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.
