1) 12 hours on a bus with a bunch of drunks is both really fun and really tiring
2) I got 1st place in division! 2nd place in team competition
Here's a couple of photos. Ohtsuka-san took a bunch, so when I get a CDR from him I'll put up more.
Sekido-san and I in the finals. Note all the things I'm doing wrong: kissaki (sword point) isn't pointing at the opponent's eyes, wrist is bent up so the blade angle is off, arm is too high. *sigh*
Sonkyo -- paying respect to the opponent I've just felled. Note all the things I'm doing wrong here, too: Right hand is too low, back isn't straight, chin is lowered (should just lower the eyes, but keep the head level.)
Tanaka-sensei (5th dan, Denshobu) and I in the finals for team competition. Our teams were one for one, so this was it. By some miracle, I managed to get one out of three flags, so it wasn't a complete crushing. But still, this is the difference between an uppity student and a serious instructor: besides the fact this his gaze probably burned a hole through his opponent before his blade ever cut, note how deep his cut is, blade all the way through the diagonal, hands well past his left knee, back straight but full body put into the cut, blade angle just right, kissaki the correct height above the ground.
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