Below is a very rough translation of the All Japan Kendo Federations "Highlights of the Tournament" piece for the 62nd AJKC coming up next Monday!
The original can be found here:All Japan Kendo Federation - Highliights of the Tournament
The original can be found here:All Japan Kendo Federation - Highliights of the Tournament
Highlights of the tournament
With his eye on the 16th WKC,
will this be Uchimura’s fourth victory?
In May of next year, the 16th World Kendo
Championships will be held at the Nippon Budokan. With an eye on that, the 62nd
All Japan Kendo Championship will be fought by 62 competitors, who are the
winners of regional qualifying tournaments from around the country.
Last year, 60 years after the founding of the
All Japan Kendo Federation (AJKF), at the 61st Championship amongst the competitors,
almost half of whom were rookies, it was Uchimura who stood out. From the very
first round he did not lose a single ippon to an opponent. He carried this
spirit forward to the final here he scored two kote on his opponent Kotani (of
Chiba), he was crowned the champion for the third time adding to his victories
in the 54th and 58th championships.
If we look at the tournament ladder we can
see that some of the big players, who could be in contention for the
championship, have been drawn quite evenly across the four blocks of the
ladder.
In Block 1, we should first of all mention
both Takenouchi (Tokyo) and Shoudai (Tokyo). At 21 years old , Takenouchi, who
is a third year student of Tsukuba University balances offense and defensive
skill very well. He is especially skilled at drawing in his opponent only to
strike a crisp debanna men. Shoudai with his more orthodox kendo style is
capable of taking the centre and delivering his techniques with a sharpness
which is pleasing to the eye. Shoudai came in third place last year, but the
rate at which he has developed this year is quite high. The two could come
face to face in the third round and whoever comes through will have a good chance
to reach the final.
Another exciting point in this block is the
opening match between Harada (Fukushima) and Hashimoto (Saitama). Competing for
the 9th time and fighting to raise the spirits of those most
affected by the 3/11 earthquake, Harda will face Hashimoto the company worker
from Saitama. Hashimoto has beaten off the giant of Saitama, Higashinaga to
earn his place in the competition for the third time. Half way down this group
Nishimura (Hyogo) could also advance far in the competition if he fights to his
full potential.
In Block 2 it is Kotani and Hatakenaka who
stand out. Hatakenaga has recovered from a recent slump and is in the spotlight
again after this year winning the All Japan Police Championship. He has cast
off the style of his youth and his driving Men and Kote attacks have fully
matured.
On the other hand Kotani, who last year
came in second place following his defeat in the final to Uchimura, has a free flowing fighting style and is able to strike valid ippon from
any position. This combination makes him a tricky Shiai specialist. This year
Kotani is definitely a strong contender but his first match against Nakano, is
key.
Also featuring in this block are the
tournaments two oldest competitors, both 38 years old. Both Yoneya (Saitama) and
Hojo (Kanagawa) have won fame at past World Championships.
There are barriers for both players to
reach the best 8 in Hatakenaka for Yoneya, and Kotani for Hojo. Earlier in the
block however, Mori (Fukuoka) will look to take any advantage to get past
Yoneya in the second round.
In Block 3 is the leading favourite,
Uchimura (Tokyo). Uchimura with his constant attack and finely honed match
winning kote strike will be trying to earn his fourth victory at the
championship. His is opposed by Ajiro (Hyogo). With his flexible swordplay, light footwork and ability to take opportunities to strike, he has the chance
to beat Uchimura at the quarter final if he can set the pace of the shiai and successfully
land his shikake-waza. Before that Fujioka (Wakayama) looms over Uchimura.
Fujioka the former Student Champion is known as one of the strongest faculty
workers in Japan. He creates the chance for his match winning men strike by
first tsuki-ing his opponent and upsetting their rhythm. Koiso (Ibaraki), Tsuda
(Aichi) and Matsumoto (Kanagawa) have the chance to climb the ladder this year beneath everyone’s
radar.
In Block 4, it is worth talking about Ando
(Hokkaido), Takahashi (Tokyo), Nishimura (Kumamoto) and Furukawa (Osaka). If
all four suuceed in advancing in the competition, we will be left with Ando
(24) Vs Takahashi (34) and Nishimura (25) Vs Furukawa (35), and should see
fierce matches between the younger players and the veterans. For Ando, who
follows his morote-tsuki with men from long distance, it will be easy to advance
if he takes advantage of his good tempo and driving waza. Takahashi, who has
come in second place in this competition before, uses his almost text book men
strike to win. Nishimura is able to strike an incredibly sharp kote on his
opponents as they move in to attack, and from tsuba-zeriai he can strike a
crisp hiki-men. Furukawa remains a strong player after his appearance at the 15th
World Championships where he was one of the winning members of the Japanese
team and placed third in the individuals. Lying in wait for them will be Shiraishi
(Tochigi) and Nishi (Kagoshima) who will look to take advantage of any
mistakes.
With the results of this Taikai we will get
a glimpse of what the Japanese Mens team will look like at the 16th
World Championship. Please join us and watch the Championship live or in person.
Kenso editing committee, Masago Takeshi
Written by John Doherty
