The Shorinji Kempo Club participated in the 60th Kanto Student Shorinji Kempo Championship held at the Nippon Budokan (Chiyoda City) on May 4. This championship consists of 26 different events such as pair, triad and solo demonstrations as well as match ratings, and competitions are judged on technical and artistic level. Among the events, Meiji University achieved victories in five categories, including four with the highest dan level, and also ranked among the winners in many other events.
Those who took first place were KANZAKI Tadasue (4th year in the School of Political Science and Economics) and SUZUKI Izumi (1st year in the School of Political Science and Economics) in the men’s pair demonstration with 3rd dan or higher; NAKANO Natsumi (4th year in the School of Commerce) and KATANIWA Kurumi (1st year in the School of Commerce) in the women’s pair demonstration with 3rd dan or higher; ODA Kakeru (3rd year in the School of Commerce) and TANAKA Yuma (2nd year in the School of Political Science and Economics) in the mixed pair demonstration with 2nd dan or higher; KAWAKAMI Suzuka (2nd year in the School of Global Japanese Studies) and MIURA Daichi (2nd year in the School of Commerce) in the mixed pair demonstration with white-green belt; and SHIROSAWA Taiga (2nd year in the School of Political Science and Economics) in the men’s solo demonstration with 1st dan or higher. Moreover, many club members placed high in other events, with an impressive second place finish in the men’s team and the men’s overall.
Comment from Captain KANZAKI Tadasue
I was very happy to feel the unity of all the club members in this championship. Our successful results are all thanks to tremendous support from our alumni. In addition, every one of us values the accumulation of daily efforts, instead of sticking only with outcomes. I believe this mindset has also led to our success.
Our goal for this fiscal year is all-round victory in the UNIVAS Cup, and that achievement is already in sight. With trust in our teammates and pride in our club, we will exert our overwhelming power of unity to strive for our goal. We look forward to your continued support.
Comment from Head Coach YAMADA Masayoshi (graduated from the School of Agriculture in 1989)
Although we now have 24 members, including new freshmen, there were only 17 members at the time of entry to the championship due to the sharp decline during the few years of the COVID-19 pandemic. We faced very tough competitions as we were forced to select participants from a limited number of members. Compared with our club, top-ranking universities had more members and more than double the number of entries to the competition events. Under such circumstances, some of our members were unable to compete owing to injury or other reasons, making the situation even more difficult. However, everyone continued to work hard and fight until the end. As a result, they were able to place high in almost all the events entered.
On the day of the championship, their spirit of “never give up, never run away, and never lose” impressed me so much as head coach. They really did great with a small number of members. I would like to offer my heartfelt congratulations and praise to them all.
≪Japanese version≫
