On 17 December 2016, the Alexander Nevsky Kendo Tournament was held in Minsk. The tournament was organised by the “Memory of Afghanistan” Charitable Foundation for Assistance to Internationalist Veterans and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Belarus.
Background: Kendo (Japanese: 剣道, kendō; literally ‘the way of the sword’) is a modern martial art of fencing that traces its origins to the traditional samurai swordsmanship techniques of kenjutsu (Japanese: 剣術). Its aim is to develop a well-rounded personality and strength of character by training the fencer’s mind and body. In modern Japan, it is regarded as a sport. There is a movement to have kendo included in the Olympic Games programme. (Wikipedia) Belarus also has a kendo federation.
The essence of the three principles of kendo is expressed in the concept of ‘Ki-ken-tai no ichi’, meaning ‘Spirit, sword and body are one’.
Three teams from different regions of Belarus took part in the competition: KioShoKan, Shubukan and Shichiken.
During the keenly contested bouts, the participants displayed their finest fighting qualities.
By the final, the contest between the participants had reached fever pitch.
In the individual competition, Pavel Surovets took first place, Alexander Metla came second, while Jongkwan Lee and Margarita Kazerskaya shared third place.
The Shichiken fighters (Yuri Cherny, Jongkwan Lee, Valery Kaplya, Margarita Dyatchik and Vsevolod Yakovina) won the team competition.
Anna Mikhalevich received the special prize for ‘fighting spirit’.
Russian 
English