30th Australian National Kendo Championships

I've been meaning to write about it for the past few days, but I don't know where to start.

The weekend came and gone and life now returns to normal. I came home with precious experience earned while watching (mitori-geiko), doing shiai or jigeiko with kendoka from other states.

I did okay in the individuals, but on hindsight, it could have been better. In my pool, I lost to Anthony Tilbury from Western Australia but won against Michael Davies (Victoria). The match against Anthony was pretty close at 1-1 each. He sneaked in a well-executed debana kote to take the match. Against Michael, I scored hiki-men for the first time in shiai. Scored the second one through debana-kote. One embarassing moment happened during gogi - as I was resting on the side I held my shinai wrongly, with the tip of the shinai touching the ground. Should have been the other way round. I saw the hachidans looking at me - I didn't know then but I know now. :) Anthony went on to win against Michael, and with his 4 ippons versus my 3, he became the winner of my pool.

In regards to my ippons, one thing I noticed is how they have improved since my last shiai at the NSW Championship in December 2004. Zanshin has improved slightly, but notably, the cuts were more natural and instinctive. I can now understand why high-level kenshi expect great ippon from themselves.

I was one of the reserves in the NSW team so I didn't get to play in the team shiai. I did try my best to look good on the sideline though! :D
We didn't do that well in the team shiai and I'm sure everyone, including our team coach Payne sensei, are disappointed.

Anyway, I look forward to next year's championship. I have one year to improve myself.

Congratulations to all the competitors and winners, especially our very own supergirl, Vivian Yung, who came third in the womens individuals and fighting spirit award winner!