The first FIK Kendo Referee Seminar was held jointly.

The 14th European Zone Kendo Referee Seminar was held on February 10 through February 13, 2005 in Brussels, Kingdom of Belgium, as in the previous years.  This year’s special feature was it included Kendo seminar of two evenings before the formal referee seminar. The instructors of this year were as follows.

Mr. Yoshio Okushima, Hanshi 8 Dan,
Mr. Shigeaki Inoue, Hanshi 8 Dan.
Mr. Kazuyoshi Okada, Kyoshi 8 Dan.

The evening seminar started with a lecture of Okushima Hanshi who said that, by quoting “Sottaku no ki”, literally meaning in total sync, it is necessary for a seminar to be successful and fruitful that the instructor and students get along just fine.

The Kendo seminar consisted of how to improve skills through actual practices and Kendo Kata. Each evening more than 50 people attended the Kendo seminar.

The referee seminar was carried out with participation of 82 Kendoists, who were divided into two groups for efficient hands-on training.

The comments of the instructors were that

1) Such manners as holding the Shimpan-ki (flag) and presentation of judgment have been improved year by year.
2) Judgment of Yuko-datotsu and positioning in harmony with the other referees, in particular in case of hustling and bustling movements of
Shiai-sha, look having a room to improve.
3) Overall, enthusiasm and sincerity of the participants were so impressive and the seminar was a great success.