UEC Kendo Club: A unique form of international collaboration

Kazuyuki Mito
Associate Professor
Department of Informatics
Graduate School of Informatics and Engineering

The UEC Kendo Club is one of the oldest clubs within the University of Electro-Communications."Records show that the club was formed in 1943," explains Kazuyuki Mito, an associate professor at the Department of Informatics and advisor to the club. "We currently have 20 regular members, including two students from Brazil, and meet four times a week to practice."

Mito stresses the importance of the practicing and implementing the so-called 'three Ks'--kimochi (mental concentration and spirit), ken (katana) (sword), and karada (body). "In competitions a victory by 'ippon' is only awarded when the judges see the player fuse of these three powers into one," says Mito.

Kendo is widely practiced in Japan with young children having many opportunities to learn at their primary and junior high schools and local 'dojo'. In an intriguing case of international collaboration' the UEC Kendo Club played a central role in establishing the Cambridge University Kendo Club. "In 2008 we had a visitor from Cambridge University who participated in one of our sessions," explains Mito. "He was so impressed by the experience that he decided to set up a kendo club at Cambridge University."

Kendo in Cambridge: University of Electro-Communications, Cambridge University (剣橋大学), and South Wales

The two clubs now visit each other to hold competitions every year. "About 10 members from UEC visit Cambridge and the same numbers of people visit us here in Chofu," says Mito. "In the future I may take the group from Cambridge to Jindaiji Temple, which is close to the UEC campus. The Temple has a natural 'onsen' or hot spa and would give our visitors an opportunity to experience another facet of Japanese culture." The UEC kendo Club has approximately 300 graduates who support the current members with the running of the club, including financial support for visits to Cambridge.

"Kendo is forever," says Mito. "You can practice until your late 70s. Also our experience with Cambridge University shows that this martial art is also a means of making friends in other countries. It may even lead to international scientific collaboration."

UEC Kendo Club : http://www.megrokai.or.jp/kendo/