The gym was big enough to have 5 courts going at once, there was also a ring around the top of the gym for jogging but also access to a lobby area that one could go through and reach the first floor without interrupting the action going on in the courts:
There’s a club we are all familiar with:
The handout is very sharp and not overly stuffed with information. It is very easy to find information about each division and club and rank about each person competing:
Being a member of the Annapolis Kendo and Iaido club, I had a clear shot of the dojo line up from the furthest side of it:
Ohta sensei, who lead the shodan to sandan training at the AUSKF summer camp, graced the SEUSKF tournament with his presence (he’s sitting at the table):
Scanlon sensei was up right at the start with shimpan duty:
The matches were single elimination, quite understandable with 200 competitors. Lauren in her first match of the day (she also competed in women's bracket and the team competition):
Myself in my first match ever in the shodan/nidan bracket, I didn’t do so well and got two points scored on me, it was a good match though especially considering the person who defeated me did well in the shodan/nidan bracket whining the court A bracket:
Lauren advanced a bracket in the women’s division, she was knocked out by 5 dan so her match was great as well:
After lunch, Ohta sensei and six of the highest ranking sensei who attended demonstrated keiko, each sensei competeing against Ohta in a one on one match. I can’t recall all the names but I know Maeda was the last to compete against Ohta:
Scanlon sensei put up a fierce fight in his match:
Maeda sensei went up against Phuong sensei, it was an intense match:
The Annapolis Kendo and Iaido Club teamed up with the New Orleans Kendo Club. The order was Neil Bascos of the New Orleans Kendo Club (1-kyu), Lauren, myself, Frank Anselmo of the New Orleans Kendo Club (3-dan). Our opponent was the University of Kentucky Kendo team. Bowing in to our match was an experience:
A few minutes before that picture I was thinking “hey Maeda sensei is here today, I wonder what he’s doing here.” The grin across my face in the picture is the sudden realization that I was going to have the good fortune of fighting Maeda sensei. Here are some pics of our team’s matches:
Tomorrow are the important matches though, as Lauren and myself attempt to pass the Nidan exam. Thanks to Phil and Ronnie for helping with the pictures and thanks to Neil and Frank for competing along side us in the team matches.
