KAMINARIKAN News Digest — Q4 2022

A surprise guest joined our morning keiko: Shunsuke Nagashima, a true kendobaka from Japan who has practised kendo since the age of five — over thirty years of dedication. Even a mid-day flight was no excuse to miss asageiko. To make the visit unforgettable, we arranged an isshu-jiai (naginata versus kendo) match with our guest. Surprisingly, most Japanese practitioners know little about atarashi naginata, so it proved a fascinating exchange. Nagashima-san promised to return in winter. We look forward to his next visit.

The local newspaper My Neigbouhood published an article about our dojo, featuring an interview with Anna and Andrew and photographs from a training session. The piece explored their journey into budo, the founding of the club and the principles that guide beginners. Andrew spoke about his early interest in Japanese culture and his path from judo to kendo and naginata, while Anna shared her story of transitioning from dancing to martial arts. A welcome opportunity to share kendo and naginata with a wider audience.

A busy week featured over five kendo sessions, including kata, tachi-ai, shiaigeiko and competitions. OWe congratulated Andrey Solodovnikov on receiving his kendo nanadan. The President of the All-Russian Kendo Federation, Vladislav Tolkishevsky, also visited our dojo for an energetic keiko. The week concluded with strong performances at the XII Taikai of the Moscow Kendo Federation: Alex Alekseev took bronze in the men's kyu competition, while Dasha Belova secured bronze and the Fighting Spirit award in the women's kyu category.

A difficult year ended on a high note with a fiery final keiko. Our friend Shunsuke Nagashima joined us again for a two-hour jigeiko. After training, we celebrated with a sauna, a fire, tea and a birthday cake for our friend Tima. Warm wishes to all kenshi for the New Year!