Category Archives: Taikai

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Another two years go by….

2007/12/16 Sun – 9:19 PM CST

This is a recap of some of the highlights of the past two years, which have been good for us. For a more complete listing see the Past Events link. The class schedule is unchanged, but the monthly fee has increased.

2005 – Everyone who tested at the Shodan Shiken in 2005 received their rank. Also that year I went to Japan to participate in the annual All Japan Eishin-Ryu Embukai in Sakai City, and several practices in Chiba and Sakai City. When not involved in Iaido activities I did some sight-seeing around the Tokyo/Chiba area. In early October we traveled to Denton for the 5th US Embukai.

2006 – At dawn New Years Day members of the dojo who could attend participated in our annual hatsu-nuki outside despite the warm weather and attendant mosquitoes and fire ants. In March at the annual koshukai & shodan shiken in Denton there were four people testing. They were Ali for sandan, Jon & William for nidan, and Ron for shodan. All who tested achieved their rank. Also this was my first time sitting at the judging table with Tanida-Sensei, John-Sensei, and Susan-Sensei. In April we had a very successful demonstration at the annual Houston Japan Festival. Thanks to the Japan America Society of Houston for inviting us. In late May & early June David and I traveled to Washington & British Columbia to tour around the area. In addition to sight-seeing and eating some of the best salmon in my life I visited the Hokusei Dojo in Everett (thanks, Scott), and attended the annual Canadian Iaido Association (CIA) summer seminar in Vancouver BC (thanks to Esaka-Sensei and Ted-Sensei). On Aug. 20 we did a demonstration at a church on the Northwest side of town. In mid November we traveled to Denton for the 6th US Embukai.

2007 – For our hatsu-nuki the weather was actually cold so we had no bugs to bother us. The hot sake toast tasted very good! In March we had six testing. They were Emily for godan, Jon & William for sandan, Ron for nidan, and Dale & Beverly for Shodan. All who tested achieved their rank. In April we were fortunate to have Charles-Sensei come to help us with our best ever demonstration at the annual Houston Japan Festival. Thanks to to Charles, and thanks to the Japan America Society of Houston for inviting us back. In August we heard the terrible news that Ted Davis-Sensei, president of the Canadian Iaido Association (CIA), suddenly died after a brief illness. In late August David and I went to Japan to participate in the World Science Fiction Convention held in Yokohama. This was the first time this particular convention had been held in a non-English speaking country. The Japanese fans put on a very memorable event. After the convention we joined a group of fans for a 9 day whirlwind tour of Japan that included Tokyo, Hakone, Mt. Fuji, Hiroshima, Kyoto, and Osaka. During the convention I stole away for a day to attend a practice lead by Tanida-Sensei. After the tour was over we stayed over in Osaka to attend another practice in Sakai City. In mid November we traveled to Denton for the 7th US Embukai.

 

Also in November our dojo building came under new management, and our dues increased from $50 to $79/month.

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two-year highlights

2005/04/15 Fri – 9:23 PM CDT

The past year and a half have been our busiest ever, hence the lack of updates to this site since 2003 August. Many things have happened and a few things have changed. Please see the Past Events section for some of the major events that we have participated in. Amazingly enough the class schedule is unchanged, but the fee has increased from $25 to $40 per month.

 

Notable Milestones

In 2003 Joe, Neil, and I went to Japan for the first time in our lives. It was a wonderful experience. In addition to participating in the ZNIR Embukai in Yamagata, we were able to attend a special practice presided over by Ikeda-soke. Tanida-sensei and Kogushi-sensei were very kind to us, and made our trip a great success.

At the 2004 Tanida-sensei koshukai & shodan shiken in Denton, for the first time Joe and I were not the only ones from our dojo testing. We had four people testing for shodan. These were Sue Curtis, Linden Sisk, Matthew Burke, and Ali Lawson. All who tested achieved their rank (including Joe and I who tested for sandan).

Also in 2004, for the first time ever, one of the students successfully applied at their High School to take Iaido for PE credit.

At the 2005 shodan shiken we had the following testing: Jon Andresen & William Huckaba for shodan, Ali Lawson for nidan, and Joe & I for yondan. Also, Jessica Culler, who started Iaido in Clear Lake and relocated to Oklahoma, tested for shodan. She is currently training with Susan Burke-Sensei in Oklahoma City. Results of this grading are currently unknown.

 

Future Happenings

Next month I will travel to Denton to train with Sensei one last time before I return to Japan in June for three weeks. I look forward to attending Tanida-Sensei’s classes, and hopefully participating in the all Japan Eishin-Ryu Embukai. While I am gone, classes at Clear Lake Iaido will continue as usual with the help of Joe and the other senior students.

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