The Rafu Shimpo - L.A. Japanese Daily News

STICKING WITH IT
By MIKEY HIRANO CULROSS
RAFU SPORTS EDITOR
Saturday, April 21, 2007
The UCLA Kendo Club is ready to defend its title at next week’s North American tournament at Harvard.

Photos by MIKEY HIRANO CULROSS/Rafu Shimpo
Coach Nathan Makino presides over a sparring match, during a practice of the UCLA Kendo Club Thursday at UCLA. The club will send three teams to the intercollegiate tournament at Harvard University in Boston, April 21-22.

Keisuke Hatta, defends against teammate Azusa Imai, as Makino officiates. The club has grown from five members in 2002 to more than 50 strong.

WESTWOOD.–The shrieks and whacks proved to be an irresistible curiosity for members of a dance team waiting to use the Pyramid Room on Thursday. The dancers peered in from the side door of the large studio at the John Wooden Athletics Center at UCLA to see the UCLA Kendo Club busily training for the largest intercollegiate kendo tournament in North America.

The Harvard Shoryuhai takes place next Saturday and Sunday on the campus of the Ivy League school in Boston.

“Last year, we took first place, so we’re going back to defend our title,” said Anthony Yu, the club president. The 22-year-old from Long Beach said that this is the largest intercollegiate kendo tournament in North America, with teams from Canada, Mexico and the United States.

The club was founded in the winter of 2002 by Nathan Makino and four or five fellow students, all of whom had previous kendo experience. Makino’s father is a well-known master of the art who teaches at the Long Beach Dojo.

“We started by showing people with absolutely no experience how to do kendo and we still a have some of the original members here,” Makino said, adding that winning two of the last three tournaments at Harvard has been the most effective advertising tool in helping the club grow from a small group to more than 50.

“This year, we’re taking three teams, so the club has grown significantly from just five random guys,” he boasted.

21-year-old Maria Nonaka, of Pasadena, began kendo when she was in middle school. She said that while kendo is relatively lesser known, it’s easy to find a club or dojo.

“There’s dojos in every city, especially around Pasadena and the San Gabriel
Valley, so you don’t have to search. Just ask a few friends,” she said.

“Most kids start with kendo because their parents make them do it,” said Azusa Imai, 19, of Ontario. “After a few years, you realize what kendo is. I’ve being doing this for 15 years and I’m just beginning to realize what kendo can do for us.”

Irma Darmali, of San Marino, signed up for the club at UCLA without knowing what kendo was. “I wanted to try something no one really knew about and this looked interesting,” the 19-year-old admitted.

Yu said that teams have been practicing three times a week in preparation for the tournament and that his club appears to be ready.

“Usually, UCLA goes far in the tournament,” he said. “We expect our biggest challenge to be against UC San Diego. It’s often a west coast rivalry there. But you never know, because every year, there’s some university that comes out of nowhere and surprises everyone. We just have to keep on our toes and be ready, but we’re confident and we feel pretty good right now.”

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