Nanseikan Kendo Club 南西館剣道クラブ

Congratulations to all who participated in the gradings at the Kenshikan last Sunday 13 March. I'm very pleased to say everyone passed! We had 11 members participate that day. I think this is a sign that the club is getting stronger all the time. The results: 4th kyu: Stephanie Kelso Amelia Kelso Jordan Dempster Thomas Marinelli 5th kyu: Daniel Candido Cy Crowe Luke Marinelli Michael Marinelli 6th kyu: Eli Robey Luke Arambasic Robert Kelso Now that you have been awarded that grade, you must set your sights on what you need to do so you can pass the next grading in September. You must start to do kendo like someone who is already at the next grade! Ganbatte kudasai! b ^_^

A bit late with some of the news, sorry! Thanks to Rob Arambasic for these pics of the very successful demonstration Nanseikan did at the 2005 Sydney Rd Street Party on 27 February. It was a beautiful day to be outside and I had a lot of people come up to me afterwards and say how "disciplined" everyone looked. I think coming from non-kendo people this is partly surprise at how careful we are about our movements. Nevertheless I think it is good feedback and means that we are able to communicate the "different-ness" of kendo to people who may not have seen it before. The people who had seen the last demo 2 years ago also commented to say how far everyone had come in that time. I agree too. I think we have come a long way. Next time I'll ask for a little more time on stage though -- 15 mins is a bit short! men tore! shizentai taito kirikaeshi! b :)

Here is what you need to do for your grading. Listed below are the requirements for rokkyu (6 kyu), gokyu (5 kyu) and yonkyu (4 kyu). Read well and think about them. On the day you might not be asked to all of the techniques/exercises listed below. You will certainly not be asked to anything that is not listed under the grading you are going for. Ganbatte kudasai! b ^_^ 2.3.5 Rokkyu Technical Requirements Kihon-waza to be executed with Motodachi, candidates wearing Tare and Do. • Correct Hakama & Keikogi • Correct Bogu • Rei and Sonkyo • Ashi-sabaki • Kihon Men • Kihon Kote • Kihon Do 2.3.6 Gokyu Grading Technical Requirements Kihon-waza to be executed with Motodachi, candidates wearing Tare and Do. • Correct Hakama & Keikogi • Correct Bogu • Rei and Sonkyo • Ashi-sabaki • Kihon Men • Kihon Kote • Kihon Do • Kiri-Kaeshi 2.3.7 Yonkyu Grading Technical Requirements Candidates wearing full Bogu and demonstrating against each other. • Correct Hakama & Keikogi • Correct Bogu •