One of the most important national event in the kendo
calendar is the Australian University Games. This year it will be held in
Sydney, the kendo com
petition hosted by University of Technology Sydney.
The members have spent the whole year (and some even more) training
up to this competition. This year’s squad also included 3 members who began
kendo this year, but due to their commitment in training have been allowed to
join the squad.
The individual competitions on the first day have seen some
encouraging performances from the Melbourne University competitors.
Justin Ireson reached the Quarterfinals, losing out to
Australian Kendo Championship Kyu Runner-up Sergei Segodin from Flinders
University.
Notable was Han Yang Pay, who in his first competition and
having only started kendo in March advanced from his pool against more
experienced opponents.
In the Women Kyu, Yaya Bonggotgetsakul achieved 2nd
place.
In the Dan Individuals, Daniel Jeong (representing RMIT) won
gold in his first attempt.
The Kyu Teams managed 3rd place, after a
thrilling close match against host UTS.
Ultimately, it was the University of Sydney who was awarded the Overall Champions in Kendo.
Coach
Son Nguyen
Team Manager
Jularaj Suthibutr
Competitors
Takeshi Hartono (Captain)
Yaya Bonggotgetsakul
Justin Ireson
Faiz Jais
Joanne Chow
Cheryl Low
Clio Liu
Han Yang Pay
Sam Day
Results:
Kyu Individuals
1st Tony Liu (UTS)
2nd Junya Ichinose (MQU)
3rd Sergei Segodin (FU)
Women Kyu Individuals
1st Iona Levins (USYD)
2nd Yaya Bonggotgetsakul (MELB)
3rd Chihiro Ichinose (USYD)
Women Dan Individuals
1st Kim Avina(USYD)
2nd Julie Tran (USYD)
Open Dan Individuals
1st Daniel Kwang Yul Jeong (RMIT)
2nd Tomonori Hu (USYD)
3rd Pan Park (UTS)
Kyu Team
1st USYD
2nd UTS
3rd MELB
Open Team
1st USYD
2nd UTS
3rd UNSW
Green and Gold Recipients
Jordan Saito-Patch - The University of Sydney
Vincent Firman - The University of Sydney
Mitchell Askew - Murdoch University
Takeshi Hartono - The University of Melbourne
Ross McGachey - The University of Adelaide
Ethan Wang - Monash University
Gloria Ma – University of Technology Sydney
Karen Le – The University of New South Wales
Cheryl Low – The University of Melbourne
Anupa Kritmanorote – Murdoch University
Labels: Australian Uni Games, awards, competitions
Gradings were held over two weekends: the 6th -2nd
kyu grading on September 14, and the 1st Kyu – 4th Dan
grading on September 21.
For those who had started kendo in March 2014, this would
have been their first grading experience. Many were nervous at the prospect of
displaying their skills in front of an audience. However, the constant training
and weeks spent preparing had yielded great results. All 19 MUKEN members who
attempted kyu grading passed, with 13 people having double graded! Well done!
Also congratulations to Jeffrey Khor for attaining 3rd
Dan!
Labels: gradings
Congratulations on the Success of Melbourne University Kendo Club in the 2014 Victorian Kendo Championships held this weekend!!
We
had three Individual Champions, and two Team Champions - one of which
is the long-awaited Dan Team Champion. This along with other medals won
in the Kyu Individuals, Kyu Teams, Fighting Spirit and Veteran
Individuals, have certainly established MUKEN as a dominant force this
year.
The results have vindicated the effort and dedication put
in by Yakov Sensei, Kenji Sensei, Son Nguyen, and all the senior club
members in leading our trainings.
And congratulations to the six
beginners who participated in their very first major tournament after
just 6 months of training, showing great determination and spirit in
their matches.
So there was a point to having all those extra weekend trainings and practice shiai after all.
There is also another success worth mentioning in that this was also the year in which our club was tasked to organize the VKC.
Without
the significant work behind the scenes of Yakov Sensei, Kenji Sensei,
Jeffrey Khor, and Vincent Lai, the VKC wouldn't have run as well as it
had. In addition, the contributions of countless individuals who
contributed their part in the organization and running of the event.
I
would also like to thank all the members who assisted with the
volunteering at the weekend and did an exceptional job allowing the
matches to run smoothly and without problems. Special mention goes to
Tuna Cheung and Yana Wang who came to help out the whole time and
support the team, despite not competing themselves.
Overall, a great achievement by our club on all fronts.
The
next goal then would be success in the Australian University Games in
Sydney. With that, Michael's dream of world domination doesn't seem so
far fetched anymore.
Club Achievements:
1st Place Men's Kyu Individuals: Jularaj Suthibutr
3rd Place Men's Kyu Individuals: Justin Ireson
1st Place Women's Kyu Individuals: Meera Chandrananth
3rd Place Women's Kyu Individuals: Joanne Chow
1st Place Men's Dan Individuals: Daniel Jeong
2nd Place Men's Kyu Team: MUKEN A (Justin Ireson, Faiz Jais, Jularaj Suthibutr, Michael Yeung, Richard Zhou)
1st Place Women's Kyu Team: MUKEN A (Yaya Bonggotgetsakul, Joanne Chow, Meera Chandrananth)
1st Place Men's Open Team: MUKEN (Richard T'en, Vincent Lai, Daniel Jeong, Kenji Sugimoto, Son Nguyen)
Fighting Spirit Award: John Ireson
 |
| 2014 Men's Open Team Winners (Richard T'en, Vincent Lai, Daniel Jeong, Kenji Sugimoto, Son Nguyen) |
 |
| 2014 Women's Kyu Team Winners (Joanne Chow, Meera Chandrananth, Yaya Bonggotgetsakul) |
 |
| 2014 Kyu Individuals Winner |
Labels: awards, competitions, Victorian Kendo Championship
