Hey guys,

News from Katie regarding VKR Friday night training -

Hi all,

I’m pleased to announce that Friday night training is back for 2012!

As with last year, we’ll aim to have keiko on the first Friday of the month, pending public holidays, venue availability and potential clashes with other events.

The details on our February training -

Date: Friday, 3rd Feb.

Time: Dojo opens at 7pm
Training itself is from 7.30 – 8.30
Dojo closes at 9pm

Place: Kenshikan dojo

Content: Kirikaeshi to open, followed by jigeiko. People will be expected to manage their own warmups.

Cost: $5, to go towards the ongoing costs of Kenshikan’s floor refurbishment.

See you there!

Katie

Related Files -
+ Invitation-Summer-Seminar-2012.pdf
+ Application-Sheet-2012-Summer-Seminar.xls

Hey guys,

Some news from AKR. It came a bit late so please check the information asap.

Dear State Delegates,

Please forward this notice regarding 2012 Kitamoto Kendo Summer Seminar to all members of your state.

Any AKR member interested in participating in the 2012 Kitamoto Kendo Summer Seminar should email the completed application form (see attached) to Vivian Yung at secretary@kendoaustralia.asn.au by Tue, 21/01/2012. Applicants will be informed of the result by Sun 12/02/2012. $550 per participant to be allocated to the successful applicant(s) as travel subsidies.

Important Dates
21/01/2012: AKR application submission deadline
12/02/2012: Results announcement date

Kind regards,

Vivian Yung

Secretary
Australian Kendo Renmei
E: akrsecretary@kendoaustralia.asn.au
W: www.kendoaustralia.asn.au

Hey guys,

Some news for those who are interested in Vic squad training for 2012 -

To all clubs and members,

Happy new year! I hope you have had a good break. This is just a reminder that the first squad training session will be on the 14th of January 2012. Also, if anyone receiving this email knows someone who is interested in attending the squad training sessions, but has not submitted their email address, please get them to send an email to this address (vicsquad2012@gmail.com) as soon as possible so that i can email everyone directly, and not have to annoy club secretaries with emails to pass on!

If your club has training before the first squad training, starting early would be good, as the coaches want us to concentrate on putting everything (and a bit more) into our own club trainings, and not just going hard at squad trainings… Looking forward to seeing everyone at the first squad training session!

Trainings will be at the kenshikan from 1-3pm on saturdays, and for dan-grade kendoka there will be mawari-geiko on sunday straight after normal kenshikan trainings. Again, first squad training will be on the 14th January.

Thanks to all who have submitted their email addresses! If there are any others you know of who haven’t submitted their email address yet, please remind them to do so.

Regards,

Nicholas Chan

Related Galleries -
+ Aus Uni Games, Gold Coast (2009)
+ Welcome Beginners (2009)
+ Melbourne Uni Kendo Club Band Night (2008)
+ Nagae Kata Taikai (2008)
+ Melbourne Uni Kendo Club Camp (2008)
+ Beginner’s Dinner (2) (2008)
+ Beginner’s Dinner (2008)
+ New Beginners (2008)
+ Mumeishi 3s Taikai (2007)
+ Otsuka Memorial Taikai (2007)
+ Aus Uni Games, Gold Coast (2007)
+ Monash Kendo Jackets (2007)
+ Multicultural Week Demo (2007)
+ Monash Uni Kendo visit to Melbourne Uni Kendo (2007)
+ Melbourne Uni Kendo visit to Monash Uni Kendo (2007)
+ Bentleigh Secondary College Kendo Demo (2007)
+ Dinner Outing (2007)
+ Extra Album (2007)
+ Kendo Dinner (2007)
+ Aus Uni Games (2006)
+ Kendo Demo (2006)
+ Monash Uni Kendo Club Gasshuku (2006)
+ Melbourne Uni Kendo Club Camp (2006)
+ New Album 5 (2006)
+ Farewell Party (2005)
+ Nittaidai Demo (2005)
+ Melbourne Uni Kendo Club Camp (2005)
+ Final days of the year (2004)
+ In-house shiai (2004)
+ Aus Uni Games (2004)
+ (Main Photo Gallery page)

Hey guys,

I’ve dug up some old photos of the club way back from 2004 to 2009, a total of 30 new photo galleries! Have a look for some interesting times, familiar faces and places. We should never forget our past and the people who made the club into what it is today

Use the links above, or from the main Photo Gallery page. Some samples below. Enjoy~

P.S. If you have any other photos of the club that you would like to see on the website, send them to me!

Nagae Kata Taiaki 2008

Welcome Beginners 2009

Aus Uni Games, Gold Coast 2009

Mumeishi 3s Taikai 2007

Bentleigh Secondary College Kendo Demo 2007

Aus Uni Games Team 2004

Monash Kendo Jackets (1st issue!) 2007

Monash Band at Melbourne Uni Band Night 2008

Victorian Kendo Championships 2009

UMKC Beginner’s Taikai 2010

Monash volunteers at Australian Kendo Championships 2010

End of year club photo 2004

Visit and Demonstrations by Nittaidai 2005

Kendo Demo to high school students 2006

Aus Uni Games 2006

Every year is different and we have challenges in each year. This year 2011 started with a new management team and somewhat less number of key players after the departure of a few graduates. But the achievement we made throughout the year and at all levels of competitions are no different to the previous years. We may not have produced champions but demonstrated outstanding Kendo instead. We may not have produced an invincible team but we demonstrated Correct and nice Kendo. Winning is important and one of the purposes of shiai to test your Kendo and have its strength recognized as a winner, but that is not all. We at Monash, talk about Tadashiku, Tsuyoku, Utsukushiku. If anyone asks why Kendo is not a sport, I would simply say that it is because it has be Correct, it has to be Strong and it has to be Artistic. That is why Kendo is challenging, and why it is life time work. If we have all these three elements covered then, winning will come to you naturally.

Throughout the year, we made good progress in forming the club into a more solid one, and with 20 years of history, the club is more united. We have a good team and leadership on our management. This is the backbone of the club and without this, there is no pursuit in Kendo excellence. This is also Monash tradition as well as Tadashiku, Tsuyoku and Utsukushii Kendo tradition. So all my thoughts and respect goes to these people who constantly sacrifice their time for the benefit of the club. Let’s keep this tradition going.

Lastly, it is a great pleasure to be with this club and I very much appreciate this opportunity given to me to get involved in Monash Kendo. I have read all the messages on that anniversary booklet. Thank you all for your kind words. They did indeed make me feel that I am very privileged to be associated with you all.

Yoichi Yano
December 2011

Related galleries:
+ Monash Uni Kendo Club 20th Anniversary (4 December, 2011)

Our special 20th anniversary tenugui
(characters explanation at bottom of post)

Hey guys!

As you may know, this year is Monash University Kendo Club’s 20th anniversary year. To celebrate, we hosted a taikai on Sunday 4 December 2011, open to all VKR members and clubs. The taikai format is one that hasn’t been used much in Australia but is often used in Japan. The format is called “Tozai Taiko Sen” and literally translates to “East vs West Competition”.

The competitors are broken up into 2 teams with each player playing one match. We were looking to hopefully get 40 competitors, but interest was so high that we ended up with 70 in total! Competitors from 5 VKR clubs participated including 8 junior kendoka (under 16 years old). The 2 teams consisted of a mix of competitors from all clubs, with all Monash competitors being on the East team.

Competitors, officials, special guests and volunteers

The first part of the day was the junior’s kihon demonstration. This was led by Kazuya Kimura (MBK) who teaches the juniors class at Monash.

This was followed by a demonstration of “Bokuto ni yoru kendo kihon-waza keikoho” by Monash kendoka.

The main shiai event was next. Because of the large number of competitors, we broke up each of the 2 teams into groups. The juniors group went first and played the first 3 matches. The groups then progressed from lowest to highest grades. After an exciting couple of hours of Kendo, the final score was East 19 wins to West 10 wins (6 matches were draws). A convincing win for the East team!

Tasuki train~

Draw and scores at the end of the day

East team

All competitors

Four medals were given out at the end of the day, one for each senior group for “best display of Kendo”. They were given to Dennis Tjong (MBK), Takeshi Hartono (MUKEN), Hoey Goh (MON), and Itsuhiro Takizawa (MON). Congratulations!

We also presented “Appreciation Plaques” to a number of people from the Kendo community for their contributions to Monash Uni Kendo Club throughout our 20 years. Without their help, guidance and support, Monash would be a very different club and it is no stretch to say, that if it weren’t for a few of them, the club would not have continued to exist to this day. So we say thank you!

The recipients were -

• Stelios Polichroniadis
• Khay-Lin Teoh sensei
• Arpad Maksay sensei
• Ophelia Wong
• Kate Sylvester
• Cyntheia Lim
• Yoichi Miyamoto
• Hiroshi Shinoda sensei
• Yoichi Yano sensei

Our 20th Anniversary Event was extremely successful. As well as being an important event in our club’s history, the fact that we haven’t hosted such a large event before meant that the pressure was really on for us. Lots of planning within the committee, within the club, with Yano Sensei and Yoichi, as well as with VKR, needed to be done and everything came together nicely on the day. The volunteers briefing session we had the Friday before was attended by nearly all the volunteers and everyone who put their hand up to help set up and pack up the hall, were also on time and ready and willing to do any jobs that were needed. Speaking for Hoey and myself, we were so happy that so many volunteers constantly asked us “what else can I do” during the setting up in the morning. Thanks guys! We couldn’t have done it without you!

Thanks to the various organisers, volunteers, shinpans, officials, and special guests. Every taikai needs a team of dedicated people to make them run smoothly and this event went off without a hitch. Thanks also to those who came to watch. We hope you enjoyed yourselves, we certainly enjoyed hosting it! More photos can be found at the Monash Uni Kendo Club 20th Anniversary (4 December, 2011) gallery. Videos of each of the 35 matches will also be on the website soon! Enjoy

Thanks!

Exerpt from the official 20th anniversary event program

Registration table

Setting up in the morning

Packing up

Hey guys!

The end of year dinner being held tomorrow has changed venues!

The new dinner details:

Event: End of year dinner
Date: Wed 21 December, 2011 (tomorrow, after training)
Time: 8:00pm booking (we will finish training at 7:30pm so we can make it on time)
Location: Pings Dumpling Kitchen, 330 Clayton Road, Clayton VIC (Google Maps link)
Cost: $5 per person

We will be ending training a bit early tomorrow, at 7:30pm instead of 8:00pm. Please get changed quickly so that we can be at Pings at 8:00pm sharp. Also note that the cost is only $5 per person (excluding drinks). The club will subsidise the remainder

The following people have put their names down for dinner. If your name isn’t here, then we haven’t counted you and you need to contact me (Mony) asap! Thanks and see you all tomorrow!

People attending:

1. Yano Sensei
2. Yoichi
3. Cyntheia
4. Hoey
5. Mony
6. Trent
7. Masato
8. Nick
9. Keegan
10. Sherry
11. Katherine
12. Maki
13. Ka Man
14. Alvin
15. Sussan
16. Yak
17. Adrian
18. Rebecca
19. Vivian
20. Itsuhiro
21. Adam
22. Amane
23. Riku
24. Kaito
25. Chie
26. Kaz
27. Liam
28. Rico
29. Yan

Related files:

• Kenshikan_Invitation.pdf

Hey guys,

As some of you may know, Kenshikan has been closed recently while they are busy installing their new floor. Good news is that it will be ready soon! The re-opening ceremony will be this Sunday! More information from Tony Corrigan (MBK president):

To all members of the Victorian Kendo, Iaido and Jodo Community,

Please see attached invitation.

It is with great pleasure and excitement that Melbourne Budokai and the Kenshikan Trust formally invite you to attend the re-opening ceremony of the Kenshikan Dojo on Sunday the 11th of December 2011. We would very much welcome your participation at this historic occasion which will involve a traditional ceremony followed by a goodwill jigeiko.

***SUNDAY, 11TH OF DECEMBER***
Ceremony will begin at 10.30am (Please ensure you arrive 10 mins before)
Held at The Kenshikan Dojo (91 Rosslyn St. West Melbourne VIC 3006)

In early 2010 the Melbourne Budokai launched the ‘Kenshikan Restoration Project’, the most significant initiative undertaken since the Kenshikan’s opening in 1990. Over 20 years of extensive usage by the budo community has lead to the steady deterioration of the Kenshikan facility with the external roofing material and the dojo floor suffering the most damage. As caretakers of the Kenshikan Dojo, the members of Melbourne Budokai decided to take action to ensure the continuation of the Kenshikan legacy and to provide a safe venue for the practice and development of Kendo, Iaido, Jodo and Naginata for all Australians into the future.

The Kenshikan Dojo closed its doors for 4 weeks to allow construction to begin on a new dojo floor. We are proud to announce that the new floor is ready and waiting for a new era to begin.

We look forward to seeing on the day.

Please pass this message to all members of your club. If you have any enquiries please feel free to email or call me directly.

Kind Regards,

Tony Corrigan
President – Melbourne Budokai

This event has been added to the Calendar.

Hi all,

Please see (and read) the piece below from Sheppard sensei.

Katie

This Nanseikan blog “Dojo News’ has a new page added where I have published the transcript of an interview I did with Nagae sensei several years ago. Those who are interested in finding out more about Nagae sensei’s life in his own words can find it here:

http://kendonanseikan.blogspot.com/p/nagae-sensei-interview.html

Regards

Ben Sheppard

Hey guys,

As Hoey mentioned at the taikai today..

Tomorrow’s training (Monday 5th December, 2011) has been moved to Melbourne University Kendo Club (MUKEN). We will be joining them while Holt Sensei (Mumeishi) is visiting Melbourne and while our usual training hall’s floor is being finished (it is still being resurfaced). Details below -

Melbourne University Kendo Club

Time: 5.30pm – 7.30pm

Location: West Stadium, Level 2, Melb Uni Sports Center, Tin Alley, Parkville 3052
(see http://www.umkc.org.au/training.php for map)

Usual training at Monash on Wednesday 7th December.

See you guys there!

Related files:

• MUKC 20TH PROGRAM.pdf

Hey guys!

We have finally completed the program and draw for our upcoming taikai which is on this Sunday (original post/more info)! You can download the program, including the draw, here.

Unfortunately we were unable to include everyone who put their names down to compete. We sincerely apologise for this but we had to make the competition suit as many people as possible. We hope that you can still help us on the day by volunteering – this event is not to be missed!!

If your name is on the draw, then you are expected (obviously) to be there and play. If you cannot compete/attend for any reason, please contact me (Mony) on 0435 087 341 as soon as possible.

To those who are not competing and have not put their names down for volunteering (see list below), we are still short on volunteers so please contact me if you can help out

Volunteers, I shall be contacting you all soon!

Thanks everyone!

Volunteers so far:

1. Cyntheia (lead)
2. Aidan
3. Sherry
4. Negi
5. Tomoko
6. Rico
7. Tan

Hey guys,

This is the final call for anyone interested in being part of the Vic squad for 2012 (original post). This Wednesday’s training is the DEADLINE for letting me (Mony) or Nick know. More from Nick, team manager:

To all clubs and members,

Greetings! As you know, an email was circulated asking for a show of interest from Victorian kendoka regarding AKC2012 squad participation. If you have seen this email, you may also have noticed that the scheduled “first training session” is fast approaching.

As such, I must respectfully request that all lists of club members wishing to participate in state squad training must be received by WEDNESDAY 23rd NOVEMBER. It is crucial that the coaching staff receive these lists in order to have an idea of who will be attending these training sessions.

We appreciate your cooperation in this matter of urgency. Let’s make this campaign a great one!

Regards,

Nicholas Chan

Hey guys,

Some sad news from VKR:

Dear VKR members,

As many of you will have already heard, Nagae sensei passed away in Tokyo on Monday night.

The contribution Nagae sensei has made to the lives of Victorian and Australian kendoka is without compare. His guidance, support, passion and sheer hard work has motivated each of us to not only improve our kendo, but also to become a better human being. He will be very greatly missed.

The initial ceremony to honour Nagae sensei and his passing will take place this evening in Japan, with the main ceremony following tomorrow. Mrs Nagae has requested that this be a family affair, and therefore not open to members of the public. To express our sincere sympathies, the VKR has sent flowers and a telegraph to the ceremony on behalf of all of our members.

The Victorian Kendo Renmei will honour Nagae sensei with a plaque that will be placed at Kenshikan as a reminder to all that train. This, and our continued practise of budo, will ensure that his legacy will never be forgotten.

Our thoughts and wishes are with Mrs Nagae, friends and family.

The Victorian Kendo Renmei

Hey  guys,

This is the final call for anyone wanting to compete at our anniversary taikai. More details can be found in the original post.

The following people have put their name down. If your name isn’t here and you want to compete, please let me know, the deadline is the end of this coming Monday’s training!

1. Hoey
2. Mony
3. Nick
4. Keegan
5. Masato
6. Jim
7. Jason
8. Ka Man
9. Adrian
10. Alex
11. Rebecca
12. Vivian
13. Rico
14. Amane
15. Riku
16. Itsuhiro
17. Ken
18. Maki
19. Ben

We also need some volunteers! If you won’t be competing and you have some time to spare, please come along and help us make this event run smoothly. You will be a part of Monash history! We are currently looking at a 11am – 5pm event timeslot. The following people have put their names down to help volunteer. Please help out if you can!

1. Cyntheia
2. Aidan (aka Omega Falcon)
3. Sherry
4. Negi
5. Tomoko
6. Rico
7. Tan

Thanks!

Hey guys,

Some news regarding Nittaidai’s visit to Melbourne next year!

Hi all,

great news – students and senseis from Nittaidai will come returning to Australia in February next year!

As a part of this, we have arranged a training session for Sunday, the 19th February.

Here’s the details:

Time: 9.30 – 11.30

Place: North Melbourne Recreation Centre
204 – 206 Arden St, North Melbourne.

Please put it in your diaries, hope to see you there.

Cheers,

Katie

This event has been added to the Calendar.

Hi all,

please find attached the drafted changes for the VKR’s constitution. Chris has the track changes function on to allow you to see the updates.

Cheers,

Katie

Let me (Mony) know if you’re interested in having a look and I’ll send it your way.

Hey guys,

Some news from VKR regarding the Victorian Kendo Squad for 2012:

To all clubs and members of the VKR,

We are contacting you in regards to the Victorian State Squad for next year’s Australian Kendo Championships. As some of you may already know, the coaches for this year will be Yoichi Miyamoto (Monash) and Kazuya Kimura (MBK), and the time to begin our AKC2012 campaign is fast approaching.

As such, Yoichi-san and Kimura-san wish to send out a call for a show of interest in attending State Squad trainings. We would ask all clubs to compile a list of of any members who wish to attend, as well as their grade, and send the list to the following email address:

vicsquad2012@gmail.com

Timely responses would be greatly appreciated. Once we have received responses from the clubs, we will be in contact with those VKR members on the lists, providing (and possibly requesting) some further information.

Training for the State Squad is scheduled to begin on the 26th of November 2011, but this is dependent on the progress of Kenshikan’s floor renovations. If the first training session is to be moved to a different location, or pushed back to a later date, we will circulate an email via the above email account. Please do not contact Yoichi-san or Kimura-san via their personal email accounts regarding AKC2012 matters. If you have any questions, please send an email to the above account.

We look forward to working with all of you toward a successful AKC2012 campaign.

Regards,
Nicholas Chan
Team Manager

Hey guys,

Some news from Paul Bserani:

Hello VKR members!

Some of you may already know that Fujiwara Sensei will be in Melbourne for a few days. He’ll be arriving this Sunday. A training session with him has been organised at Kenshikan. It will start at 6pm and Kendoka 1st Dan and above are welcome to join in.

Cheers.

Paul Bserani
Secretary Melbourne Budokai

Hey guys,

Some news from Katie regarding VKR Friday night training:

Hi all,

due to work being undertaken to replace Kenshikan’s floor, the VKR training scheduled for this Friday night has been cancelled.

Our next Friday night training will be on the 2nd December – this will be a great opportunity to train on Kenshikan’s brand new floor. I’ll send out an update closer to the event.

Cheers,

Katie

Hey guys,

As most of you know, our club is 20 years old this year! To celebrate we will be hosting our own taikai with all VKR clubs invited! Here are the details:

Event: Monash University Kendo Club 20th Anniversary Taikai
Date: Sunday 4th December, 2011
Time: 12pm – 5pm (TBC)
Location: Stadium, Monash Sports Centre, Monash University Clayton Campus, Clayton, VIC
Entry Cost: Free
Participant levels: Junior (under 16) and Senior (16 and over) Kendoka, all grades

The taikai format will be Tozai Taiko-style. There will be 4 teams of 10 people each. Each team will consist of a mix of Kendoka from all VKR clubs. The competitors in each team will include Kyu and Dan players as well as junior players. The teams and their orders will be organised such that each person is playing against someone of their own age level (junior/senior) and also grade. The teams and draw will be organised by Yano Sensei.

This is a goodwill taikai – a chance to catch up and play against old and new friends, to continually foster friendship amongst all clubs, and of course, to show your best Kendo. Also an important note – this event has no entry cost – it is FREE to enter!

This will be the last taikai in the VKR calendar so this will be your last chance to compete until next year. As well as being the last taikai of the year, it is also, as far as we know, the first time the Tozai Taiko format has been used in a VKR taikai! Finally, MUKC turning 20 years old won’t happen again! So many reasons to compete!  If you’re interested in competing please see me (Mony) at training!

On a related note, we will need volunteers and shinpans for this event, and there will be a seperate call for those roles soon. Please help out if you can!

Thanks!