Delegation Abroad 2001
Delegation to Eastern and Northern Europe
Delegation in Poland
Delegation in Sweden
An AJKF delegation consisting of 6 Kendo and Iaido instructors visited
Poland, Hungary, Sweden and Ireland in December 2001. The instructors were
Mr. Y. Furuta, Kendo Hanshi 8 dan,
Mr. K. Endo, Kendo Kyoshi 8 dan,
Mr. M. Makita, Kendo Kyoshi 8 dan,
Mr. N. Ueki, Iaido Kyoshi 8 dan, Kendo Kyoshi 7 dan,
Mr. H. Shioiri, Kendo Kyoshi 7 dan,
Mr. M. Kawano, Kendo Kyoshi 7 dan.
Poland
Kendo seminar was held in Warsaw in the morning and in the afternoon of
December 2. 70 people including 30 beginners participated. Iaido seminar was also held and 10 people participated. The instructors showed Kendo Kata performance and also gave instructions
on Kata and Jitsugi. In the afternoon session, there was TV crew to film the performance and
more than 80 spectators enjoyed it. On December 3, the delegation visited the Japanese Embassy and had pleasant
talk with the ambassador.
And the delegation moved to Loaz next day and had a seminar in the evening. 60 people participated in the Kendo seminar and 7 people participated in
the Iaido seminar.
Hungary
On December 5, Kendo seminar was held in Budapest and 60 people practiced
the basics and Shido-Geiko for two hours. Iaido seminar was held in the evening of the following day and 26 people
participated. The delegation moved to another city and had a Kendo and Iaido seminar. The level of the participants especially the children was quite high and
it surprised the instructors. And the domestic Kendo tournament among Kendo clubs in Hungary was held
on December 8. The instructors performed Kendo Kata and Iaido. All participants including the Hungarian national team members were excellent
and the matches were all close.
Sweden
The delegation arrived in Stockholm on December 9. As the event for 100th anniversary of the Nobel Prize establishment was held there on the following
day, the security guard around the airport and in the city was tightened. 32 people participated in the Kendo seminar and 8 people participated in
the Iaido seminar on December 10. On the following day, some more people participated and they practiced
Kendo and Iaido.
Ireland
In Ireland, the delegation visited Cork and had a Kendo seminar. 30 people including some people from France and Great Britain participated
and practiced on December 14, 15 and 16. After the seminar on 16, EKF Dan examinations up to 5-Dan were held.
**This visit was supported by The Japan Foundation.
AJKD Delegation to European Iaido Championship
The 8th European Iaido Championship was held in Brussels on November 3 and 4 2001. There was a Iaido seminar before the Championship. The seminar was held for 2 days. The three instructors from AJKF gave some explanation on the newly added
AJKF Iai 2-hon and gave instructions to the participants during the Jitsugi
session.
The instructors were
Mr. Chihiro Kishimoto Iaido Hanshi 8-dan
Mr. Yoshihiro Hattori Iaido Koshi 8-dan
Mr. Tadayuki Miyata Iaido Kyoshi 8-dan.
100 participants including 30 females were divided into 3 group and practiced
hard during the 2-day seminar. At the end of the second day of the seminar, the participants performed
and showed the result of what they learned in the presence of the guests
and the audience.
On November 3, a referee seminar was held in the morning and the Individual
Championship was held in the afternoon. 86 people from 14 countries participated in the Individual Championship. And on November 4, the Team Championship was held. 13 countries participated and Great Britain took the 1st place. The level of the participants was quite high and the Championship was a
great success. After the competition, Dan examinations for Sho-Dan to 6-Dan were held
at the same venue.
The AJKF Delegation to Africa and Turkey
AJKF
Delegation in Suoth-Africa
A delegation consisting of the following 4 Sensei from AJKF visited South
Africa, Malawi and Turkey from 1st June 2001
Mr. T. Watanabe- Kendo Hanshi 8dan,
Mr. T. Ito- Kendo Kyoshi 8dan,
Mr. T. Oboki- Kendo Kyoshi 7dan
Mr. H. Kanzaki- Kyoshi 7dan.
It was the first time for AJKF to send Kendo instructors to those regions.South Africa is the only country in Africa that is affiliated to International
Kendo Federation.The Kendo federation of South Africa, South African Kendo Federation, is
very active and not only the local people but also the representatives
of Japanese firms in South Africa join the practice.During the 2-day seminar,
approximately 30 people including beginners participated and practiced
Kendo and Iaido fundamentals.After the seminar Dan/Kyu examinations were
held.
Mr. Nakagawa of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) started to
teach Kendo to the local children in Malawi in 1992.It started unexpectedly
when the children were interested in his action of swinging the Shinai.Presently
Kendo is approved as official sports by the government and the members
of the Kendo federation practice Kendo once a week.Some members of JICA
in Malawi now help the activities of the federation, but as there is no
Kendo instructor there now it is one of the problems they have.
As there is no Kendo organization established and there are only a few
Yu-Dan-sha in Turkey the major activities that the delegation did were the demonstrations.However, since the Japanese embassy and consulate there had good public
relations, approximately 750 people came to see the demonstration in Istanbul
and 500 people in Ankara. The demonstrations were introduced in the local
newspapers and the TV programs. The delegation also visited the Japanese
school in Ankara and taught Kendo to the students.
**This delegation was supported by The Japan Foundation.
The AJKF Delegation to the European Kendo Championship, Seminar & Dan Examinations
The European Kendo Championship 2001 was held in Bologna of Italy on 13
and 14 April 2001. And there were a Kendo seminar and a referee seminar prior to the Championship.
‘Confederazione Italiana Kendo’ was the hosting organization.
Three instructors from AJKF,
Mr. K. Kato, Kendo Hanshi 8th Dan
Mr. E. Taguchi Kendo Kyoshi 8th Dan
Mr. A. Toyomura Kendo Kyoshi 8th Dan
visited Italy and helped the hosting organization to carry out Championship,
seminar and Dan examinations.
During the three days Kendo seminar at Bologna Sports Center prior to the
Championship, approximately 50 people participated in the seminar every
day. They practiced basic movement, applied skills and how to respond to the
opponent’s strikes. They also practiced Kata eagerly following the instructions of the instructors.
The Championship was a large-scale tournament and 277 competitors from
27 countries participated. At the Women’s Team Championship, Finland won and at the Men’s Team Championship,
France won. And Hungary took all 1st places of the Junior, Women’s and Men’s Individual Championships.
After the seminar and the Championship, Dan examinations were held and
14 people passed Sho-Dan, 9 passed 2-Dan, 8 passed 3-Dan, 8 passed 4-Dan,
5 passed 5-Dan and 7 passed 6-Dan successfully.
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