Ohnominami Middle School Take this virtual tour to see what it's like to spend a day with us Step Inside Experience a typical school day with the students of class 2-6. You can even join them for lunch! You'll also be introduced to some of the many clubs students are involved in, such as the guitar club and the kendo club. => Morning Classes => Afternoon Classes Even in a cold gymnasium, practicing kendo warms the students' hearts. Club Activities Kendo Club The kendo club's 16 members are all boys. The captain is second-year student Teruyuki Fukushima, who has been doing kendo (Japanese fencing) since his first year at elementary school. He and the other members have changed into kendo gear and are in the gym enthusiastically practicing uchikomi cutting strokes with shinai, the bamboo swords used in kendo. In principle the club practices every day from Monday to Saturday. Teruyuki explains: "On Tuesdays and Saturdays, when we can use the gym, we practice mainly uchikomi. On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays we do basic fitness training, running on the sports ground." He jokes that "Sometimes we get mistaken for the athletics club. Teruyuki continues: "Unlike soccer, in kendo you're not running around all the time. But still, when you do move you move in sudden bursts. That needs fitness. And because training is tough, when you win a bout you really feel thrilled." Thanks to their rigorous practice, this year the club team came third in the city championships and also in championships for the northern part of Kanagawa Prefecture. Members of the guitar club play a Spanish tune. Guitar Club The beautiful strains of guitar music being played by the school's Guitar Club can be heard coming from the music room almost every day after school is over. The president of the club, Maho Kanazawa, starts the practice session: "We're doing Spanish today, so everyone sit in your positions, please," she announces. The four boys and 13 girls sit down in a semicircle. They tune their classic guitars--eight kinds, chosen according to each member's preference or size: soprano, alto, alto-cembalo, contrabass, and four others. When the instruments are tuned, they begin playing in perfect time. Even though hardly any of the members had touched a guitar before joining the club, they claim that the patient guidance of the more senior members resulted in rapid improvements in their skills. Second year students currently form the mainstay of the club, which has a repertoire of over 20 pieces. It is a distinguished club, having won the Grand Prize at the 2000 All Japan Students Guitar Concours. Maho waxed enthusiastic about the attractions of the Guitar Club: "The great thing is, we can all have fun playing together."