全国大会二冠！2年生主体のチーム 大和中学校女子剣道部【佐賀県】 (24/01/24 18:19)

In this installment of our "Kachi Sports" series, we introduce the Yamato Junior High School Girls' Kendo Club in Saga City. At the All-Japan Junior High School Athletic Meet in August last year, despite being a team primarily made up of second-year students and lacking any third-year players, they defeated one strong opponent after another to win the championship. They also won the national tournament in December, continuing their impressive progress. They persistently attack any opponent. Without players from their senior year, the team won the All-Japan Junior High School Championships in the summer and again this winter, achieving a double crown in junior high school kendo. [Yamato Junior High School 2nd Year Captain, Narahashi Mikan] "Yamato's 'offensive' kendo was incredibly effective." [Yamato Junior High School 2nd Year Vice-Captain, Hatase Ayaka] "I was happy that we won." [Yamato Junior High School 2nd Year Vanguard, Tachibana Miyu] "I felt a sense of accomplishment precisely because I have overcome the tough training I normally go through." Yamato Junior High School Girls' Kendo Club. Currently, the team consists of five second-year students and three first-year students. They have won the National Junior High School Kendo Tournament, the highest level tournament for junior high school students, and the Wakawashi-ki Kendo Tournament, also known as the Winter All-Japan Junior High School Championship. Their impressive run is supported by an aggressive style and teamwork. [Yamato Junior High School Girls' Kendo Club Coach Koide Toru] "I think our determination to take on challenges led to these amazing results." In fact, seven of the eight team members are from Seiryukan, a boys' kendo club in Yamato Town! They have been practicing together for around eight years, building unwavering teamwork. Coach Kazunori Aikawa of Seiryukan, who was instructing the team members... [Seiryuukan Coach Kazunori Aikawa] "This is probably the first time in Saga that a team of first- and second-year junior high school students has won the national championship. Even though it's girls... even with boys, we've always made 'Narahashi' the captain. If we can keep it up until the end, she'll do anything." In the team competition, which consists of five players, the team's mainstay is captain Mikan Narahashi, 14 years old. Her greatest weapon is her men, a technique that makes the most of her height of 165 cm, which is tall for a girl. [Yamato Junior High School, Captain Mikan Narahashi] "Her variety of men strikes and the speed with which she can move from her stance to the men are unmatched." This is footage from last August's National Junior High School Kendo Tournament. Even in the semifinals, where the score was tied...men! And in the final, the match went into overtime, a representative match... and finally...men! In every big match, she always scored an ippon with her men, leading her team to victory. [Yamato Junior High School, 2nd Year, Vanguard, Tachibana Miyu] "When we tried our best but just couldn't get an ippon, she'd say, 'I'm sorry, please help me,' like the 'absolute captain.'" [Yamato Junior High School, 2nd Year, Captain, Narahashi Mikan] "Rather than feeling pressured, we all worked hard with the mindset of challengers, determined to do our best next time, so I was happy." "I'm going for a run! After club activities." Q: Do you run after activities? "Yes! I'll run about 3 kilometers." The stamina essential for their tenacious attacking style is cultivated through running. Narahashi's call for it has made it a daily tradition. [Yamato Junior High School, 2nd Year Captain, Narahashi Mikan] "In representative matches or overtime...it really pays off in that final move." Q. Are there times when you don't feel like running? [Yamato Junior High School, 2nd Year Vice Captain, Hatase Ayaha] "Yes (laughs)." Q. Are you a Spartan, Narahashi? "A little (laughs)" "Haha." Narahashi is surprisingly stoic for a junior high school student, and he continues practicing even at home. Under the guidance of his father, Ken, a 4th-dan kendo player with 16 years of experience, he is honing his signature technique, the "shinai osamen" (bamboo sword holding men). [Father, Ken] "I press down firmly on just the width of the shinai from above, creating a situation where the opponent can't move, and then I strike. I practice moving my right hand down to the millimeter." He holds down the opponent's shinai and strikes the men with the shortest distance. He sharpens his senses by repeatedly taking photos with his smartphone and checking his form. [Yamato Junior High School Captain, Narahashi Mikan] "When someone says, 'That was a good hit,' that makes me feel like practice is the best. We practice so we can win at crucial moments in the game, so it's fun when we can put that to good use." This will be the last year that the team will be able to compete with members who have been with us ...