http://www.torakendo.co.uk en-gb torakendo.co.uk 2010-3-26T00:00:00Z torakendo.co.uk http://www.torakendo.co.uk/page14.htm#61486 Congratulations to Tora members and University Students Eri Fujioka and Motoaki Sumi who put in great performances at the individual events of the University Championships in Edinburgh Scotland.Eri came 1st place in the Ladies individual and Motoaki came 3rd place in the mens Dan Individual.Tora student members also competed in the Team event as SOAS university. Special mention goes to Abraham Christie who put in a fantastic performance in the Team event and was sadly unable to join the Individuals the next day due to work commitments. 2010-3-20T00:00:00Z http://www.torakendo.co.uk/page14.htm#61484 Congratulations to Tora members Dipak Choudhury and Jon Fitzgerald who joined the British National Team at the 5 Nations Championship this weekend in Sweden.The tournament is an international friendly between Great Britain Germany Sweden Finland and Switzerland.It was Dipaks debut with the British Team and he put in a fantastic performance ensuring numerous draws and an outstanding victory against German National Team member Stankovic. As senior member in the team Jon over saw the mens team at the weekend and provided advice and support to the new members who all put in an admirable performance at their first ever championships as GB Team members. Jon will also be joining the British Team at the European Kendo Championships in Hungary this April.GB Mens Team 5 NationsDipak Choudhury ToraJon Fitzgerald ToraSarfraz Aziz MumeishiLee Dale UKKCSam Wilkin OxfordGB ladies Team members 5 NationsGel Mattsson MumeishiEmily Knight UCLGB Mens Team 23rd European Kendo ChampionshipsAndy Fisher Kobud... 2010-3-6T00:00:00Z http://www.torakendo.co.uk/page14.htm#61475 Congratulations to the Tora Team at the Sugo Cup Sweden. The weekend saw a real team effort after Dipak sadly had a serious injury on the Friday evening before the matches. This left Josh to stand in for Dipak in the Team event. After a hard fought match Tora lost their match against FSKA Stockholm 10. The FSKA team consisted of numerous Swedish Team members and the matches were very close two draws and a 10 loss.In the Individual events Joshua Pullar came 3rd in the Junior event and Jon Fitzgerald came 3rd in the Dan grade Individual losing a close match 21 to Swedish National Team member Juan Sato. 2010-2-6T00:00:00Z http://www.torakendo.co.uk/page14.htm#61472 This weekend Cho Sensei and members from Tora visited Athens to join a ladies Kendo Seminar run by Cho Sensei. The event was organised by our friends in Greece Asteria Akila and Antigoni Tsintza. Many thanks to all our Greek friends for their hospitality and for organising the event and giving Cho Sensei a chance to teach overseas. 2010-1-30T00:00:00Z http://www.torakendo.co.uk/page14.htm#61469 Tora Dojo was lucky to have some special guests from Japan this month. Honda Sotaro Sensei 6th Dan Renshi and former coach of the British National Kendo Team. Honda Sensei is now a Professor at Fukuoka University of Education in Sothern Japan. Honda Sensei also brought a delegation of three of his University students who are Kendo players. Tora is honoured to have Sensei visit us and hopes to see him again in the future. 2010-1-20T00:00:00Z http://www.torakendo.co.uk/page14.htm#61468 Congratulations to Tora member Eri Fujioka who came third in the Ladies individual tournament of the Mumeishi 3 International Kendo Competition. Eri lost an exciting Semi Final match to Pauline Stolarz of the French National Ladies Team. 2009-11-14T00:00:00Z http://www.torakendo.co.uk/page14.htm#61467 Congratulations to the Tora Teams who competed at the Competiton Open De Picardie in France. Tora B Stephane Helstroffer Jon Fitzgerald Naoki Karatsu came third place and Tora A Dipak Choudhury William Wright Hyun Hong Cho Sensei came 2nd place. 2009-11-1T00:00:00Z http://www.torakendo.co.uk/page14.htm#51011 This weekend Naoki and Jon visited Sweden for the Stockholm Kendo Open 2009. Jon came second place in his pool drawing with Henrik Johansson of the Swedish National Team and beating a Player from Finland 2 0. In the knockout competition Jon finally lost in Encho extra time by 1 point after a close match and draw to a Player from Upsalla Sweden. Congratulations to Naoki who came first place winning Gold for Tora Dojo Naoki beat Swedish National Team Captain Henrik Johansson in the Final 1 0 Video of Naokis Final can be seen below. ltobject width560 height340gtltparam namemovie valuehttpwww.youtube.comvqkgh7dBpKgYamphlenampfs1ampgtltparamgtltparam nameallowFullScreen valuetruegtltparamgtltparam nameallowscriptaccess valuealwaysgtltparamgtltembed srchttpwww.youtube.comvqkgh7dBpKgYamphlenampfs1amp typeapplicationxshockwaveflash allowscriptaccessalways allowfullscreentrue width560 height340gtltembedgtltobjectgt 2009-10-18T00:00:00Z http://www.torakendo.co.uk/page14.htm#50052 This weekend Jon visited Milan Italy to join the 2009 Coppa Italia Italian Kendo Cup. Jon along with Young Park of Nenriki Dojo formed the Tora Team and also enlisted the help of a local Italian Kyu grade. The competition included 55 teams and had over 100 players in the Dan individual tournament. Teams came from all over Europe from France Germany Italy Switzerland Spain Britain Hungary Greece and Holland. Most of the Teams included players from European National Teams. After a great tournament Jon and Young reached the Quarter Final best 8 of 55 teams finally losing 21 to the Dutch National Team who ranked 3rd overall. The team event was won by Italian National Team members from Kodokan Alessandria after a thrilling final against St Ettienne of France which consisted of players from both the French National Team and Junior Team. Results Teams 1st Place Kodokan Alessandria Francesco Mandia Drago Fabrizio Mandia 2nd Place St Ettienne Pons Ranchon Blanchard 3rd Place Verona ... 2009-10-4T00:00:00Z http://www.torakendo.co.uk/page14.htm#50050 This weekend Tora Dojo is 1 year old To celebrate the start of Tora dojo a friendly tournament was held during sunday practice and members enjoyed a meal afterwards in a local Korean restaurant. We look forward next year to an even bigger celebration and for many more years to come 2009-10-4T00:00:00Z http://www.torakendo.co.uk/page14.htm#50049 This weekend members of Tora Dojo held a weekend training camp in Royal Holloway University sports centre. The camp included camping as a team group cooking as well as excercise sessions and various kendo training drills in the Dojo. It was a great weekend that let everyone share a nice weekend of kendo training and team building. The camp also allowed members to socialise outside of training in a fun and friendly enviroment an aspect of the club that is very important both to the coaching team and the members. 2009-9-5T00:00:00Z http://www.torakendo.co.uk/page14.htm#50048 Congratulations to Cho Sensei Jon and all the British Team at a great performance at the 14th World Kendo Championships Sao Paulo Brazil. Team GB came first place in their pool beating both Malaysia 50 and Holland 32. They then progressed to the knock out championship last 16 in the world where they faced World Silver medalists USA. Team GB fought exceptionally well showing good kendo and giving brilliant spirit losing 31 to the Americans. The match saw Jon draw nil nil with American player Kevin Huh and Stuart Gibson winning 21 against Marvin Kawabata. Stuart also recieved a fighting spirit trophy for his excellent performance. In the Individual event Alan Thompson of Mumeishi Dojo reached the third round beating players from the Czech Republic and New Zealand before losing to American player Danny Yang. Team USA went on to rank second place in the Team event once again repeating their strong record from the last WKC in Taipei in 2006. This championship also saw a thrilling semi ... 2009-8-30T00:00:00Z http://www.torakendo.co.uk/page14.htm#45728 Congratulations to Jon and Alan Thomspon for winning the Silver medal at the Northern Open Team Championship in Newcastle this weekend. Jon Alan and Sarfraz Aziz from Mumeishi Dojo formed Great Britain Team B losing the final to Great Britian Team A Andy Fisher Max Davies Mark Halls. Congratualtions also to Tora who reached the Quarter Final narrowly losing to Great Britain A after three draws and a very tense fight off match between Will Wright and Andy Fisher. Tora Team was Dipak Choudhury Adrian Jones Will Wright 2009-7-25T00:00:00Z http://www.torakendo.co.uk/page14.htm#45727 Congratulations to Will and Jon winning medals in the 4th Dan and above division of the British Open Kendo Championship. Will Sensei wins the Senior Plate coming 1st place and Jon came 3rd Place losing to Will in the Semi Final. Results as follows 1st Place Will Wright Tora 2nd Place Alan Thompson Mumeishi 3rd Place Jon Fitzgerald Tora Fighting Spirit Derek Jones Mumeishi 2009-7-5T00:00:00Z http://www.torakendo.co.uk/page14.htm#45725 httpphotosd.ak.fbcdn.nethphotosaksnc1hs115.snc1515013195873876080488376028869951566607n.jpg From June 18th June 29th Jon visited Seoul South Korea for Kendo training in preperation for Augusts World Kendo Championships in Sao Paulo Brazil. Jon practiced at Seoul National University and Sungkyunkwan University Kumdo clubs. Sungkyunkwan is the Dojang of the current Korean National Coach Kim In Bum Sabumnim 7th Dan and has many professional Kumdo student members as well as a current Korean National Team member Cho Jin Yong. During his time in Korea Jon was also able to visit the Korean University Championships in Sunchang to watch the tournament. Many thanks to all our friends in Korea and to Cho Senseis family for helping Jon during his time in Seoul. 2009-6-18T00:00:00Z http://www.torakendo.co.uk/page14.htm#45724 This Weekend Tora Dojo competed in the British National Team Championships. Congratulations to Tora A Team who reached the quarter final and lost narrowly to Hizen Dojo. Tora A Team members were Dipak Choudhury Kane Shan Abraham Christie Stephane Helstroffer Jon Fitzgerald Captain 2009-6-6T00:00:00Z http://www.torakendo.co.uk/page14.htm#45722 IMGhttpphotosh.ak.fbcdn.netphotosaksnc1v4350175123680736609n6807366092217927134753.jpgIMG Yasuyuki Hiyama of Mumeishi Dojo London Red against Christian Fillipi of the Italian National Team White Photo courtesy of Preveen Singh. Following the success of last year the 2nd Annual London Cup Kendo Tournament was a tremendous event. Maintaining its role as an open tournament to all grades and countries including male and female individual divisions as well as a 5 person Team event. Spread over three days the event attracted huge support and interest from all over Europe and the World. There were 32 Teams registered and over 200 participants from 19 different countries including Korea Japan Great Britain Ireland Sweden Spain Portugal Italy Germany Latvia Lithuania Ukraine France Montenegro Greece Switzerland Holland Denmark and New Zealand. Many Teams also included National Team members who used the tournament for valuable experience leading up to 2009s World Championship in Brazil. The ... 2009-5-2T00:00:00Z http://www.torakendo.co.uk/page14.htm#39074 This weekend Tora Dojo hosted a British National Ladies Team Squad practice. The number of ladies attending was high and along with the regular session everyone was able to enjoy a shared practice together during the jigeiko. Many thanks to the British Ladies Squad members for their hardwork and dedication we look forward to welcoming them again. 2009-3-29T00:00:00Z http://www.torakendo.co.uk/page14.htm#39073 This weekend 17 Kenshi from Hizen Dojo visited Tora for friendly competition practice. We hope that this is the first of many inter London club practices and the start of a new Shiai League. Not only do such visits give us a great chance to practice our competition skills they also allow us to develop our links and friendship with other clubs in London. Both Individual matches and a Team match was held. The individual matches were a draw with 7 wins to Hizen and 7 wins to Tora and the Team match was a close victory to Hizen Dojo winning 4 points to 3 after a draw. Many thanks to Satoshi Miyamura Sensei of Hizen Dojo for suggesting the visit and for bringing his members to our practice we look forward to welcoming Hizen again soon. 2009-3-22T00:00:00Z http://www.torakendo.co.uk/page14.htm#36745 Jon Andy and Matsumoto Sensei GB Team Coach Congratulations to Jon and Andy for winning medals for Team GB in the French Open Paris Jon won the Bronze medal in the 4th Dan and above division losing to former European Champion Mr Sicart of the French National Team in the Semi final. Andrew Fisher also won the 3rd Dan Division Andy Jon and Alan Thompson from Mumeishi also fought in the Team event the following day where they reached the last 16 of the tournament. There were many National Teams present including the Swedish Swiss Dutch and French National Team members and the level of the tournament was very high. We look forward to seeign our French friends in London this Summer at the London Cup. Congratulations also to Henrik Johansson of the Swedish Team for ranking third in the 3rd Dan Division and Jun Yamazaki of Sweden for winning Silver in the 4th Dan above Division. 2009-3-7T00:00:00Z http://www.torakendo.co.uk/page14.htm#36743 Congratulations to Jon for winning the Bronze Medal in the A Class of the Sugo Cup Sweden this weekend Jon defeated Swedish National Champion Bjorn Gustavsson 6th Dan in the Quarter Final and faced Norweigan National Captain Mr Andersson in the Semi Final losing by one point in extra time encho. Congratulations also to our friend Henrik Johansson for winning the Gold Medal and Juan Sato for winning the Fighting Spirit Award 2009-2-16T00:00:00Z http://www.torakendo.co.uk/page14.htm#35414 Honda Sensei sitting 5th from left at Tora DojoThis evening Tora Dojo had a special guest Honda Sotaro Sensei 6th Dan Renshi from Fukuoka Japan. Honda Sensei is former British National Coach and is now a Professor at Fukuoka University of Education where he teaches Physical Education and Sports Science Sensei specialises in Budo study and is Instructor at the Universities Kendo Club. Honda Sensei is a very active Budoka and regularly writes articles on Kendo for various Martial Arts Magazines we are honoured to welcome Honda Sensei to our practice and hope to see him in London again soon. 2009-1-22T00:00:00Z http://www.torakendo.co.uk/page14.htm#35363 Jon and Alex with their medals This weekend Tora Dojo members Jon and Naoki joined Alex Heyworth from Mumeishi Dojo and formed Team London in the 22nd International Olten Cup Switzerland. The Team won Gold in the Team event and Alex and Jon won Gold and Silver in the Individual tournament. This is the second year in a row that London have won medals in the Olten Cup. Last year in 2007 Alan Thompson from Mumeishi Jon and Michio Wise from Oxford won the Silver medal in the Team event with Alan winning Gold in the individual. Full results Team 1st Place London GB 2nd Place Stratsburg France 3rd Place Doshinkan Allessandria Italy 3rd Place Aarau Switzerland Individual 1st Place Alex Heyworth London GB 2nd Place Jon Fitzgerald London GB 3rd Place Jean Paul Fournier Strastburg France 3rd Place Giovannitti Sabatino Doshinkan Allessandria Italy 2008-11-30T00:00:00Z http://www.torakendo.co.uk/page14.htm#35365 Tora Dojo at the Mumeishi 3 International Kendo Championship London This weekend Teams from ToraUAK and SOAS entered the Mumeishi 3 International Championship. Everyone fought very hard and had a great weekend congratulations to Tora A who reached the Quarter Final losing narrowly by one point in extra time to second place team UCL and to Will who won a Fighting Spirit Medal. 2008-11-15T00:00:00Z http://www.torakendo.co.uk/page14.htm#35430 Greek and British National Team members visit ToraThis weekend Tora Dojo was lucky enough to welcome Greek and British National Team members to the Dojo where the sides held a joint National Squad practice. Tora was honoured to welcome Matsumoto Jumpei Sensei 7th Dan Kyoshi GB National Coach and Ohno Nobuyuki Sensei 5th Dan Greek National Coach. A great day of Kendo was had by all and Tora Dojo would like to thank both teams and Senseis for visiting the Dojo and using our facilities for their training camp. 2008-10-26T00:00:00Z http://www.torakendo.co.uk/page14.htm#35362 Practice at Seoul National University Kumdo Dojang In October Jon spent one month in Korea practing Kendo at various Korean Dojo in the Capital Seoul. Jon visited Yonsei University Korea University Seoul National University Sungkyunkwan University Shim Won High School Seoul Metropolitan Police Dojang and Bucheon Shi Chong Professional Kumdo Team. At the end of his trip Jon also joined the International Kendo Federations Asia Zone Shimpan Referee Seminar. For more information on Jons Kendo trip please visit his blog www.kendokorea.wordpress.com or see his article on Online kendo magazine and Forum Kenshi247.net www.kenshi247.net. 2008-10-1T00:00:00Z