The 19th Kanagawa Prefecture Aikido Demonstration was held on Saturday, July 29th, 2023 and because of renovation works held at the Kanagawa Prefecture Budokan, which is the usual location of the event, it was hosted this year at the Yokohama Budokan, very close to our dojo.
The event was organized by the Kanagawa Prefecture Aikido Federation, supported by the Aikikai Foundation and the All Japan Aikido Federation. Sponsors included the Kanagawa Prefecture, the Kanagawa Prefectural Board of Education, the Kanagawa Prefectural Assembly Member Martial Arts Promotion Federation, the City of Kamakura, the Yokosuka City Board of Education, the Zushi City Board of Education, tvk, and the Kanagawa Newspaper Company. The event was also sponsored by fourteen dojo, including Yokohama AikiDojo.
On the day, Aikido practitioners from thirty-three dojos of the Kanagawa Prefecture gathered on the mat. This number is almost ten more dojos than last year’s event, which is both wonderful and also shows that Aikido has been back into full swing now that the sanitary restrictions have been lifted.
This year’s event being on a Saturday, we had to make our way promptly after the adult class at our dojo to make sure that we arrived a little before 13 o’clock. Luckily, we made it on time and were able to join after registering, as the practitioners gathered on the mat for the opening. A number of individuals gave speeches, including Kanagawa Prefecture Aikido Federation chairman Matsuda Yoshiaki and director Takeda Yoshinobu Shihan.
Takeda Shihan then formally opened the demonstration session with a formal bowing of two bows, two clappings, and one bow, as is often done in Shinto shrines. The demonstration was split into two parts, each starting with dojo demonstrations where people of all ages showed the result of their daily practice, followed by instructor demonstrations of two minutes each. The second half also included a demonstration by the Minato General High School Aikido Club and Kanto Gakuin University Aikido Club.
Last year, it was Mihaly Dobroka Sensei who represented our dojo and this year, Guillaume Erard Sensei took the lead, joined by our instructor Katsuura Emi Sensei, as well as fellow Hombu Dojo practitioner Francesco Re as uke. Due to circumstances outside of our control, we decided on the participants very late and we had almost no time to rehearse the demonstration.
Indeed, the first time Guillaume, Emi and Francesco actually rehearsed at the same time was during the 15 minute break between the two sessions! Fortunately, the both did an outstanding job as uke and the demonstration was well appreciated, included by Takeda Shihan, who came to congratulate us at the end.
Group photo of the ~150 practitioners gathered on the day.
Takeda Shihan closed the event with a thank you speech and we are all already looking forward to participating in the 20th edition next year!
