Captains’ Report - 2024 NKGT in Budapest.
Men’s Captain’s Report - by Rick Collins
The NKGT event in Budapest, Hungary represents an invaluable milestone in the GB Team’s preparations towards the upcoming 19th World Kendo Championships; beyond this, however, it is also a major event in its own right. With 16 men’s teams and 15 women’s teams hailing from four different continents, the GB Team approached the two days of shiai with excitement and a determination to show the calibre of British Kendo on an international stage amidst fierce competition.
The men’s team had six team matches on the first day. With strong performances across the board from both established members and up-and-coming stars, the team was able to walk away with 5 wins against Poland, Sweden, Austria, Lithuania and Germany, and a draw against the hosts - Hungary. The development and growth of the team in the last year was evident; one of the key results was the strong win against Poland, who knocked us out in the quarter-finals of the EKC the year before. The team was professional and clinical in its performance. Established members fought confidently and showed their deep experience; younger players brought an aggression and destructive energy befitting of the strongest players in Europe; and team debutants, one of whom is just 16, showed exactly why they have been touted for success from this early stage in their competitive career. Particularly impressive was the depth of teamwork showed across the team, with players supporting each other and showing a cohesion in strategy and passion that made the GB Team clearly stand out amongst the crowd. The event also gave the men and women’s team captains the opportunity to referee high level shiai, which was not only an important experience for our development as Kendoka but also an opportunity for greater visibility for the GB Team at the event.
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The second day had a number of very tough opponents in store. The day started with a match against a very strong team in Australia, who had been largely undefeated over the weekend. The GB Team showed their quality, with wins from James Wright, Konradas Rukas and Rick Collins held together by important draws from Dante Sesay de Luca and James Ogle leading to a clear victory. The team went on to lose a close fought match (3-1) against International Budo University, who had travelled to the event from Japan, then swiftly rebound with two more comfortable wins against Croatia and Romania; new members Andrew Berry and Noel Cadete showed their spirit with clinical 2-0 victories to close the day. Overall, the GB Team walked away with 8 wins, 1 loss and 1 draw – an outstanding set of results. The team returned home with a newfound confidence, a vast set of learning points with which to prepare for the World Championships, and most importantly an appreciation for the BKA, its members, and a burning desire to represent them on the world stage.
We, the players, management, coaches and everybody involved in the wider national squad, are eternally grateful to the members of the BKA and the Kendo Bu for their continued support. Opportunities to participate in and represent the BKA at events like this are completely invaluable, and allow the team not only to prepare for the World Championships and beyond, but further to develop our abilities and pass our newfound, growing knowledge on to Kendo practitioners back home in the UK and to the future generations of aspiring Kendoka within the BKA. Without the support of the BKA membership, none of this would be possible - thank you so much, and we will do our absolute best to represent you, and British Kendo, both on and off the shiaijo!
Women’s Captain’s Report - by Kanako Hirai
The GB Women’s Kendo Team participated in the NKGT event in Budapest as part of our preparation for the 19th World Kendo Championships. Both the Men and Women teams approached the event with an enthusiasm built over the past few months in our squad practices. We are very grateful for the support of the British Kendo Association (BKA), without which participation would not have been possible. The event was an invaluable experience on our journey to succeed in the upcoming WKC.
Our team, consisting of experienced members and juniors, competed in several matches against international teams. We secured wins against countries; Poland, Romania, Ukraine, Lithuania, Czech, Croatia and Australia. The focus was on gaining experience and improving our skills aided by the chance to participate as referees. We made sure to represent not just ourselves but the association to the upmost of our abilities. Showing respect to all, pride in our Kendo and as representatives, furthermore our passion to cement ourselves as a leading team in the world.
Australia was particularly tough and put up a good challenge to overcome. There was great determination among the women with great performances. In two decisive matches, we were an ippon down but showed impressive fighting spirit to then take back two to win these matches. Evenmore impressive this was achieved by one of our junior members. The junior members of the team have shown an inspiring consistent effort and determination through difficult practice realised through their results. Overall our team was able to support and build upon each other’s efforts and I was proud to captain such an amazing team.
Again we would like to thank the British Kendo Association (BKA), also our coaches and management for their willingness, time and energy to give us this opportunity. It is not unnoticed and we appreciate just how smoothly the entire trip went and how we operated as a team including the management and coaches.