September Shiai, East Bay Tournament, Solano Stroll, and More!

September In-Class Shiai

Today we will be having our monthly in-class shiai (tournament). The Hajime and Chibi students will have their sumo competition at 5:30 followed by the Honto judo team competition at 6:30. All of our Honto students are now required to attend at least one competition every three months to qualify for promotion. This Friday’s shiai counts towards that requirement. It is always a fun event and good luck to all!

East Bay Tournament at El Cerrito High

This past weekend, on September 14, twenty-five Hanabi students competed at East Bay Judo Institute’s tournament. We brought home 7 first place trophies, 8 seconds, and 2 thirds. Highlights included Taiyo who won two matches by two full points in a total time of 12 seconds: 8 seconds for the first match and 4 seconds for the second match. But we also had marathon competitors. While most matches finish much faster than the 3 minute time limit if there is no score the match goes into overtime. Shuhan fought in one match for over 8 minutes before finally losing by a small throw! (She did end up with a third place though.) We are very proud of all of our competitors. Congratulations!

Solono Stroll

Sunday was a busy day as we took part in not just the East Bay Tournament but the annual Solano Stroll! It is estimated that over 100,000 people visited the Stroll and, Hanabi’s booth – under the BART tracks on Solano – was busy all day. We taught children some simple judo, handed out stickers, met old friends and talked with new ones.

September Promotions

During the month of September Hanabi students will be testing for either a “shima”, stripe, or a higher rank of belt. Shima promotions are $35 and new belts are $50. The belt promotion ceremony will be on Wednesday, September 24 at 6:45.