The Steveston Kendo Club will be hosting the 50th edition of its Invitational tomorrow at McMath secondary school.
The tournament begins at 9: 30 a.m. with the parade of participants and culminates later in the day with the highly competitive team matches. The general public is welcome to attend and admission is by donation.
Steveston head sensei Ray Murao explains that kendo "or the way of the sword" is the modern Japanese martial art of sword fighting based on traditional samurai swordmanship and philosophy. It is essentially the art of Japanese fencing.
Murao added the Steveston Invitational is one of the largest single day tournaments in North America and draws competitors from Hawaii, California, the Pacific Northwest, Toronto, Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Calgary as well as B.C. With the World Kendo Competition being held this May in Italy, many members of the Hawaiian, United States and Canadian National teams will be competing to hone their skills before participating in the world championships.
Kelvin Higo, president of the local club, noted that Steveston is the birthplace of kendo in Canada and the Canadian Kendo Federation recently celebrated 100 years of kendo in Canada. He adds the purpose of kendo is to train the mind and body, to cultivate a rigorous spirit, to strive for improvement and to foster a high esteem for human courtesy and honor.
Hiro Okusa, president of the Canadian Kendo Federation will also be presenting certificates of recognition to many Steveston pioneer kendo practitioners who have contributed to the development of the sport both locally and nationally.
