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The history of the Mitsune Dojo Sensei goes back three generations beginning with the biography of Sone Tetsunosuke.  Pictured on the right are Masao, Mike (chief instructor and Vice President Hawaii Kendo Federation) and Tetsunosuke Sone.  Born January 13, 1883, in Niigata prefecture, Sone Tetsunosuke was educated through high school at a private school for boys of samurai heritage.  He received training in Kendo, Judo and Kyudo. After graduating from high school, he learned from Takano Sensei that the Tokyo Metropolitan Police department was seeking young educated men with good kendo.  

Arriving in Tokyo in 1901, he began his police training. with many expert kendoists added a new dimension to his earlier training under Takano Sasaburo.  These experts included Sensei Naito Takaharu and Mochida Moriji (portrait on the right), who became one of Kendo’s earliest Hanshi Judan.  Naito Takaharu Dai Nippon Butokukai shihan and Mochida shared the Hokushin Itto Ryu style and passed it along to Sone.   In later years, hearing of Mochida’s accomplishments Sone said, “I’m not surprised that he made Judan, he was about the best at the police dojo.  I remember that he held his hands a little lower than normal in chudan, it made him look weak to me so I would attack and attack. I remember, Mochida was very difficult to hit and Naito seemed to have eyes in the back of his head and could hear our mistakes.  Naito's and Mochida's kiri otoshi and oroshi are key techniques that I learned from them as well as the goal of Fudo shin and the secret of Naito's umbrella."  Sone also relates, one day at keiko Naito sensei entered and in his hands he held a telegram and read it, “Find truth through Kendo”, signed Emperor Meiji.  Naito sensei left the police dojo and closed his dojos without saying much more.  From then on Moriji Mochida conducted keiko and sharing  his special insights into kendo training and techniques.    Takano, Naito and Mochida are the three roots of Mitune dojo.  

Sone went to Maui to start in 1907 the  Spreckelsville Japanese language school  which also kept  Kendo and judo in the curriculum.  During the 1930’s, Gordon Warner, a Maui high school teacher and the author of the book, This is Kendo, joined the club. He was big and tall and did good kendo. His favorite practice was Jodan waza with Sone’s first son, Masao.  (Sone was surprised that he had continued kendo even after losing his leg in WWII.)   The 1937 group photo of the Maui chapter of the Butokukai Kendo Dojo headed by  Sone is pictured with Mori Torao who had competed in fencing at the Pan Am Games.  Mori commented, "The Kendo of the renshi on Maui was as good as any where in Japan."  The many techniques of Mochida and Naito Takaharu are still practiced today at the Mitsune Dojo.   On the right the Sone family warmly invites you to share in Kendo with us at Mitsune Dojo. 
 

"The Past is Important, Even the Greatest Ships in the Ocean Navigate into the Future with a Rudder that is in the Past"
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Tetsunosuke's
Order of the Sacred
Treasure
Fundament Techniques Using Bokuto
Below is a video of the kihon kata once taught to youth in their early kendo education.
These techniques were stressed early in the the youth's training to ensure good form would develop.
The once common chuto or middle sized bokuto has become very rare today because the use of these kata have become used less often for children.
The founding sensei used these kata as a child in the 1880s and brought them to Maui with him where they were practiced and enjoyed. 
1, Ippon uchi no waza,
    one step technique
Men
Kote
Do
Tsuki

2, Nidan waza,
    two step technique
Kote-Men

3, Harai waza
    slapping away
Harai-Men

4.Tsuba zeriai
   cross swords
   Hiki waza
   stepping back
Men-Tsuba-Zeriai-Hiki Do


5.Nuki waza
   dodging technique
Men-Nuki-Do

6. Suriage waza,
    sliding sword technique
Kote-Suriage-Men

7. Debana,
    acting on insight 
Debana Kote

8. Kaeshi waza
reflecting back technique
Men-Kaeshi-Do

9, Uchi otoshi
striking down technique
Do-Uchi otoshi-Men