Kenpo team fight in Osaka

Teams from all over Japan gathered
(Waseda team in the ninth row from the right)

The males' team fight about to begin

Male Waseda fighter, to the left, having control over the situation

You can get in awkward positions during a fight
(Waseda fighter to the left)

Me, to the left, in my first tournament ever!

061125-061126, Saturday-Sunday

Saturday
My kenpo friends and I left Tokyo early in the morning on Saturday to catch the Shinkansen to Osaka. The reason for doing this was the male and women team fight. The Waseda male fighters often enter team fights but since there are not too many women fighters at Waseda this was the first time for the Waseda women to enter a team fight. As soon as we arrived we had a light work out. After that we checked in at our hotel. In the evening we all met up to enjoy delicious yakiniku. Feeling content after the food we went back to the hotel late in the evening to rest.

Sunday
Waking up early today we went to the opening ceremony. After this the males' team fight began. The Waseda team, with seven fighters, did well. They won over three teams but unfortunately lost the fourth fight. Then it was time for the women's fight. We were four women and only three could enter. Since I have only been doing kenpo for about 2 months and do not even have a grade yet, (I am mukyuu), I was not sure if I would compete at all. The grades in kenpo are; you start with mukyuu, 3kyuu, 2kyuu, 1kyuu, then it is shodan, 2dan and the best grade you can get while being in the university is 3dan. After this you might be able to proceed to 10dan if you have the talent and the will power. Well, luckily I got to enter and my first fight was against a woman with 1kyuu from Osaka University. I won. The other Waseda woman unfortunately lost so now the score was 1-1. The third Waseda woman got a tie so one more fight had to be done to get a winner. The boss for the Waseda team picked me for this final battle against a woman with 3dan. I won, so the Waseda team proceeded :) In the next fight the two Waseda women and I all had to fight against women with 3dan from Nagoya University. Unfortunately we all lost :( After the tournament we went to a Korean restaurant in the evening and then took the Shinkansen back to Tokyo where we arrived at midnight. This was a long weekend with a lot of impressions. It was a great weekend but I was really disappointed at myself right after losing my fight, but afterwards I felt pretty content. These two days in Osaka I will most certainly always remember.