In this Issue - US Federation of Batto Do

In this Issue
 Dojo Spotlight: The Ole Miss Iaido/Batto Do Club
Keeping Traditional Martial Arts
Alive In the Deep South by Mark Chevalier
 2011 Orlando Taikai Winners
 My First Batto Do Tai Kai by Neal Earhart
 Summing It Up With The USBDF by Jason Lee A. Hatcher
 Fencing and Batto Do
 The WOSS
by Mayumi Kurihara
by Marky Kurihara
From the President
Hello and welcome to the official
newsletter for the US Federation of Batto
Do. I thought having a newsletter would
be a great way to help recap the previous
year as well as helping dojos get to know
each other. With the newsletter, I would
like to spotlight some of the smaller dojos
as well as bring some insight into different
arts and aspects of training.
Although we practice the same seitei
kata, different perspectives from having
instructors who trained in different arts is
what is vital to helping the arts stay alive
and grow. This is why we try to have
different arts being represented at
seminars, to help you get a chance to
learn a new perspective.
The whole idea of the Batto Do
Federation is to help all of us experience
and share different points of view that
can help us reach our goals. I hope this
new year will be helpful to your growth
and that the events that the Federation
puts on helps you achieve it. Thank you
for your time and enjoy the newsletter.
President/Technical Director of Training,
Sang Kim
Special thanks to Tom Turk of Piractical Photography for allowing us to use so many of his
superb photographs.
Dojo Spotlight - The Ole Miss Iaido / Batto Do Club
by Mark Chevalier
Keeping Traditional Martial Arts Alive In the Deep South
It’s Sunday, January 15, 2012 in Lafayette County, Oxford, Mississippi. Cutting
will start at 10am this morning and go on until about noon. We will be cutting
outside as usual. At 7 am the thermometer reads 26 degrees, though we should
get into the mid fifties by two-o’clock. A thin layer of ice has formed on the
surface of the water in the barrel holding our mats. Been a couple of months
since our last cut and we are looking forward to the three mats allotted per
person.
The Ole Miss Iaido Club was formed in 1999 by Gordon Smith at the University of
Mississippi (Ole Miss). Our focus was the study of Iaido, and aside from our
hombu dojo we became affiliated with the All United States Kendo Federation
(AUSKF). When Gordon graduated in 2000, the job of coaching the club went to
Mark Chevalier. Over the years we have attended and hosted many seminars
and national camps, attaining ranks along the way.
Classes and events at Ole Miss Iaido/Batto Do Club
In 2001 we were introduced to Batto Do by Sensei Richard Babin, founder of the
Bluff City Iai Kai dojo. These were the early days of the US Batto Do Federation
and we were among the first to join. Dr. Babin sponsored many seminars,
bringing the best Batto Do instructors to Memphis Tennessee; Hataya Sensei,
Bob Elder Sensei, and Tom Smyth Sensei. National camps were attended, medals
won at taikais, ranks earned and our training improved tremendously. It was at
this time that Batto Do was introduced into the Ole Miss Iaido Club and soon our
name had to change to incorporate our new art: The Ole Miss Iaido / Batto Do
Club. By 2009 Dr. Babin retired and the Bluff City Iai Kai dojo also passed to Mark
Chevalier.
The Ole Miss Iaido / Batto Do Club is an official sport club at the University of
Mississippi. We work constantly to attract new students by putting on
demonstrations, holding movie nights on campus, distributing flyers, and
participating in international fairs. We were one of the first groups to perform
on stage at the Gertrud Ford Center following its grand opening. Who knew, just
a few years later it would be hosting a presidential debate. One of our goals for
2012 is to foster the formation of similar clubs at universities around the
country.
Our training consists mostly of kata with a formal practice held once per week
on Thursday nights from 6pm – 7:30pm year round. We try to cut at least once
per month provided we have mats. A cutting session consists of kata for warmup and then cutting, usually four mats per student. We hold formal and informal
cutting sessions depending on available space and weather conditions. Cutting
outside in the rain, heat, cold and snow are all common for us. At the end of
these sessions we generally have lunch together, with each member bringing
something for the table.
John Aquadro, Don Crittenden, Rich Babin, Tom Smyth, Gary
Chase, Mark Chevalier
Jordan Dillon-Maginnis, Hataya Sensei, Mark Chevalier
On Saturday, February 18, 2012 we will be hosting a USFBD sanctioned one day
seminar with guest instructor Tom Smyth. If you would like to participate and
spend some time in a great little town please contact us. We plan to host a
couple of seminars each year, eventually becoming a regional training
opportunity for students in nearby states.
Today’s cutting went well. Thankfully the sun was out and the wind was calm. It
was almost fifty degrees when we started. Afterwards we dined on roast
chicken, baked beans, rice, roasted local sweet potatoes, salad and brownies for
desert. Now we can get ready to watch one of our favorite Ole Miss graduates,
Ely Manning, as the New York Giants take on the Green Bay Packers to find out
who will play for the NFC title.
Our doors are always open to visitors, so if you find yourself in Mississippi, come
on by.
Mark Chevalier – Sensei
mark@msmartialarts.com
2012 members of the Ole Miss Iaido / Batto Do Club
L-R: Jordan Dillon-Maginnis, Lydia Reed, Mark Chevalier-Club
Coach, Dr. Dan O’Sullivan, Sam Testa, Austin Lavinghouse (not
pictured)
If you would like to know more about Oxford Mississippi or our dojos, please visit the
following web sites:
www.chamber.oxfordms.com
www.msmartialarts.com
www.battodo.net
www.olemiss.edu
My First Batto Do Tai Kai
by Neal Earhart
In January of 2008, I started Batto Do at the Gen Bu Kan dojo in White
Plains, NY. The journey so far has been extremely enjoyable.
My first Batto Do Tai Kai was the Orlando event in June 2011. I had been to
several local seminars and events, including traveling to Minneapolis to
test for Shodan in the United States Federation of Batto Do curriculum.
However, I had never attended a Tai Kai.
As a long time Aikido practitioner, I greatly enjoy attending seminars. They
function as both learning and social events. It is great to meet new people,
see old friends, experience new instructors, and gain more knowledge and
insight into the art itself. The seminars held at the Orlando Tai Kai 2011
were excellent. It is truly special to receive instruction and guidance from
some of world’s most senior practitioners of Japanese swordsmanship.
The Tai Kai itself was a lot of fun. Seven members of our dojo participated
in the various events. We all put in many long hours of preparation for the
competition and I think we represented our dojo and our Sensei very well.
What I enjoyed the most was the “spirit” of the event. There was an
atmosphere of strong focus and intenseness from everyone as they were
participating in their respective events. But there was also an atmosphere
of enjoyment and camaraderie. Even though this was a “competition,” we
weren’t combatants rooting for the opposition to lose. We were fellow
martial artists cheering for and supporting each other, regardless of the
outcome. It wasn’t about leaving the event with a medal, it was about
what you could learn to help you continue on your path and growth as a
martial artist. It was a very valuable experience.
Overall, the 2011 Orlando Tai Kai was an excellent event…well attended
and well organized. I look forward to attending many Tai Kai in the future.
2011 Orlando Taikai Winners
First Place
Second Place
Third Place
Shodan and Under
Sergio Beltran
Kyle Kim
Nick Paperno
Nidan/Sandan
Henry Kim
Tracy Snell
Jason Hatcher
Yondan above
Carl Jenkins
Mike Soriero
Andy Seminick
Shodan and Under
Mark Kurihara
Clay Wilson
Jeff Jones
Nidan/Sandan
Paul Koseenanonth
Henry Kim
Ron Duponte
Yondan above
Carl Jenkins
Hal Smith
Wakizashi
All Levels
Carl Jenkins
Hal Smith
John Boyer
Adrian
Demoret
Dodan
All Levels
Hal Smith
Carl Jenkins
Jeff Jones
Kumitachi
All Levels
Kyle Kim
Carl Jenkins
Rob Crook
Henry Kim
Jason Hatcher
Russel Gordon
Batto Kata
Tameshigiri
Team
Cutting
All Levels
Bob Elder
Tom Smyth
Sakaida Sensei
Grand Champion
Carl Jenkins
Forth Place
Fifth Place
Andy Seminick
Mike Soriero
Summing it up with the USBDF
by Jason Lee A. Hatcher
I was taken aback recently when asked if I could write something for our federation’s end
of year newsletter. What a privilege to address and share thoughts with such an
extraordinary group of swordsmen and women.
As I try to conjure up a summarization of one particular event that took place this past
year it immediately becomes apparent that so many moments are worthy of mentioning.
For me personally, being a member of the USBDF for the past few years has remained a
blessing in many ways. First and foremost, members I have met and shared training
experiences with have been phenomenal. I hope to hold these friendships throughout my
life. Secondly, USBDF has offered an outlet to train in new facets of swordsmanship. I have
had the opportunity to learn new sets of kata, advanced cutting techniques, and of course
“Gekken.”
Depending on who you speak with, Gekken, when done correctly, can produce some
wonderful results. Not only do we learn to overcome the fear of combat with an
opponent, but we train ourselves in distancing, timing, proper technique, and so much
more. It’s my belief that we learn to apply the techniques we train so hard in while
bonding with one another through it all.
Since we all practice different sword arts, the Battodo federation gives us a means to get
together and compete using common kata and common standards. This can be a test in
and of itself, as it forces us outside of our comfort zones and lets us face each other on
neutral ground.
2011 was an exciting year in the world of Japanese Swordsmanship, one in which the
United States Batto Do Federation thrived. Not only did we hold the Westchester Open
Sword Seminar in May, but also a most excellent Tai Kai held in Orlando Florida in June,
which Hataya Sensei and many of our seniors from Japan attended. Also, even earlier this
past February we witnessed the passing of the torch in our presidency, as Bob Elder Sensei
stepped down and Sang Kim Sensei rose to lead us through the coming years. Setting a
new stage of evolution in our Federation’s growth, Kim Sensei has always remained a most
vibrant, enthusiastic and caring individual. He is a wonderful person and makes for a
tremendous leader and teacher. We also should express our gratitude to Bob Elder sensei
for his founding of this organization; without him we wouldn’t exist as a group.
The federation truly seems to be a wonderful thing, may we push forward strongly into the
New Year of 2012 and the future of Swordsmanship itself.
Jason Lee A. Hatcher
President, Katsujinken Magazine
Member: Virginia Kenkonkai, Capital Area Budokai, Nakamura Ryu, Meishiha Mugai Ryu,
USBDF
Fencing and Batto Do
By Mayumi Kurihara
My name is Mayumi Kurihara and I’ve been doing Batto Do for about two years now. This year
is my first year in high school so I’ve decided to join the fencing team to get more involved in
extracurricular activities. I knew the coaches would help the incoming freshmen learn the
blocks, attacks and techniques involved in fencing, but I wasn’t really ever worried about trying
this new sport out. I figured since I studied a sword art, learning how to fence wouldn’t feel so
unnatural to me. As it turned out, I wasn’t so crazy after all!
On the first day of fencing practice we had to learn the stance, which was practically the same
as in Batto Do only we had to bend our knees much more. The instructors (coaches) had us
start out with our feet in an “L” shape, dominant foot in front. Then they had us spread our
feet out about shoulder width apart. Our backs had to be kept straight and we had to keep
our center; this type of stance can also be applied to Batto Do. Unlike Batto Do where we only
use one type of sword, there are three types of fencing swords that we use, though my team
mostly uses the foil.
Today was my 9th fencing practice and we got to fence! For the fencing that I do, our targets
are only limited to the vest area (the red area in the illustration below), any hit off of that is
considered off target. And I think that I now have a better understanding and more of an
appreciation for Toyamaru kata three (sanbonme) since the target area is similar!
As I was fencing I realized how similar it was to gekken (free fencing in Batto Do). Gekken has
never been my favorite but learning how to fence has given me a new understanding of it. I
noticed that in both fencing and in gekken, form is everything. Fencing is a varsity sport and it
is not something that comes easy, it takes practice. You can’t get frustrated the first try
because it’s a hard sport. Same with gekken, I always get frustrated but this time I learned that
I can’t expect to get a hit on my target the first try.
Another one of the epiphanies I had was when I noticed that the distance between you and
your partner and how open your guard is are extremely important in both fencing and gekken.
Managing distance and making yourself open is the difference between a victory and a loss: it
means everything. That gives your partner the opportunity to attack! Foot work is also another
aspect of fencing that is similar to gekken. Fencing requires fast footwork, though maybe not
for beginners since they are still learning. But when watching my teammates during practice, I
noticed that they are swift and quick on their feet. While on the topic of footwork, watching
the fencers has made me notice how important footwork really is, especially in sword arts.
For some reason, I went into fencing feeling confident because I studied Batto Do. As it turns
out, the two are more similar than I thought. Of course, school has been busy and I’ve got
fencing practice so I seldom make it to Batto Do class anymore. But I feel that even though I
have missed a lot of classes I’m still learning a lot about technique because I can apply what I
learn in fencing to Batto Do and vice versa.
German Rapier by Arms & Armor www.armor.com
The WOSS
When you see the sign, make a right turn to find the parking lot.
The White Plains Genbukan dojo hosted a U.S. Batto Do seminar in May of
2011 at the West Harrison Community Center in Westchester, New York. We
had the honor and privilege of hosting Smyth Sensei of Palm Bay, Florida and
Kim Sensei of Byakkokan Dojo as the star instructors. Of course, we had been
working closely with Kim Sensei in planning the event from its inception. For
this event we introduced an optional Gekken class at the end of the event.
And what would a Batto seminar be without a Shodan shinsa?
Let’s call it the WOSS.
It all began with the name for that was chosen for the seminar. The
Westchester Open Sword Seminar, or WOSS, was designed from the
beginning to cater to individuals with little or no prior sword experience. It
was a sword seminar open to anyone willing try something new and
interesting. To get to where we were headed we first looked at who we
were. In the White Plains dojo, Genbukan, over 90% of the members have
had some prior non-sword martial arts experience. And around 80% of the
members actively practice another form of martial arts in addition to Batto
Do. The idea was, “If you seek out martial artists, they might be interested in
trying out a sword class if given the opportunity to participate.” This
inductive reasoning formed the theme of the WOSS and a slightly different
approach to how Genbukan would implement a sword seminar.
No sword experience required.
As you can see from the seminar flyer, this was the message that we really
wanted to get across. (The seminar flyer and registration forms were
exquisitely crafted by Sylvie Firestone). The event would be geared towards
novices. In particular we advertised to the Aikido community since Aikido
already incorporated sword elements in its curriculum. As Sensei Firestone is
also the Chief Instructor of Aikido of Westchester we were able to expand on
this synergy and reach out to fellow aikidokas.
“Wanted: people to feel engaged and take in the entire experience. We will
provide: hakama, uniform and iaito.” We would also take the time to help
you dress. We really wanted the people new to swords to have a feeling of
inclusion so this was an important detail to follow through on. Since some of
our Genbukan students could not attend we were able to collect enough
spare iaitos and hakamas for all participants. “Learn sword basics and safety!
Do some kata! Try some tameshigiri!”
Keep it Simple Swordsman.
Another theme to the WOSS was to “keep it simple.” We sort of generalized
the participants and arrived at three possible “tracks” or options. Rather than
breaking down the seminar into distinct classes we offered a series of classes
taken as a whole for the duration of the event. If you were new to swords
and had little or no experience you would chose the Novice track. The Novice
track, taught by Firestone sensei, covered kihon and sword safety. This was
followed by Shoden kata. The culmination of the track was an attempt at
tameshigiri. Good luck! As with all sword events, student safety was of the
paramount concern. We made sure that we had the senior students on hand
to supervise some of the beginners and assist in the classes. However, we did
feel that having the beginners try tameshigiri would be a unique and
memorable experience.
The Beginner track was taught by Kim Sensei. This track was intended for
people who had prior sword experience but not necessarily any Batto
experience. It covered kihon, shoden kata and basic tameshigiri.
The
intermediate to advanced track was targeted for a practioner with prior
battodo experience. This was taught by Smyth sensei and covered all of the
Chuden kata as well as intermediate and advanced cutting.
(continued on next page)
By Marky Kurihara
Continued: The WOSS by Marky Kurihara
Welcome, Thank You for Coming.
Since we invited non-US Batto Do guests it was important that the
participants felt welcome and respected. I’ve heard of anecdotes of other
seminars where the participants felt withdrawn or condescended. Not
anything from US Batto Do Fed of course, but that certainly isn’t a feeling
that one of our participants should ever walk away with. We wanted the
people to have a positive and fun experience. Hopefully this would pique
their interest and leave them with a good impression of the group and the
organization. I remember my first class with Sang sensei. He emphasized
the openness of his teaching. He wasn’t trying to supersede our current
style. Rather, he was trying to draw out techniques and approaches that you
could take away and use to augment your own regime. So I watched,
listened and learned. Soon after, I became a believer myself. Overall, the
feedback was that the participants did feel welcome and relaxed. And this
was due to the respectful and engaging teaching styles of Smyth, Kim and
Firestone Senseis.
Our goal for the WOSS was to have the participants have fun, be safe and try
something new. If we were courteous and stimulated their interest then
hopefully they will return. Putting the event together was a collaborative
effort of all the students and seniors of Genbukan dojo as well as the
Senseis. As is customary with major Genbukan festivities, we ended the day
winding down at Lazy Boys Saloon.
Photos © Copyright 2011 by Tom Turk of Piractical Photography (www.piraticalphotography.com) and article authors except where otherwise credited.
© Copyright 2012 by US Batto Do Federation, All Rights Reserved.