April 9, 2024
Shawnee State University recently hosted the 2024 Intercollegiate Student Kendo Tournament on campus. The first local invitational was held in 2014 with the goal of providing an opportunity for student-led organizations to engage with kendo practitioners – kendoka – from other institutions throughout the region. This year’s tournament featured representatives from SSU, Ohio State University, University of Cincinnati, and Ohio University.
Among the SSU representatives, Autumn Ward, a major in the Game & Simulation Arts program, earned a bronze medal in the women’s division, while Allen Barnhart, a graduate student in the Master of Composition & Rhetoric program, secured bronze in the yudansha division (blackbelt and above).
Kendo is a Japanese martial art most identified by its bamboo swords (shinai) and the wearing of armor (bogu). Individuals who practice kendo are distinctive in their appearance towering head-to-toe in dark-indigo blue and wearing a steel masked helmet. Kendo encourages participants to focus on the moment.
The tournament was held in collaboration with the Southern Ohio Kendo Association, who’s chief instructor is local physician, Dr. Tsuyoshi Inoshita. Dr. Inoshita has practiced kendo devotedly since childhood and has attained the 7th dan rank – an achievement known by a select few. Southern Ohio Kendo Association has offered kendo instruction in Portsmouth since 1991, fostering the growth of kendo in the community and region.
The SSU Kendo Club, with the Southern Ohio Kendo Association, accepts beginners throughout the year to attend their weekly meetings every Thursday evening at 7 p.m. in the Howland Recital Hall in the Vern Riffe Center for the Arts.