| Starting from Suburi, Mori sensei emphasised the importance of each strike to be as if we were practicing in full armour, cut to the chin level with proper Tenouchi and ‘practical’ striking. Then the next exercise was footwork – this seemed hard as he started to focus on ‘Hiki tsuke’ straight away. If this Hiki tsuke-foot movement is late and slow there is no dynamic effect when striking, which also makes it difficult to achieve ‘Ki-ken-tai-ichi’. We tried again and again with Men and Kote single cuts then Kote-Men where the emphasis was on the Men, by going through faster, lighter and louder on the Men strike. Proper Fumikomi-ashi from Kote to Men and shifting the body weight quickly with good ‘Hiki tsuke’ only this way teachers can demonstrate to their students the good rhythm of footwork movements. There were similar exercises in full armour, again with the focus on ‘Hiki tsuke’ footwork. Good basic/kihon was the key whilst concentrating on the footwork in this senior session. For Mawari-geiko, Mori sensei demonstrated a good jigeiko example, which was about mainly taking initiatives at all times. Oji-waza with a waiting attitude or blocking action just for the sake of not being hit is not Kendo. |
| He demonstrated in front of us an amazing example of jigeiko – there was no hesitation only quick reaction and a decisive attacking force with a strong sense of energy which was constant throughout. |
| Shido-geiko followed and Mori sensei’s favourite ‘Ai-men relay’ was seen in every Keiko, he gave as we had first seen at last year’s seminar. The day before I asked Mori sensei how he manages such practice with absolutely everybody, without being exhausted. His reply was simple – it’s by correct ‘Tanden’ breathing. High grade teachers breathe correctly so hard practice doesn’t give them too much of a problem. As proof, we don’t see them pumping with shoulders going up and down. After practice with Mori sensei my shoulders were going up and down so fast and with sweat running down through my eyes I wondered what else I could do to deal with this pumping of the heart. Evening practice saw more people joining the session and we continued with further basic practice, then Shido-geiko. We had a storm again that evening with bright sunshine waiting for us the following morning at the Asa geiko. |
| Friday saw Sumi sensei, Tashiro sensei and Holt sensei arriving to Gozo, after the early morning Asa-geiko. The welcome address was made by Paul Budden sensei introducing all of the teachers and distributing the specially produced memorial tenegui with calligraphy by Sumi sensei celebrating the 24th Kodokan seminar, the 20th with Sumi sensei leading the seminar and the 25th Kodokan UK anniversary. The Kodokan ‘house groups’ announcement came with a nice surprise as 2 of the 6 houses were made up of ladies, as 20 ladies attended the seminar this year. Attendees were divided into the Traditional Kodokan house groups under the control of individual sensei: Ittosai – Mori sensei, Tadaaki – Tashiro sensei, Yagyu – Matsumoto sensei, Musashi – Inoue sensei, Bokuden – Holt sensei and Tesshu – Budden & Kojiro sensei. |
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The Minister for Gozo – Giovanna De Bono, representatives from the Ministry for Sports & Youth and the Ministry of Tourism, attended the formal opening ceremony of the seminar, which was also open to the public and commenced at the end of Friday morning practice with the entrance being filled with journalists interviewing the Minister... Sumi sensei gave a speech (see below) then the Kata Enbu followed in formal style - Kendo Kata with Sumi sensei as Uchidachi & Tashiro sensei as Shidachi. The Shinai Kendo demonstration was performed by Mori sensei, Matsumoto sensei and Inoue sensei. Such quality of Enbu must be extremely rare in Europe; some reminiscences of the Enbu Taikai in Edinburgh came into my mind. Attendees sat in one line across the hall and watched, spellbound by this wonderful demonstration. There were several professional cameramen from the Maltese and Gozitan press shooting around the hall with flashing lights throughout the ceremony. |
| Then the tea ceremony performed by Kojiro sensei in proper Kimono followed in complete silence and with graceful style. An impressive entry by the tea master was seen in an introduction and demonstration to the tea ceremony as its history was read out and then tea served to the Maltese delegates and Sumi sensei. This was concluded by a speech from the Minister for Gozo, presentation of gifts to teachers from the delegates and gifts from the Seminar and Maltese Kendo Federation to the delegates. Then it was the end of the ceremony with friends and families of Maltese Kendo members who had attended this opening ceremony gathering together with the Dignitaries and sensei at the small reception afterwards. |
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| Friday evening. As each evening Keiko was scheduled for Refereeing and Shiai session, all 6 houses fought in teams while teams not fighting took the role of refereeing, with the sensei overseeing and offering advice during each match. |
| Saturday morning Kata practice came with some new exercises again coming from Sumi sensei, this time wearing kote on both hands. We understood the correct distance and precise target points especially done by Uchidachi who should learn the moments of ‘loose and tense’, in order to execute correct techniques in order for Shidachi to learn the techniques correctly without being too hard in this learning process. Emphasis was made such as ‘tense’ kiai and seme, ‘soft’ strikes coming from Uchidachi, especially in the 4th and 6th forms in teaching Go- no-sen for Shidachi. The transformation of tense and loose and the rhythm created by doing this are the ultimate key for Shidachi to learn these correct response techniques. So it is important for Uchidachi to master these tense and loose transitional moments. |
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| Kodachi exercise culminated with a revision from last year – in Sumi sensei’s one-man-band’ style, so everyone held Tachi in the left hand up-side-down and Kodachi in the right. Somehow the pitch sound of the striking Shinogi was higher this way? The second half of the morning practice was Shinai Kendo and we were in groups of 4, starting from Kirikeashi to Kihon practice and then Mawari-geiko to finish. |
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Evening practice: Refereeing and Shiai on Saturday with Sumi sensei giving a short talk to start on valid strikes. In summery from his observations from the previous evening, the referees missed out quite a lot of valid strikes that were made 1. Hiki waza 2. Strike without going through movement. 2) Area of Shinai (give 100% at Mono uchi then points decreases such as 90%, 80% etc away from the Mono uchi in both directions e.g. towards the tip and Tsuka) 3) Correct posture. 4) Adequate spirit. 5) Use of correct edge of Shinai or Hasuji 6) Zanshin. If there is enough awareness (Zanshin) after a strike that contains the above conditions then a referee should flag without hesitation. This awareness doesn’t necessarily need to be demonstrated with a ‘going through’ movement. |
| Saturday evening we practiced only Mawari-geiko and this was also the last Keiko with Mori sensei and Kojiro sensei as they were heading back to Malta airport the next morning for their return to Japan. But of course a long and a very special Sayonara Party was to follow before their departure... |
| I asked Sumi sensei at this occasion how hard it must have been to keep coming back every year. I could not believe when I found out much later after the seminar that 12 years ago the seminar date came a day after his father’s funeral. Tashiro sensei and Kumamoto sensei seemed to have believed that his trip to the seminar would have had been cancelled but as they gathered the night before the departure he asked them to go without him then meet him later in the UK. So he did, and this story was revealed only this year. So 20 years is a huge dedication and long time commitment, on top of what he does within AJKF duties. This way the Kodokan seminar attracts regular members for a long time and as one of the recent regular members to the seminar I would like to sincerely thank Sumi sensei for his incredible dedication and friendship. |  |
Gozo Dream – it was like a dream having this special Kodokan seminar on the island of Gozo. Nice food and wine made us especially happy. The dark indigo blue sea water that contained millions of brown jellyfish was definitely worth seeing from a tiny boat. Yet during the dream we somehow missed our homeland and the usual Kodokan seminar that is held with continuous practice and without sightseeing or siesta. I would like to end this report with huge thank you to Paul Budden sensei for offering this amazing seminar for the last 24 years, and to Maltese Kendo Federation and their families for hosting the seminar in such a beautiful country, to Sumi sensei for his 20 years continuous teaching and the other teachers including Tashiro sensei, Mori sensei, Kojiro sensei, Holt sensei, Matsumoto sensei and Inoue sensei for their invaluable teaching. I hope that Uegaki & Kumamoto sensei will be able to join us next year as unfortunately they could not make it this year due to prior commitments. Finally thanks to all who attended for their fantastic company.
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| Kazuyo Matsuda Kodokan Kendo UK |
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Below Sumi sensei’s opening address, an introduction to Kojiro sensei and a short history of Sado (Tea ceremony), an article by Matsumoto sensei and the grading results. Sumi sensei’s opening address: I am very happy that we can all be here in Malta to attend the Kodokan International Kendo Seminar with the help of Maltese Kendo Renmei. Mr. Paul Budden and I have been kendo friends over twenty-five years and here I would like to express my respect to Mr. Budden who has made the international contribution to spreading kendo techniques as well as its spirit in Europe. As you know, kendo was systematized during the Edo period as the most cultivated skill for the Japanese Bushi |
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The Bushi would develop their pride and the sense of responsibility as Bushi by learning the fundamental spirit of kendo through the kendo practice. I believe that this pride and the sense of responsibility can still at this present time lead each one of us to make a good contribution to the communities, societies and countries that we belong to. We, kendo practitioners, should understand that winning is not the final goal of kendo training but that we should find the cultural importance of kendo by continuously making efforts in our daily practice. This is my first visit in Malta and I have found that there is some history of Japanese soldiers who fought along side the British Marines and died during I would be very happy if I can contribute to the development of kendo and its culture during my stay here in Malta and also that everyone can learn not only the kendo techniques but also the spirit of kendo though this seminar. Thank you very much. Masatake Sumi |
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| The First World War: | |
On the 18th of December 1916, the British Admiralty again requested Japan for naval assistance. Two of the four cruisers of the First Special Squadron at Singapore were sent to Cape Town South Africa, and four destroyers were sent to the Mediterranean Sea and were based out of Malta. Rear-Admiral Sato Kuzo on the cruiser Akashi and 10th and 11th destroyer units (eight destroyers) arrived in Malta on the 13th of April 1917 via Colombo and Port Said. The Nisshin led this group of eight Japanese destroyers based in Malta, in a mission to protect Allied shipping against German and Austrian submarine attacks, as part of Japan’s contribution to the Allied war effort under the Anglo-Japanese Alliance Eventually this Second Special Squadron totaled 17 ships: 1 cruiser, 12 destroyers, 2 ex-British destroyers and 2 sloops. |
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Idzumo which, according to Jane's, was a Japanese first class cruiser completed at Elswick Shipyard in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 1901 14. IDZUMO class, IDZUMO, IWATE, 2 ships - 9,700t, 20 knots, 4-20.3cm/14-15.2cm, 670 crew, 1900-01 38. KABA class, KABA (birch), KAEDE, KASHIWA, KATSURA, KIRI, KUSUNOKI, MATSU, SAKAKI, SUGI, UME, 10 ships - 665t, 30 knots, 1-12cm/4-7.8cm/4-45.7cm tt, 92 crew, 1915 |
Norio Kojiro sensei started Sado when he was still 4 or 5 years old, his grand mother practiced Sado and he liked the sweets that came with tea. His school is Dai Nippon Sado Gakkai, a branch of Ura-Senke since Meiji Era. His Tea master name is Senken Kojiro and has a high position in this school called Kyoju; this is 2nd highest level of the school. The ceremony presented was carried out in a format known as ‘Nodate’ (field tea ceremony) informal style usually performed out doors ‘like a picnic) started in the Edo era (late 18th early 19th century) where Lords on picnic became thirsty. Occasionally this Nodate took the form of sitting on chairs with a table. [Fukusa] this purple cloth is called Fukusa. This is used to lightly wipe the cups before everything else in tea ceremony. It cleans the cups but also cleans and purifies the mind, as to pay respect to the tools used in tea ceremony. [Chasen] this whisking tool is called Chasen. The host turns the Chasen to check if it is safe to use. He then gently dips it in warm water so that the tea will be made tastier. [Turning of cup] When the tea is served the host turns almost 360 degrees so to make sure that the cup’s face – the decorated area is presented to the guest. The guest then takes the cup respectfully and turns it slightly clockwise, in order not to drink from the face. It is important for both host and guest to treat the face of the cup carefully. When the guest finishes drinking, he turns the cup slightly clockwise again and returns it as it was presented, the face or decorated area facing the host. The degree of host’s turning the cup depends on the school. |
| 'A Short History of Tea Ceremony supplied by Norio Kojiro sensei' |
Shoin-cha or Shoin-tea and Cha-no-Yu, Ikebana - Flower arrangement became popular. Ikebana’s origin came about from the preparation of flowers for religious shrines. |
| Wabi-cha was completed by Sen-no-Rikyu, the apprentice of Jouou Takeno from Sakai (the central part of Osaka). Earlier popular amongst merchants, Rikyu introduced Wabi-cha to the Samurai. The Samurai used Cha-no-Yu for their strategies. A Previous ruler of Japan Nobunaga Oda made Sen-no-Rikyu, Sokyu Imai and Sogyu Tsuda his advisors for his strategies for the various battles he was embarking on. In 1582 Nobunaga’s successor Hideyoshi Toyotomi decided to award China pottery instead of lands to the Samurai. Sen-no-Rikyu helped in setting up this system. The Cha-no-Yu population up until the early Edo era was limited to Samurai and elite merchants only, but in the middle of Edo era as the merchant’s economy improved overall, its population increased dramatically. Cha-no-Yu became popular amongst civil servants and middle class merchants as a hobby all over Japan. |
| Cha-no-Yu teaching such as [Wa-Kei-Sei-Jaku]: Wa – Friendship and harmony Kei – Respect to each other Sei – Complete purity Jaku – Certainty of mind [Ichi-Go-Ichi-E] or One Meeting One Opportunity was taught by Naosuke Ii towards the end of Tokugawa Shogunate era. |
| After his death by Seppuku (ritual suicide incurred by Hideyoshi, as he had become extremely concerned over the success and rise in the spiritual influence Rikyu was having over him and devised a situation where this severe penalty would have to be accepted. However this caused Hideyoshi tremendous distress becoming mentally unbalanced and thus affecting his future decisions) Cha-no-Yu was taken over by Rikyu’s student Sen-no-Shoan and after his student Sen-no-Sotan. Sen-no-Sotan’s
three sons started their schools such as Omote-Sen-Ke, Ura-Sen-Ke and Mushakouji-Sen-Ke developing these three styles. In the Edo era Oribe Furuta, Enshu Kobori and Kenchu Yabunouchi were major influences for Sado (Tea ceremony) amongst the upper classes In the Meiji era the Ura-Sen-Ke school made efforts to introduce Sado in Tokyo and succeeded in its introduction to the school curriculum for girls and becoming a compulsory subject in education. In 1906 Tenshin Okakura, who was working at the Boston Museum, introduced Cha-no-Yu to America and into Europe. He also published a book [The Book of Tea Ceremony] using the term ‘tea ceremony’ for the first time in English. |
The following article appeared in the highly acclaimed Japanese Kendo magazine – Kendo Jidai, which has a circulation of over 6 million copies. The article was printed after Matsumoto sensei’s first visit in 2008 for the annual Maltese Kendo Federation Summer Seminar lead by Budden sensei, which is open to all members every year
Maltese Ken |
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| I was delighted by their smiles and their friendliness. In this country with little green, the olive trees grow traditionally. Olive tree branches are the symbol of peace. I left Malta hoping Kendo in Malta grows for the future. |
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| Jumpei Matsumoto | |
MKF Gozo Grading Results 27th September 2009. Shodan Country Nidan Sandan Godan Panel: M Sumi. J Tashiro. T Holt. J Matsumoto. P Budden. Y Inoue |
