A St. Albert martial artist is getting set to perform on the world stage.
The youngest-ever Canadian kendo national champion, Shion Miyashita of the Sturgeon Kendo Club in St. Albert, will compete at the 19th World Kendo Championships on July 4-7, 2024, in Milan, Italy.
He earned his title last summer at the tender age of 20 when he placed first in the 2023 Canadian Kendo National Individual Championships. The San Dan-ranked (third-degree) Team Canada member reinforced his position as one of the country's top competitors when he triumphed at another large event, the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre Tournament in Toronto, just two months later.
Miyashita said the bamboo-sword-based martial art was never easy for him, and he has "definitely had ups and downs throughout my career; I recently just started being a reliable player."
With almost a decade of practising "the way of the sword," he said he is inspired and motivated by moments of sharing experiences of hard practice, losses, and wins with his team and coaches.
Kevin Dyck, Sturgeon Kendo's executive director, said he is proud of his dojo's head instructor.
"Shion led our dojo to multiple team titles at provincials and prairie championships, as well as produced several individual championships, including the kendo national junior champion, Rayden Sun."
Miyashita said winning fuels his motivation. When he first saw a kendo demonstration in junior high school and witnessed how strong and brave the competitors looked, he was instantly hooked. So, when he finally made it to the national team, he was more than thrilled.
"It was definitely a mixed feeling," he said. "There was a great amount of happiness and joy, but also the realization that the real journey starts now."
This year's World Kendo Championships are especially anticipated, as they are three years overdue because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Held in the Mediolanum Forum in Assago, Milan, one of Europe's largest arenas, the tournament starts with the Women's Individual Championship, followed by the Women's Team Championship (preliminary heat).
Miyashita will compete in both the individual and men's team categories, starting with the preliminary heat of the Men's Team Championships preliminary heat (which eliminates about half the teams) and then the Men's Individual Championships on July 6. Finally, based on the results, the championship heat of the men's team will decide the winners on July 7.
"This is my first time going, so I am excited about the experience," Miyashita said. "But I mostly get to challenge myself against the world."
While preparing for tournaments, Miyashita watches videos of his previous tournaments and records himself when practising. He does this to see how he moves so he can study himself and see where he can improve.
Amidst his travelling to training camps and tournaments, he said he is settling in well and has learned to adapt, although he misses home and can't wait to return to training with his dojo members.
Team Canada head coach Dean Ara Sensei previously coached Team Canada at the 14th and 17th World Kendo Championships and will be coaching the national team again this year.
He recalls first meeting Shion at Team Canada recruitment open practice in 2019.
"He was still young and inexperienced, but he had potential and was willing to learn," Ara said. "I saw that he wanted to improve and made the effort to change; he is my most coachable player."
Ara, who has competed at three world championships himself, said his job is to "create a trusted coach-player relationship with the player's optimal performance."
"If we can do our best and play to our capabilities, the sky is the limit," Ara said. "We have the team and chemistry to go far."
