The Ueda brothers, Sotaro (11), Kohsuke (9) and Naoki (6)
have once again shown their class while competing in the
Fourth Annual South Island Kendo Championships, held in
Christchurch on 5 and 6 December.
Sotaro and Kohsuke took out first and third place
respectively in the 12 years & Under competition, a
performance virtually identical to that achieved in
May, when they took out first and third place in the
Junior Samurai division of the New Zealand Kendo Federation
2009 National Championships.
Younger brother Naoki, competing in his first tournament,
showed strong fighting spirit in taking on opponents who were
much older and stronger than himself.
He also sat his first ever Kendo grading exam that weekend,
gaining the grade of 6th kyu.
Invercargill Kendo Club secretary Shane Robinson, who sat on
the grading panel, said: “Naoki has loads of spirit. He knows
what he is supposed to do; he just has to polish his skills.”
Also grading from Dunedin was Richard Keen, who put in a
strong performance to earn promotion to 3rd kyu.
Older brothers Sotaro and Kohsuke attained the grades of 1st
kyu and 4th kyu respectively in a grading held in
Invercargill in November.
Sotaro is prevented from testing for shodan (1st degree black
belt) only by his age. The minimum age for black belt in New
Zealand is 15.
"Sotaro and Kohsuke's success has been the result of their
commitment to training and Sotaro's success in gaining 1st
kyu has shown a developing maturity in his kendo", said Chief
Instructor Tatsuya Fukuda, who coaches both the Invercargill
and Otago kendo clubs.
"I expect the children from both the Invercargill and Otago
Kendo clubs to compete for New Zealand in the World
Championships in the future," he said.
Fourth Annual South Island Kendo Championships Results:
12 Years and Under:
1st, Sotaro Ueda (Otago Kendo Club);
2nd, Brent Crichton (Invercargill Kendo Club);
3rd, Kohsuke Ueda (Otago Kendo Club).
16 Years and Under:
1st, Corey Sutton (Invercargill Kendo Club);
2nd, D Y Kim (Aotearoa Kendo Club).
Women’s Open:
1st, Akiyo Ellin (Canterbury Kendo Club);
2nd, Risa Matsui (Canterbury Kendo Club);
3rd, Alicia Cavan (Canterbury Kendo Club).
Men’s Open:
1st, David Wong (Canterbury Kendo Club);
2nd, YH Shin (Aotearoa Kendo Club);
3rd =, Corey Sutton (Invercargill Kendo Club)
and Ramon Palmer (Canterbury Kendo Club).
Teams Event:
1st, Aotearoa C (Justin Rhodes, HJ Shin, YH Shin);
2nd, Aotearoa B, (Jeremy Trotter, Stephane Boyer, Olivia
Kim);
3rd =, Canterbury B (Conor Entwistle, Risa Matsui, Akiyo) and
Canterbury C (Rory Tuuta, Alicia Cavan, David Wong).
Fighting Spirit Awards:
Hayden McClymont (Invercargill), Olivia Kim (Aotearoa),
Stephane Boyer (Aotearoa).
Grading Results
Nidan: Olivia Kim, Corey Sutton, Joanne Fukuda
Shodan: Chris McGill, Eynon Phillips, Stephane Boyer
Kyu: Robert Win-Donnolly (1 kyu), Richard Keen (3 kyu), Naoki
Ueda (6 kyu)
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