大東流合気柔術, 本部, Daito-ryu, Aiki-jujutsu

2022 report

“With Covid” has been going on for 3 years, but the practice at the dojo continues as usual without canceling, even while wearing masks. With regard to the scheduled events of the headquarters, some official demonstrations have been canceled. And also, It was very disappointing that the Katsuura camp and the overseas seminar were cancelled.

Despite this situation, we could participate in 3 official demonstrations, conduct monthly online seminars, special online seminars for 3 overseas branches / study groups, 2-day domestic practice camp, and the seminar / dan-promotion examination in Slovakia by Hasegawa Hombucho-Hosa.

A brief annual report is as followed.

2022
January 7              Headquarters Dojo practice begins
January 9              Daito-ryu News (No. 2)
February 6            Participation in The 45th Demonstration of Japan Traditional Martial Arts Association (Nippon Budokan)
March 26               Headquarters board meeting
May 21                  Headquarters board meeting
July 24                  Branch / Study group chiefs meeting (online)
August 27              Drechtsteden Study Group Online Seminar (Netherlands)
September 10        Rotterdam Branch Online Seminar (Netherlands)
September             Video promotion examination
October 2-3           13th Kashima Jingu Demonstration of Japan Traditional Martial Arts Association
October 8              Headquarters board meeting
November 3           Meiji Jingu Demonstration of Japan Traditional Martial Arts Promotion Society
November 19-20    Domestic joint practice camp and dan promotion examination
November 20         Headquarters board meeting
November 26-28    Slovakia Bratislava Seminar and dan promotion examination
(Instructed by Sumie Hasegawa, Hombucho-Hosa)
December 17         Lausanne & Zurich Study Group Joint Online Seminar (Switzerland)
December 20         Media interview (KKH-BRIDGE), Headquarters board meeting
December 23rd:     Hombu Dojo practice ends

* From January to December, 12 online seminars were held for all branches / study groups from 21:00 (Japan time) on the second Sunday of every month.

* This year, 10 students were promoted to Sho-dan, 10 students to 2-dan, 2 students to 3-dan and 2 students to 4-dan. Usuyama Fuku-Hombucho was permitted the “Kyoju-dairi”.

3年越しの新型コロナを伴っての日本でしたが、道場での稽古はマスク着用ではありますが、休むことなく通常に運営されました。本部行事としましては一部の演武大会が中止となりました。恒例の勝浦合宿や春の海外セミナーが中止となったことも大変残念でした。このような状況下ではありましたが、3つの演武大会への参加、毎月のオンラインセミナー、3つの海外支部へのオンライン稽古指導、また2日にわたる国内合宿、新型コロナの流行の間隙をぬっての長谷川本部長代理によるスロバキアセミナー。また延期されていた昇段審査等を行いました。簡単ながら年度報告をさせて頂きます。

2022年度
1月7日　　　　本部道場稽古始め
1月9日　　　　大東流ニュース（第2号）
2月6日　　　　第４５回日本古武道演武大会（日本武道館）　出場演武
3月26日          本部役員会
5月21日　　　 本部役員会
7月24日　　    総支部長会議（オンライン）
8月27日　　 　Drechtstedenスタディーグループオンラインセミナー（オランダ）
9月10日　　　 Rotterdam支部オンラインセミナー（オランダ）
9月　　　　     ビデオ昇段審査
10月2-3日　 　第13回鹿島神宮奉納古武道大会　出場演武
10月8日　　    本部役員会
11月3日　　 　令和4年度明治神宮奉納古武道大会　出場演武
11月19-20日 　国内合同稽古並びに昇段審査
11月20日　　　本部役員会
11月26-28日　 スロバキア・ブラティスラバセミナー並びに昇段審査
（長谷川すみ枝本部長補佐指導）
12月17日　　　Lousanne&Zurichスタディーグループ合同オンラインセミナー
（スイ ス）
12月20日　　　KKH-BRIDGE取材　　本部役員会
12月23日　　   本部道場稽古納め

・1月から12月まで毎月第2日曜日日本時間21時より全支部向けオンラインセミナーを12回行った。
・本年度昇段者は初段１０名、2段１０名、3段２名、4段2名。臼山副本部長に教授代理が授与された。
以上

December 25^th, 2022
Hasegawa Sumie, Kyoju-dairi

About the Slovakia seminar

On the evening of November 21th, Somucho Kondo Katsuyuki Sensei got Covid-19 positive and he had to give up to go to Slovakia, and as a result of consultation between Somucho Sensei and Stefan, Branch Chief of Slovakia, I was decided to go to Slovakia alone.I hardly slept on the 21st and 22nd.

The day and a half that followed passed at a dizzying pace, as I just had to do everything for preparation for the travel and the seminar including receiving package that Somucho Sensei planned to take to Slovakia through his grandson.

At 4:30pm on November 23rd, I left the house with two bags in heavy rain. As I had already sent my luggage to Narita Airport in advance, I had to change my luggage at the airport, so I had to leave my home earlier. At Narita Airport, for making my luggage less than 30 kg for check-in from my original luggage that had been sent in advance. I packed up to send home non-essential items, including souvenirs. I checked in early and headed to the gate, but it felt as if the first time I had been to this airport.

I boarded the plane and it was almost full, just as the FIFA Qatar World Cup was taking place. On board, I did not sleep at all during the 12 hours flight. There was no time to look at shops when I arrived in Dubai, and I rode lifts and escalators to reach the gate for my connecting flight. Few people wore masks, just people coughing here and there, etc.

The flight arrived at Vienna International Airport shortly after 1 pm local time on November 24th. Immigration was easy and Stefan was there waiting for me with a bouquet of flowers and a smile when I walked out the exit.

After we moved to his house and left my luggage in the guest room where I would be staying, I was shown around Stefan’s house and the dojo, which is about 30 tatami mats in size. The garden, which could be seen from the living room, was lovely and was chicly decorated with ornaments and frames related to Japan.

At 9 am on the following day, November 25th, the demonstration competition was held at Stefan’s school (“Bratislava private college for guard of security”) by students of 4 grades and 12 classes of the Daito-ryu Aikijujutsu, Aikido, Judo, Muay Thai and MMA practiced by the students of this school. The school is very popular and the current number of students is 310. There were more than double the number of applicants for the capacity of 93 students for the new school year beginning in September.

Many VIPs attended the event, including Ambassador Nakagawa (Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to Slovakia), Chairman of the Slovak Olympic and Sports Committee, Head of the Bratislava Metropolitan Police Department, and the Personnel Department of the Command of the Army of Slovakia. The distinguished guests seemed to motivate and encourage the students even more. In addition, the “Somucho Kondo Katsuyuki Cup” for the first-place rated class and the “Kyoju-dairi Hasegawa Sumie Cup” for the second-place rated class were presented at the ceremony, and plans were made for them to attend a special training session under my instruction on 28th (Mon). I was truly impressed by the caring the hospitality of Stefan for the students and for me.

On 26th (Sat) and 27^th (Sun), the first Daito-ryu Aikijujutsu overseas seminar was held in three years. More than 50 students participated in the seminar from 13 countries, mainly from Europe but also from the USA.

On the first day, all students practiced together (kumi-geiko) for the first hour and then divided into 2 groups: the examinee group for dan promotion and others. The Shodan and 2-dan examinee group each had a 4-dan students as their group instructor and had intensive practices. In the first day, I paid maximum attention to the practice of the dan examinee students and other students to make their practice as fulfilling as possible, and I also checked on them individually while observing the whole practice. During the practice, at the suggestion of Stefan, a video link was made with Somucho Sensei, who was still recuperating in Tokyo, so that everyone could talk to him and Somucho Sensei could watch the whole practice.

The “welcome and goodbye party” was also held in the evening, which included Slovak traditional dances and other activities that made the evening more convivial.

It was after 11:30pm when I returned to my room and “Budo passports” to stamp and sign were waiting for me in my room. I filled in each Budo passport with the date and the name, and the name of the place were stamped by Stephan’s wife, who said, “Don’t worry, I’ll stamp them!” and gave me a hand. I would like to thank her for her really warm and personal care.

On the next day, 27th (Sun), we continued practicing, and in the afternoon, we held the dan promotion examination, which was accompanied by Somucho Sensei online despite of that he still had fever and it started 2 am in Japan. 7 students passed the examination for Shodan, 3 for 2-dan and 1 for 3-dan. All the Shodan passed students also performed 100 ukemi and they cleared whole the course.

On 28^th (Mon), a special training session was held with the top 2 classes (grades 3 and 4) from the demonstration competition on 25th. All of the students have been practicing since they entered the school, so they were very quick to learn and, despite the language barrier, my instruction time with them passed very quickly.

On 29^th (Sun), I went sightseeing at Schönbrunn Palace with Stefan’s wife, and in the evening Stefan and I went to the opera for the first time, which we were invited to by an acquaintance of Somucho Sensei. The performance was “The Sorrows of Young Werther”. I would like to see opera again if I have the chance.

On the evenings of the 28th and 30th, I was taken to the down town where a Christmas market was being held. On the evening of the 30th, Stefan’s best pupil, Marti, showed me around.

On December 1st, I left Slovakia to return to Japan with 65kg of luggage, including 40kg of souvenirs for teachers in Japan from all the students of various countries. Stefan and his wife drove me to the airport and although we were unable to have our farewell lunch as there was no restaurant in the airport, they made sure I checked in and that my luggage could be picked up at Narita, and waved to us until they could no longer see me at the gate. By the time the exit clearance was completed, I received a confirmation email from Stefan.

From Vienna to Dubai, at Dubai International Airport, I rode a moving train, lifts and escalators to the gate leading to Japan on a long way that seemed to go on forever. I hardly slept on the return flight and arrived in Japan at 6pm on December 2nd with my numb legs. Thanks to frantic pre-registration of vaccination certificates, “MySOS and Visit Japan Web”, I was able to enter my country relatively smoothly.

I had to go to Slovakia by myself at short notice, but I was able to complete the 2-days seminar with the full support by teachers in Japan and with the help of my high ranked dan students including Stefan. The seminar was a good example of how everyone wanted to meet Somucho sensei.

Thank you very much.

翌２５日午前９時より、ステファン支部長の「ブラチスラヴァ私立人物・資産保護専門高等学校」に於いて当学校の生徒達が練習している「大東流合気柔術・合気道・柔道・ムエタイ・MMA（総合格闘技の護身術の技）」を、４学年１２クラスの生徒による発表会が行われました。現在の在籍者は３１０名、９月の新学期応募９３名に対し倍以上の応募希望があったということです。

当日は駐スロバキア日本特命全権大使の中川大使、スロバキアオリンピック・スポーツ委員会会長ブラチスラヴァ警視庁庁長、スロバキア共和国軍司令部人事部と多くのVIPの方々が参列されました。また、発表会で評価上位２クラスは２８日（月）に私の特別稽古に参加できることになっておりました。

２６日（土）・２７日（日）は、３年ぶりの大東流合気柔術クローズセミナーが開かれました。クローズセミナーはヨーロッパを中心に遠くはアメリカを含め１３ヵ国５０人余りの門下生が集まり久々の稽古ができました。２６日初日は、最初一時間は全員で組み稽古をし、続いて昇段審査グループとその他に分け稽古を実施初段、二段のテストグループにはそれぞれ四段をリーダーに付け重点稽古を実施いたしました。全体を見ながら個々に声をかけチェックを致しました。途中ステファン支部長の案で療養中の総務長先生とビデオをつなぎ皆なが総務長先生と話をし、全体の稽古も見て頂きました。

またこの夜に「ウエルカム・さよならパーティー」が行われ伝統のダンスなどもあり和やかな時間となりました。部屋に帰ったのが午後１１時半過ぎ、部屋には「武道パスポート」が待っていました。翌２７日（日）も引続き稽古を実施、午後には昇段審査を実施、日本時間夜中にもかかわらずビデオにて総務長先生の立会を頂き緊張感のある審査となりました。初段７名、二段３名、三段１名が合格致しました。また１００本受身も行い、初段全員クリアしました。２８日（月）は２５日に行われた発表会の上位２クラス（３年生・４年生）と特別稽古を行いました。全員入学以来練習をしてきているので大変呑み込みが早く、また言葉が通じない中、工夫をしながらも遥かに背の高い生徒たちとのあっという間の稽古時間が過ぎていました。

２９日はステファンの奥様とシェーンブルン宮殿を観光し、夜は総務長先生の知人にご招待を受けたオペラにステファンと二人初めて行ってきました。演目は「若きウエルテルの悩み」でした。機会があればまた見に行きたいと思います。２８日と３０日の夜はクリスマスマーケットが開かれている町へ連れて行ってもらいました。３０日夜は、ステファンの一番弟子のマーティンが案内してくれました。１２月１日、先生方のお土産を含め６０キロの荷物と共に日本へ帰国します。ステファンと奥様が空港まで送ってくださり、お別れの昼食は空港の中にレストランが無くご一緒できませんでしたが、チェックインから旅行カバンが成田で受け取れることまで確認をしてくださり、ゲートで見えなくなるまで手を振ってくださっていました。
出国の審査が終わった頃にはステファンからの確認のメールが届いていました。Ｖｉｅｎｎａからドバイへ。ドバイ国際空港では移動の電車（？）、エレベーター、エスカレーターなど乗り継いで永遠と思われる道を、日本へ続くゲートを目指しひたすら歩きました。帰りの飛行機もほとんど眠れず、ジーンとする足を抱え、２日午後６時に日本へ到着いたしました。事前に接種証明書やＭｙｓｏｓ、Ｖｉｓｉｔ　Ｊａｐａｎ　Ｗｅｂなどを必死で登録しておいたおかげで比較的スムースに入国することができました。

急遽単身スロバキアに行くことになりましたが、先生方に影になり日向になりサポートを頂きまたステファン支部長をはじめ高段者の門下生の協力もあり２日間のセミナーを終えることができました。皆なが総務長先生にお会いしたかった気持ちが良く伝わって来たセミナーでした。ありがとうございました。

中央区スポーツセンター武道場にて国内合宿・昇段審査会が行われました。
旭川医大・札幌・金沢・世田谷・日本橋浜町・安田学園・両国から50人の会員が集まり、濃密な稽古が行われました。

白帯の皆さんは1か条立会を中心に、初段は2か条、2段以上は3か条・4か条を中心に和気あいあいの中に中身の濃い稽古が行われました。最終日は昇段審査そして総務長講話が行われ門下生一同、身を引き締めて聞き入りました。

4段に口村明広、河野純一、3段に味岡功磨、2段に西村英明・前川雪菜・矢野睦夫・藤原雅樹・東健太郎・香山由紀子・大滝政克が昇段しました。誠におめでとうございます。

また、臼山秀遠副本部長が教授代理を拝命いたしました。
教授代理は自分の道場以外に国内外の支部道場の指導を許されるものです。
これからの更なる活躍を期待いたします。