Posts 2016


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Dec 17 2016 | Last week of training

Another great year for Shidokan has passed! Our kendo and iaido skills have definitely improved, and our fellowship is stronger than ever. We have learned truly valuable lessons this year, many of which we shall never forget.

We are very lucky to have a great mentor in Santoso Sensei and great friends, such as Tsuji Sensei and Toida Sensei, who have offered tremendous guidance when we needed it most. To them and everyone else who has helped us this year, we would like to express our sincere gratitude!



The foundations of our dojo are fortified with the strong spirit of our growing family. We are looking forward to new challenges that we will face in 2017! Of course, there was no better way to finish the year than with good keiko. Happy 2017!!





Nov 26 2016 | Iaido Grading at Etobicoke, ON

On Saturday, November 26th, some of our members traveled to Etobicoke in Toronto, ON to participate in the morning Iaido seminar and then challenge the Winter grading.

We would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all our members who passed their iaido grading.



We would like to thank Santoso Sensei for his continued patience and guidance and also Dean Jolly Sensei for leading our group in the west of the island.





Nov 20 2016 | JCCC TAIKAI & Kendo Grading

On Saturday, November 19th, some of our members traveled to JCCC in Toronto, Ontario to participate in the annual tournament there. Over 200 kendokas were present, and our competitors performed very well considering the high level of kendo displayed.

The next day, we were very happy and proud to hear that all of our members who challenged their next rank passed their kendo examination! We now have three new Sandan, and three new Nidan. As was mentioned by Kamata Sensei, grading is a stepping stone towards the next rank, and towards the embetterment of one's kendo. We look forward to the next challenge, and will keep on practicing hard to that end.



We would like to express our sincere gratitude to Santoso Sensei for being there for us during the weekend, offering advice and support during these stressful times.

Last but not least, our most humble thanks to Robert Carson and his parents, for generously offering their home to our members for the weekend! The Shidokan family is truly humbled by their repeated hospitality.





Nov 12 2016 | Granby Taikai

On Saturday, November 12th, twelve of our members went to Granby to the bi-annual regional tournament. Although the number of participants was lower than previous years, the level of kendo displayed there certainly made up for it.

Everybody fought hard and with passion. In particular, we would like to congratulate the following category winners:


Kyu-Shodan category

  • 1st place: Francis Petrin
  • 2nd place: Max Pachoute

Nidan-Sandan category

  • 1st place: Gabriel Schor

Teams

  • 1st Place: Shidokan Team B

We were very fortunate to have Toida Sensei, from MKC, drive with us to the competition, join us on one of our teams, and offer his guidance throughout the day.

Our sincere gratitude also to Santoso Sensei, for his patience and guidance in the last few months in preparing us for these events.





October 2016 | Tameshigiri

Thanks to one of our senior iaidoka's (Mathieu Tremblay) demonstration at Télé-Québec, we were able to get our hands on makiwara (巻藁) and had the very rare opportunity to practice Tameshigiri.

Of course Tameshigiri is not part of our usual iai curriculum and it should be executed by experienced practicioners in a safe environment.



Thank you Santoso Sensei for allowing our shenanigans this time.
We would also like to offer a warm welcome to our new member Kuniko Kinoshita !





October 2016 | Shogun Kendogu

On October 21, we had the great opportunity to practice with Blake Bennett and members from Shogun Kendogu at the Montreal Kendo Club.

From the 13th until 23rd of October, they visited friends in San Francisco, Houston, and Montreal for a few bogu repair seminars, keiko, and a bit of socialising!
We are looking forward to seeing you again soon!






September 2016 | Back to work

Shidokan is kicking off the new Iaido semester in great spirits after hosting the Canadian National Iaido Championships, a challenging and exhausting enterprise.

We are now looking forward to build upon from this experience, keep learning and growing together.






Sep 03 2016 | 2nd Canadian National Iaido Championship 2016

On the Labor day weekend, Shidokan had the honor to host the 2nd Canadian National Iaido Championship in partnership with the Canadian Kendo Federation (CKF). The event took place over three days, featuring seminars, the national tournament, and grading up to 5th Dan.

We were honored to receive delegates from Japan, Chihiro Kishimoto Sensei (Hanshi 8D) and Atsumi Hatakenaka Sensei (Kyoshi 8D), as well as from the United States, Shozo Kato Sensei (Kyoshi 7D) and Pam Parker Sensei (Renshi 7D), and of course our honoured guest Sensei from within Canada: Goyo Ohmi Sensei (Kyoshi 7D), Mitsuru Asaoka Sensei (Renshi 7D), Stephen Cruise Sensei (Renshi 7D), and Takeshi Kimeda Sensei (7D).


We would also like to thank our other honored guests who were in attendance: CKF President Christian D'Orangeville Sensei, CKF Treasure John De Maisonneuve Sensei, and Consul General Kubo Yuji.

Participants came from all across Canada, as well as some from the United States.

Full article and gallery coming soon!





August 2016 | End of Summer

Summer 2016 comes to an end, and the last survivors show up for the last kendo class of the season before taking a short 2 weeks break. Let's get ready for the new semester!! Gambatte!






July 30 2016 | Iaido in the Park

Members of Shidokan also continue our tradition of kata in the park during the summer. With Kendo grading over, we are using the time to get in some extra preparation for the national taikai and grading in September. We hope to continue the practice in the Saturdays leading up to the CNIC 2016.

See you at the park!







July 27 2016 | Iaido Taikai Simulation and Volunteer Training

Shidokan is gearing up for the 2nd Canadian National Iaido Championships, to be held this fall in Montreal at our John Abbott location. In preparation for the event, our Loyola and John Abbott locations joined together for a class dedicated to taikai simulation. We also used the opportunity to prepare our volunteers for the upcoming championships.

Thank you to both Santoso Sensei and Dean Sensei for all of your hard work, dedication, and guidance in helping us to prepare for the nationals and grading.







July 18 2016 | Honoured Guests

On Monday, we had the pleasure of receiving a visit from many guests: including Toida Sensei and some other members from MKC, Schneider Sensei from UdeM, and Eddy Devisse Sensei. Originally from Montreal where he was a student of Richard Goulet Sensei at UdeM, Devisse Sensei currently resides in Trinidad and Tobago; where he coaches the national kendo team.

The practice was run by Toida Sensei and focused on mawarigeiko and jigeiko.


Thank you to all three Sensei for visiting, and to our friends from MKC who joined us as well. We are always honored to have you with us, and hope to get the chance to keiko again soon.





July 2-3 2016 | Montreal Taikai and Kendo Grading

The Montreal Taikai returned this year on Saturday, July 2, hosted by the McGill Kendo Club. A contingency of Shidokan went to the tournament to put our hard work and training to the test. It was a chance to fight kendoka from Quebec, Ontario, and the United States. Congratulations to Tarek who placed 3rd in the kyu-1Dan division!

Grading took place the next day, ranging from 1kyu up to 3Dan. Shidokan had many members grading this time, with applicants in almost every category.
Congratulations to everyone who passed, and remember to learn and grow from this experience as we return to training.


Thank you to McGill Kendo Club for all of your hard work in hosting both of these events. We would also like to thank Sensei for his guidance and help in preparing for these events, and for his continued patience throughout the rest of our training.





June 2016 | Summer Activities

Visit from MKC and new members
As the weather heats up, so does our training. We would like to thank our friends from MKC for braving the heat of the gym with us this summer while their dojo was undergoing renovations. It's always a pleasure to have you with us and we hope to visit soon!

We'd also like to take this time to welcome our new senior, Takefumi Maemoto, who joins us all the way from Osaka, as well as our new beginners. We look forward to walking the path together!


Women's Practice
A few of our female kenshi participated in on a joint women's practice, led by Ariyama Sensei from MKC. The practice was hosted by the University de Montreal and AMS Kendo Club at CEPSUM.

As always, the women's practice was a good opportunity to keiko with other female practitioners from around Quebec. Thank you to Ariyama Sensei for leading the practice, and to UdeM and AMS for organising this event. We hope to see you all again soon!





June 2016 | Kata in the park!

A great way to enjoy the summer and get ready for kendo grading is "Kata in the park". Shidokan members gather every Saturday morning to practice kata and later go for refreshments.

Thanks to Santoso Sensei and all the sempai(s) for their dedication







May 01 2016 | Quebec Regional Kendo Championships, Granby.

On Sunday, Shidokan traveled out in strong numbers to compete in the annual spring Granby Taikai. We had competitors in every category and it was great to see everyone competing at their best. Many of our members made it quite far in the individuals categories.

Both teams also did very well, with Shidokan 'A' winning the finals and Shidokan 'B' making it to the bronze medal match.



Congratulations to the following kendoka:

Nidan-Sandan category

  • 1st place: Benjamin Vial
  • 2nd Place: Tong Dinh
  • 3rd Place: Gabriel Schor

Yondan and up category

  • 3rd place: Michael Kim

Teams

  • 1st Place: Shidokan Team A

Great work everyone, you've made Shidokan very proud. As always, thank you to Santoso Sensei for all of your continued patience and guidance. Now, back to work!





April | Spring Activities

A brief glimpse into our kendo and iaido activites during the month of April as we welcome the Spring and many new Challenges. A good opportunity for dojo members to perform Equipment maintenance.

Special thanks to our friend Pham T. Quoc for the fantastic Kendo pictures.






2 April 2016 | Tsuji Sensei Visit

On the first weekend of April, we received a special visit from Lawrence Tsuji Sensei. Once a student at Shidokan alongside Santoso Sensei under our founder, Funamoto Sensei, Tsuji Sensei now trains at Markham Kendo Club in Toronto.

We were reminded that each practice is as intense and difficult as we choose to make it, and that it is important to approach everything we do in Kendo with a strong and focused mindset. Even practising the basics should have our full effort and attention. With that in mind, the majority of practice focused on footwork and other kihon drills, then ended with some time for keiko.


Thank you Tsuji Sensei for taking the time to visit and train with us, as both your presence and advice are always welcome and appreciated. We hope to see you again soon!





March 2016 | Gearing up

Shidokan has been preparing for the upcoming tournaments, both in kendo & iaido under the watchful of Santoso Sensei.

Always with diligence & comradery, training together to strengthen our technique as well as our friendship.






12-13 March 2016 | University of Toronto Taikai and Etobicoke Visit

A small contingent of Shidokan travelled to Toronto for the annual UofT Kendo Taikai. The tournament took place on the Saturday and Kendoka from dojos all over Ontario, Quebec, and even a few from the United States were in attendance. We had participants in all the individual categories and for some it was also their first time participating in the team matches. We hope to learn from both our victories and defeats, and look forward to the next taikai. Thank you to the University of Toronto club for all their efforts in hosting this event!


On Sunday, some of our contingent took advantage of the trip to visit Cruise Sensei at the Etobicoke dojo before heading back to Montreal. We spent the morning practising Iaido, getting a lot of advice for both Seitei Iai and for our shared Koryu, Muso Shinden Ryu. It was a good opportunity to help us in our preparation for the upcoming Canadian National Iaido Championships which will be held in Montreal later this year. Thank you Cruise Sensei for all of your help and advice, and we hope to get the opportunity to practice with you again soon.

Now, back to work!





Feb 2016 | 18th Annual Detroit Open Kendo Tournament

On Feb 13th, 3 Shidokan members participated in the 18th Annual Detroit Open Kendo Tournament. In this opportunity, the distinguished tournament guests in attendance were Kendo Kyoshi 8 Dan Eiga Hideyuki Sensei and Kendo Kyoshi 8 Dan Eiga Naoki Sensei from Hokkaido, Japan.

A great opportunity to learn from such Kendo legends; the Seminar was deinitelty enlightening.


Full post soon...





January 2016 | FIK Kendo Referee Seminar for the American Zone (FY 2015)

On the weekend of January 30 & 31, 2016 Shidokan participated in the FIK Kendo Referee Seminar for the American Zone was held in Toronto, Ontario Canada, hosted by the Canadian Kendo Federation.

A great opportunity to improve our Shinpan skills and also to practice with high ranking instructors and dear friends from around the world. The International Kendo Federation sent a committee composed of 3 Sensei: Yuji Nakata sensei (Kendo Hanshi 8 Dan), Satoru Kanaki sensei (endo Hanshi 8 Dan), Koji Kasamura sensei (Kendo Kyoshi 8 Dan)



Our sincere gratitude to the CKF for organizing this event, looking forward to the next one.





January 2016 | New beginning

The start of the semester means it’s yet again time to say welcome to our new recruits. The road ahead is difficult, but we look forward to your company as we walk the path together!

We hope you can find the patience and dedication within yourselves to overcome every obstacle you may encounter in this new path. We promise you hard work and lots of fun !
Welcome to the "Kan"!





January 2016 | New Years Shidokan Dinner

This year started off with our annual Shidokan dinner. We gathered at Kanda for sake, sushi, and celebration.

As always, it was a time to reflect upon our accomplishments and growth from the previous year, and to set our sights on some new goals. In classic Shidokan fashion, everyone got a chance to share some words of their experience and hopes for the future.



We also celebrated the birthdays of our dear Santoso-Sensei and a few others from amongst our ranks.
Let’s make 2016 another great year!





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