Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Annual Christmas Party
Juniors' Bogu Wearing & Officiating Lesson
By Wei LunOn the 11th of December, a bogu-wearing and tournament-officiating session was held for the juniors. The juniors finally received their long awaited brand-new (and fresh-smelling!)
bogu. Their excitement, and at the same time confusion, was palpable as they collected their equipment.
Having progressed steadily in their kendo, it was time for the juniors to get their own
bogu to take their training to the next stage. Though the high cost of the
bogu can be a stumbling block to some,
it is essential equipment. In the words of our seniors, one's personal
bogu could be thought of as an investment--almost like a car. The initial outlay is high, but it will last you for your kendo journey.
Bogu, new ones, old ones.
"Juniors with their bogu on [but without gi & hakama],
looking like Roman foot soldiers." - Wenhao
On the same day, to prepare the juniors for the hosting of upcoming tournaments such as our internal NUS Championship Series and the 13th Youth Kendo Tournament , a
shiai-officiating session was held to teach them about the different roles of the match officials--namely the taggers, score-keepers, and time-keepers.
Vice-Captain Weber explaining tournament rules and duties.
Demonstration of tagging on Wasabi-chan by Shermaine.
Wasabi-chan's turn to tag Shermaine.
Situation analysis of when to stop time for time keepers.
President Chee Fung explaining the meaning of the shimpan's actions.
Meanwhile, the seniors maintain their shinai - or at least some of them are...
*cough* Kenneth?? *cough*
22nd Lim Kwa Chee Memorial Tournament
By Oke and Ricky
The 22nd LKC Tournament was held at the Singapore Kendo Club on the 18th of Dec, 2010.
Oke and Ricky share their experiences at the event.
OKE:
"The LKC tournament was set to start at 830 am. However, for us officials, we had to reach earlier for the briefing and to attend the registration booths where competitors will register their name. It was, I think, the most hectic moment of the day where every competitor was rushing to register within the allocated period of 30 minutes.
We were suddenly told that we were going to use 3 courts instead of 2, which was quite scary for us at such a last minute. When every competitor (or most) had finished registered and started their warm-up, we officials familiarized ourselves with the tournament's proceedings.
Honestly, I began to feel very nervous at this point of time. The last time I officiated was 3 years ago, and I had screwed up so badly then that I swore never to do it again. Yet here I was trying to monitor the whole officiating process! I managed court A and my trusty officials were:
1. Melissa & Cheefung (Score Keeper)
2. Nella & Jun Hui (Assistant Score Keeper)
3. Hai Hsian & Shermaine (Time keeper)
4. Darte and Downpour a.k.a Jing Yang (Time keeper)
5. Ze hao and Cheefung (Tagger I/C).
6. Of course the taggers which I am not sure how many of them…Many thanks if you guys helped but were not mentioned here.
I will say that we had a rough start that day. We had a court manager that was as blur as a sotong, score keepers that were often missing because they had to compete, and announcers
that sometimes read the names wrongly due to miscommunication! No offense here though, it’s just these were the screw ups that were the most memorable and funny :D
Thankfully, despite the bad start, clear guidance from Suresh-sensei and Daphne-sensei, who were the tournament master and assistant tournament master respectively, allowed us to endure all difficulties and push on!
As the day got hotter, the matches got more intense, the fights took longer and our morale as officials began to drop to rock bottom. Despite that, the fierce spirit that the many competitors showed during the fights gave us a newfound confidence! Especially from the competitors who were at their very first shiai. Despite often being wiped out by more experienced players early on, some put up very strong fights and managed to give their competitors a run for their money at times!
Our team was also in charge of officiating the final matches of all categories. Each match of the finals were highly intense, but the match that I remember most would be that between the senior women’s category champion (Daphne-sensei) and the senior men’s category champion (Takamori-sensei).
The men’s champion was initially down by one point so as to give the women's champion a handicap. However, Takamori-sensei managed to get a clean point off her. At this point in time, she was fighting with no handicap. Hence, it was a really a 50/50 chance for either one of
them to win the tournament. However, she managed to win the last point of the match...and thus became the overall champion of the LKC tournament.
After that we packed up and got ready to go for lunch after a long day. It was a good experience for the officiating team to get familiarized with the proceedings of a tournament. I have to really thank all members of my officiating team for doing a good job--without them, it would have been impossible. As for officiating....I really would not want to EVER officiate again--I would rather compete! :D"
RICKY:
"The tournament was my first ever kendo tournament and probably my most
memorable (pun not intended). Initially, I did not plan to take part because I thought that the
non-bogu category would be quite boring since it only consisted of
shoumen-uchi and
hayasuburi and no actual sparring. But eventually I decided to go for it since it would be the one and only time I can take part in the non-
bogu category. Of course, the seniors' persuasive words played an important role in my decision.
So I made my way down to the Changi Japanese School. It was my first
time seeing so many kendokas gathered under one roof, some were as young as 10 years old and I might actually be competing against them! I feel that this is what makes kendo so special, that once you are in the
shiai-jo, you are expected to respect your opponent and put in your best effort, no matter what the gap in age or skill is.
The non-bogu category was the first category on that day. Two kendokas would each do twenty
shoumen-uchi cuts and twenty
haya-suburi, following which the judges would decide on a winner, based on the form demonstrated and
kiai (spirit) shown. It made me realize that kendo places a lot of emphasis not only on
kihon (basics), but also on
reiho (manners). What separated the victorious kendoka from the other was not only the spirit and precision with which they executed their strikes with, but also the way they conducted themselves during the match.
It was a good thing that before the tournament, Shumin was training us juniors with a great focus on the reiho we were expected to adhere to during the match. I
certainly would not want to lose the match and make a fool out of myself just because I did not
understand the instructions given to me.
Congratulations Ricky for his win in the Junior's Category!
All in all, I am glad that I chose to take part in this tournament. It was an eye-opener
for me, as I was able to see how a whole tournament is carried out, from start to finish. I was also able to make friends with so many kendokas from different clubs, which would be impossible if I chose to only train within NUS.
I would certainly advise my future juniors to take part in LKC, because it would be a good practice for them to familiarize themselves with the conduct they are expected to carry during a competition. The memories they can take away with them is certainly worth the grueling journey to Changi. I certainly found mine worthwhile. (:"
NUS Championship Series 4
The NUS Championship Series 4 was held on 13th December 2010.
Series 4 concluded the 1st NUS Championship--a new initiative by the club to promote shiai (tournament) experience through an internal tournament.
We invite Yong He, our captain and overall Men's Category champion, to share his thoughts.
--
Reflections on NUS Championship 2010By Yong He
Over the course of participating and organizing this year long event, I have learnt a lot both from the experiences in and out of the shiai-jo. After reviewing all the matches that I’ve fought throughout the whole year, I realized something important and decided that this is perhaps the most appropriate thing to share.
I have participated in all 4 tournaments in the Championship. Every single match had a personal meaning behind it. This was especially so for the last matches that I fought in each tournament.
For example, in the 1st Series, I fought Ze Hao (the captain then). It was a tough fight because he was and still is a very strong fighter. I had serious doubts about winning when I fought him but I managed to pull out the resolve needed to push myself to win.
The next series, I fought Jack, a senior member of the club and a good friend of mine. His style specifically countered my kote cut (which is perhaps my only confident attack). I remembered having to really will myself to fight on especially after he scored a demoralizing point which brought the match into enchou (overtime).
In series 4, I fought Chee Fung who is also the current President/Chairperson of the club. Both of us having known each other for so long were very familiar with each others’ fighting styles and so made scoring a decisive ippon extremely difficult. The match dragged on into enchou and I was fortunate to strike a kote point after fighting for about 7 minutes.
However, for me personally, the most memorable match would have to be the one and only match that I fought in Series 3. I was quickly knocked out by Hai Hsian in the first round. That was my first and only loss in the Championship. After much thinking and reviewing of the match, I came to learn a lot from this defeat. I had placed too much emphasis on winning that I lost my composure during the match.
From left to right: Gervinn, Chee Fung, Yong He, Hai Hsian and Teck Seng.
From the same batch of beginners that joined the club in 2008
I would like to thank all my opponents during the Championship for all the invaluable lessons that they have taught me. Peter Ong-sensei once told us that when we win, we must remain humble and maintain the respect for the opponent. In the olden days, when swordsman fought, one would die or be maimed. The one who lost died so the victor could claim his victory. Although in Kendo, no one has to die from losing a match, I strongly believe in respecting ones opponent because without their losses there can be no victor.
Of course, be it in defeat or in victory, I have thoroughly enjoyed myself during those matches. Fighting with my fellow peers made the entire experience more interesting and meaningful. It is perhaps the bonds forged through the crossing of swords that makes the relationships between my peers and me more unique than any other friendships that I have made throughout my life thus far.
Last but not least, I hope NUS Kendo Club can continue to grow and prosper and this new tradition of having an internal tournament can be carried on so that future generations of kendoka from the club can experience what all of us had. Finally, I hope that we will continue to strive hard and train not just our technical skills and mental fortitude but also to understand more about ourselves and become a better person.
Picture of the club with David Yeo sensei in the middle.
Special thanks to Jaclyn-sensei from SKC
(left of David Yeo sensei) for helping out with shimpan work.
