All brothers fight at some time, but Sotaro Ueda (11) and
Kohsuke Ueda (9) do that a bit differently than most
brothers.
Both have been practicing the ancient Japanese martial art of
Kendo since 2005 when Invercargill Kendo Club chief
instructor Tatsuya Fukuda first started instructing in
Dunedin.
Their training has now taken them to the top of the Kendo
world in New Zealand; Sotaro and Kohsuke took out first and
third place respectively in the Junior Samurai division of
the New Zealand Kendo Federation 2009 National Championships,
held at Stadium Southland, Invercargill, on May 9 and 10.
Mr Fukuda said that he was "very proud" of the brothers'
performances.
"Their success is because of their commitment to training
hard," he said.
Although the Ueda brothers are technically part of the Otago
Kendo Club, they fight under the banner of parent club
Invercargill, which also fielded another four boys aged from
seven to 11 years. Mr Fukuda said that all of the boys were
selected because of their effort at training.
New Zealand Kendo Federation President Graham Sayer also
commented on the generally high level of performance from all
of the boys.
He commended Mr Fukuda and his assistants on the rapid skill
progression of the boys and other club members.
The Ueda brothers have not confined their kendo success to
New Zealand, either. On a recent family extended holiday to
Japan, the boys practised there and Kohsuke took out an age
group title in local competitions.
Mr Fukuda noted that while most of New Zealand's senior
kendoka (Kendo practitioners) began their training as adults
or young adults, these boys had the advantage of beginning
their training while young.
They would definitely be kendoka to look out for in future
years, possibly even making the New Zealand National Squad to
contest the World Kendo Championships, he said.
Kendo Factbox
Kendo is a Japanese martial art based on traditional Japanese
sword-fighting.
Kendo means “way of the sword” and is a physically and
mentally challenging activity that combines martial arts
values with sport-like physical elements. Kendoka
(practitioners) wear traditional clothing and armour which
protects specified target areas of the body and use a shinai
(bamboo sword) as a weapon.
Points are awarded for striking a competitor in certain parts
of the body while landing the front foot at the same time as
the strike.
The attacker must also kiai (shout) at the time of contact.
Points are only awarded if, after the attack has taken place,
the attacker remains aware of the defenders actions - ready
to strike again.
Judges award a point with a flag which corresponds with the
colour worn by the competitor.
The competitor with the most points at the end of the match
wins.
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