We spent the third weekend of May in Belgrade, Serbia, attending an international iaido seminar combined with a competition. This year’s seminar featured an exceptionally strong lineup, with the organizers inviting three holders of the 7th dan, which created excellent conditions for learning and exchanging experiences.
Our dojo’s delegation consisted of three members: Adriana, Marián, and Matej. The journey went surprisingly smoothly, as we spent only 21 minutes at the Hungary-Serbia border, a significant improvement compared to last year when we waited nearly three hours.
Matej joined us from Rijeka, Croatia, where he had been attending a week-long professional conference. Even there, he didn’t forget about iaido and visited a training session at the dojo of our friend Marko.
Although we arrived at the hotel just before 10 PM, we were greeted by a warm atmosphere. Together with the event organizer and Vice President of the European Kendo Federation, Spiros sensei, we toasted symbolically to a successful weekend. Shortly after, two Japanese teachers, Takahiro and Sasamura sensei, who are currently based in Vienna, Austria, joined us. Both were very friendly, open, and curious; conversations with them were enriching, as was their later instruction during the seminar. Spiros sensei, who recently underwent surgery, was full of energy and humor. He shared the latest news from the EKF, giving us insight into the behind-the-scenes of the European iaido scene.
The seminar itself took place in a beautiful sports complex with a spacious hall. The training was technically demanding yet very well led, with detailed explanations of each kata and intensive joint practice of enbu. During the Saturday seminar, our Marián sensei played an important role by demonstrating all the kata during the explanations. This was not only a sign of trust from the head instructor, Spiros sensei, but also a great opportunity to represent our dojo at a high level.
On Sunday afternoon, the second edition of the tournament was held. The competition opened with the yondan–godan category, where Adriana took first place. In the nidan–sandan category, Matej fought hard and showed himself to be the most technically precise participant, though the judges awarded him the bronze medal this time.
The organization of both the seminar and competition was excellent; everything ran smoothly, the facilities were suitable, and most importantly, the atmosphere was fantastic. We met many new practitioners, reminisced with old friends, and took home a lot of inspiration.
We believe that this wonderful seminar will continue to grow in the coming years, and we look forward to meeting again in Belgrade, hopefully with even greater participation!
