Inside the VJCC

The Venice Kendo Club

By Alex Nishimoto

“You should never judge a book by its cover…” That’s a phrase you should try to remember when you walk into the gym during the Venice Kendo Club’s practice hours. Although at first sight they may look like just a bunch of people with masks yelling and striking randomly at each other, they are actually practicing a very respected and widely accepted art form. Kendo is the art of Japanese swordplay, the same art practiced by the Samurais of over five hundred years ago. The Venice Kendo Club is proud to uphold a tradition that is as rich as the Japanese culture itself. So before you think about making any wisecrack remarks about how goofy they may look, keep in mind that they are training in the way of a warrior that dominated Japan for nearly a millennia. 

Discipline is essential in mastering the art of Kendo. Here students wait patiently for instruction to begin.

Formed by Tokuji Matsuda in the early 70’s, The Venice Kendo Club now has sixteen students, three instructors (Henry Asai, Shuichi Obata, and Lloyd Smith), and one head instructor (Andrew Yoshida). The form of Kendo they practice is called Itto. Itto emphasizes using just one long bamboo practice sword, called a Shinai, and is the most common form of the art. Although their practices focus on footwork, striking, and sparring, many practitioners would agree that the most fundamental element of Kendo is discipline. It is discipline that will ultimately decide whether or not you will move up to the next rank in Kendo.

It may sound intimidating, but Kendo can also be a lot of fun. The club participates in a variety of events each year. This year they plan on attending such tournaments as the 45th Annual North-South Tournament, the Southern California Championship, and the 12th World Championship. Students that are 8-17 years old will be attending the Nikkei games, a kind of Olympics of martial arts specifically for kids. In addition to all of their competitive events, they also perform demonstrations at the VJCC’s Summer

The practice sessions are long and vigorous.

Festival. Since the club hopes to grow in the future, these yearly demonstrations may not be enough to draw the kind of crowd they would like to see. In order to get more people interested they plan to advertise on the Community Center website. Hopefully this article has sparked your curiosity. They meet every Wednesday night and practice from 7:30 to 10:00. If you are interested, check it out, and remember to keep those wisecracks to yourself.

For more information about the Venice Kendo Dojo, click here.

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Visions for the VJCC

by Steven Sharp

Like many of our members, Don Nishimoto’s involvement with the Community Center began with signing his kids up for VYC Sure Shots. When his son, now 19, joined the Boy Scouts in 1995, Don became very active with the troop. Don is the designer and current webmaster of the VJCC website, which he is constantly updating and improving.

• What is one thing you would like to see happen here at the VJCC within the next 12 months?
  
  Within the next twelve months, Don would like to see more youth involvement in the programs and activities at the Center. He does not just mean sports. He would like to see them involved in everything from the Bonsai Club to the Ukulele class.
  
  
• What is one thing you would hope to happen with the VJCC in the next 5 years?
  
  Within the next five years, he hopes the Community Center will expand in size and ability. He wants the Center to expand so it will be better able to serve the community that gave birth to it.
  

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