Nanseikan Kendo Club 南西館剣道クラブ

It's taken me a while but here are some pics of the day on the 21st where Nanseikan had a stall and demo at the lovely Edwardes Lake Park in Reservoir. Our new banner was ready in time and helped give our marquee a strong identity (thanks Jenny). We also had lots of tenugui waving in the breeze and various bits of kendo equipment for people to look at. Many had their first taste of "mugi-cha" or roast barley tea, a drink that is inseparable from kendo and summer! Our demo went well with many in the audience overheard saying things like: "wow, they're so disciplined!" and, "look at how they do everything so quickly!" We're also very polite! Overall it was beautiful day and thanks to everyone (especially my wife Caz!) for helping make it a success. b:)

Now that I've worked out how to attach thumbnails, I thought I'd post a pic of the club *mon* or logo. It is based on the characters for our name "Nansei" (pron. "nunsay") which mean South-West. South is on top. It's designed in the style of a Japanese family crest. I think it looks like Kagoshima-city's volcano Sakurajima, reflected in Kinko Bay. The kanji read left to right and say "Kendo Nanseikan". They are written in the semi cursive style (gyo-sho). And I must admit, they were written with a chisel-point, felt-tip pen, not a brush. Oh the shame! Still, that fact is probably not obvious to most people, and besides, I like the way they look.

As promised, here's Amelia's design for a banner for the club. It'll be big: over 1.5m square! Looking forward to seeing the real thing (I hope you don't get RSI Jenny). ;)

Today we went to train with Fudoshin at their Balwyn dojo. Steph, Jordan, Daniel, Cy and me all piled into the old Renault and drove out to Balwyn where the magpies were singing and the under 12 cricketers were all playing in the rain. We had a great time training with and meeting new kendo friends. Big thank you to Richard, Khay Lin, Sue and the other Fudoshinka for sharing their knowledge with us in their lovely, tranquil dojo! b

Just in time for a Melbourne summer! :P Nanseikan polartops are sleeveless and zip-up. They have two front pockets and feature the club "mon" (logo) on the front with "kendo Nanseikan" in kanji underneath. Then on the back the club mon and "kendo Nanseikan" in Roman letters. They're light, warm and very comfy. Only $35 each, they come in sizes from kids 6, 8, 10, 12, 14 and adult S, M, L, XL and XXL. I recommend buying one size bigger than normal so you can wear it over your do and tare at tournaments and gradings. Of course parents should just order their normal size! See me at training to order. :)