Vietnam Kendo Championship 2025: Gathering 250 athletes in the first season

From November 20-23, at Tam Chuc (Ninh Binh), matches within the framework of the 2025 Vietnam Kendo Championship will take place.

The Vietnam Kendo Championship 2025 (AVKC 2025) is the first national championship hosted by the Vietnam Kendo Federation (VKF), aiming to build a solid professional foundation for Vietnamese Kendo. The event is both a competition venue for top athletes and an opportunity to systematize the organization process according to international standards: from athlete qualification assessment, class classification to referee operation. Inviting two 8-dan Hanshi to directly supervise and judge the competition demonstrates VKF's commitment to ensuring the accuracy of technical and tactical content and consistency of rules.

In its first time being held, AVKC 2025 gathered a participating force this year including 250 athletes from 23 clubs in localities across the country.

In its first edition, AVKC 2025 gathered 250 athletes from 23 clubs across the country. The number partly reflects the scale of development of the movement after many years of establishment. With 25 international referees coordinating the tournament, the tournament aims to create a new standard for domestic tournaments in terms of both competitiveness and professional quality.

The primary goal of AVKC 2025 is to standardize the level of athletes, coaching staff and referees according to the FIK criteria. When technical rules, training methods and match management are unified, the movement will have a sustainable foundation to reach the continental and world playgrounds.

The next goal is to expand the movement nationwide, encourage localities to build new clubs, and at the same time train the next generation. Through professional exchanges and sharing of lesson plans, VKF hopes that each club will become a "fulcrum" for systematic training, connected to the general network.

In addition, the tournament also aims at cultural exchange through martial arts, enhancing professional cooperation with international organizations. Thereby, the image of Vietnamese Kendo will be more clearly positioned, facilitating the invitation of experts, sending referees to study, and participating in regional championships according to the integration roadmap.

The tournament will take place from November 20-23 in Ninh Binh.

As planned, on November 21, the promotion exam from 1st Kyu to 3rd Dan recognized by the International Kendo Federation (FIK) will take place under the professional chairmanship of Higashi Yoshimi Sensei, Hanshi 8th Dan, Head Coach of the Japanese Kendo Team at the 19th World Kendo Championship.

The exam fully complies with the steps of document checking, qualification assessment, technical evaluation and results announcement in a transparent process. Organizing the exam in Vietnam reduces costs and travel time for candidates, while creating leverage for clubs to build a roadmap to improve their level of qualifications within the country.

On November 22-23, the competition events will be held according to VKF regulations and FIK rules. The Organizing Committee will arrange all functional areas including warm-up, competition area, medical area..., and establish a process for receiving complaints and handling technical issues according to standards. The drawing, scheduling and updating of results will use the same data system to ensure continuity and synchronization between categories, creating conditions for the teams to proactively plan tactics and prepare physically.

The Vietnam Kendo Federation was established with the mission of promoting the Kendo movement nationwide, standardizing training, ranking exams and organizing a domestic tournament system. VKF represents the Vietnamese Kendo community in international cooperation, working with professional organizations to bring athletes, referees and coaches closer to global standards. In the initial phase, VKF prioritizes building an internal legal framework, training human resources and perfecting the performance data system.

AVKC 2025 is a concrete step to realize the above strategy. By connecting the club network, inviting leading experts to participate in supervision and setting organizational standards, VKF hopes to form a sustainable development cycle: trainees have a clear upgrade path, clubs have reference training programs, and the movement has a transparent capacity measurement through the seasons.

Source: https://bvhttdl.gov.vn/giai-vo-dich-kendo-viet-nam-2025-quy-tu-250-vdv-trong-mua-giai-dau-tien-2025111714330617.htm