Melbourne University Kendo Club

Our 2026 Beginners Cohort has graduated! 👩🏻‍🎓💐

Last Thursday we celebrated the achievements of our newest generation of kendoka as they completed the beginners course. They’ve come so far in just a few months, and the journey is just beginning!

Thank you to our amazing instructors Julie and Kai, for guiding our beginners every step of the way - here’s to more growth and training ahead!

Our beginners wore dou and tare for the first time this week. Congrats on unlocking your first kendo milestone! 👏🏻

We were proud to host the MUKEN Taikai 2026 over the weekend as part of the Beyond Blue Mental Health Match, welcoming 100+ participants from 9 clubs across Victoria.

A heartfelt thank you to everyone who competed, supported, and volunteered - your contributions made the day such a success. We hope you left with memorable experiences, new learnings, and meaningful connections.

Kendo teaches us discipline, resilience, and perseverance, but strength also means knowing when to rest, when to reach out, and when to accept help.

This year, we were proud to fundraise for Beyond Blue, with every dollar from registrations going towards supporting mental health and wellbeing across Australia. Together, we raised over $1,400 for this important cause. Thank you for helping us support a cause that affects so many 💙

The 2026 MUKEN Taikai results are as follows:

Junior Kyu Division (Ungraded-4 Kyu)

🥇 First Place: Tomas Pastore (RMIT)
🥈 Second Place: Leslie Son (MUKEN)
🥉 Equal Third: Baron Hsiao (Mumeishi) & Ethan Tran (Monash)

Senior Kyu Division (3-1 Kyu)

🥇 First Place: Nathan Tran (MUKEN)
🥈 Second Place: Leslie Son (MUKEN)
🥉 Equal Third: Man Ho Chen (Monash) & Tommy Dinh (MUKEN)

Junior Dan Division (1-2 Dan)

🥇 First Place: Michael Douch (VUKC)
🥈 Second Place: Thang Nguyen (MUKEN)
🥉 Equal Third: Andrew Duque (VUKC) & Sandra Chen (MUKEN)

Senior Dan Division (3-4 Dan)

🥇 First Place: Thang Nguyen (MUKEN)
🥈 Second Place: Josh Wildey (Monash)
🥉 Equal Third: James O’Neill (MUKEN) & Takuto Kabata (RMIT)

Women’s Open Division

🥇 First Place: Koume Saegusa (MUKEN)
🥈 Second Place: May Chung (MUKEN)
🥉 Equal Third: Jana Laya (Kenshikan) & Tian Zhang (MUKEN)

Fighting Spirit Awards

🏅 Campbell Waters (RMIT)
🏅 Jana Laya (Kenshikan)
🏅 May Chung (MUKEN)
🏅 Cheryl Low (MUKEN)
🏅 Johnny Nguyen (RMIT)

Best Shinpan Award

🎖️ Jeffrey Khor (MUKEN)

Registrations open now for MUKEN Taikai 2026 - don’t miss out 🔥

This year, MUKEN will be participating in the Mental Health Match for Beyond Blue to support the 1 in 4 young Australians who will experience a mental condition in any year.

All registrations collected will be donated to this great cause. Anyone who is unable to attend but would like to donate can do so via this link: https://www.mentalhealthmatch.com.au/muken

🗓️ Date: Sunday 10 May 2026
🕒 Time: 9am-5pm
📍 Venue: East Stadium, Nona Lee Sports Centre, 103 Tin Alley, Parkville VIC 3010
🎟️ Cost: $15 per competitor (all registration fees go to Beyond Blue)

Competition format will be mixed individual knock-out, with the winner and runner up of each division progressing to the next division. There will be six divisions:

1️⃣Junior Kyu (Ungraded - 3 Kyu)
2️⃣Senior Kyu (2 Kyu - 1 Kyu)
3️⃣Junior Dan (1 Dan - 2 Dan)
4️⃣Senior Dan (3 Dan - 4 Dan)
5️⃣Sensei East vs West Enbu (5 Dan+)
6️⃣Womens Open (Ungraded - 4 Dan)

(Please note: Junior and Senior Kyu/Dan divisions are open to all genders. We are introducing a new division this year - womens open which is open to all kyu and dan women up to 4th Dan. Women have the choice to compete in their grade divisions AND/OR women’s open)

📮Register with your club now so you don’t miss out. We hope to see you there!

Australian Kendo Championships 2026

Over the past weekend, 10 MUKEN members proudly represented Victoria at the 48th Australian Kendo Championships on the Gold Coast.

It was an incredible opportunity to compete at the national level and we’re so proud to have been part of such a prestigious event - standing alongside so many talented kendoka from across the country.

A huge thank you to the VIC squad and coaching team for your unwavering guidance and support over the past 7 months. We’re also deeply grateful to the officials, volunteers, shinpan, and supporters who made this event possible.

Representing Team Victoria, MUKEN members contributed to the following results:

Men’s Kyu Individuals
🥉Equal Third: Nolan Le

Men’s Kyu Teams
🥇First Place: Nathan Tran, Nolan Le, Xian Huang, Shinji Sugimoto

Men’s Dan Teams
🥈Second Place: Takeshi Hartono, Thang Nguyen

Congratulations also to Son Nguyen sensei for achieving 5th Dan at the AKR National Dan Grading 👏🏻

Got questions about our Kendo Beginners Course? 👀

We’ve answered some of the most frequently asked ones here. If you have other questions, feel free to DM us 📲

‼️Registration for the 2026 Beginners Course is officially open‼️

Register by Sunday 22 March to secure your spot now!

📣 Keen to try Kendo? 📣

Our 2026 Kendo Beginners Course will commence on 2nd March with the first two weeks being 💥FREE TRIALS💥 so invite your friends along! 🤩

During the course, you’ll be taught the basics of Kendo including etiquette and fundamental techniques. No prior experience is required! In the free trials, we will provide you with a shinai (bamboo sword) to be used during training ✊🏻

Simply rock up in sports attire and turn up at least 15 minutes early to get ready!

📍Location:

East/West Stadium, Nona Lee Sports Centre, The University of Melbourne

🗓️ Dates:

1️⃣ Monday 2 March 5:30pm - 7:30pm
2️⃣ Thursday 5 March 5:00pm - 6:30pm
3️⃣ Monday 9 March 5:30pm - 7:30pm
4️⃣ Thursday 12 March 5:00pm - 6:30pm

🍻 Join us for Pub Night @ The Clyde on Monday 2nd March after training!

See you there 🫵🏻

👐🏻 Join us on CLUBS DAY 2026! 👐🏻

Curious about Kendo, the art of Japanese swordsmanship? 🇯🇵 Come visit the MUKEN booth on Clubs Day at the University of Melbourne to learn more about this martial art and how you can join! 💫

🗓️ Mon 23 Feb, 2026
🕚 11am-3pm (Demo at 12:45pm)
📍 Market Hall (Ground floor, Stall 34), The University of Melbourne Parkville Campus

Why visit?
✅ Live Kendo demonstrations
✅ Info on beginners course 2026 (and free trials!)
✅ Meet our friendly members
✅ Try out some basic moves!

Come drop by and say hi 👋🏻

Throwback to Gwangju trip part 2✨

‼️Last day to register for Victoria-Gwangju Exchange Seminar‼️

Throwback to our 2025 Gwangju kendo exchange trip 💫 can’t believe it’s already been 5 months!

📢 Remember to register for the upcoming Victoria-Gwangju Exchange Kendo Seminar before it’s too late!