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4th International Tournament greeting
As Chairman of the Tournament Executive Committee I would like to say a few words of welcome.
This year is very significant for us. It is the centenary of the birth of Kenji Tomiki Sensei who originated competitive aikido. At the same time, it is also the first international tournament of the new century. We are very pleased that this commemorative tournament is being held in Osaka where Tomiki Shihan opened Shodokan as his first specialized dojo.
His dream was to promote international friendship and understanding and the pursuit of the ideals of aikido through competitive aikido.
Just before his death he spoke repeatedly about the necessity of teaching abroad. With this in mind I have travelled abroad every year since 1982, three years after his death. His aikido system is now known internationally but at first there were misunderstandings and difficulties due to the language barrier. However, I have always kept some of Tomiki Shihan's words in my mind, 'you cannot stop a good thing from spreading'. I am also grateful for, and won't forget, the support and understanding I received from all of the overseas instructors in those early days.
This is the 4th International tournament and with each successive competition we have seen increases in the numbers of entrants, participating countries and the levels of performance. It is a truly international tournament. I think I can see Tomiki Shihan's distant dream of aikido as an Olympic event drawing nearer.
With this tournament we have included a mixed team event. This includes original ideas from his practice system and the 'goshin no kata' on which he spent a lot of thought. Also, we have got demonstrations of the Kodokan Goshinjutsu kata and Nippon Kendo kata that Tomiki Shihan thought are valuable to the high ideals of budo as a whole. These are all appropriate for this commemorative centenary tournament.
My heartfelt thanks for the support and cooperation of the many people who made this tournament possible. I would like to thank the tournament staff, judges and referees for their hard work and preparation day and night. Thank you also to everyone from overseas who has joined us here. Also, a special thank you to our guest instructors for their demonstrations.
I am renewing my promise to Tomiki Shihan and intend to continue working with all of you to develop and spread aikido towards his Olympic dream.
Tetsuro Nariyama
Tournament Executive Committee Chairman
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