2017 Yuhihai Tournament

BUKA sent five members to participate BUKA’s second tournament of the spring semester, the 10th Yuhihai Tournament, at University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) on February 26th. It was our first trip on an airplane! We competed with other universities and athletes in our age group. Schools that competed included University of California Los Angeles, University of California Riverside, University of California Irvine, University of California San Diego, University of California Davis, University of California Santa Cruz, University of California Santa Barbara, Associated Students of University of California (Berkeley) Stanford University, Soka University of America, and University of Southern California. We brought one team to participate. All five BUKA members tried their best in this competitive tournament. Although the results were not as well as they wanted them to be, Yuhihai was a good experience for all of them.

Here are the results.

Kyu

  • Helen Zhou
  • Guanyi Ji

Women’s

  • Reina Iwase

Dan

  • Hiroki Kawai
  • Hajime Oono

Results

Unfortunately, no members placed.

Highlights

  • Hajime Oono advanced to the quarterfinals before he was eliminated.

Team

A

  1. Senpo: Reina Iwase
  2. Jiho: Helen Zhou
  3. Chuken: Hiroki Kawai
  4. Fukusho: Guanyi Ji
  5. Taisho: Hajime Oono

 

Results

Unfortunately, BU team did not placed during this tournament; however, BU made it out of the preliminary rounds before they were eliminated one round before quarterfinals.

Five BUKA members flew across the country to attend the 10th Yuhihai Tournament at UCLA. BU was the only team from the East Coast. The members all had a great time meeting and competing with our West Coast friends. It was a long day as the members did not do as well as they wanted to, but they got to attend a mini-seminar by one of the guest senseis, Hojo-sensei, and had godogeiko with kenshi from other clubs. Overall, it was a great experience for everyone. All the members went and came back home safe. Huge thank you to the UCLA team for hosting and supporting us! Also, thank you to our alumni, Julie and Andrew, for helping us out during the day. Shoutout to Kimi for taking us sight-seeing and Priank for coming to see us on Saturday. Of course, big thank you to all the BUKA alumnis and members who have supported our trip to California! This trip wouldn’t have been possible without your support! Thank you to Helen for driving and organizing our very first long distance trip. We hope to have more in the future! Good job again to the five members who competed: Reina Iwase, Helen Zhou, Guanyi Ji, Hiroki Kawai, and Hajime Oono. We’re really proud of you all for going over to California to represent BU. Thank you all!

Two tournaments done this semester and more to come. The next one will be the Shoryuhai Tournament at Harvard University on March 19th and March 20th. Let’s do this!

As always, thank you for your support and faito, BUKA!

2017 Columbia Tournament

BUKA participated its first tournament of the spring semester in the 2017 Columbia Tournament on February 19th. We competed with other universities and athletes in our age group. Schools that competed included Columbia University, Princeton University, New York University, Stony Brook University, University of Connecticut, Yale University, and University of Pennsylvania. We brought three teams to participate. All BUKA members tried their best in this competitive tournament. The final results were pretty good!

Here are the results.

Beginners

  • Mike Ruan
  • Geoffrey Gaskins
  • Jake Lee
  • Rachel Zhu
  • Sung Song
  • Chao Liu
  • Maggie Sumioka
  • Caoyue Wang
  • Chuqing Tan
  • Jialin Zhu
  • Evangeline Tsai

Mudansha

  • Helen Zhou
  • Billy Pratama

Women’s

  • Rachel Zhu
  • Maggie Sumioka
  • Caoyue Wang
  • Jialin Zhu
  • Evangeline Tsai
  • Helen Zhou

Yudansha

  • Hajime Oono
  • Ian Dickinson

Results

Hajime Oono and Chuqing Tan both placed third in the Beginner division and Yudansha division respectively.

Highlights

  • Jake Lee and Mike Ruan advanced to the quarterfinals in the Beginner division before getting eliminated.

Teams

A

  1. Senpo: Mike Ruan
  2. Jiho: Helen Zhou
  3. Chuken: Billy Pratama
  4. Fukusho: Geoffrey Gaskins
  5. Taisho: Hajime Oono

 

B

  1. Senpo: Jake Lee
  2. Jiho: Rachel Zhu
  3. Chuken: Sung Song
  4. Fukusho: Chao Liu
  5. Taisho: Ian Dickinson

C

  1. Senpo: Maggie Sumioka
  2. Jiho: Caoyue Wang
  3. Chuken: Chuqing Tan
  4. Fukusho: Jialin Zhu
  5. Taisho: Evangeline Tsai

 

Results

Unfortunately, no BU teams placed during this tournament; however, BU A made it to the quarterfinals before getting eliminated.

Being the first tournament this spring semester of 2017, Columbia definitely showed us what we need to work on, how we can improve, and where we are. Seeing the differences of skills and experiences for people in our age group, inspired and motivated us to come back to practice more and harder. We will be preparing for our upcoming tournaments. We also had an amazing opportunity of not only getting to see a naginata vs. kendo demonstration, but also being able to spar with the Columbia University’s Naginata Club. It was a wonderful and fun experience! Shoutout to our BU alumnis, Shawn and Lucien, for coming out to support us and helping around. Also, huge thank you to Helen, Guanyi, and Jay for driving us to and from Columbia. We wouldn’t have made it there and back safe without you three. Good luck in advance to those who are going to UCLA this coming weekend! Hope you have a safe and fun trip there. Definitely will be a great experience for everyone.

As always, thank you all for your support! Faito, BUKA!