The Outing To Devour Fish

Hey people, I'm back!

Many apologies for the late update this week; I've been rather distracted with some personal stuff lately, but all is well now (I hope) :D

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So last week, on Thursday the 4th of April, we had a club outing! Yay! We started out with watching a movie, The Croods, at West Mall (at Bukit Batok, in Singapore, in Southeast Asia...), then proceeded to JCube for dinner at Manhattan's (at JCube, at Jurong East, etc etc...). Fairly standard fare for an outing.

The movie was pretty cute and all, but the most striking thing bout us watching a movie is, well, us :P SPKC is always the loudest group, no matter where we go or what we do. As can be seen from when we watch a show targeted at kids and end up laughing the loudest and hardest in the entire cinema. I take it to mean that we are all young kids at heart :3

Upon the movie's conclusion, I promptly utilized all I've learnt about footwork and movement towards perhaps the greatest and most pressing issue of all: getting to the toilet to relieve myself. It is at this time that I leave this serious warning to one and all: for your own sakes, never drink too much water before and/or while watching a movie.

Afterwards came the dinner at Manhattan's, where our group occupied a whopping 18 seats. We arrived in two batches, the first being the movie group who took the seats first, and the second being the non-movie group, inclusive of our ever lovable and blur Helpful Fish, Yu Fang. So after Fish and Co. arrived at Manhattan's, we ordered our food.

Towards the end of our meal, I began to heavily regret my choice in seating. I had forgotten that SPKC battles were not limited to the sparring field. For you see, I was seated within reach of Amirul and Ezan, who I now dub the Bandit Duo. I also ordered a mud pie for dessert. Thus began the heated Battle for The Mud Pie, where cutlery became weapons and underhandedness was not only encouraged, but a constant.

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The battle begins!

 

...and to the winner goes the spoils! 

Scavenging for remains!

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I wasn't the only one with mud pie, actually. Yet the others were perfectly safe; no bandits dared brave the wraths of sensei Bryan and senior Ying Zhi. Dessert aside, we also came into luck! Somehow they messed up the orders and we got a free Fish n' Chips, which... did not survive long at all (a quarter each to Hiok Ann, Ezan, Amirul and yours truly, though my portion was later donated to my fishy sister).

Throughout the meal, I noticed many many times that people kept staring at us for how loud and boisterous we were. SPKC is lively, people! Good job! *thumbs up*

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To end off, Yu Fang has asked me to request that all current members fill up a form in the following link, for administrative purposes: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1Xi398SBXIzpn-8oQ9kRrmXu9Ga1q_RJtQhd-9BXubF0/viewform

That's all for this one, folks!

Kenji The Hedgedog
SPKC Webmaster 2013

The Mock Competition! (suggest names please)

It suddenly occurred to me that I forgot to include something in last week's post! I must have somehow gotten infected by Yu Fang's fishy memory :P

So, without further ado...

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Let us welcome our newest official Intermediate-level practitioners, Darren and Issac! They have successfully taken the first step in the learning journey of our art!

As most of us know, the advancement from white belt to red belt is very significant in our art. It is the change from a short sword to a long sword. The change from one hand to two hands. It is the donning of our gi. It is the very first measure of our progress, and the mark of our serious interest in our art. Congratulations, Darren and Issac!

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 Mock Competitions Official Announcement!

Most of you should have seen the poll I put up on our facebook page about this, but regardless I'll state it again for official purposes!

Some time back, I asked people for ideas and suggestions for this blog, and one Bryan Neo gave me one for a self-organized tournament. The idea behind it being that we can use more competition experience. I took the idea and developed it, and after much planning and tinkering and a meeting with the council... I am proud to announce that the higher ups have approved it! We will soon be having mock competitions!

Currently it is still in the planning stage, but hopes are quite high that it will be ready within a month! The organizing team will be quite busy the next couple of weeks, for certain. Mostly, we will be going around recruiting people to do this and that (more manpower = less work for me :3), so please don't walk away if I ask to speak with you! It's not some secret love confession, there's no need to be scared~

Anyway, some basic information on the mock competitions! It will be completely free of charge for participants, and have outstanding prizes such as pride, a sense of accomplishment, and bragging rights! Yeah, all you get is experience. Really, that should be more than enough, so deal with it. Of course, if anyone is willing to sponsor prizes, do feel free to talk to me! :D

That's all I'm saying on this for now. Everything else is still in planning and may be changed, so there's not much point in posting right now. I will have an entire post up for it when it's ready, with all the itty bitty details that most people just glance over anyway.

On a final note, I am requesting for name ideas. Calling it mock competition all the time just doesn't quite have a zing to it, no? No offense to Master Dav, but I am NOT calling it the Kenji Competition! >.<

I will give a cookie to whoever suggests an Uber Awesome Epically Cool name that I choose to use! :D

Kenji

The Bark Knight
SPKC Webmaster 2013

Level Up!

RED BELT KENJI has leveled up!

RED BELT KENJI is evolving!

RED BELT KENJI has evolved into... GREEN BELT KENJI!


Yep, I have leveled up! Along with many others, as we received our new belts on the 23rd of March 2013. Granted, I believe that none of us were actually expecting to have failed grading, but it was still a good feeling regardless~

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If I'm to put photos here, then naturally this has to be the first! It is our new president, after all! Sum-taicho's usual serious demeanor shows, as he calmly gazes into the camera with his presidential aura!

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Following President Sum comes our very own Man of Sheer Power, one half of our committee's vice presidents, Leon! One can tell his composure with the easy smile on his face.

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Nowhere near as important as the others, yet still here because he's the one writing this post so he gets special privileges, is the cute, handsome, smart, humorous and not to mention extremely humble Awesome Webmaster of Awesomeness, Kenji (if you haven't figured it out yet, that's me)! Not to be confused with the other Kenji, who is much less awesome than me :D

That's all! The other photos are all on our facebook page, and will soon be here too, credits to our photo uploading person, Crystal! The photo albums can be accessed on the right side of the page, so look out for it.

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Handing out of new belts aside, training was as per usual that day, if more harsh than usual due to the green belts having to attempt Cuts #3 and #4 with only our non-master hands. I can still feel the aches from it as I type this! It was quite an eye opener for me to realize just how weak my non-master hand is, as I struggled to even maintain my stance in the standard guard. I wasn't the only one. We're gonna have to train up more!

Sparring was made marginally more difficult when I realized that the swings had left my left hand rather unresponsive, though nothing debilitating. It was then that I discovered a rather huge error in my sparring, as pointed out by multiple seniors and sensei.

I tend to move in way too much and end up in less than a sword's length from my opponent when I attack. In particular, I've become so accustomed to stepping in with my attacks that I step in with every attack, which has proven to heavily compromise me. I spent a good few hours after lesson pondering over this flaw in my sparring.

Senior Nicholas later told me of how sensei Radz had once told him to 'fight (against) muscle memory', to be in complete control of our own bodies and not let it control us. On further discussion, I believe that the key to success is composure. Personally, I tend to get riled up when I spar. The more intense the spar, the more I lose myself in the battle lust and run on instincts, which not only inhibits my ability to be in full control of my body but also any strategic and tactical planning.

Only by remaining calm can I properly assess the best course of action to take in any particular situation, and only by remaining calm will my body obey me. If I am lost in fear, I will strike too late. If I am lost in excitement, I will strike too soon.

That is not to say that we should be mechanical in sparring! Adrenaline-fueled emotions can give us strength, when properly utilized. Instead of losing ourselves in them and letting them control us, we can channel those emotions into our determination to win and sharpen our focus!

Of course, it's much easier said than done, and I'm far from actually learning how, but knowing the what is at least the first step taken, no? :P


Kenji
The Man Who Let The Dogs Out
SPKC Webmaster 2013

SPKC Chalet 2013

Disclaimer: SP Kenjutsu does not condone the consumption of alcohol. Any such references are unaffiliated with the club and are purely the stupidity of the idiots involved.

Woof, woof! Sup, guys? It's me again :D

On the 11th to 13th of March 2013, we had a chalet~! A fairly eventful one, with much hilarity and nonsense, and therefore entertainment! Now then, where do I start?

On the first day(night), I was forced to learn how to cycle. I conclude that bicycles are evil and whoever invented them must be burning in hell now. I have no sense of balance *sad* ...after one chipped toenail, some falls, and many times feelings like an absolute idiot, I at least managed to learn how to ride straight! Turns are still beyond me :x

Twas' a good lesson on tackling fears head on, and having the determination to continue in spite of setbacks. President Sum can attest to how many times I failed and how scared I was!

There was a night cycling session to Changi and back after the lesson(torture), which I sat out of (I was tired, okay? ><), though I've heard that there's an interesting story about a bus stop and 'sheer power' to be told. Ask Leon for details!

Later that night, or rather early morning, the group of us still awake bore witness to Andy's amazing Wing Chun skills and loss of ability to do basic maths. The efforts of certain people also helped to drive Yu Fang half crazy in the process :3 ...I'm innocent, by the way!

Come morning, I passed out for some much needed 'zzz's. Meanwhile the breakfast group shared an amazing tale of epic proportions involving the Nepal guy and Feifei the cat. In some ways I'm rather glad that I missed it. For my own sanity's sake.

It was much more crowded on the second day! Mahjong, Wii and barbeque! If I recall correctly my barbeque kill count stands at 15 satay sticks, 4 chicken wings, 2 sausages and 3 dory fillets. I was then promptly banned from the marshmallows for fear of the resident black hole in my stomach. Though I still ended up having some anyway after the barbeque (though not roasted), thanks to Ezan hiding away a packet of them!

In the Wii session following the barbeque, Neo displays his gaming prowess by kicking everybody's posterior, even when outnumbered 1 to 3. Sato Kenji causes rage with his camping skills!

Of special note is Ezan once again proving that he deserves his feline-related title, though this time the cat scratched him a good long one :3 ...no, not THAT cat. That one is much more mean and evil and kicked me off the bed =(

The second night's entertainment was supplied by our ever lovable friend whose name starts with 'A' and ends with 'ndy', via his awesome dance moves, performed half naked. The top half, that is. I wouldn't dare include this if it was the lower half instead!

When most everyone were visiting the sandman's castle, a small group of us guys proceeded to have a Manly Bonding Session, deepening our understanding of each other (Crystal, get your mind out of the gutter!) as we pondered many questions about life.

I left not long after breakfast the third day along with Sato Kenji, being too exhausted to continue. We passed out quite soon after getting on the MRT, for most of the trip (people kept tripping over SK's long legs).

In conclusion, SPKC chalets are nonsensically awesome and ridiculously entertaining (an argument can also be made as to them being awesomely nonsensical and entertainingly ridiculous too). All you peeps who didn't attend or didn't stay over missed out so much!


Kenji
The Woofman Supremo
SPKC Webmaster 2013

2013 committee says "HI!"

Dear Diar... oops, wrong audience!

Time flies, and a year has passed since my batch first tried out kenjutsu in the Sports Hall (which is no longer there). We have sweat and bled (I'm looking at you, Crystal) much through the past year as we underwent our journey from fresh new greenhorns who knew nothing about wielding swords to... slightly less fresh greenhorns who will at least not kill ourselves with our own blades. At least, I hope so.

Our seniors and instructors have taught us much, and opened our eyes to many new experiences (including but not limited to getting absolutely destroyed by them in spars, repeatedly). It is not just the way of the sword that they have passed down to us; they have given us many life lessons and gems of wisdom as well.

Of which includes one on the issue of responsibility and of putting ourselves forward to take up that responsibility. Our seniors, awesome as they are, are moving on. They have done their part for our club, and a splendid job they have done. While we may wish some of them to remain forever, time flows. The Year 2s are now Year 3s, and most of the Year 3s are soon to be bald.

We even witnessed the passing of the torch from sensei Zack to sensei Brad for SP.

It's our turn now. Our turn to give back to the club as it has given to us. Our turn to support the club and help it to continue being awesome. Our turn to be seniors to the next batch of fresh new greenhorns coming in a few months. Our turn to take up responsibility.

Ladies (what few there are) and Gentlemen, I present to you the committee of 2013!

President: Sum Zong Wei

Vice President(s): Leon Lim

Secretary: Tay Ei Fong

Treasurer: Lim Hui Xian

Social And Welfare: Bryan Neo

Quarter Master(s): Justin Francis Wong and Wei Kian

Project Coordinator(s): Crystal Lim and Muhammad Amirul

Webmaster: Kenji Choo

...and we say HI! :D


Kenji
The Amazing Dogman
SPKC Webmaster 2013

p.s. Andy, your role in the club will never be replaced. Ever. We love you.

New T-shirts~

Hey guys, so it's the first week of Term 2 already, man does time fly fast. After over a month of waiting, the new belts have finally arrived! The seniors can now officially level up to Green and Black belts :D (and I can finally get rid of my dusky maroon belt)

On a separate note, the new designs for the next club t-shirt are finally out as well, designed by Hiok Ann and yours truly :D

The shirt's front design. Designed by Hiok Ann~                 

 Design no. 1 for the back of the T-shirt. Generic kenjutsu member acting cool after a spar. :)

 Design no. 2 for the back of the T-shirt. Two pioneers locked in battle. Guess who I referenced? :P




 We'll get around to printing these as soon as a vote is decided on which back design is more popular with our club members~

Enjoy the rest of the week, People! :D
- Afiq

What you need to know about the club

Hello everyone! Our dear Pioneer Radzif has kindly written down some of the information that you should know about the club so do read what's written below. Before you start, let me give you a brief introduction of this blog. If you guys have noticed, the club has 2 blogs. This is one of the 2 and the other is the one that ends with cca.sg for the link. Before SP started using cca.sg as a form of standardization for all the CCAs in SP, this blog was used as the club's blog (still in use) so do visit this blog every once in a while for updates. I will post on the club's wall on facebook as well to inform everyone when there are new posts.

Training Centre

There are 3 Training Centres under NihontoDo mandate where official training takes place. SP is one of the Training Centres. The other two are RP and HQ(hombu). The art appoints a Sensei-in-Charge as the head of each training centre, responsible for settling Syllabus and Teaching Cadre matters. Every year, a competition is held so that practitioners from across the training centres may mingle and get to test each other's ability.

School Club

SP Kenjutsu was founded in 2007 as SP Chanbara. It was later named SP Kenjutsu in 2009 as the club adopted NihontoDo as its focus martial art.

The SPKC main committee is in charge of maintaining day-to-day functions.

These include keeping track of equipment stock, booking of training venue, planning the annual Singapore Polytechnic Open, freshmen orientation and other social activities. Members who are interested in taking up more responsibilities should indicate their interest to the club seniors.

Some of the above responsibilities can be done through the Department of Student Development (DSD). The DSD are school administration who approve and give funding to certain club events. For example, they are able to provide budget for competitions and camps. The current DSD Officer is Ms. Cindy.

Three members from the pioneer batch of 2007 have remained to this day. They are Valerie, Ain and Radzif. As alumni who also hold senior positions within Nihontodo, their opinions are still strongly taken into account whenever major club decisions are to be made.

A practitioner with regular attendance may be able to attain 1^st Dan during his 3 years in poly. The colored belt ranks are entry, red, green, blue, brown and black.

Entry level fees are $30, intermediate level fees are at $40.

*students get a 50% off from full adult price which is $80 for entry and $100 for intermediate

**as students of SP, they get a further $10 discount

Brief introduction to NihontoDo

Nihontodo translates to 'Way of the Japanese Sword'. It is a modern hybrid kenjutsu system that significantly utilises sparring as a method of training.

There are several modules in NihontoDo. Swordplay is the first module, and it consists of learning the fundamentals of sword handling with the short sword, or kodachi. Then comes Sports Kenjutsu, where the practitioner moves on to the long sword, spars with the choken and practices kihon with the bokken. The next three modules of Combative Kenjutsu, Battodo and Tameshigiri are advanced modules taught after 1^st Dan. 

Sincerely

Tan Yu Fang 

Social & Welfare Mentor 

Special thanks to Pioneer Radzif for typing out all these information.