Home > What's New?

What's New?

Shorinji Kempo 70th Anniversary Event

2017 Shorinji Kempo World Taikai in California, USA

2017 Shorinji Kempo International Study Session

On July 30, 2017, Shorinji Kempo World Taikai, which takes place once in every four years, was held in California. Fellow members of Shorinji Kempo from 22 countries gathered together for this occasion.

 

The theme of the World Taikai was “Be the Bridge Make the World Better, One Person at a Time.” From the last World Taikai in Osaka in 2013, it traveled the borders, crossed the ocean, and met again in California. We acquainted, helped each other in training, established bonds, and became a bridge to the world and to the future.

 

July 28, 2017 WSKO General Meeting

Previous to the World Taikai, Shorinji Kempo World Organization General Meeting was held in San Francisco, and representatives from 22 countries attended to discuss WSKO projects for the coming years. At the World Taikai venue, volunteers from the US Federation worked hard to set up the site.

 

July 29, 2017 Special Dan Grading Examination & Preliminary Round for America

A special dan grading examination was held for WSKO members who are not of the Japanese Federation. 55 candidates for 3rd to 7th dan with permission to take their examinations gathered from the morning, and they took the written, physical, and oral tests. The preliminary round for the US Federation also took place, and those who qualified participated in the World Taikai as representatives of America. At the same time of the preliminary round, participants for the World Taikai had a chance to practice at the venue. The participants for the World Taikai on the next day gathered together, and there were many smiles of joy for reuniting over national borders.

 

July 30, 2017 2017 Shorinji Kempo World Taikai in California, USA

The Shorinji Kempo World Taikai was held in San Mateo, CA. This event was at the San Mateo County Event Center, and it is located on the north end of Silicon Valley by the San Francisco bay, where people enjoy its blue sky in this time of the year.

 

We had honorary guests such as Mr. Jun Yamada, Consul General of Japan in San Francisco, and about 1,500 people from 22 countries gathered together after four years from the last World Taikai in Osaka in 2013.

 

We had great embu of each national representative in the competition and exhibition divisions, and we also enjoyed seeing unique exhibitions in the disabled, elderly, group, international group (kenshi from different national federations), and essay divisions.

 

As an attraction during the World Taikai, a taiko performance was presented by San Francisco Taiko Dojo supervised by Mr. Seiichi Tanaka, a former member of Chiba Shoka University Shorinji Kempo Club.

 

When the taiko performance completed, people complemented it by saying “excellent!” and “very nice!”, Shorinji Kempo’s unique and heartwarming culture of respecting and accepting each other.

 

We also had some presentations of awards. For awarding 20 years of federation service, the Swedish Federation (2014), the Italian Federation (2015), and the Portuguese Federation (2017) received their recognitions. Mr. Indra Kartasasmita and Mr. Hiroshi Aosaka, both WSKO Directors, received the 70th anniversary distinguished service award, and at last, Mr. Katsuya Hirayama, President of the Americna Federation, received a letter of appreciation from Yuuki So, WSKO President, for organizing and supervising the World Taikai.

 

During the closing ceremony, the hosting country of the next World Taikai was announced, and Japan will host the World Taikai in 2021. The World Shorinji Kempo Organization Flag was returned from Mr. Hirayama, Executive Committee Chair, to Yuuki So, WSKO President, and then it was passed to Mr. Kazuhiro Kawashima, President of the Japanese Federation.

 

 

 

Celebration

After the World Taikai, the US Federation hosted a celebratory event at Hyatt Regency San Francisco. Tom Torlakson from the State Ministry of Education attended the celebration and had conversations with Yuuki So, WSKO President. He presented Shorinji Kempo a title of “Champion of Peace.” A local chorus group “Kakehashi” performed beautiful music numbers, and the Cheerleaders of Oakland Raiders excited the participants.

 

 

 

July 31 – August 2, 2017   2017 Shorinji Kempo International Study Session

The day after of the World Taikai and celebration, 2017 Shorinji Kempo International Study Session was held for three days, and over 500 kenshi from 22 countries participated. It became a great opportunity for every kenshi to deepen understanding of both Shorinji Kempo teachings and techniques, and it was also a chance for them to cultivate and cherish friendship over the borders.

In her lecture on the theme of “Be the Bridge Make the World Better, One Person at a Time,” Yuuki So, WSKO President, focused on the world situation, particularly in Asia. She quoted the words of Kaiso, “No peace in Asia without a relationship of friendship between Japan and China, no peace in the world without peace in Asia” and emphasized that this is not limited to the relationship between Japan and China, but it applies to all the relationships in the world: between neighboring countries at the national level and neighboring houses at the community level. In order to realize a peaceful world without war, we place “human development” as our core purpose. It is the foundation of Kaiso’s thinking about the world, and we will continue pursuing his vision.

After the lecture, the participants were divided into groups of 10, and they shared and discussed their opinions while respecting each other’s thoughts and ideas. At the end of the group discussion activity, one female kenshi from Italy and another young kenshi from America had presentations on “what can we do in our daily lives to realize peace”, and “how Shorinji Kempo helps them in their daily lives.” During the technical practice under the instructions by WSKO instructors, kenshi from all over the world, both old and new friends, trained together, had enjoyable times, and deepened their relationships.

 

On the evening of the second day, a BBQ style social gathering outside the study session site. The US Federation prepared a quiz for the participating countries and a competition on drawing portraits of Kaiso. The Indonesian Federation also presented their tradition dance, to which participants from other countries joined, and we all had a wonderful time together.

 

 

 

 

At the closing ceremony, Shorinji Kempo Shike granted certificates to all those who passed their special dan grading examinations. In the closing remark, Mr. Hiroshi Aosaka, WSKO Director, invited all the participants to meet again in Japan in 2021. When all the events completed, all the participants were reluctant to part, and they all promised to meet again. It became a precious opportunity for all the participating kenshi to re-confirm the “One Unity World Wide – Shorinji Kempo.”

 

Pamphlets prepared by the US Shorinji Kempo Federation were distributed to all attendees who kindly donated during the 2017 Shorinji Kempo World Taikai in California, held on July 30, 2017 at the San Mateo County Event Center.

 

Due to a production error on the part of the WSKO Secretariat, the names of some participants were not included in the pamphlet. We deeply regret this omission, especially in light of the rigorous training of all participants, many of whom travelled great distances to attend the Taikai. The WSKO sincerely apologizes for this mistake.

Please find a corrected list of participants attached.

 

              

As part of the commemoration of Shorinji Kempo’s 70th anniversary, the 2017 Shorinji Kempo World Taikai in California, USA was held on July 30, 2017 at the San Mateo County Event Center in San Mateo, California, USA.

Representatives from 22 countries proudly held their nation’s flag, and kenshi from 16 countries performed embu in the Competition, Exhibition, and, Theme Exhibition divisions.

Please find the results for the Competition division attached.

Kenshi from Auckland Central Branch and North Shore Branch were invited to perform an embu demonstration at the 2017 Japan Day festival of Japanese culture held at The Cloud Events Centre, Queens Wharf, Auckland on 26th February 2017. The event is an annual celebration hosted by The Japanese Society of Auckland and the Consulate –General of Japan in Auckland. The event features Japanese martial arts, cuisine, art , music , dance and popular culture .

Kenshi from both branches had been preparing embus for about a month prior to the event and it was a great opportunity to show to the Auckland public a wide variety of embus including Dantai ( group embu) , senior men and women performing paired embu and  shakujo embu as well as  children demonstrating basic techniques. It was good to see a number of minarai kenshi who were prepared to demonstrate Tenchken Dai Ikkai in front of a large crowd. We wanted to show that Shorinji Kempo is a martial art which appeals to men , women and children of all ages. The demonstration was well received and as a result we received enquiries from people who were interested in joining Shorinji Kempo.

The participants in the demonstration were:

Steve Young and Takeyuki Morita ( Auckland Central branch ) performing an embu with tanto ( knife) .

Manuel Agbayani and Nathaniel Changco ( Auckland Central branch) performing a paired embu.

Sean McIlvride ( North Shore branch) and Takeyuki Morita ( Auckland Central branch) demonstrating some basic goho and juho techniques slowly and fast.

Rob Burnett , Junior Paepaerei and Sean McIlvride ( North Shore Branch) demonstrating shakujo in single and pair form.

Jarrod Moreton and Nick Howdle  ( North Shore branch ) kyu kenshi performing a paired embu.

Kazuko Noichi and Kanae Atsumi ( Auckland Central branch) performing a paired embu.

Minarai kenshi performing a group embu demonstrating basic techniques.

50th Anniversary of the Indonesian Shorinji Kempo Federation

It was a pleasure to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Indonesian Shorinji Kempo Federation. In order to commemorate this special year, Study Session, Special Grading Examination and memorial events were held in Jakarta, Indonesia. In the reception on the first day we welcomed about 30 people from the Indonesian Federation, including Mr. Ginandjar Kartasasmita, as well as 5 people from Japan, including WSKO President, Ms. Yuuki So, Director Urata, and Secretary-General Kawashima.

A training camp was held on the second day. The WSKO President delivered a congratulatory address, conferred a letter of appreciation and presented some mementos. 500 kenshi attended the training camp and 100 kenshi took Special Grading Examinations.

On the last day of the training camp, Secretary-General Kawashima gave instruction to all attendees, and Director Urata gave Dan Certificates.

For the 50th anniversary event, about 500 people, as well as the Minister of Youth and Sport, were invited. It began with a colorful opening, and then while drums were being played several young kenshi displayed musical instrument performances and conducted Enbu demonstrations.

 

 

Schedule

Date   Event
February 3(Wed) Reception
February 4(Thu) Training Camp(Special Grading Examination)
February 5(Fri) Training Camp(Special Grading Examination)
February 6(Sat) Training Camp(re-examinations, general instruction, certification awarding ceremony), Indonesian Shorinji Kempo Federation 50th anniversary event

 


 Reception
IMG_0212 IMG_0207 IMG_0214

IMG_0225

 


Training Camp
CIMG1280 CIMG1294 IMG_0266

CIMG1303 CIMG1304 IMG_0263

CIMG1309 (2) CIMG1316 CIMG1319

CIMG1325 (2) CIMG1349 CIMG1351

CIMG1358 CIMG1362 CIMG1365

CIMG1379 CIMG1388 CIMG1392

 


Event
 CIMG1420 (2) CIMG1421 (2) CIMG1424 (2)

CIMG1429 (2)

December 16, 2015

Regarding the Synchronized Terror Attacks in Paris, France

We would like to offer our sincerest condolences for those who lost their lives as a result of the synchronized terror attacks in central Paris, France on November 13th.
We have received a report that, at present, none of the kenshi of the France Federation were harmed. However, we express our deepest regret that such a great number of sinless individuals passed away.
We pray that the grief of the bereaved family members and other related individuals of the deceased will be relieved as soon as possible.

World Shorinji Kempo Organization