21/04/2026
In April 2026, another trip to Japan took place, this time to Osaka!
It all started with the February phrase, "Can you go to Japan for a week?...?" Of course, "Yes!"
What was the plan? Training at Osaka University of Health and Sport Science (OUHS) under the guidance of Hiroshi Kanzaki-sensei (8th dan, kyoshi).
Five training sessions took place between April 15th and 18th. The unknown schedule was anxious, but the memory of my previous trip to Japan with a week of training at the University of Teacher Education Fukuoka (UTEF) in Munakata was still fresh in my mind, which undoubtedly helped me adapt a little faster.
So what happened? I was lucky! The students were preparing for competitions, and at every training session, they had shiai. One day at UTEF, there was also a shiai practice among students, but this time I was able to not only spectate but also participate and even win one of the matches.
Having watched matches at OUHS, UTEF, and the All-Japan Kendo Championships (AJKC), I noticed some similarities in shiai, but also the clear differences from shiai in European kendo, particularly in Russia.
Before each match, the opponents would simultaneously do rei and put on men in front of each other, standing on opposite sides of the shiai-jo, and finish in the same manner in reverse order. In other words, each match began and ended outside the shiai-jo, not within it.
Rarely did a shiai last less than five minutes, and even less so without encho. Of course, this wasn't always due to productive interaction; more often, the students would rush at each other to decide who could land the first blow. However, this doesn't mean all their hits were scored an ippon. Shiai were distinguished by extremely strict judging, where the slightest failure to meet the criteria was reason to not raise a flags. I was particularly impressed by the students ability to quickly adapt to their opponents actions, which helped them almost always achieve their goal.
And most importantly, there was mutual respect between both participants and spectators. Shiai at the AJKC were characterized by silence; during student practices, only occasional comments from team captains characterized the training process. Only during ippon scoring did the spectators applaud.
The final OUHS practice was early Saturday morning, but without students, with university graduates and high-level senseis under the guidance of Kanzaki-sensei. The central theme of the practice, of course, was "seme." The practice included quite useful exercises that allowed for a better understanding of "seme" and its effective use. The practice concluded with jikeiko. During my trip, I had the opportunity to practice not only with students and Kanzaki-sensei, but also with current OUHS coach Raichi Murakami-sensei (6th dan, renshi) – vice-champion of the 68th AJKC!
Besides kendo practice, of course, I admired the late cherry blossoms at the Osaka Mint Open Day and visited several temples and shrines.
In conclusion, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Andrey Solodovnikov, Dmitry Gavrilov, Alexander Semenov, Polina Bortina, and the Moscow Kendo Federation for the opportunity to participate in keiko, gain invaluable experience, and see Japan once again!
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