Welcome back to our returning members and a warm welcome to all our new members! Thank you to everyone who made it to our first practice of the year! The school year is ramping up and so is McGill Naginata. While the weather is still suitable, we will be holding practice outdoors at Jeanne-Mance park on the field across the street from the statue on:
Wednesdays: 5-7pm
Saturdays: 3-5pm
Please note that Covid-19 precautions are in effect; masks and vaccine passports are required at practice. Stay tuned for more information on the announcement of indoor practices and upcoming events!
Most unfortunately, we will not be holding open practices, official practices, and fun events like Shinjin Taikai and the much anticipated CNF seminar and taikai this Fall 2020 semester.
Fear not though, for we are all still here! For advanced naginata enthusiasts, for beginners who are hoping to join the club, and even for those who are still unsure of what this all is still, we are running online sessions every Wednesday evening from 6-8pm EST.
These are virtual events we organized for you to see what practicing naginata is like and to learn about the culture behind this wonderful martial art. Not only that, it’s a great opportunity to meet and chat with the wonderful people that make up our club.
September 23 Session – ft. Frank & Julia
Come on out, take a break from your video lectures (or jobs), and hang out with us. We look forward to seeing you all!
What an eventful year it has been! As we prepare to open up a new semester, let’s do a quick recap on what McGill Naginata has been up to this past year.
Smiles bright with anticipation for new beginnings
Winding down from World’s, we continued to train hard, welcomed new beginners, and held our Fall 2019 Shinjin Taikai. It’s as always, a lovely way for our kouhais (junior members) to demonstrate the fruits of their training.
Shinjin Taikai Scoresheet
In October, our members helped organize the second Martial Arts Day at McGill. It was amazing to see so many students come out to give everything a try. Additionally, we were joined by McGill Aikido, McGill Kendo Club, and the McGill Jukendo and Tankendo club. Each club was able to showcase their art at the end and what an amazing demo it was. Overall, it was a very successful day and we hope that this event further bolstered their interest and awareness of the martial arts.
Martial Arts Day
Coming up was the annual CNF seminar and taikai. It was held in Toronto so we had the pleasure of taking a road trip there. What’s a better way for everyone to bond than a four hour car ride with good snacks, good music, and most importantly, great company?
100% photo ready?
A viewing of some Yudansha players from across Canada
McGill Blue places 3rd!
McGill takes CNF 2019
CNF 2019
It’s so exciting to see the development of the Canadian Naginata community. From all the memorable fights we witnessed, CNF’s high caliber is clear for all to see. We observed over 60 competitors this year, each and every one displaying amazing talent and potential. CNF will always be something to look forward to every year.
Denny’s – another end to CNF
We opened up 2020 with yet another Shinjin Taikai. As it’s stipulated that kouhai can only compete if they have been in bogu for three semesters or less, we’ll need to start prepping our new kouhai for bogu otherwise we won’t have enough competitors for the next Shinjin Taikai!
Winter Shinjin Taikai Results
Behold. Your Shinpan
In February, Rachel Hahn-Morris, President of the British Naginata Association and chief instructor of the London Naginata Dojo came to visit us. Although it was only one practice, our members surely learned a lot from her in bogu practice and jigeiko.
Please come visit again, Rachel (front, center)!
Soon after came the notorious gasshuku (training camp). What’s notable is that it was our first ever gasshuku away from Montreal and the McGill gym. This has been a long term goal of our’s to make this happen and we have the efforts of our dedicated exec team to thank for making an away gasshuku come to fruition. Eating, sleeping, and training hard together was truly an experience that we’ll never forget. To top that off, the Red Barn had no showers, truly an unprecedented ordeal for McGill Naginata. That being said, the smell of our sweat (and tears) is essential to a true gasshuku experience.
Hello Red Barn, we have arrived.
Our Dojo for the weekend
First meal
Engi with Frank (left) and Jay (right)
Practice in Pajamas
Take notes! A how-to manual when there’s no laundry machine
McGill’s finest
Souvenirs de GasshukuA group photo before it begins, when we’re all still as fresh as daisiesShe said, “show your personalities guys!” – Mei (far left) foreshadows our near futures
Thankfully, there’s exactly one week between gasshuku and the 2nd annual Winter Classic Taikai – the optimal recovery time for the optimal level of success, n’est ce pas? The thing that makes these taikais something to anticipate is seeing our friends from Toronto and Edmonton. It was a full day of shiai which was incredibly rewarding to see and be a part of.
Winter Classic participants. We missed you Edmonton!
Lastly, we would like to bid farewell to William Choi, our beloved first captain of the McGill Naginata Club. He was also one of the first ever members to join the club and has since, dedicated his utmost efforts in making invaluable contributions to not only the McGill club, but to Team Canada as well at World’s. We wish him the best of luck on his future endeavours and hope to see him again!
As everyone knows, the year was abruptly cut short when the pandemic hit Canada and all facilities closed down to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. However, we remain optimistic that we can continue our practice in a safe way as we prepare for the opening of a new semester. McGill Naginata will be back in action soon, so until then!
On the 5th & 6th of July, in Wiesbaden, Germany, members of the McGill Naginata Club had the opportunity to represent Canada and compete in the World Naginata Championship and the World Goodwill tournament.
Team Canada after the World’s tournament
Team Canada got the following results:
Zen Nihon Kata
Marija Landekic & Antoine fromentin
Top 10
Men Engi
Andrew Boyd & Jordan Macklem
4th Place
Women Team Shiai
Marija Landekic, Lutan Liu, Mary Phan
2nd Place
Women Individual Shiai
Marija Landekic
Top 8
Men Individual Shiai (Goodwill)
William Choi
Top 8
Men Individual Shiai (Goodwill)
Kevin Hallé
Top 8
Women Individual Shiai (Goodwill)
Julia Luo
4th place
Simon Bruins also competed in the goodwill tournament for the Dutch team
The Seminar
After the tournaments was a 3-days Naginata seminar followed by a grading where all the attendants could practice with people from various countries.
Congratulation to Marija Landekic who successfully graded for yondan.
The Germany trip
Beyond the tournament and the seminar this was a fun and exciting trip for everyone who attended.
It’s that time of year again: holidays are coming up, meaning finals seasons for students, and more importantly, we’re approaching the last couple of practices before we break for the New Year. This semester saw many new members join the club and a growing group of us representing McGill at the CNF tournament. Here’s to more people learning about Naginata and growing the club!
Looking forward to seeing everyone at the end of semester party at Simon’s place this Saturday Dec 2 after practice!
Wow, it was our most eventful season thus far! We had our first Gasshuku and were whipped into shape, attended and competed in the JSS Seminar & Yamauchi Memorial Tournament in the States, and held two gradings.
Thank you to the JSS for hosting the seminar and tournament, to the visiting sensei for coaching us all. We learned much, and had a wonderful time meeting and practicing with everyone. Special thanks to Ellery-sensei for hosting us at his home, it held an impressive number of people.
Great job Kevin and Will for bringing back second in Dangai Engi!
Finally, congratulations to everyone who graded these past couple of months, so happy to see us improve and grow as a club
Autumn has come and with it the last of this year’s Naginata events!
Oct 8-9, ECNF Seminar – East-Coast Naginata Federation (US Naginata Federation) is hosting a seminar in Alexandria, Virginia on Oct 8-9th, 2016. If you wish to attend, speak to Simon or Marija soon. This seminar is always on Thanksgiving weekend so the CNF often participates. Car pooling is an option.
Oct 15-16, CNF Seminar and Taikai – Canadian Naginata Federation seminar and tournament. The most important event of the year for the Naginata community in Canada! Our annual seminar with sensei from around the world, national championship tournament, and grading up to 2dan (tentative) this year. Talk to Simon or Marija for more details.
Oct 28- Nov 1 ENF Championships and Seminar– European Naginata Federation Championships. Hosted in Brussels this year. Keep an eye out for videos and results!
Event Trailer: https://youtu.be/QuWQ88gU8rY
Nov 19-20th, RMNF Seminar, Indiana – Rocky Mountain Naginata Federation (US Naginata Federation) is hosting a seminar in Batesville, Indiana on Nov 19-20th with Takami Tanner-sensei! If you wish to attend, speak to Simon or Marija. The CNF often participates, so car pooling is an option.
Dec 3-4th, AJNF Taikai – All Japan Naginata Federation Tournament. The #1 viewing event of the Naginata calendar, if you watch no other tournament, this is the one to pay attention to! Whether streamed live or posted on youtube, videos are usually available thanks to the hard work of the foreign Naginata community living in Japan. A guide to the event may be published by the Canadian community, owning to the success of last year’s guide.
The MNC is now well into it’s first semester, so plans for the end-of-semester practice are well under way. The 3rd week in April will be our final practice of the Winter semester (officially). However, that doesn’t mean practice stops! We have now secured our bookings for the summer semester so please check the times and dates listed.
Note that we’ll have two practices in the Studio instead of the Aerobics room (May 14th, and June 22nd), but that all other practices will now be in the Aerobics room itself. And thank goodness we’re not going to be in the fiery hell of Gym 2 during the summer…
Practice days have changed from Tuesdays to Wednesdays, and as the gym closes at 9pm, practice will finish at 8:30pm during the summer, which means (!!!) more time for beers! 😉
Saturdays will continue as usual.
Stay tuned for news of outdoor practices at times/days in addition to normal practice too 😀
After a semester of intensive negotiation with SSMU and the McGill Athletic Centre, I am happy to announce that practices will be held in the gym this semester!
The beginner’s course will start on January 9th (Saturday). All students interested in trying Naginata are welcome! All you need to start are clothes that you can move in comfortably. Equipment will be provided where necessary.
Introductory Classes:
January 9th, 1pm-3pm
January 12th, 8:30-10:30pm
(If you can not attend one of the intro classes, but would still like to join us this semester, please contact mcgillnaginata@gmail.com)
