2018 Shoryuhai Tournament

This weekend, March 17th and 18th, BUKA competed at the 22nd annual Shoryuhai Tournament hosted by Harvard University, making this BUKA’s third tournament of the year. We competed with fellow collegiate kendoka from the following schools: Brown University, Columbia University, Harvard University, New York University, Northeastern University, Ohio State University, Rensselaer Polytechnic University, School of Visual Arts, and Stony Brook University. This year we were able to bring four teams to participate, with 21 participants total.

For many of our participants, this was their first kendo tournament ever. All of our members put in all of their spirit and energy to do their best in this competitive tournament and the results were great!

Here are the results:

Individuals

  • Alan Tan
  • Anja Feng
  • Arnold Hernandez
  • Cici Qi
  • Hiroki Kawai
  • Jake Lee
  • Jialin Zhu
  • Jinghan Peng
  • Jungsu Lee
  • Kris Najdoski
  • Maggie Sumioka
  • Mike Ruan
  • Reina Iwase
  • Ryan Shimizu
  • Sabrina Tran
  • Saleem Hallal
  • Shazor Shahid
  • Silvia Zhang
  • Take Numata
  • WenXin Gao
  • Yumeto Shigihara

Results

Yumeto Shigihara placed 3rd in the Individuals Division.

Highlights

Hiroki Kawai advanced to the quarterfinals before being eliminated.

 

Teams

A

1.       Senpo: Yumeto Shigihara

2.      Jiho: Ryan Shimizu

3.      Chuken: Reina Iwase

4.      Fukusho: Mike Ruan

5.       Taisho: Hiroki Kawai

 

B

1.       Senpo: Jialin Zhu

2.      Jiho: Cici Qi

3.      Chuken: Jake Lee

4.      Fukusho: Alan Tan

5.       Taisho: Maggie Sumioka

 

C

1.       Senpo: Take Numata

2.      Jiho: WenXin Gao

3.      Chuken: Kris Najdoski

4.      Fukusho: Saleem Hallal

5.       Taisho: Shazor Shahid

 

D

1.       Senpo: Silvia Zhang

2.      Jiho: Jinghan Peng

3.      Chuken: Arnold Hernandez

4.      Fukusho: None

5.       Taisho: Anja Feng

 

Results

BU A won placed 3rd in the teams division! They won in their court’s round robin matches and then beat NYU C in the teams quarterfinals. BU A then advanced to the semifinals where they faced off with NYU A, fighting a close match where they were unfortunately eliminated. NYU A moved on to place 2nd behind SBU A in the team division finals.

Normally one of the largest intercollegiate kendo tournaments in the East Coast, this year’s Shoryuhai may have been a smaller tournament in terms of the number of participants, but yet again it was a truly enriching experience from which we were able to learn a lot from. On the first day of the tournament following the individual matches, we were provided the valuable opportunity to attend a seminar by the tournament’s shinpancho, Hironori Tahara Sensei (8 Dan hanshi), where we focused on the vital basics of kendo, sensei and students together. We also participated in goodwill keiko following the tournament matches.

Overall, Shoryuhai 2018 finished smoothly; we not only got the chance to see what we have improved on, where else we need to improve, what are our strengths and weaknesses, but we also received the opportunity to bond with each other as a team and with our fellow collegiate kendoka. It was a great achievement for our BU A team to once again, for the 2nd year in a row following three years without placing, to bring home bronze for BUKA. Congratulations and good job to BU A! Although BU B, C and D teams may not have advanced after the preliminary rounds, all three teams definitely gained invaluable and constructive experience from their multiple round robin team matches. Now, the time following any tournament, is very important as we go back to practice with a clearer picture in mind of what we want to improve and fix as we reflect on our tournament experience.

We thank our alumni who came to not only support us but also help film our matches: Ray, Katsu and Helen! We truly appreciate all of the support! The biggest thank you goes to our coach, Alex, for preparing us for and coaching us through the tournament this weekend. Thank you so much for all you do! With a month left to prep for our final tournament of the year, our own BU tournament held at FitRec, we plan to come back as stronger competitors and as an even stronger team! Thank you for all the support and we hope to see you all there!

BU Faito!