The 87 Samurai

Jenny Wan at London Nenriki Dojo examines the past and present of this National Kyu-grade Kendo Championship.

As printed on British Kendo Assocation Newsletter Dec 04.

The "Gladiator Pit" of kendo - Lidstone
Taikai shiaijo and spectator stand.



The Suehara Brothers dueling at the Juniors
Final. Photo by A. Fisher..

The usual numbers for zekken only went up to 64, but with organization experience in all these years, the Nenriki Dojo was prepared to get back to the primitive method of chalk-marking on people's tare. The last person in the “longest kendo queue ever” got his lucky number in a nicely done calligraphy - 87. This almost doubled the 46 entries three years ago in 2001.

Not a lot of kendo events have a historical background as rich as the Lidstone Taikai. The late R. A. Lidstone (1895 - 10 Oct 1969) belonged to the first generation of kendo presence in the UK, who was particularly good at teaching beginners. Apart from being the first president of the BKA, outside kendo Squadron Leader R.A. Lidstone was known as a great western martial artist and fencer. More than 30 years ago, in the same gym where the regular Nenriki Dojo Friday night practice took place, Lidstone Sensei collapsed during practice, and passed away at the age of 74. This annual competition invites the kendo community to celebrate the founding of the dojo, in commemoration of the teacher and to carry on the heritage in British kendo.

For the 34th year R.A. Lidstone's Memorial Taikai has been held in the same octagonal assembly hall of Geoffrey Chaucer School, a spiritual space linking our kendo history and tradition. Organizers from Nenriki Dojo suggested that competitor's registration will start earlier next year, seeing many kendoka from outside of London managed to arrive early. Due to the number of competitors, fights were of two minutes only by straight knockout, i.e. survive or die! (Not that literally...) If you were lucky enough, you got one more preliminary round before getting into the usual fighting tree of sixty-four.

Those Little Samurai

There were changes in the law regarding children, and so six of the juniors went on to a separate Junior competition. The two Suehara Brothers from Nagamitsu got out of their pools - Those who wereat the British Open in September must remember them! Being taller and older, Takashi Suehara scored 2-0 against Takumi and grabbed the prize of a brand-new kid's shinai. The other one for Fighting Spirit Award went to James Ishido at Wakaba London.

Without the Junior division, next year the competition could have finished on schedule, saving time for the general practice in the main gyms. Information regarding the 2005 Lidstone's Taikai will be adjusted accordingly and sent out later in the coming year.

A line-up of 87 Kyu-sha at the Opening
ceremony.



Andrew Fisher with the Lidstone Bokuto, 1st
Place and FS shields in 2003. Photo by K. Holt.



Dave Bell as Shu-shin. Photo by A. Fisher.

Musha Shugo Begins at Kyu-grade

Enthusiastic kendoka from all over the country travelled to this event - to fight, to watch, and to referee. Many also planned to challenge their next grade the day after at Mumeishi. This year, there were dojo representatives from everywhere. Outside of London we witnessed beginners coming from the South (Surrey, Portsmouth, Horsham, Reading, Rickmansworth, Oxford, Kent, Bristol, Chelthenham and Somerset), East (Cambridge and Norwich), the Midlands (Birmingham, Leicester, Stoke and Nottingham), North (Halifax, Liverpool and Preston), as well as Scotland (Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen).

At the back row of the spectator stand, I caught the half-asleep Callum Munro from Edinburgh Kendo Club. He and two other dojo mates had to wake up at 6.30am this morning after a nine-hour ride on the coach. It sounds like their dojo members are getting used to “kendo roadtrips.” Last month Munro was competing at the Baltic Cup in Poland while the others were at the British Open. This Lidstone's is his third Taikai. Not to worry about facing an opponent of a much higher level, he looked forward to showing his best technique against another kyu-grade in this shiaijo.

One Year On

Supporting his kendo girlfriend at the opposite side of the hall was Andrew Fisher from Doshin Kenyukai, Preston. A day later he would get his Nidan. Exactly a year ago in the same arena, he came first at the 2003 Lidstone's and receiving the Fighting Spirit award.

A friend in Historical Reenactment has brought Fisher into the world of kendo back in 2002. Now he is a regular visitor at Squad training sessions, as well as Shiai Nights in Doshin Kenyukai, Halifax. At Fisher's first taikai, Premier's Cup '03, he got knocked out first round, but at this year's he went up to the quarter-finals. He described the Lidstone Taikai as the perfect tournament to build up confidence in himself. “Believing in your own ability and developing a positive spirit are equally important elements at the beginning stages of kendo,” he explained.

Sempai's First Time

Besides being the first shiai for many beginners, some also entered the shiaijo the first time as a referee in a formal competition. “I just feel so much more relaxing than normal,” said Dave Bell, ex-squad member from Nagamitsu Dojo, Birmingham. “I don't have to worry about my own fight any more.” This day Bell volunteered as one of the eighteen referees, with their grades ranging from Nidan to Rokudan.

Refereeing courses in Japan and practices at squad trainings had equipped Bell with keen eyes for good Ippon, but still he reckoned that the technical side of refereeing is much harder to get used to, especially that he was the shu-shin of his shinpan team.

Bell also pointed out that the standard of an Ippon has to be readjusted to kyu-level. When asked whether he had yet given out points by mistakes, Bell claimed, with great authority, that no referee would say they made a mistake. “It doesn't matter when you are practising refereeing in your dojo, but here in the shiaijo people's future depends on you.It is your job to get it right. ” That's why we all trust referees' judgement, regardless of their grades and experience.

Now an display-only item, the R.A. Lidstone
Bokuto as seen in this photo, was used at the
first Lidstone's Taikai on Feb 20, 1971.



R.A. Lidstone, on far right, training in the 60s
under Takizawa Kozo, 7th Dan Kyoshi of
Tokyo. Photo by A.R. Menzies.



Kiyotaka Tanaka fighting at the finals. Photo
by A. Fisher.

Old Friends of Kendo

Those who were at the Lidstone must have noticed our table of guests to the left of the stage. They are the Lidstone family who have been watching the young kendoka fighting over the last 30 years or so. They were delighted to see the increasing interest in kendo in the recent few years, especially that they can now spot participants coming from different universities and places all over the country.

The Lidstone Family appreciate the commitment of the dojo to organize this annual gathering, which started as a kendo event for only a handful (7?) of beginners. Even though faces are changing every year, they felt that the unique sense of belonging is still present in this Memorial Taikai.

Beginners are encouraged to take more initiative to attack, and therefore apart from the usual 1st, 2nd, Join-3rd and Fighting Spirit Award, at the Lidstones there is also a prize for “fastest victory” - officially the Angel Memorial Prize. Connie Angel was a member of the Nenriki Dojo, and her husband Ernie (1925-99) had been helping out at the Lidstone Taikai as the timekeeper for over 25 years. Now the dojo devotes a Timekeepers Award to remember and represent the spirit of the Angels.

Be Grateful for Being Hit

Together with more than a hundred kendoka taking the Autumn Grading, our kendo weekend brought us to West London's Mumeishi Dojo the following day. There, Kiyotaka Tanaka from Imperial College Kendo Club, London patiently waited for his Shodan Shinsa. His mind was probably still attached to his last match yesterday, making him the winner of the 34th Lidstone Memorial Taikai.

Tanaka started kendo at the age of ten in the UK, but due to moving home around the country, he could only manage practising weekly. Now as a university student, he trains more seriously for twice a week at Imperial, with occational visits to Mumeishi. Although he was knocked out first round at this year's Bowden, yesterday's Lidstone would have served a much better memory for his kendo career.

Storming straight through the first three rounds by clean 2-0 (in two minutes) matches, Tanaka reached the finals after finishing the semis 1-0 with a well-timed Men-nuki-Do. It was his first experience of “The Thrill of Kendo”, as he recalled the kote-nuki-men he lost at the finals against his opponent, Neil Johnson from Kashiwa Dojo, London. To further illustrate his thought on that particular Ippon, he quoted the old kendo saying, “Utte Hansei. Utarate Kansha.” which roughly translated that as “Reflect on your hit, and be grateful when being hit.”

Tanaka must have also learnt from the Fighting Spirit Award he won earlier on at University Taikai '04, that he must not lose his level of focus, no matter what had happened. Soon he tied the 3-minute final match with a Men. Battling on in Encho, he made his seventh and the last Men cut of the day, securing his name on the Lidstone's First Place shield.

Tanaka happily receiving the First Place
shield. Photos by A. Fisher.



Mark Halls receiving his prize for 2002's
Lidstone. Photo by K. Halls.



Shinpan-cho Mr John Howell standing up,
briefing a referee team. Photo by A. Fisher.

Look Who's in the Squad?

Without his kendo clothing, Mark Halls from Doshin Kenyukai Halifax looked like an ordinary teenager. However, the 16-year-old will be eligible to try for his Sandan at the Mumeishi grading next year. He came for a session of Mitori-keiko (observation practice) along with some dojo members this year, and therefore I had the chance to interview him in person.

Halls was fortunate enough to start kendo at 13-year-young. He took part in the smaller-scale Juniors division at Mumeishi 3s and British Open, before eventually coming first place at the 2002 Lidstone's Taikai. Training was never just those three days a week, Halls claimed. He is trying his best to attend every taikai, seminar, and of course, squad training sessions, as he is keen on seeing and learning from different kendoka he came across. Recently at the 2004 European Kendo Championships, he was impressed by the strong presence of junior kendoka in other european countries, such as in Germany and Belgium. To compensate for the lack of training with those from the younger generation, he felt that improvement can also be made through constant practice with a lot of High Grades. They certainly can act as role models who he can look up to, encouraging him to go sharper and faster to get the best Ippon from them.

Now as an official Squad member, Halls would be fighting as Senpo for the British Team at the 5 Nations (Sweden) the following weekend. With someone that young, devoted and talented, his presence in the National Team is of great encouragement to the new kendo generation in the UK.

Back to the Beginning

As Mr John Howell recalled, R.A. Lidstone was a teacher who brigtened a lot of beginners in the early days, making them feel at home when they first entered the dojo. The late Lidstone's passion in fostering newcomers has always been showing through the Lidstone's Taikai. For years it has been a warm-hearted day highlighting the importance of teacher-student relationship in kendo. Every single member of the BKA is invited to experience this in person at the 35th Lidstone next year. Whether as a competitor, a referee, an observer or a supporter, we all have something to learn from.

For the record, the 1st Lidstone's Taikai winner was Mr Mike Davis in 1971. Who would ever think that thirty something years later, the kyu grade could become a 7th Dan, shouting “Shobu-ari” for the unforgetable final match at the 12th World Kendo Championships?

“Everybody was once a beginner.”

Credits:-
Interviewees: Callum Munro, Kiyotaka Tanaka, Andrew Fisher, Mark Halls, The Lidstone Family, John Howell, Errol Blake
Photos: Andrew Fisher, Kim Holt, Alan Menzies, Kenneth Halls. Research materials: The Lidstone Family, Nenriki Dojo