From 17th of January to 19th of January, 2025, Winter Kendo 2025 was held in Spain. Fusato Sugihara, who is a Japanese student, joined the seminar. He reported on the seminar.
Profile：Fusato Sugihara
Musashi University (leave of absence)
Kendo 4 dan
I’m on a working holiday in Ireland. I’m working as an intern while doing kendo at Dublin Kendo Kobukai. The reason why I joined the seminar is because I want to interact with a lot of international people. The event attracted participants from Spain, Finland, Italy, Portugal, Ireland, etc.
Event summary
- Name of event : Winter Kendo 2025
- Date : 1/17~1/19
- Host : Shion Dojo Malaga
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shiondojo?igsh=enNycGY2b2NpeWdy
- Web: https://www.shion-dojo.es
In this seminar, we especially focused on Tachiai and Kata as preparation for an examination up to 5 dan on Saturday. The main instructors were Finnish and Italian. They thoroughly explained the skills that are important for examinations, so everyone was able to understand how to display them and what we should improve.
Contents :
17th of January
morning : Basic Keiko with and without bogu. Jigeiko against the 7 and 6 dan teachers. Basic Keiko with and without was mainly Kihonuchi. We made pairs and cut the opponent’s Shinai. Teachers focused on instructing about Ashi Sabaki and Hikitsuke.
afternoon : Presentation by Markus Frey, a 7 dan Kyoshi teacher from Finland, regarding how he is training for the 8 dan exam. Mawarigeiko with everyone. Jigeiko against the 7 and 6 dan teachers.
18th of January
morning : We were split into groups by dan grade to work on our attitude and skills for Tachiai. Practiced Tachiai the same way as examinations and received feedback from each teacher.
lunch time : Examination up to 5 dan (Tachiai)
afternoon : Kata practice. Kubunkeiko. Watched teachers Keiko. Jigeiko.
Kata was explained by each teacher and practiced repeatedly. The contents of Kubunkeiko were Kirikaeshi, five Menuchi, Uchikomikeiko, Jigeiko, Ipponshoubu, Doukirikaeshi. We did this practice for five sets. (It was really tough.)
19th of January
morning : Kirikaeshi followed by Mawarigeiko with everyone. Jigeiko against the 7 and 6 dan teachers.
Impression :
This seminar focused on basics, so I was able to get back to my basics, and I realized I didn’t pay enough attention to them. It was a really good experience for me.
Throughout this event, I had a chance to talk with international people, especially Spanish and Finnish. I talked about their culture and Kendo skills with Spanish people. There were several Finnish teachers in this seminar, so I was able to ask about their training environment and ways of instruction.
The difference of Japan :
I was really surprised at how everyone applied Kendo principles instinctively. In Japan, some people, especially young people, don’t observe proper Kendo manners. For example, sometimes they don’t do Rei properly, or make too much noise when they put their Shinai on the floor, etc. However, all of the people who joined this seminar followed Kendo manners properly and used loud Kiai even during the toughest exercises, regardless of whether they were adults or children. I felt the same thing when I practiced Kendo in Ireland.
I really like their attitude toward Kendo. I think I want to go to many countries to practice Kendo.
Thank you for reading.
