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Report
from the Norwalk Kendo Dojo 35th Anniversarry Tournament Norwalk Kendo Dojo, 11/19/00. In my humble opinion, I think kendo tournaments are great to watch to go cheer and root for your friends and teammates. However, for the participants, the tournaments must be a place for wild emotions that must be kept in check; extreme anxiety, blinding battle rage, extreme exhilaration and, sometimes, disappointment. But hey, what do I know. I’m still waiting for my armor to show up. I look forward to the day when I can join all the other kenshi and represent Westside Kendo Dojo(WKD). Continuing my green opinion, WKD made a very good showing at the 35th Anniversary Norwalk Kendo Dojo Tournament. WKD made its presence known in the Adult Kyu class, 1Dan – 3Dan class, and the Team tournament class. We were treated to a tasty hot lunch of curry, rice and funky Asian potato chips. I couldn’t stick around for dinner but if it was anything like lunch, no one left hungry. The guys did a killer job in the Adult Kyu class. Naris Pinyowattayakorn, Joel Inden and Dan Leyva kicked a bunch of butt as each fought his way to the quarterfinal rounds. Three out of the four matches in the quarterfinals had members of WKD competing in them. Not too shabby when you consider that was ALL of the WKD competitors. I didn’t keep record of the matches but one I did remember was Joel Inden defeating Anthony Costello, the Neisi Week Tournament Champion. Great job guys! Let’s go for four out of four next time. Frank Uto and Venice friend, James Takishita, competed in the 1Dan – 3Dan class. The matches were fought valiantly but Frank Uto was eliminated first round while James Takishita was eliminated the second round. James, lay off that police conditioning stuff, it could be hazardous to your health and your Kendo tournaments. Cary Mizobe, Frank Uto, Joel Inden and Dan Leyva represented WKD in the team tournament. WKD felt bad for the opposing Norwalk team and spotted them one match. Needless to say, the Norwalk team did not return the favor. Nevertheless, all fought admirably and made great showings. Me in my greenness saw so many points not awarded to WKD I have to wonder if I had been paying attention in class at all. This was, however, the first time I have seen Mizobe Sensei competitively. So that’s how it is supposed to be done; calm, cool and with poise – Piece of cake! A bit disappointing, in my biased green opinion, was the lack of support from all the other non-armored folks. Mary and Brendan Uto, Fernando Rodriguez and Chris Roda were there to cheer the crew on. There are 13 names on the roster whom don’t have armor yet. One would think that those 13 individuals would want the extra support by the next new wave of kenshi once they have earned the right to compete. Chris
Roda
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