Practice with BCKF Ladies
Chinatsu Maruayama, 4 time all Japan Women’s Champion, will be up in Vancouver, BC right before the Olympics and the ladies of the PNKF have been invited to join the BCKF ladies for a mini seminar/godo keiko on Saturday, February 6th. It will most likely start in the early afternoon and be followed by some dinner fun.
If you would like to go, please email ebkendo at hotmail.com and we’ll get you on the list for updates and carpools by January 8th, 2010.
Rock and Roll Seattle Marathon
Be advised if you are coming that the Seattle Rock and Roll Marathon is going to be held also on June 26, in the Seattle and Tukwila area. The race starts in the north Tukwila area at 7am by BECU and finishes at Qwest Field in downtown Seattle.
The Renton Community Center is near, but not close enough so that you should not encounter road closures if you stick to the I-405 and Maple Valley Highway.
Do not try and cut through Renton or Tukwila the morning of the taikai, or you may be very sorry.
Mayumi Katsura, 6D Renshi, Biography
Mayumi Katsura Sensei was born in then Kagoshima prefecture 1969 and since then has compiled an impressive kendo career. Here are some of the highlights- check it out!
Kagoshima Prefecture Primary School Tournament 1st Place (1980)
All Japan Junior High School Tournament, Team 1st Place (1983)
All Japan Senior High School Tournament, Team 2nd place (1986)
All Japan Universities Tournament, Team 3rd place, Individuals 3rd place (1990)
All Japan Companies Tournament 1st place (1999)
All Japan Inter-Prefecture Tournament (Todofuken) 2nd place (2000)
All Japan Inter-Prefecture Tournament (Todofuken) Best 8 (2005)
Tokyo representative at Tozaitaiko Tournament-Womens (2005)
Nikko Taikai (tournament only for 6th and 7th Dan players) 1st place (2005)
Expo Kendo Festival participation at the World Expo in Aichi prefecture (2005)
Visiting Downtown Seattle
Here are some ideas if you’re from out of town looking to play tourist…
The Pike Place Market
Ever the standard, if you head downtown and are poking around, be sure to poke around here. It’s free to wander, there’s lots going on in summer and if you hang around long enough you might see a flying fish. (Despite PETA.)
Seattle Underground Tour
Even native Seattle-ites find this excursion fun. Go on a tour of the city’s very beginnings, find out how the term being “shanghai-ed” came to be and learn more about early sewage systems than you’ve ever wanted to know.
The Space Needle
The classic icon leftover from the 1964 World’s Fair is located at the Seattle Center. A bit costly, but worth it on a clear day. If it’s foggy and raining, visit the gift shop instead. Now, if you want to make an occasion out of it, dine in the Sky City restaurant and get the view and a meal.
Westlake Center/5th Avenue
The heart of downtown shopping. Hit the Westlake Mall, Macy’s Nordstrom, H&M, Banana Republic, Louis Vuitton, Betsey Johnson and more. Independent couture stores like Luly Yang, Turgeon Raine Jewelers and the 5th Avenue Theater are there and just as expensive as you thought. Nearby is also Pacific Place, a very fancy mall with Tiffany’s, Coach and Max Mara. Plus restaurants and a movie theater.
Gameworks
Leave your rolls of quarters at home, because you’re going to need a fistful of cash. It’s fun, with wall to wall arcade games, ticket dispensing for prizes games, video games, a race car game with 10 full size cars and a mega screen to race against your friends on and a room dedicated just to DDR, Guitar Hero and whatever else Japan is offering.
Ride the Ducks
It’s corny, it’s goofy, but it’s the ultimate tourist activity. Board a WWII amphibious watercraft and get an extensive land and sea tour of Seattle! Sure, San Francisco, Baltimore, Branson and Philadelphia have them too, but the Seattle one is best.
Didn’t see anything you liked? Check out the Seattle Visitors Bureau. Or just ask, any PNKF member would be glad to point you in the right direction!
Guest Instructor Mayumi Katsura
Our guest instructor has accepted PNKF’s invitation to come and conduct a seminar during the week of June 21st-25th and be our special guest at the tournament on June 26th.
Mayumi Katsura, 6D renshi, will be traveling here from her new dojo in Mexico, that she and her husband Carlos just opened. Originally from Japan, she is fluent in Japanese, Spanish and English and has a very impressive competitive resume. We’ll posting a more permanent biography later on, but in the meantime, know this is one seminar you don’t want to miss!