Wow. Everyone else on the Bellevue Team was just great this past week at the 29th Annual University of Washington Invitational Kendo Tournament. What an outing. Naoaki Tanimura, Eric Dycus, Ryoko Barr Sensei, and especially Masumi Rinaldi were simply "on" last Saturday.
I was exceptionally lucky to be in the taisho spot with them. The fact that Masumi Rinaldi held D. Ara-Sensei, C. Marsten-Sensei, and T. Masukawa-Sensei to a combined total of two points was phenomenal. (Way to go Masumi!)
It was with relief, and not without surprise actually that I managed not to drop the ball in the final tie-breaker. Together with a respectable top-8 finish in the 1-3 Dan division, I will enjoy remembering such a lucky day for quite some time.