Tetsu Bonsai
Contents
Tetsu Bonsai, Freehold
A defunct Freehold of the Burning Lands, located in Tampa, FL.
Heraldry
A chapter formerly associated with the Sakura Moon Empire. As of February 2008 granted Freehold Status.
History
Tetsu Bonzai has its roots in the original group started by Jared (of Sakura Moon Empire), which was then known as Red Dawn. Originally, the home park was in Temple Terrace, at Lettuce Lake Park. The group then relocated to Al Lopez park, and finally settled into it's current home at Lowry Park under the name Sosei Bonzai, meaning "New Tree Branch". After a recruiting blitz centered around a local anime convention, the group's attendance skyrocketed to numbers as high as the sixties on occasion, with an average of around thirty regular players. The park gained a reputation as the crown jewel of the SMS, and retired from the shogunate with an undefeated record in clan warfare. The focus is on combat, and the fighting style is reminiscent of many real-world weapon styles. The park was host to the largest event in SMS history, a feast which was held in September of 2007 that had over 100 players from 5 clans in attendance. The park's fighters have traveled to Orlando on two separate occasions for raids, and has won both times. The pinnacle of the clan's fighting history came when 33 of their fighters defeated an army of 55 in the first raid on Orlando's Red Mangetsu, Azure Gengetsu, Jacksonville's Akaya Hayashi, and West Palm's Satsubatsu Gumi. In January of 2008, frustrations with the leadership of Sakura Moon reached a boiling point, and the park decided to leave the shogunate and petition Amtgard for status as a freehold.
The park's current name, Tetsu Bonzai, means "Tree Branch of Iron", in reference to their "ironclad" fighting skills. The "incorrect" spelling of Bonsai is actually a play on words between the Japanese word for tree and the Japanese battle cry.
For the forseeable future, this park is no longer active. It's spirit will live on in the hearts of the Shire of Red Dawn, which has relocated to Lowry Park, and hopes to carry on what Tetsu Bonsai stood for.
Officers
- Monarch- Toshiro Mifune (Kyle Hankins)
- Prime Minister- Mifune Tamakins of the Azure Wind (Vaughn Wassmer)
- Champion- Zooma (Peter Marotta)
- The Park Druid- A nice, older, gentleman that does not actually participate in Amtgard but does enjoy watching us play. Currently we are trying to get him a rulebook so that he can understand better the actual gameplay. He also has a Kitty with six toes on both of his front paws!
Contacts and Directions
(This chapter no longer meets and is now defunct.)
Location:
Lowry Park 7530 North Blvd Tampa, FL 33604
Sunday from 12:00 P.M. til dark.
Recent Changes
sosei bonzai has changed to tetsu bonzai as of 2012 and began playing wots
