This past weekend, UCLA Kendo welcomed schools from all over California for the 2017 Yuhihai Tournament. There were five unique competitive divisions, Non-Bogu, Kyu, Dan, Women's, and Goodwill, and the Bruins held their own in each. In Non-Bogu, UCLA placed two teams in the top three as they finished second and third, respectively. And in the Goodwill category, the Bruins finished third.

Coach Nathan Makino had a positive outlook based off of these weekend's results as he saw three key areas where his team was strong.

"I believe that our teamwork, effective practice and consistent coaching were a key to our success this weekend," said Makino.

Going forward, however, Coach Makino also sees areas in which improvements can be made from all of his teams.

"I believe that our team needs more bravery and ambition to keep improving. We need more discipline to give 100% effort at every opportunity," said Makino.

As an entire team, the UCLA Kendo women stood out as they finished as the overall winners of the tournament followed by UCSB and Cal. The Bruins Co-Ed team very nearly matched their teammates, but were upended by one point in the semi-final by the eventual winners UC Irvine. UCLA Co-Ed proceeded to rebound as they recovered in the third-place match to secure a bronze finish.  

Makino also wanted to point out star performances from Jenny Chim and Amanda Hua who were integral in leading the women's team towards a first place finish.

"Both Jenny and Amanda started Kendo at UCLA as freshmen, and diligently stuck to our effective training regimen," said Makino. "Additionally, they took on leadership roles in the club and persistently accepted challenges put forth by the coaching team. All the prep work has developed their confidence, which in turn, produced results."