After a month-long process of registering people for the club and the paperwork of FitRec, the Boston University Kendo Association (BUKA) has been fully established for the Fall 2012 semester. A lot has gone on in such a short time: we have gained new members, we have witnessed the departure of champions, and the returning members of previous years have developed a greater acumen for swordsmanship and kendo than ever before. Jackets have been made, equipment is being finalized and more members are graduating from pure technique practice to bogu practice. All of this has been great and as we welcome the new members, we also get to instill upon them the spirit of BUKA, starting with the Cornell University Kendo Tournament.
Since the beginning of the semester, the goals have been simple:
- Train (and re-train) every bogu member to shine at Cornell
- Train the beginners to be ready for bogu
So far, reaching those goals has not been easy, but everyone has been working hard. Since their phenomenal victory over Harvard at the BU Tournament in April, Coach Alex Eitoku (CAS ’12) and Captain John Yi (SMG ’14) have been working with both groups in order to ensure that every member of the team – new and experienced – makes as much progress as humanly possible. This means that every is improving their technique, fitness and gaining confidence in their abilities. With the departure of a large number of seniors last year, BUKA’s legacy continues through us, and we intend to keep it strong!
With Cornell two weeks away, the pressure is on, and the results have yet to be seen. This weekend and the next will be critical for all BUKA kenshi who wish to repeat April’s victory or even BU’s 2011 Cornell record. Last October, BU dominated the Mudansha (unranked) bracket in individuals with Jumpei Uchida (SMG ’12), SungYeob Lee (CELOP) and Shawn Shou (SMG ’14) taking 1st, 2nd and 3rd respectively. Alex Eitoku also received the Spirit Award in the Yudansha bracket, with BUKA affiliates Matthew Yang (Rutgers) and Brian Joo (Harvard) placing 1st and 2nd. Boston University Team A also took 3rd place in the team tournament. How will we do this year? Only time will tell. But BUKA will be ready for whatever the tournament throws at us. FAITO!!!