Closing 2022 – looking forward to 2023

2022 – short review

The past year was a difficult and challenging year if you look at the overall picture. We will still be faced with many of those difficulties in 2023 but keep faith and hope for the general situation to improve – and will contribute whatever we can.

For our organisation and dojo, the year was a good one. Only very few students decided to stop training, we had new members and our nafuda board would even need an extension soon.

In modern Budo, we started ZNKR iaido well. We are linked to the main German Iaido Association,  members of our dojo were successfully passing kyu and dan examinations, achieved 3rd place in the German Iaido Championship and participated in the European Iaido Championship in Italy. In November, we hosted the 3rd Bavarian regional seminar in Bayreuth with Rudi Müller sensei for the first time with 30 participants.

In the koryu that we follow, Hontai Yoshin Ryu, we had the full year of training after the Covid restrictions, did many extra-trainings on week-ends and were very happy to participate with a good number of students in the Italian keikokai in beautiful Spello in Umbria re-meeting a lot of good and long-year friends in Budo.

In December, participants of our dojo were very successful with the online kata competition organized by the Italian Honbu Dojo – a good confirmation that we are on a good way in growing the level in our group.

I am very happy to see that our dojo is a „vivid“ place. Often when I come to the dojo before training or in the weekends, students are training already alone or in small groups off the regular schedule. They are taking opportunity of having our own dojo and not an official sports hall.

This is a sign of a very good spirit in our group which is made up by every individual member.

We have 4 persons currently for regular teaching in koryu and ZNKR Iaido: Michael Ziebis, Dinah Kretschmer, Gilvan Barroso and myself. And we are constantly training students to take responsibility and to learn how to support and teach others. Not keeping but sharing to all students with a good kokoro.

Plans for the year 2023?

If karma will allow, we will continue and even strengthen our activities both in koryu and ZNKR Iaido.

In Iaido, we will grow students to ikkyu and dan level, 3 members this year are planned to participate in the German Iaido championship and hopefully make it to the European championship in Munich. We will diligently raise our level by participating in seminars.

In Hontai Yoshin Ryu, 10 members will travel to the Verona keikokai where we are very happy to be able to see soke again after several years. It will be a joyful event to see all HYR friends again. During the keikokai and the Taikai in June, we will also participate in the examinations for Hontai Yoshin Ryu Jujutsu and Iaijutsu – let’s keep fingers crossed! We will take opportunities to raise the level by training hard and visiting seminars as much as possible.

Besides training, we will continue with our beer-gardening apres-keiko, our cherry-blossom party and our hiking tours in the beautiful area of Franconia.

And – I think there will be one or two things in addition that we do not know or expect.

Finally, a big thank to all members of our dojo and organisation, to all friends for their friendship and kindness and to all teachers fort he support and guidance that we were allowed to have.