BUKA hosted its second annual collegiate joint practice on Saturday, February 24 with BU alumni and fellow Kendoka from the following universities: Harvard University, Yale University, Brown University, Northeastern University, MIT and Wesleyan University. This year we were able to practice with about 50 people over two full courts. Our practice included a variety of drills and activities such as 1000 suburi, Uchikomi, Shiai waza, mawarigeiko and jigeiko. After a long, hard and rewarding practice everyone was able to eat lunch together and got the chance to know each other better. This year’s joint practice was an overall success and we were able to learn so much from each other. Thank you to everyone who was able to join us and make this joint practice possible! We enjoyed the valuable practice we had as we hope everyone else did too. Hopefully we will see everyone back again for a future joint practice!
Author: Maggie Sumioka
2017 Goyokai Tournament
Today, BUKA participated in its first tournament of the year at the 18th Goyokai Kendo Tournament in Canton, MA. As Goyokai is a dojo hosted competition, we were able to compete with Kendoka from a wide range of age groups and experiences. We entered the tournament with 3 full teams and we brought along two beginner spectators. Every BUKA member fought their hardest today and the results showed the hard work and practice they put in!
The Individuals line up and results are as follows:
Men’s Kyu
- Alan Tan
- Geoffrey Gaskins
- Jay Seabrum
- Mike Ruan
- Nawaf Alyousif
- Nelson Hernandez
Women’s Kyu
- Cici Qi
- Evangeline Tsai
- Jenny Zhu
- Maggie Sumioka
- Sabrina Tran
Women’s 1-2 Dan
- Helen Zhou
Men's 1-2 Dan
- Hiroki Kawai
- Ian Dickinson
- Yumeto Shigihara
- Ray Feng
Men's 3-Dan
- Alex Eitoku
- Katsu Kawakami
Results
Cici Qi won bronze in the Women's Kyu division. Nawaf Alyousif and Hiroki Kawai won gold in the divisions, Men's Kyu division and Men's 1-2 Dan respectively. Our Coach Alex Eitoku won silver in the Men's 3-Dan division. BU alumni Nelson Hernandez and Ray Feng won bronze and silver medals in their divisions respectively.
Highlights
- Evangeline Tsai advanced to the Women's Kyu Quarterfinals before being eliminated. Ian Dickinson also advanced to the Men's 1-2 Dan Quarterfinals before being eliminated. Yumeto Shigihara went against BU alumn and former president, Ray Feng, in his first match of the Men's 1-2 Dan division. The fight for gold in the Men's 1-2 Dan division came down to Hiroki Kawai and Ray Feng in the finals.
Teams
A
- Senpo: Yumeto Shigihara
- Jiho: Nawaf Alyousif
- Chuken: Ian Dickinson
- Fukusho: Helen Zhou
- Taisho: Hiroki Kawai
B
- Senpo: Sabrina Tran
- Jiho: Mike Ruan
- Chuken: Cici Qi
- Fukusho: Geoff Gaskins
- Taisho: Jay Seabrum
C
- Senpo: Jenny Zhu
- Jiho: Evangeline Tsai
- Chuken: Maggie Sumioka
- Fukusho: Alan Tan
- Taisho: Nelson Hernandez
Results
Unfortunately none of the BU teams placed during this tournament, although BU A team won their first match against NYC C team.
As the first tournament of the year, Goyokai marks only the beginning to a great year. This tournament showed us what we have improved upon since the last tournament and what we still need to work on improving. As a non-collegiate (dojo) tournament, we were able to see that when it comes to Kendo, age is just a number; practice, determination and gaining experience in Kendo are what are more important. Despite the fact that we will not be attending another tournament very soon, we will definitely come back stronger as a team and ready to take on our next challenge! Great job to all of the participants today! Thank you for your support! BU Faito!