After baking cookies, pinching pennies and a generous slice of extra practices, William finally arrived at Suwanee Sports for the summer camp. He was nervous when we showed up Friday night because there were many kenshi. He quickly noticed someone he had practiced with in Chapel Hill, NC just a few days before and then when he saw S. Maeda-sensei at the check-in table he relaxed visibly. Three days of intense practice and discussion about the essence of Kendo ensued. He met another great kid, James, from Florida and they hung out whenever they could. Thank heavens for Mrs. Ro as she took William under her wing during breaks when I was gone. William left camp riding high and inspired to work even harder on his Kendo. At the conclusion of camp, Ohta-sensei asked Maeda-sensei to find someone to write a small article for the All Japan Kendo Federation. Maeda-sensei asked William. He was profoundly honored (and shocked because he was one of only 2 children at the camp). He has written his article and Gossett-san graciously edited it for kendo content. I have entirely too many photos of this event and am annoyed that they are blurry. It has to do with shoot too far, using the zoom and the fact that Kendo is a very active sport. I must send the camera in for repair, but I am loath to part with it. Here is a link to all photos that I took of the event.
With only one official practice a week, he often seeks out additional practices when we travel or even with other kenshi from the dojo. He gets up in the middle of the night once a month so he can practice in Nashville with Maeda-sensei. It's a 3 hour drive one way! Now the informal extra Monday night practices in Memphis have returned and he enthusiastically attends, grateful for the time and attention that the 3-dans give him to correct his Kendo.
No comments:
Post a Comment