The last few months have truly been a whirlwind of events. And not to prolong this post any further, here's one of them!
Back in June we had the All Hokkaido Naginata Championship.
The competition was divided into three parts.
1. Engi - This is basically a Kata competition. What's a Kata? Well, it's essentially a demonstration of the main ideas and techniques found in the art done solo or with other practitioners. Naginata features two types with many sets contained within each. One is done with the basic Naginata made with the bamboo blade. The other is done with a full wood Naginata replica. The latter is generally reserved for high ranked players however. The former is practiced in every class and contains 8 movements in total. During competition, two sets of competitors perform three of the eight (they are pre-determined many weeks before the competition date to give everyone ample time to prepare) and the judges decide which pair has performed them closer to perfection.
Jane and I were paired up for the competition. Somehow we managed to win our first match!
Unfortunately, though expectantly, we lost our remaining matches to some very seasoned veterans.
2. Test - Well, this is pretty self-explanatory. After the Engi portion of the competition. Myself, Jane, and many of the High School competitors took an exam to receive rank in Naginata. The initial part consisted of demonstrating the first five of the basic Kata. After that, we took a paper test (of course in Japanese!). I've got video of our written exam but I'll spare you that!
3. Shiai - OK, here's the real meat of it. Shiai is when we strap on our Bogu (armor) and go at it full force with each other. This was definitely the most nerve-wracking portion of the day. Being the most inexperienced, both of us had no illusions that we would have any chance of standing on the podium at the end of the day. But somehow I did! I took 3rd place!...out of five.
-Ryan
