The first International Kendo Seminar hosted by the Maltese Kendo Federation, and bringing together 70 kendo martial artists from 18 countries, will be held in Gozo next week.
The seminar will be held at the Gozo Sports Complex between Thursday and Sunday 24 to 27 September. Ten Maltese players will be participating.
The organizers chose to hold the event in Gozo mainly because it offers a better environment and more countryside than Malta.
“Kendo involves a lot of spirituality and meditation and we felt that the Gozitan environment was ideal for this,” said Mr James Zammit from the Maltese Kendo Federation.
Furthermore, the Gozo Sports Complex in Victoria is situated just opposite the Down Town Hotel, making it easier for the kendo artists to hop to and fro between the hotel and the sports complex.
Activities will be held throughout the day and the participants will be at the complex for an hour in the morning, two hours at around midday and another two hours in the evening. Thus the logistical arrangements should prove to be very convenient especially since players and organizers will be saving time on transport.
During the official opening ceremony on Friday at 11.45am, the participants will have the opportunity to meet the top Japanese sensei and also witness the Japanese tea ceremony, a swordsmanship demonstration, the traditional sport of Japan, and the reading of the official letter sent by the Japanese Consulate based in Rome as a letter of support.
Team competitions will be held on Friday and Saturday evening from 6pm onwards and a grading will be held on Sunday morning. Further kendo practice in both shinai and sword technique will be held at other times over the four days. A free practice lesson is offered to members of the public of all ages on Sunday at 3pm.
The underlying theme of this year’s seminar is waza-geiko (technique practice). In kendo technique practice one must aim to cultivate interpersonal skills and instill mutual development by simultaneously confronting extreme tension - or ‘being on the edge’. As both practitioners confront and deal with such situations, they naturally create a sense of mutual respect and achieve a positive approach with total acceptance by working together. This is referred to as “ji-ta-do-kon”. If a person is able to attain this concept of respect and consideration in their Kendo practice, they can hopefully apply the same concepts in everyday life, thus becoming role models in their workplace and the wider community.
Kendo, the way of the sword, embodies the spirit of Japan and is highly revered as it incorporates in its practice the cultural aspect, such as etiquette, Zen, spiritual and mind meditation with aerobic physical agility. It is one of the oldest martial arts of Japan and was practised by the samurai.
As the traditional sport of Japan, the discipline continues to be part of the national Japanese education curriculum. Many books have been written about the art and are studied in many universities worldwide.
Over 10 million people practise this martial art worldwide and the International Kendo Cup is held every three years.
This international kendo sporting event is supported by the Gozo Ministry, the Maltese Sports Council and the Malta Tourism Authority.
More information is available on: www.kendomalta.org. Interested parties may also call on 9921 6879 or 9944 5817 for further information. Entrance is free of charge and the public is invited to watch the event.