Just this June, Rikki, 2-dan, marked 11 years since he began training his childhood dream sport – Kendo. When he was a kid, his interest in the sport was cultivated by frequently watching TV shows that showcased Japanese culture. As he grew up, he continued to become an enthusiast of both swords and the Japanese pop culture.

Born in a secret government facility. One of the youngest Filipina international supermodels. Jetted across the globe modeling for prestigious brands at 16. Outside the glitz and glamour, the statuesque Cebuana pursued varied interests such as taking culinary arts, overseeing their restaurant business, tending to an herb garden and doing martial arts training.

As a pilot episode of this campaign, let’s delve into the memories of Kristopher “Kutch” Inting, IGA Kendo Club’s Quezon City Dojo Manager and concurrent President of the United Kendo Federation of the Philippines.

No matter how much we like training, work and life in general sometimes gets in the way of that. Such is the case with one of our 1-dan yudansha members, Red Canoza. He’s been with IGA-Ken since 2010 but his appearances in training have been sporadic due to the nature of his job; he even has to work abroad for a long period of time.

Shinmei Sugawara, 3-dan, said Kendo looked challenging and she likes challenges. Thus she took up the sport in 2008 in Kawaguchi City Junior High and continued training in IGA Kendo Club in 2013 when they moved to the Philippines.