FIK Seminar

Combat Games Referee Seminar was held in Narita City on 21,22 June 2010.

15 Selected Combat Games Kendo event referees including Shimpan-Cho were all come down to Narita city on 21st and 22nd June 2010.
Very high level referee seminar was held, and all referees were confirmed high level refereeing for Combat Games Kendo Event through those 2 days.
Particularly, the referees are learned Hantei judgment which will be introduced at Combat Games Tournament.










FIK American Zone Referee Seminar FY2009



FIK America zone Kendo Referee Seminar was held on March. 27 and 28, 2010 at Pinetree Community Center Gymnasium in Vancouver in Canada.
The instructors from FIK Japan are follows.

Mr. Masaharu Kakehashi, Kendo Hanshi 8 Dan
Mr. Osamu Asano, Kendo Hanshi 8 Dan
Mr. Shigeki Yamanaka ,Kendo Hanshi 8 Dan

 The 82 trainees from Brazil, U.S.A., Canada, Aruba and Hawaii were participated to the seminar.
On March. 27 (Sat.), following to the opening speech by Mr. Okusa president of CKF, instructor Mr. Kakehashi stated about the significance of this seminar, object of judgment, duty and rules of refereeing.

For 7 Dan and the above, FIK instructors trained trainees, taking the World Kendo Championships in consideration, for improving capability and nature for exact judgment. For 6 Dan and the below, we trained mainly basic points like management of shiai, judgment of yuko-datotsu, prohibited acts & hansoku and senkoku & use of Shinpan-ki.




FIK Asian Zone Referee Seminar FY2009



FIK Asia-zone Kendo Referee Seminar was held on February 27 and 28, 2010 at Taiwan University Gym in Taipei Taiwan.
The Officials and Instructors from FIK Japan were as follows.

Mr. Masami Matsunaga  FIK Vice President Kendo Hanshi 8 Dan
Mr. Yoshio Okushima Kendo Hansi 8 Dan
Mr. Takao Fujiwara, Kendo Hanshi 8 Dan

Number of trainee was 118 from 10 countries and total attendee was more than 150 including the exhibition match players and local Kendo staffs.

Following to the opening message by Mr. Wu president of ROCKA, Mr. Matsunaga FIK VP made a speech what is the important point for the refereeing, and also FIK instructors made the important explanation for Kendo Referee.

The main point of this seminar was to clarify and ascertain Yukodatotsu and detail of refereeing.

After 2 days seminar, judging skill of Yukodatotsu has been improved and confirmed.




FIK European Zone Referee Seminar FY2009



FIK European-zone Kendo Referee Seminar was held on February 6 and 7, 2010 in Brussels, Kingdom of Belgium, as in the past years. Before the formal seminar, Ji-Geiko for 90 minutes was carried out in the evening of February 5 joining 70 participants.

The FIK instructors of this year were as follows.

Mr. Hitoshi Murakami, Kendo Hanshi 8 Dan
Mr. Tadahiro Ajiro, Kendo Hanshi 8 Dan
Mr. Yuji Nakata Kendo Hanshi 8 Dan

In addition, the following 2 more delegates were joined to the seminar from FIK Japan in this year.

Mr. Shuji Fukumoto FIK Director Kendo Hanshi 8 dan
Mr. Arinobu Kurose FIK assistant secretary general Kendo kyoshi 7 dan

This was a special case, the delegation has been received traveling subsidiary from Japanese government this year as well as last year.

The seminar was started from 6th Feb. there are formal trainees of 75 from all over the Europe, and some local players for referee training, total participants were more than 100.

Following to the opening message by Mr. Alain Ducarme President of European Kendo Federation, Mr.Fukumoto director of International Kendo Federation explained the propose of this seminar and important points.
After that, Mr. Murakami explained to the participants the aim of this seminar and detail points of refereeing, and the refereeing Jitsugi seminar was started immediately.
In the morning of second day, the seminar continued mainly reviewing last day's study.
After 2 days seminar, judging skill of Yukodatotsu has been improved and confirmed.








14WKC Referee Seminar was held in Narita City in Japan on 30th, 31st May 2009


41 Selected 14WKC referees including Shimpan-Cho and 4 Shinpan-Shunin were all come down to Narita city on 30 th and 31st May 2009.
Very high level referee seminar was held, and all referees were confirmed high level refereeing for 14 WKC and their teamwork through those 2 days.














FIK Europian Zone Referee Seminar FY2008





FIK European-zone Kendo Referee Seminar was held on February 7 and 8, 2009 in Brussels, Kingdom of Belgium, as in the past years. Before the formal seminar, Ji-Geiko for 90 minutes was carried out in the evening of February 6 joining 120 participants.

The FIK instructors of this year were as follows.

Mr Nariaki Sato Kendo Hanshi 8 Dan
Mr. Hitoshi Murakami, Kendo Hanshi
Mr. Tadahiro Ajiro, Kendo Hanshi 8 Dan

In addition, the following 2 more delegates were joined to the seminar from FIK Japan in this year.

Mr. Shuji Fukumoto FIK vice president Kendo Hanshi 8 dan
Mr. Arinobu Kurose FIK assistant secretary general Kendo kyoshi 7 dan

This was a special case, the delegation has been received traveling subsidiary from Japanese government this year.

The seminar was started from 7th Feb. there are formal trainees of 96 from all over the Europe, and some local players for referee training, total participants were more than 120.

Following to the opening message by Mr. Alain Ducarme President of European Kendo Federation, Mr.Fukumoto VP of International Kendo Federation explained the propose of this seminar and important points.
After that, Mr. Sato and Murakami explained to the participants the aim of this seminar and detail points of refereeing, i.e. making sincere efforts in improving the referring skills to judge Yuko-Datotsu correctly and to deal swiftly and properly with prohibition items and positioning among the referees.

In the morning of second day, the seminar continued mainly reviewing last day's study and in the after noon the grading examination was held with the applicants of 111. The results were as shown in the following figures of success/number of applicants. Shodan 8/10, 2Dan 4/5, 3Dan 6/10, 4Dan 4/10, 5Dan 3/13, 6Dan 6/50 and 7Dan 3/13.

We could have wished to do more challenging practice and expect further devotion.







FIK American Zone Referee Seminar FY2008



FIK America zone Kendo Referee Seminar was held on Jan. 24 and 25, 2009 at Rush Gymnasium in Los Angeles in USA.
The instructors from FIK Japan are follows.

Mr. Tadashi Kumamoto, Hanshi 8 Dan
Mr .Hitoshi Murakami, Hanshi 8 Dan
Mr. Takao Fujiwara ,Hanshi 8 Dan

 The 56 trainees from Brazil, U.S.A., Canada, Argentina and Hawaii were participated to the seminar.
On Jan. 24 (Sat.), following to the opening speech by Mr. I. Murakami president of AUSKF and instructor Mr. H.Murakami, instructor Mr Kumomoto stated about the significance of this seminar, object of judgment, duty and rules of refereeing.

For 7 Dan and the above, we trained trainees, taking the World Kendo Championships in consideration, for improving capability and nature for exact judgment. For 6 Dan and the below, we trained mainly basic points like management of shiai, judgment of yuko-datotsu, prohibited acts & hansoku and senkoku & use of Shinpan-ki.






FIK Asian Zone Referee Seminar FY2008



FIK Asia-zone Kendo Referee Seminar was held on 25th and 26th October 2008 at Chamshi Gymnastic Gym in Seoul Korea.
The Officials and Instructors from FIK Japan were as follows.

Mr. Shuji Fukumoto   FIK Vice President
Dr. Yukio Sato  FIK Secretary General

Mr. Yoshio Okushima Hansi 8 Dan
Mr. Hitoshi Murakami, Hanshi 8 Dan

Number of trainee was 29 from 7 countries and total attendee was more than 60 including the exhibition match players and local Kendo staffs.

Following to the opening message by Mr. Ree, former Director of Korea Kumdo Association, Mr Fukumoto FIK VP made a speech what is the important point for the refereeing, and also FIK instructors made the important explanation for Kendo Referee.

The main point of this seminar was to clarify and ascertain Yukodatotsu and detail of refereeing.

After 2 days seminar, judging skill of Yukodatotsu has been improved and confirmed that some trainees will be selected for the World Kendo Championship referee.








FIK American Zone Referee Seminar FY2007



FIK America zone Kendo Referee Seminar was held on March 29 and 30, 2008 at Esporte Clubu Banespa in Sao Paulo Brazil.
The instructors from FIK Japan are follows.

Mr. Masami Matsunaga, Hanshi 8 Dan
Mr. Masaaki Arimitsu, Hanshi 8 Dan
Mr. Tadahiro Ajiro, Hanshi 8 Dan

 The trainees (Brazil=77, U.S.A.=17, Canada=4, Argentina=5, Ecuador=1, Chile=1, Guatemala) participated the seminar.
On Mar. 29 (Sat.), following to the opening speech by Mr. Matsunaga, head of instructor and Mr.Kojima , President of CBK and Mr. Tamaki, president of SAK, Mr. Matsunaga stated about the significance of this seminar, object of judgment, duty and rules of refereeing.

For 6 Dan and the above, we trained trainees, taking the World Kendo Championships in consideration, for improving capability and nature for exact judgment. For 5 Dan and the below, we trained mainly basic points like management of shiai, judgment of yuko-datotsu, prohibited acts & hansoku and senkoku & use of Shinpan-ki.

Behaviors for acting, senkoku and use of shinpan-ki have been improved but it was observed that there are unclear judgments for yuko-datotsu and hansoku due to lack of experience for actual referee for shiai.
Among the trainees of 7 Dan and the above, there are some who have experience of referee for World Kendo Championships and they show good posture and behavior but still hope them to make more efforts to improve judgment of yuko-datotsu backed up by Concept of Kendo.







FIK European Zone Referee Seminar FY 2007



FIK European-zone Kendo Referee Seminar was held on February 9 and 10, 2008 in Brussels, Kingdom of Belgium, as in the past years. Before the formal seminar, Ji-Geiko for 90 minutes was carried out in the evening of February 8 joining 105 participants.

The FIK instructors of this year were as follows.

Mr. Hitoshi Murakami, Hanshi 8 Dan
Mr. Kiyoharu Kai, Hanshi 8 Dan
Mr. Osamu Asano, Hanshi 8 Dan

Number of formal trainee is 82 from 14 countries but including local players for referee training, the number of participant is over 120. Following to the opening message by Mr. Alain Ducarme, President of European Kendo Federation and Mr.Hitoshi Murakami, This year instructor of International Kendo Federation,
Mr. Kai spoke to the participants about the aim of this seminar, i.e. making sincere efforts in improving the referring skills to judge Yuko-Datotsu correctly and to deal swiftly and properly with prohibition items and positioning among the referees.

In the morning of second day, the seminar continued mainly reviewing last day's study and in the after noon the grading examination was held with the applicants of 96. The results were as shown in the following figures of success/number of applicants. Shodan 4/4, 2Dan 1/1, 3Dan 3/5, 4Dan 2/15, 5Dan 0/10, 6Dan 7/49 and 7Dan 0/12, Average passage was 17.7%.

As general observation, almost all of the applicants presented an obedient KENDO and posture, attitude and Datotsu were well appreciated.
We could have wished to do more challenging practice and expect further devotion.








 FIK Asian Zone Referee Seminar FY 2007



FIK Asia-zone Kendo Referee Seminar was held on January 27 and 28, 2008 at Stanley Sports Centre in Hong Kong.
The instructors from FIK Japan were as follows.

Mr. Hitoshi Murakami, Hanshi 8 Dan
Mr. Yuji Nakata, Hanshi 8 Dan
Mr. Takao Fujiwara Hanshi 8 Dan

Number of trainee was 53 from 6 countries and total attendee was more than 80 including the exhibition match players and local Kendo staffs.
Following to the opening message by Mr. Po Kit Wong, President of Hong Kong Kendo Association, Mr. Murakami FIK instructor, made a speech representing instructors. The main point of this seminar was to clarify and ascertain Yukodatotsu and detail of refereeing.

After 2 days seminar, judging skill of Yukodatotsu has been greatly improved and confirmed that some trainees are capable for the World Kendo Championship referee.







 FIK Asian Zone Referee Seminar FY 2006



FIK Asia-zone Kendo Referee Seminar was held on March 17 and 18, 2007 at University of Sydney Sports & Aquatic Centre in Sydney Australia. The instructors from FIK Japan were as follows.

Mr. Eiji Taguchi, Hanshi 8 Dan
Mr. Hitoshi Murakami, Hanshi 8 Dan
Mr. Yuji Nakata, Hanshi 8 Dan

Number of trainee was 44 from 7 countries but total attendee was
more than 70 including the exhibition match players and local Kendo fun. Following to the opening message by Mr. Richard Ward, President of Australian Kendo Renmei Incorporated, Mr. Taguchi FIK instructor, made a speech representing instructors. The main point of this seminar was to clarify and ascertain Yukodatotsu.

The grading examination was held with the applicants of 7 for the grade of 5Dan and 6Dan. The results were as shown in the following figures of success/number of applicants. 5Dan 2/2 and 6Dan 4/7, average passage was 57%.

Worthy of special mention is that through 2 days seminar, judging skill has been greatly improved and confirmed that some trainees are capable for the World Kendo Championship referee.







 FIK American Zone Referee Seminar FY 2006




FIK America zone Kendo Referee Seminar was held on March 17 and 18, 2007 at Cabrillo High School in Long Beach California.
The instructors from FIK Japan are follows.

Mr. Shuji Fukumoto, Hanshi 8 Dan
Mr. Minoru Fujii, Hanshi 8 Dan
Mr. Kunio Hayashi, Hanshi 8 Dan

86 trainees (U.S.A.=77, Canada=6, Argentina=2 and Hawaii=1) participated the seminar. On Mar. 17 (Sat.), following to the opening speech by Mr. Fukumoto, Vice President of FIK and Mr. Hori, President of AUSKF, Mr. Fukmoto stated about the significance of this seminar, object of judgment, duty and rules of referee and ascertaining of Yukodatotsu and Hansoku. Then Mr. Hayashi instructed referee's behavior, showing of Shinpan-ki and way of Senkoku. Through demonstration by 13th WKC referee, united view for Yukodatotsu and Hansoku has been confirmed.
In the afternoon, trainees were divided into two and Mr. Fujii was in charge of 6 Dan to 8 Dan and Mr. Hayashi was in charge of 4 Dan and 5 Dan. They instructed referee's positioning, smooth replacement and overlooking of Yukodatotsu (Men or Kaeshi-Do, Men just after Kaeshi-Kote and unexpected Waza, etc.). On Mar. 18 (Sun.), mainly reviewing of last day's training has been done for two groups (43 trainees of 6 Dan to 8 Dan and 43 trainees of 4 Dan and 5 Dan). It has been emphasized by all instructors that unless appropriateness and fairness, there is not a qualification as a referee.



 FIK European Zone Referee Seminar FY2006

  

FIK European-zone Kendo Referee Seminar was held on February 10 and 11, 2007 in Brussels, Kingdom of Belgium, as in the past years. Before the formal seminar, Ji-Geiko for 90 minutes was carried out in the evening of February 9 joining 120 participants. The FIK instructors of this year were as follows.

Mr. Shuji Fukumoto, Hanshi 8 Dan
Mr. Eiji Taguchi, Hanshi 8 Dan
Mr. Hitoshi Murakami, Hanshi 8 Dan

Number of formal trainee is 81 from 14 countries but including local players for referee training, the number of participant is over 120. Following to the opening message by Mr. Alain Ducarme, President of European Kendo Federation and Mr. Shuji Fukumoto, Vice president on International Kendo Federation,
Mr. Taguchi spoke to the participants about the aim of this seminar, i.e. making sincere efforts in improving the referring skills to judge Yuko-Datotsu correctly and to deal swiftly and properly with prohibition items and positioning among the referees.

In the morning of second day, the seminar continued mainly reviewing last day's study and in the after noon the grading examination was held with the applicants of 95. The results were as shown in the following figures of success/number of applicants. Shodan 6/8, 2Dan 7/9, 3Dan 5/9, 4Dan 3/12, 5Dan 1/6, 6Dan 7/40 and 7Dan 3/11, Average passage was 33.7%.

As general observation, almost all of the applicants presented an obedient KENDO and posture, attitude and Datotsu were well appreciated.
We could have wished to do more challenging practice and expect further devotion.




 13WKC Referee Seminar was held in Narita city in September 2006

36 Selected 13WKC referees were all come down to Narita city on 9th and 10th September 2006 and very high level referee seminar was held.

All referees were confirmed high level refereeing and their teamwork through those 2 days.







FIK American-Zone Kendo Referee Seminar FY2005



FIK Kendo Referee Seminar in the American Zone was held on March 25 and 26, 2006 in Toronto, Canada. The instructors were

  Mr. Eiji Taguchi, Hanshi 8 Dan,
  Mr. Kunio Hayashi, Hanshi 8 Dan,
  Mr. Katsuo Endo, Hanshi 8 Dan.

From Aruba, Hawaii, the US, and Canada, 78 referee trainees assembled in Japanese Canadian Cultural Center They consisted of 3 Eighth Dan, 22 Seventh Dan, 16 Sixth Dan, 18 Fifth Dan, and 19 Fourth Dan.

After lectures on the objectives and duties of referees, summary of Shiai and Shimpan regulations, positioning, manners, displays, etc. on the morning session of the first day, the attendees were divided into three groups by Dan in the practice session of the afternoon.

On the second day, the session was focused on reviewing 13 WKC referee candidates, by having 7 trios of 8 Dan and 7 Dan holders referee mock matches by 6 Dan holders with observation of all the rest.

In his concluding remarks, Mr.Taguchi said that the refereeing is nearly perfect, but displaying of the judgment is rather slow, and some Yuko-datotsu are overlooked. He stressed the importance of reviewing factors and elements of Yuko-datotsu, and showed his hope that authentic Kendo in the region is build up by good referees.



FIK European-Zone Kendo Referee Seminar FY2005



 FIK European-zone Kendo Referee Seminar was held on February 11 and 12, 2006 in Brussels, Kingdom of Belgium, as in the former years.  Before the formal seminar, Ji-Geiko for two hours was carried out on the previous two evenings.  The instructors of this year were as follows.

Mr. Shuji Fukumoto, Hanshi 8 Dan,
Mr. Tomoyasu Ota, Hanshi 8 Dan,
Mr. Kazuo Negishi, Hanshi 8 Dan. 

  At first, Chief Instructor, Fukumoto Hanshi spoke to the 70 participants that this seminar aimed at nurturing referees who can judge such international matches as World Kendo Championships or European Kendo Championships. You are required to make sincere efforts in improving your refereeing skills to judge Yuko-Datotsu correctly and to deal swiftly and properly with prohibition items.  As model refereeing, three 7 Dan holders were selected to execute refereeing three matches, and the attendees were divided into two groups, international level referees A and national match referees B. The A group of 42 trainees was taken care of by Mr. Ota, and the group B of 28 by Mr. Negishi.

  The A group trainees experienced in the past this kind of referee seminars and the majority proved to be qualified for international matches. Their challenges are to judge correctly not only chances but also spirits, attitude, and Hasuji of match players, and to make practices to keep appropriate cooperation and positioning among the referees.

  On the afternoon of the second day, Sunday, February 12, the grading examination was held with the applicants of 30. The results were rather severe as shown in the following figure of success/ figure of applicants. Shodan 9/13, 2 Dan 9/11, 3 Dan 2/6, 4 Dan 2/6, 5 Dan 3/13, 6 Dan 4/36, 7 Dan 1/11.

The unsuccessful applicants showed superb posture and attitude, but needed to improve finding more chances to strike and also smooth strikes with Ki-Ken-Tai Itchi. There seemed many failed with just one step away.     



FIK Asian-Zone Kendo Referee Seminar FY2005



FIK Asian-Zone Kendo Referee Seminar was held on October 1 and 2, 2005 in Seoul, Korea.
The instructors were

Mr. Shigeaki Inoue, Hanshi 8 Dan,
Mr. Koji Kato, Hanshi 8 Dan.

In Chamshil Gymnastic Gym which is located in the Complex of the Chamshil Olympic Main Stadium, got together referee trainees of 31 from Australia, Korea, Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan, and the Philippines. They included 8 Dan holders of 6 from Korea and 3 from Japan. In addition, 14 Kendo practitioners consisting of 7 college students and 7 Seoul city employees, some of whom are national team members, joined as match players and contributed to a success of the event.
  After the opening ceremony on the morning of the first day, the Chief Instructor, Mr. Inoue gave an hour lecture about the mission, duties, and attitudes of referees,   stressing that contemporary Kendo cannot exist without competition and a good referee makes decent Kendo. All the trainees were divided into groups of 3 referees with the same nationality, and received hands-on training through high-level competitions of Korean match players. After 4 PM, all the participants enjoyed Keiko with all the 8 Dan Kendoists as Motodachi.
 On the morning session of the second day, referee groups were reorganized with mixed nationalities and continued the refereeing practice. Their refereeing skills improved considerably through the instructions by both Hanshis except for jundgement of Genmyona-waza or a subtle and sharp Ippon.

The points which should be noted are

1) The referees should work as a team by paying attention to other members.

2) Realizing that referees should commit no error in the competitions, they need to practice regularly.



FIK American-Zone Kendo Referee Seminar FY2004



FIK Kendo Referee Seminar in the American Zone was held on March 12 and 13, 2005 in San Jose, California  The instructors of this year were

Mr. Tadashi Kumamoto, Hanshi 8 Dan,
Mr. Tadahiro Ajiro, Kyoshi 8 Dan,
Mr. Shoji Miyahara, Kyoshi 8 Dan.  

Diligent 90 participants from the lower 48, Canada, Hawaii, Brazil, and Argentina got together in Miltapis High School Gym. They consisted of 2 Eighth Dan holders, 28 Seventh Dan, 26 Sixth Dan, 12 Fifth Dan, 4 Fourth Dan, and 1 Three Dan.

After a lecture by Chief Instructor, Kumamoto Hanshi about the mission, duties, and basic manners of referees, Yuko-datotsu, and prohibitions, the attendees were divided into two groups for hands-on training by Dan, 6 Dan or above by Mr.Ajiro and the lowers by Mr.Miyahara.

Salient points stressed by the instructors are

1) Be confident in declaring judgment and be quick in action and movement,

2) Keep Enzan-No-Metsuke even in refereeing, and

3) Practice Do-Waza and Hiki-Waza by yourself; otherwise it is difficult to judge them.

In the end of each training day, both the instructors and the trainees enjoyed Keiko for 40 minutes, respectively.


European Zone FIK/EKF Kendo Referee Seminar FY2004


                  1st Kendo seminar was combined with Kendo referee seminar

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.



FIK Asian-Zone Kendo Referee Seminar FY2004



FIK Asian-Zone Kendo Referee Seminar was held on December 11 and 12, 2004 in Hong Kong Park Indoor Games Hall Complex. The instructors were

Mr. Nariaki Sato -Hanshi 8 Dan,
Mr. Koji Kato -Hanshi 8 Dan,
Mr. Masatake Sumi -Hanshi 8 Dan.

Referee trainees of 42 from Australia, Korea, Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong In addition, some 40 Kendo practitioners including 11 Hong Kong national team nominee hopefuls joined as match players and contributed to a success of the event. Noteworthy is four emergency life guards were kept in the courts for the two whole days.
  After the opening ceremony on the morning of the first day, the Chief Instructor, Mr. Sato gave a lecture about mission, duties, and attitudes of referees, and how to show their judgment. His remarks were translated into English, Korean, and Chinese languages. Then, a model refereeing was demonstrated by Messrs. Sueno, Tamura and Furukawa, all 8 Dan from Japan. The trainees were divided into two groups by Dan, experiences and age. The top group focused on judging a valid point by mental charge and physical posture of the competitors, and the Hasuji of the Shinai. After 4, all the participants enjoyed Keiko.
 On the second day, IKF Chairman Mr.Takeyasu who arrived at Hong Kong at the previous night made an encouraging address to the hall, saying that improvement of refereeing Kendo is an acute challenge to the world Kendo since it is spreading into the world so fast. “You are requested to practice Kendo regularly and promote friendship exchange among the participants.”

On the morning session, the same two groups continued the refereeing practice.

The points which should be noted are

1) Few attendees were likely to nail down both Hasuji and physical attitude when the competitors hit a strike, though they spotted the strike.

2) Few could anticipate the movements of the competitors, and resultantly they ran after the fighters without paying attention to the journey of the other referees.



FIK Asian-Zone Kendo Referee Seminar FY2003



Kendo Referee Seminar in the Asian Zone was held on March13 and 14, 2004 in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, Republic of China (ROC). The instructors this year were

Mr. Kunitomo Kokubu, Hanshi 8 Dan,
Mr. Kiyomitsu Goto, Hanshi 8 Dan,
Mr. Hitoshi Murakami, Hanshi 8 Dan.

Referee trainees of 70 from Australia, Hongkong, Korea, Japan and Taiwan with special attendee from Peking got together in a gym of National Feng Hsin Senior High School with 18 college and senior high students as bout players.
In the opening ceremony on the morning of the first day, Mr.Jun Takeuchi, Secretary-General of IKF made an opening address, saying that Shimpan was very important in Kendo and all the Shimpan are required to referee the bout with feeling of tension and responsibility. After a welcome address by Mr. Hsiang-Lo Wu, President of ROC Kendo Association, the Chief Instructor, Mr. Kokubu gave an overall of Shimpan, like objectives, attitudes, duties, essence of trio referee system, and flag handling. Then,Mr. Goto explained ideal positioning of Shimpan and how to be tactful in abrupt development in bouts, and Mr. Murakami illustrated in detailed how to display Shimpan flags.

The skill practice started with demonstrations by representatives of each group of Japan, Korea, HongKong, and Taiwan, which was good for all the participants to share the unified understanding of application of the Shiai rules and regulations, and for the instructors to grasp approximate Shimpan level in each organization.
In the afternoon session, the attendees were divided into groups and every trainer had a chance to serve as Shushin. The major problems the instructors gave advices to were as follows,

1) Judgment of Yuko-datotsu and prohibited acts
2) Positioning of Shimpan
3) Shushin’s poor management or control of the games

The second day opened with special feature of the Chief Instructor, Mr.Kokubu, entitled “How to become confident Shimpan”. Followed was hands-on training in two groups, which showed that the more experiences they have, the better Shimpan they would be if they continue to review the rule book and among other things, continue to practice properly.


FIK American-Zone Kendo Referee Seminar FY2003


Kendo Referee Seminar in the American Zone was held on March 13 and 14, 2004 in Toronto, Canada. The instructors were

Mr. Koji Kato, Hanshi 8 Dan,
Mr. Kunio Hayashi, Hanshi 8 Dan,
Mr. Tadahiro Ajiro, Kyoshi 8 Dan.

Enthusiastic 71 participants from Canada, US, Brazil, and Argentina got together in Japanese Canadian Cultural Center. They consisted of 23 Seventh Dan, 14 Sixth Dan, 17 Fifth Dan, and 17 Fourth Dan.
The instructors explained the following points which were expected to be mastered as referees.

1. Judgment of Yuko-datotsu: (Article 12 of the Regulations of Kendo Shiai and Shimpan) It is critical to judge it by assessing all the requirements, factors, and Zanshin of Ki-Ken-Tai no Icchi.
2. Settlement of Tsuba-zeriai
3. Judgment of prohibited acts
4. Positioning of Shimpan
5. Brisk Moving
6. Correct procedures and Senkoku
7. Rotation of Shimpan Trio

First, to explain the above items, experienced Shimpan joined in 12 WKC demonstrated their skills, then all the attendees joined the bouts either as Shimpan or as a player and received advice from the instructors.



European Zone FIK/EKF Referee Seminar FY2003




Kendo Referee Seminar in the European Zone was held on February 7 and 8, 2004 in Brussels, Kingdom of Belgium, as there in the previous years. The instructors this year were

Mr. Hideo Kobayashi, Hanshi 8 Dan
Mr. Kazuyoshi Okada, Kyoshi 8 Dan
Mr. Akira Matsui, Kyoshi 8 Dan

This was the 13th annual event and had so many participants as 181 from 13 countries, that the venue of A.D.P.E.S gymnasium looked so small.

In the opening ceremony, Mr. Kobayashi made a speech of “Referee’s purpose and duties”. For the following hands-on training, the attendees were divided into two groups for more effective training. Group A was conducted by Messrs. Kobayashi and Matsui, and B by Messrs. Okada and Ken’ichi Yoshimura, Kyoshi 8 Dan who lived in Paris for some 30 years. Major items of instruction were judgment of Yuko-datotsu, assessment of prohibited acts, how to hold the Shimpan-ki (flag), and how to make presentation of judgment. Group A consisted of experienced referees, and they showed great improvement by this seminar. There remained some problems as follows:

1. Some trainees sometimes lost an ideal positioning which always is supposed to make a triangle by the three Shimpans with Shushin at the apex and they were late in responding briskly. As a result, those trainees had to move with seeing the back of the players.

2. Some lack such high-level Shimpan skills as short-cut movement, preemptive movement with anticipation of players’ performance, etc.

3. Many couldn’t judge subtle and esoteric strikes (Genmyo-na-waza) which were light but definitely shooting.

For reference to the trainees, the three 8 Dan Japanese instructors demonstrated a model refereeing.

The first day program concluded with Keiko of 7 Dan holders challenging to 8 Dan Motodachi, and with instructive Keiko to attendees of 6 Dan and lower Dan holders.

Next morning, all the participants enjoyed a wrap-up class of Shimpan training and instructive Keiko before adjourning the Seminar.



12WKC Referee Seminar 2003.4.19&20

12WKC Referee Seminar hosted by FIK and AJKF was held in Narita-shi on April 19 and 20, 2003.  The purpose of this seminar is to foster world-class referees and to build consensus among the 12WKC referees on the judgments of Yuko-Datotsu.

41 referees including the chief referee (Mr. K. Okuzono) and 4 presiding referees (Mr. S. Iwatate, Mr. M. Shimano, Mr. K. Goto and Mr. E. Taguchi) from 14 countries participated in the seminar.  The referees participated were;

Japan:  H. Murakami, I.Nishide, M. Arima, K. Hayashi, E. Nagao, I.Oshitari, T. Ajiro, M. Kakehashi, T. Fujiwara, H. Yamada, N. Sato and Y. Suzuki

Korea:  G-C. Ko, C-K. Kim, B-Y. Seo, M-J. Kim, J-D. Kim and H-K. Jang

Taiwan:  C-A. Liu, T-S. Wu, S-C. Liu

USA:  M. Shikai, Y. Tagawa, M. Makino, K. Ariga

Canada:  S. Kamata

Brazil:  T. Ebihara

Argentina:  K. Futaoka

Germany:  R. Jattkowski

Great Britain:  M. Davis

France: J-P. Raick, C. Pruvost

Switzerland: G. Tscherter

Netherlands: L. Vitalis

Spain: Emilio Gomez

Italy: Lorenzo Zago

The participants were divided into groups of 3 and took turns at refereeing simulated matches played by the competitors from Tokyo Metropolitan Police and Chiba Prefectural Police department.  All participants actively exchanged their views and put questions to the chief referee, the presiding referees and Mr. S. Fukumoto, FIK Vice President & the AJKF Shiai & Shinpan committee chief.  

At the farewell party held on the night of the last day of the seminar, they promised to see each other again in Glasgow in July.


American Zone FIK Referee Seminar FY2002



The FIK Kendo Referee Seminar was held in Santa Clara on March 15 and 16, 2003.  The All Japan Kendo Federation (AUSKF) sent 3 Instructors for that seminar.  The instructors were

Mr. S. Fukumoto Kendo Hanshi 8 dan
Mr. S. Iwatate Kendo Hanshi 8 dan
Mr. H. Murakami. Kendo Hanshi 8 dan

Besides the members of AUSKF, people from Canada and Hawaii participated in the seminar.  The total number of the participants was 68.

After the lecture by Mr. Fukumoto and Mr. Murakami,

the participants who will be the official referees at the 12WKC in Glasgow took the first turn of the referees’ part. Then the participants were divided into two groups and learned how to referee at a match. The participants took turns and played the referee’s role and the competitor’s role. All participants learned a lot especially on the judgments on Yuko-Datotsu. During the questions and answers time after the seminar, a lot of participants asked various questions and the instructors

answered them by showing the actual movements. All people attended joined the practice (Keiko) after the seminar and had a good time.


European Zone FIK/EKF Kendo Referee Seminar FY2002



The FIK/EKF Kendo Referee Seminar was held in Belgium from February 8 to 9.  The European Kendo Federation (EKF) organizes the referee seminar in the European zone every year and more than 100 people participated in the seminar this year.

Prior to the Seminar, Keiko-kai was held on 6th and 7th and the members of the All Belgium Kendo Federation and EKF participated in the Keiko-kai.

The instructors of the Referee Seminar were 3 Sensei from All Japan Kendo Federation,

Mr. S. Fukumoto, Kendo Hanshi 8 dan
Mr. K. Goto Kendo Hanshi 8 dan
Mr. M. Kakehashi. Kyoshi 8 dan

On the morning of the 1st day, Mr. Fukumoto gave some lecture on the ‘Meaning and Role of Referees’ and he also mentioned that one of the purposes of that seminar is to select the official referees for the 12WKC.  Then Mr. Goto explained the details of the Kendo Shiai & Shinpan Regulations.  After the lecture, all participants were divided into two groups and they took turns in refereeing.  There were some points to be improved concerning the judgments of Yuko-Datotsu, but all participants were attentive to the instructors and were very earnest in learning. 

And the EKF Dan examinations from Sho-Dan to 6-Dan were held after the morning session of the 2nd day seminar.  19 out of 53 applicants successfully passed the Dan examination.


Asian Zone FIK Refaree Seminar FY2002




The FIK Kendo Referee Seminar was held in Seoul, Korea on September 14 and 15.  Korea Kumdo Association organized that seminar. 

The instructors were 3 Sensei from All Japan Kendo Federation,

Mr. Shigeaki Inoue, Kendo Hanshi 8 dan
Mr. Hironori Tahara Kendo Hanshi 8 dan
Mr. Masatake Sumi.  Kendo Hanshi 8 dan

Besides the instructors, the IKF Secretary General, Mr. Jun Takeuchi and 5 trainees attended the seminar from Japan.

The trainees from other countries were 17 from Korea, 6 from Taiwan, 3 from Hong Kong and 2 from Singapore.  And as the Shiai players, many people participated in the seminar from the Kendo clubs of the city office and two universities in Seoul.

After the lecture by Mr. Inoue, Mr. Tahara explained the proper movement and positioning of referees.  Then Mr. Sumi explained how to use the Shinpan flags properly and Senkoku.The trainees were divided into several groups and took turns in refereeing Shiai so that every trainee experienced the Shushin role.

The three instructors gave detailed instructions to the trainees during their refereeing.

In the morning session, the ratio of the unanimous judgments on Yuko-Datotsu was less than 50%, but it was drastically improved in the afternoon session. 

There was Godo-Geiko after the session each day and the participants had good opportunities to promote friendly relations.



American Zone FIK Kendo Referee Seminar FY2001



The 2001 FIK Referee Seminar for the American Zone was held on March 16 and 17, 2002 in Toronto of Canada.Two instructors,

Mr. H. Murakami  Kendo Kyoshi 8 dan,
Mr. T.Tamura  kendo Kyoshi 8 dan,

and Mr. J. Takeuchi, AJKF International Committee Chief, visited Toronto for this seminar.

The Japanese Culture Center, where the seminar was held was well equipped and quite appropriate for a Kendo seminar.  51 people participated in the seminar from the USA, Mexico, Brazil and Canada.

The delegation members are thankful for the Canadian Kendo Federation and the local Japanese Kendoists who cooperated and supported for this seminar to be successful.

On the first day, the 5-Dan or higher Dan participants played the referee’s role and other participants played the competitor’s role.  Mr. Murakami gave instructions on the judgements of Yuko-datotsu, Senkoku, how to raise the flag and Shosa during the matches.  Many questions were raised from the participants during the seminar and all were answered by the instructors.  On the second day, the 7-Dan participants played the role of referees.  They had high level refereeing skills and was a good model for other participants.  The refereeing skills are acquired only through the experience and the steady efforts of each person.  The instructors hope that all participants have learned a lot from the seminar and will continue their efforts to improve their refereeing skills.

The delegation members are thankful for the Canadian Kendo Federation and the local Japanese Kendoists who cooperated and supported for this seminar to be successful.


European Zone FIK/EKF Kendo Referee Seminar FY2001



The FIK/EKF Referee Seminar of the fiscal year 2001 was held in Brussels on February 9 and 10, 2002.A delegation of three instructors was sent from Japan.  The instructors were

Mr. S. Fukumoto  Kendo Hanshi 8-dan,
Mr. K. Sannomiya  Kendo Hanshi 8-dan,
Mr. A. Matsui  Kendo Hanshi 8-dan.

The participants of the seminar were the qualified candidates for the European Kendo Championships which are held in France in April.  The total number of the participants was 65 from 12 countries.  And approximately 120 people participated in the Keiko on the previous evening of the seminar.

The seminar started with the lecture on ‘the mental attitude of referees’ by Mr. Fukumoto.  Then the participants were divided into two groups by their levels.  The major points of the instructions were, ‘ability to judge Yuko-datotsu’, ‘Manners and behaviors’, ‘Movements’, ‘Positions’, ‘Vocalization and Senkoku’, ‘Dealing with prohibited acts’ and ‘Tsubazeriai’.  According to the instructors, the judgements by the rather young participants were often inaccurate especially for the judgements of Yuko-datotsu.  It would probably be because of too much emphasis on the win-lose aspect of a match and therefore the participants tend to raise the flag even though the strike is a little too light as Yuko-datotsu.  It is required for them to learn the proper standard of judgements.

Though it was a short seminar for 2 days, all participants were enthusiastic about learning the refereeing skills.  Mr. Ducarme, the EKF President, also participated in the seminar as a trainee, and his seriousness impressed the instructors.  The instructors were very grateful for the cooperation and hospitality by EKF, which made the seminar successful.


Asian Zone FIK Kendo Referee Seminar FY2001





The FIK Kendo Referee Seminar was held in Hong Kong on September 29 and 30, 2001.  Hong Kong Kendo Association organized that seminar. 

The instructors were 3 Sensei from All Japan Kendo Federation,

  Mr. Nariaki Sato, (Kendo Hanshi 8-dan)
  Mr. Tadanori Ota and (Kendo Hanshi 8-dan)
  Mr. Kiyomitsu Goto (Kendo Hanshi 8-dan) 

Besides the instructors, the FIK Secretary General, Mr. Jun Takeuchi attended the seminar.

On the previous day of the seminar, a welcome party hosted by Hong Kong Kendo Association was held at the hotel and Mr. Wong Po Kit, President of HKKA warmly welcomed all participants. 

The seminar was held at the Island East Sports Center for two days.  50 people from Asian countries attended the seminar as trainees and more than 30 young people participated in the seminar as Shiai players.  Those Shiai players were from Korea, Taiwan, Japan and Hong Kong.  FIK tried out this new way for the first time, as there were limited number of Dan holders who were suitable for the Shiai players in the hosting organization.  That turned out to be a success.All trainees took turns and refereed in Shiai.  After the seminar each day, there was Keiko and all participants joined Keiko.  It was a fruitful seminar and everyone had a good time to improve their refereeing competencies.



American Zone FIK Kendo Referee Seminar FY2000



The FIK Kendo Referee Seminar was held in Santa Clara on March 31 and April 2001.  The All Japan Kendo Federation (AUSKF) organized that seminar.  The seminar venue (Gym of the Santa Clara University) was the same venue as the 11WKC held in March 2000.

The instructors were 3 Sensei from All Japan Kendo Federation.

Mr. T. Shimano  (Kendo Hanshi 8-dan)
Mr. T. Ota  (Kendo Kyoshi-8dan)
Mr. K. Hayashi (Kendo Kyoushi 8-dan)

And Mr. J. Takeuchi, AJKF International Committee Chairperson and FIK Secretary General, was also attended the seminar.  Besides the members of AUSKF, people from Canada, Brazil and Argentina participated in the seminar.  The total number of the participants was approximately 100 on the first day and approximately 80 on the second day.

After the lecture by Mr. Shimano, the participants were divided into two groups and learned how to referee at a match.  The participants took turns and played the referee’s role and the competitor’s role.  During the questions and answers time after the seminar, a lot of participants asked various questions and the instructors answered them by showing the actual movements.  All people attended joined the practice (Keiko) after the seminar and had a good time.


European Zone FIK/EKF Kendo Referee Seminar FY2000



The FIK/EKF Kendo Referee Seminar was held in Belgium on the 10th and 11th of February 2001.  The European Kendo Federation (EKF) organizes the referee seminar in the European zone every year and more than 60 people participated in the seminar this year.

The instructors were 3 Sensei from All Japan Kendo Federation,

Mr. K. Goto,   (Kendo Hanshi 8-dan)
Mr. M. Sumi   (Kendo Kyoshi 8-dan)
Mr. I. Oshitari   (Kendo Kyoshi 8-dan)

After the lecture by Mr. Goto in the morning of the 1st day, all participants were divided into two groups and they took turns in refereeing.  All participants were attentive to the instructors and were very earnest in learning. 

And Dan examinations from Sho-Dan to 6-Dan were held after the morning session of the 2nd day seminar.  27 out of 52 applicants successfully passed the Dan examination. 
During the stay in Belgium, the instructors had Keiko with the All Belgium Kendo Federation members and the seminar participants.



Asian Zone FIK Kendo Referee Seminar FY2000



FIK Asian Zone Referee Seminar was held on September 16 and 17 2000 in Kaohsiung Hsien District PlaygroundTaiwan.
Usually IKF invites 5-Dan or higher applicants from FIK affiliates.  But considering to foster young competent referees, the WKC was held in this March already, FIK accepted 4-Dan holders as well.

Instructors are

Mr. Masami Matsunaga (AJKF, Hanshi 8-Dan)
Mr. Nariaki Sato (AJKF, Hanshi 8-Dan)
Mr. Shigeaki Inoue (AJKF, Hanshi 8-Dan)

and 59 trainees that 2 trainees from Australia, 1 trainee from Hong Kong, 6 trainees from Japan and 10 trainees from Korea participated in the seminar.  And 40 trainees joined from Taiwan.  During the 2-day seminar, the instructors from FIK gave a lecture and the trainees refereed sham matches.  During the seminar, the instructors answered to the questions from the trainees and many questions on the judgement or actions for individual Hansoku cases were asked.  And during the sham matches, the instructors indicated the points that each trainee should pay attention to such as Shosa (manners and behaviors), positioning and judging Yuko-Datotsu (valid strikes or thrust).
Republic of China Kendo Association of Taiwan and the local organization, Kaohsiung Kendo Association were in charge of the actual operation of the seminar.  The Asian Zone Referee Seminar in Hong Kong is now being reviewed for the next seminar.