S T R I K I N G P O S T — July / August 2019
The 13th International Soke Cup was held July 26th-28th in beautiful Penticton British Columbia, Canada. By all accounts it was a great success. A big congratulations goes out to Chris Taneda Sensei and all his organizing team. The amount of work that was put into it during the weeks and months leading up to the tournament was obvious. It showed in the details. Everything was looked after and there were no issues worth mentioning that came up during the competition.
As usual, the Soke Cup is much more than just a tournament. There was an international meeting, senior gradings, a meet and greet, Presentation by the Penticton Native Band, Beach training and clinic with Soke, Opening and closing ceremonies, and finally, a closing banquet. All these things required attention and needed to be organized. Everything was completed without any problems.
There was plenty of time for old friends to catch up and to meet new ones. It was truly a gathering of the Chito-ryu family worldwide. For a few days the world became much closer; from Japan to Canada, from Norway to Hong Kong, from Australia to the United States. Everyone together to celebrate our great Chito-ryu.
Congratulations to all the medal winners and grand champions. Congratulations also to all those who were successful in their gradings, especially Michael Noonan Sensei who graded to Kyoshi. What a phenomenal accomplishment! We must all strive to follow his example of commitment and dedication and remember “Quitters never win, and, Winners never quit”.
Soke seemed in good spirits throughout the event. Again, I feel that this was most likely due to the great care and hospitality he and his wife received from Taneda Sensei. As always, his demonstrations of Nage and Kata were amazing. Thank you to Soke for continuing to share his art with us.
I look forward to seeing everyone at the 14th Soke Cup in 2022, in Japan. Until then, I wish you all good health and good training.
Milton Bourque