Hello everyone!

It is that time of year again where UWKC has an annual camping trip! Like every year, the camping trip will be during Veteran’s Day Weekend, May 25th and 26th. We will be leaving campus Saturday morning and coming back Sunday afternoon.

Before we have fun camping though, we need to go up to the camping grounds and clean up. This is our payment for getting to use Jeffrey Marsten Sensei’s property. The clean-up will be on May 19th. Remember, those who go clean up beforehand don’t have to set up their own tents during the camping trip. Please sign up HERE for the clean-up.

For the actual camping trip itself, please sign up HERE (or click on the “Club Events” link to sign up) by May 15th. Please provide your email in the sign-up sheet so we can contact the people interested in the camping trip without spamming the entire mailing list.

Please also note that the camping trip is for current UWKC members only.

Have a lovely rest of the week!

Nancy Tang
UWKC President

Hey all, just a quick update before kendo resumes next Wednesday, April 3rd.

For newcomers:

• Welcome! Please feel free to join us for practice or simply observe the practice anytime within the first two weeks of the quarter. All we ask is that you come to practice early (by early we mean at least 15 before practice starts) so we have time to distribute practice swords and deal with dues for all beginners. Practice times and dates are in the upper right corner of this website.
• Fees are $15/quarter, and $25 for a bokken (practice sword). That means if you’re just starting out and have no equipment of your own, please bring along $40 cash or check made out to UWKC/UW Kendo Club.
• If you’re joining the club for the first time but have previous experience, please bring the $15 for dues and be ready to speak with our head Sensei about practicing in armor as appropriate for your experience level.
• Please be sure to fill out a waiver card. If you don’t receive one, ask an officer!
• For general questions, we have an extensive FAQ. Please refer to this to try and clear up any questions before contacting a club officer. (Officer contact info page)

For everyone else:

• This is a reminder that the UW Taikai is coming up soon, on April 13th at 9am.
• SIGNUPS ARE DUE MARCH 29TH, THIS FRIDAY!
• UWKC members will be expected to help set up the gym the night before (practice will be replaced by a fun how-to-make-your-own-shiai-jou session involving lots of blue tape, how to operate the tournament scoring system, carrying heavy things, and more!) and to be at the IMA when it opens Saturday morning.
• Remember, the taikai is free for UW members ONLY if you participate or have extenuating circumstances that you’ve explained to Sensei.

Hello UWKC and prospective members!

Practice will resume at the beginning of winter quarter on January 9th, and continue until March 15th. (This has been reflected in the info box to the upper right of the page)

Current members:

-You won’t need to fill out a new waiver card (they’re valid for the entire year).

-Please show up to at least one practice within the first two weeks so it’s easier to get you on the next round of attendance sheets.

-Don’t let your shinai gather dust! Find time to do some suburi over the break, or at least get some good physical activity in (calisthenics and plyometrics are great for your body and don’t require a gym).

New recruits:

-If you intend to join, please visit a practice by the second Friday of the quarter and be sure to sign the required waiver card. (Jan. 18 is the cutoff date)

-Starting cost is $40, cash or check. (15 for quarterly dues, 25 for a practice sword)

-Practices BEGIN at 7pm, so please have the courtesy to arrive at least 15 minutes prior to practice starting. This gives you time to buy things, which is important when there is a crowd of new people all trying to get the same things. This also makes it easier to like you.

-Please review the FAQ for general questions before asking us. We love to help, but we love it even more when you use the resources we took the time to create!

That’s all for now. Enjoy your break and Happy Holidays!

Join the UWKC for a night of fun, mingling, and costumes this Saturday the 27th at 7pm!

If you want full details, click here and sign up! Also, don’t forget that you can click the “Club Events” link to the left and be redirected to the most up-to-date event sign-up!

As the new webmaster, I’ve been working with Young and have made some improvements/changes to the website that I think you’ll appreciate.

• Main club photo updated! Yay!
• Officer page updated with the names, positions, and email of all the new officers for this year
• Random broken links/images/junk fixed or removed
• FAQ updated with the most recent information and equipment prices
• Fonts updated to be easier on the eyes, and because Arial is terribad
• NEW CONTENT! Quick links have been added to the main navigation bar so that if you missed any of our regular emails regarding upcoming taikais or social events (or don’t want the trouble of digging through your inbox), you can just go to the website, hit either the link for taikais or club events, and you’ll be directed to the google doc that is most relevant at the time!
• UPCOMING! Soon, I’ll be adding a page dedicated to equipment costs for the sake of making every clear, simple, and easily accessible.

Now, I have a task for you! A quick visit to the photos page reveals that we haven’t updated our collection of photos since 2009. If you want to help change this, please send a COMPRESSED (.zip, .rar, etc.) folder of photos that you’d like to see added to SHAWN STERN. My contact info is on the officer page. To make things easier, please submit the photos in folders separated by year, and numbered simply (01.jpg, 02.jpg, 55.jpg, etc. Easy enough!).

Also, if you think there’s content of some kind missing from the website, feel free to let me know. I’m happy to dig up useful content and create new pages if there’s demand for it.

That’s it for website stuff.
Thank you and good luck with the coming school week!