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(Continued from page 3) Tai Kai
Richard and Cassie in the quarter-final match. Dave Jones and Jim Otter got through their first rounds of Nidan/Sandan kata and were both eliminated in the quarter-finals on split decisions. All in all the team did very well in the kata events. The next event was the tameshigiri for each level. All of our team got through the first round of tameshigiri. But we were all eliminated prior to the final rounds. Tameshigiri competition was very competitive and consisted of godan giri (5 cuts) in the first round and rokudan giri (6 cuts) in the second round of Shodan and under. In the Nidan/Sandan division the first round consisted of rokudan giri (6 cuts) and Inazuma (3 lightning cuts), and the second round consisted of Nami-Gaeshi. The last event was the team cutting competition. Both of our teams were eliminated in the first round.
The closing ceremony consisted of awards presentations of some very beautiful medals and certificates, and closing remarks by Ueki Sensei and Hataya Sensei. The Tai Kai had over 60 competitors this year nearly doubling last years attendance. The day closed with a banquet at a local Chinese restaurant.
We all had a very good time and a wonderful experience. Special congratulations to Richard and Cassie for their 1st and 2nd place finishes in kata. We are very excited about next years event and look forward to preparing better for the next Tai Kai. Our challenge will be to help organize and promote our own Tai Kai in California next year in order to establish our presence in the U.S. batto-do arena.
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