by Kristopher Inting photo credits: Darwin Fandino Flores, Monette M. Flores, Koji Igarashi,Dennis T. Navarro, Tamie Cabarrubias
December 12 & 13 was a weekend of celebration for IGA Kendo Club, as we held our Christmas Shiai (12th) & Christmas Party (13th) on those days! Both events were joint sessions between all IGA Ken dojo, with participants coming from Arena, City Club, Dasma, & UP Ken.
The Shiai was held in Treston International College, and featured competitors grouped into four divisions: No-Bogu (Beginners), Kids, Mudansha, & Yudansha.

No Bogu Class Winning Team: From L to R, Deffrey, Kavan, Benedict Joseph, Igarashi-Sensei, Christopher, Kristopher, Arby, Vlad, Claire, & Jerome
The winners of the No-Bogu Division were the members of the Red Team:
Kavan Lam
Benedict Joseph Sazon
Christopher Figueroa Esguerra
Arby Moay
Vlad Asuncion III
Deffrey Ledesma
Claire Pascua
Jerome Martin Bautista
The winners of the Kids Division were the members of the Red Team:
Taishi Ishida
The Yasuhiro Brothers
The following players in the Mudansha Division placed as:
3rd Place – Romaine Chester Banania
3rd Place – Edward Galura
2nd Place – Dennis Gaona
1st Place – Ian Cabonce
The following players in the Yudansha Division placed as:
3rd Place – Prince Mallari
3rd Place – Marc Yaptinchay
2nd Place – Kristopher Inting
1st Place – Nakagane Ryosuke
All in all it was great shiai, with all competitors showcasing their best Kendo for everyone to see.
Congratulations are also in order for Jerome Martin Bautista for being the only one who passed the bogu evaluation exam held that day.
The Christmas Party was held the next day in Makati, and it was a night filled with fun and food!
There was a Star Wars theme going, with the best in costume given various awards:
Johnny Besa – Best Bountry Hunter
Claire Pascua – Best Amidala Attendant
Benedict Joseph Sazon – Best Luke in Training
Gerard Gek Cagatan – Best Ewok
Awards were also given to our members who came in their best yukata:
Igarashi Junko
Mrs. Yasuhiro
Claire Pascua
Sugawara Shinmei
Congratulations to our Dating Game winners:
Nakagane Ryosuke & Denise Tee
Shiho Nagasue & Dane Pio de Roda
Dane Pio de Roda & Gerard Cagatan
We hope you enjoy your dates in Cafe Juanita!
As a final word, we would like to thank everyone for a wonderful 2015! See you in 2016, and let’s work for an even better year then!
For more pictures from the event, please click on this link.