(

[JoonShik]

can somebody explain the ending of the Sato vs. Teramoto?

[xvikingx]

What do you mean? Explain what?

[AlexM]

Watching the nito guy for the entire match I was thinking "Why does he have the daito in his right hand, he'll never be able to get kote"... and then he got kote in encho. That blew my mind.

Also, I can't remember anyone having his hand up at the hilt of the daito in tsubazeriai and then lowering it down when further away. Maybe I just haven't been paying attention enough.

[The great I AM]

can somebody explain the ending of the Sato vs. Teramoto?They threw down the dark tower, the king returned from the wilderness to claim his throne, and the elves returned over the sea.

It was either that, or, I think Teramoto won.

[AlexM]

can somebody explain the ending of the Sato vs. Teramoto?

If you're talking about the winning point then you could probably find people on this board to debate whether it was men-debana-men, uchi-o-toshi-men or men-suriage-men... Westerners love to classify things into neat little meaningless categories. How else would we know which special move to pull-off after all? :P That being said, ippon is ippon. Men ari.

If you're talking about the actual ending: A timer went off after ten minutes, someone yelled "JIKAN DESU!", the shushin raised his flags in the air and yelled "YAME!" to signal the end of play. Thus ends the saga of a match fought mostly on the merits of seme.

[kendokamax]

Alex, nobody calls jikan desu at all japan, its a buzzer.

[Fudo-Shin]

I was thinking about yelling that out but the buzzer beat me! Probably for the better...Oh well, next year.

[Big One]

When I watched the final, I hardly saw who hit first for the winning point. If you watch it live, can you see it clearly that Teramoto won?

[Fudo-Shin]

When I watched the final, I hardly saw who hit first for the winning point. If you watch it live, can you see it clearly that Teramoto won?I saw it from the second floor, so for alot of ippon it just came down to the shimpan and crowd's reaction from where I was. Maybe someone who was closer (and could actually see) would be more qualified to answer that.

[Kenshi]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/simulacre/1851202873/

[ben]

That's the money shot right there! Insane.

b

[AlexM]

Alex, nobody calls jikan desu at all japan, its a buzzer.

The the Union of Timers, Score-keepers and Tasuki tiers know about this? That some of their members have been replaced by a mere buzzer? It's a disgrace! I'm surprised that a general strike has not disrupted the holding of the All-Japan's and other regional tournaments.

What's next? Keeping score with a computer program istead of painstackingly collecting the data by hand?

This is indeed a sad day for organized labor...

[kendokamax]

What's next? Keeping score with a computer program istead of painstackingly collecting the data by hand?



They actually have that too.

[Kenshi]

Most shiai in Japan have some student (be they high school, uni, or what not) doing the "jikan desu" thing.... so dont worry, there is nothing to strike about!

[xvikingx]

Uh... I'm pretty sure Alex was being facetious.

[Gideon]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/simulacre/1851202873/


Unbelievable credit to the shinpan officiating and getting it right. Amazing skill there.

[JoonShik]

If you're talking about the winning point then you could probably find people on this board to debate whether it was men-debana-men, uchi-o-toshi-men or men-suriage-men... Westerners love to classify things into neat little meaningless categories. How else would we know which special move to pull-off after all? :P That being said, ippon is ippon. Men ari.

If you're talking about the actual ending: A timer went off after ten minutes, someone yelled "JIKAN DESU!", the shushin raised his flags in the air and yelled "YAME!" to signal the end of play. Thus ends the saga of a match fought mostly on the merits of seme.
sorry, I meant why was it a 10 min match rather than the normal 5 min with encho?

[Kenshi]

sorry, I meant why was it a 10 min match rather than the normal 5 min with encho?

They changed it this year for the semis and the finals.

Im not sure, but I think it waaaaaaaas longer back a few years ago. Im sure someone can clarify.


Uh... I'm pretty sure Alex was being facetious.

Me knows.

[xvikingx]

This has been brought up several times but I don't think I've actually heard an answer as to why. Does anyone think this may be because this is a televised event? Most matches ending with ippon during a loooong encho. Very few didn't, some seemed like they would never end (i.e. Amishiro x Furusawa). Is it possible that time wise it's actually more efficient to have the time run out on an ippon scored during a 10 minute match than an ippon after drawn out encho? Anyone who has seen how long those matches get drawn out knows that NHK has got their work cut out for them when televising this thing live and trying to keep everything on schedule. Perhaps this time around they put it down on paper and came up with the what we had this year.

[tyler]

with regrds to the deciding point in the final match - I was next to the shiai-jo taking pictures (I took the ai-men photo on flickr with Simulacre's camera) - My impression is that they rewarded Teramoto for taking the inniative (sen). If you study the footage, Teramoto moves in, pressuring. In response to the pressure, Takanabe raises his shinai, and his kensen comes offline, up and to the right. They both then raise to strike at nearly the same time, and indeed they strike almost in concert, but Teramoto stayed on-line, raised his shinai straight up, whereas Takanabe was off-line in a blocking-type scenario, and so his men strike wasn't as straight.

Perhaps due to that, Teramoto's zanshin simply created a stronger impression on the shimpan, it just had that edge which overrode Takanabe's effort. To be sure, they struck at almost exactly the same time, as the photo reflects, but I think it was Teramoto's early pressure, his inniative and his maintainance of the centre line which earned him the point.

Both Simulacre and I were covering the event for Kendo-World magazine along with the rest of the team, and I've written it up for the upcoming issue. For anyone who isn't aware that Kendo-World is in fact a magazine, please do check it out!

Tyler

[Kenshi]

I think the point Tyler makes is pretty much consistent with how ai-men situations are awarded in general.

Great pic btw!

[ZtefaNNN[K]]

....Regarding Ai-Men situations... we were lucky to have been visited by Miyagawa sensei, Kondo sensei and Ohta sensei this year in the days that the 1st CSK tournament took place, the three of them were shimpan in this year´s AJKC, in fact you can see very clearly Miyagawa sensei in the semi of Takanabe and Kiwada, a friend of mine, asked him about ai-men decisions, in regard of it, Miyagawa sensei answered that in ai-men situations maai, and timing were not always the priority to judge it, but rather was the center line, and the initiative, this pretty much explains why the call in that final ai-men, Teramoto´s men was superior.

[Masahiro]

;294727'] Teramoto´s men was superior.

on that particular day, for that particular instance, .... some other time, some other day .. who knows!

anyways, i was rooting for Takanabe, I liked his form!!!

[ZtefaNNN[K]]

I also cheer for Takanabe, I posted this before I guess, but he was one of my favorites for this year, liked his shiai even more this year from what I´ve seen, and got kind of disappointed with the outcome of the final, but that is the way it went... I personally feel, after watching the whole match that the nice people from KW posted, that Takanabe lost his concentration at certain point during the final (when Teramoto is about to gets kind of cornered 3 times) and from then he went down deeper and deeper... but Teramoto won in the end, no doubt. ...but I liked him more last year though ^^!

[JSchmidt]

I think the point Tyler makes is pretty much consistent with how ai-men situations are awarded in general.


Yes, I was taught similar. It's also one of those things that is much harder to see on video, I reckon.

[xvikingx]

This has been brought up several times but I don't think I've actually heard an answer as to why. Does anyone think this may be because this is a televised event? Most matches ending with ippon during a loooong encho. Very few didn't, some seemed like they would never end (i.e. Amishiro x Furusawa). Is it possible that time wise it's actually more efficient to have the time run out on an ippon scored during a 10 minute match than an ippon after drawn out encho? Anyone who has seen how long those matches get drawn out knows that NHK has got their work cut out for them when televising this thing live and trying to keep everything on schedule. Perhaps this time around they put it down on paper and came up with the what we had this year.

Just in case there was any confusion the above is about changing the semi and final match time to 10 minutes from 5 minutes, not Teramoto's men.