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 100^th 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. 

The 8^th 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 1^st 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.

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 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 8^th Dan

Mr. E. Taguchi　Kendo Kyoshi 8^th Dan

Mr. A. Toyomura Kendo Kyoshi 8^th 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 1^st 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.