AIEA Three of the 11 delegates from the Lihue Kendo Club finished in the championship matches at the 10th All-Hawaii Kendo Championships that was contested Sept. 29 at the Halawa District Park Gym in Aiea, Oahu.
AIEA — Three of the 11 delegates from the Lihue Kendo Club finished in the championship matches at the 10th All-Hawaii Kendo Championships that was contested Sept. 29 at the Halawa District Park Gym in Aiea, Oahu.
The tournament featured 17 kendo clubs from Oahu and the neighbor islands
Gabriel Hart emerged champion in the Seinenbu Division, or non-yudansha/black belt matches, after getting past Neil Shimabukuro of Aiea, Oahu.
Second place honors belonged to Gavin Ushio in the Shonenbu Division, or youth 12-14 age group, who dropped his division title match to Noa Mulder of Wahiawa, Oahu.
Sensei Randy Umetsu picked up second place in the Yudansha 4 Dan and Higher Division after being bested by Hyun Kim of the Kenshikan Kendo Club. Kim was named the tournament’s grand championship winner.
Kendo, or the way of the sword, is a Japanese martial discipline that focuses on molding the mind and body, cultivating a vigorous spirit and disciplining the human character through rigid training in the application of the principles of the Japanese sword.
Lihue Kendo Club is the island’s only official International Kendo Federation/Hawaii Kendo Federation dojo and its members meet for practices on Wednesdays and Sunday evenings, starting at 6 p.m. at the Lihue Hongwanji Mission.
