A week after the 2009 AKA National Convention in Rochester, MN, Complex is finally posting some of the notes about the convention and things he learned. Some of this is even making its way to the Kite Tips section. (more…)
Archive for the ‘Event News’ Category
2009 AKA National Convention Notes»»
Saturday, October 17th, 2009Midnight Squadron Wins Wildwood Team Rokkaku»»
Sunday, May 24th, 2009Complex reports via the Midnight Squadron Twitter feed:
rok battle-lost heat 1 but won rest.Wwoods champs!
Congrats to the Midnight Squadron team for winning team rokkaku at the Wildwood International Kite Festival! I’m sure Complex will give us the tip-by-tip when he gets online next.
Kite Aerial Photography at MIKE»»
Tuesday, April 28th, 2009Kite Aerial Photography (KAP) on Saturday did not work out. All conditions were absolutely perfect for great shots of the festival kites — but the shutter did not press properly, so no pictures.
I tried again Sunday morning and got some great pictures. Unfortunately there were no other kites out so early, but I got some great sunrise and strolling-on-the-boardwalk shots.
I’ve posted 15 of the best at
http://tinyurl.com/cggvhf
Thanks Joanne and Cindy for allowing me to hang a camera over their heads!
The Squadron at MIKE»»
Saturday, April 25th, 2009For news from the flying fields of MIKE, check out our Twitter Feed at:
http://twitter.com/midnightsquad
or for the more specific MIKE-only tweets
We should have an individual rokkaku contest tomorrow!.
Smithsonian Rokkaku Win»»
Saturday, March 28th, 2009Just a quick note — the Midnight Squadron team won a very tough Smithsonian Rokkaku Challenge!
The field was great, tough, and fierce. The weather was friendly to us — the ugly dampness soaked our line, protecting us from Harold Ames & Charlie Don’t Run’s skilled slicings, and the light wind was familiar from our usual low-wind Low-Down Dirty Kite Fights.
Iron Kite spooled and Complex piloted, while Kalika Chris coached. We lapped the field 3 times, and finished last in the air in the first and third heats.
More later!
MIKE/MASKC Updates»»
Monday, April 28th, 2008MIKE was a good bit of fun, and Complex won the individual Rok battle! Saw a lot of fantastic kites and learned some kite-making (and dyeing) tips.
Also, will start tracking kite combat scores from battles everywhere, so fighters can keep track of what’s going on in the comunity and their relative standings. I’m planning out the online systems now. In the meanwhile, you can view the scores from the 2008 MIKE individual rok battle, kindly provided by Mike van Meers.
Complex’s MIKE notes from the field:
- Team Rok, all Sun events cancelled. Colder, wet- fly away home. April 27, 2008 10:48 AM
- Very heavy winds, cold. Flew some. April 27, 2008 10:39 PM
- My night fly cut short by weird, silent, strobe lightening. April 26, 2008 10:45 PM
- Indie Rok battle: vs. big guys, friendly battle. Complex won! April 26, 2008 11:38 AM
- Rokkaku Combat (individual) at 12:30 pm! April 25, 2008 8:53 PM
Smithsonian Rok Battle 2008: Thunderdome»»
Saturday, March 29th, 2008The 2008 Smithsonian Kite Festival saw Complex and Kalika Chris flying and Bruce and Cheryl cheering, along with a host of Washingtonian co-workers. Thanks for coming out, guys!
The rokkaku battle was a beautiful melee of around 14 teams! That many teams left less than six feet between kites when we were setting up, and made it near impossible to avoid tangles in the air. It was a beautiful bar-fight of a battle. Sadly, it’s not a battle we won or placed in; the Midnight Squadron team couldn’t move beyond Thunderdome. We did earn two kills, however, and we were last up in the third heat.
A sudden-death heat had to decide the battle. The Smithsonian Associates lost to The Bike Shop, which was flying the “Fixed Gears” kite, one of the three black-and-white kites made by the same guy.
2007 Smithsonian: Surprising Victory!»»
Saturday, March 31st, 2007The Midnight Squadron Rokkaku team, Complex & Chris (Kalika), won this year’s Smithsonian Rokkaku Challenge!
Like last year, we faced a tough crowd: Harold Ames and his Eagle Eyes team, Charlie Don’t Run, the Rainbow Warriors, and others. We used the lessons they’ve taught us in the past and started cutting people down. We won with 23 points, followed by Charlie Don’t Run (20 points) and Eagle Eyes.
2006 Smithsonian Rokkaku Challenge»»
Saturday, March 25th, 2006Our Rokkaku fighting team, piloted by the club Commandant, Chrooke, tied for third place in a tough field!
We won the first heat, taking nine points for kills and being the last kite flying. We followed that up by going toe-to-toe with last year’s champion and master fighter, Harold Ames, in crowd-thrilling low-down dirty fighting. The wind picked up in the third heat, and the already-dangerous Rainbow Warrior became a deadly juggernaut with their eight-foot Shannon rokkaku. They cut us down and proceeded to tie for first and then quickly win the sudden-death contest! Charlie Don’t Run took second, and we tied for third with Team MIKE.
Your lowly scribe, Complex, was the spoolman for this year’s team, and so didn’t see enough of the battle — only the deft fighting technique of Commandant Cooke. We’ll be adding additional details and photos shortly. In the meanwhile, we’d like to thank the crowd for cheering us on!
