Tournaments or Taikai’s as they are known here are not a essential part of Shorinji Kempo training and traditionally have featured rarely in our calendar. However in 2025 our Federation BSKF are hosting not one but two tournaments. Our friends in France are also hosting a tournament of their own where members of club will be competing. So we are working hard to get the ready with our combat training sessions.
If you are under the age of 24 in 2025, then we provide big discounts for all our members to enter tournaments. For France we are covering the travel and accommodation costs.
Shorinji Kempo tournaments, hosted worldwide by the BSKF and IKA, feature multiple Embu categories, including:
Embu (演武) – demonstrations, refining the form, flow, and execution of techniques.
Randori (乱取り) – Controlled sparring, testing adaptability and technique in live exchanges.
Hoki (法器) – Weapons-based embu, demonstrating skill with traditional Shorinji Kempo weapon techniques.
These events allow the club members to challenge themselves, refine their techniques, and uphold the philosophy of mutual growth (共栄). If you want to learn more, then join Kavita Sensei and start training today.
Sensei Kavita’s first Taikai was in 2004 when she was a white belt. By the time she was a brown belt she was winning sliver in the Randori (sparring) category. In 2017, Sensei Kavita hosted the BSKF Taikai and in 2022 she was Tournament Director and the Camden Club ran the show.
Throwback to 2024 BSKF 50th Anniversary Taikai 大会
We took our representation to the next level at the British Shorinji Kempo Federation’s (BSKF) 50th anniversary held on June 2024. We received our first medals in the Dante embu. We were lucky that our first international tournament was held in the UK. It earned a team of 6 a bronze medal in the Dante Embu group demonstration. Despite having the fewest high-ranking members, our club competed against seasoned teams with more experience, marking their first-ever medal and proving their place on the international stage.
Based on this, Out For Sport awarded them Team of the year which celebrates a sports team that exemplifies their club’s spirit through exceptional success, teamwork, and dedication.
Throwback to 2022 BSKF Taikai 大会
Organising a successful tournament requires meticulous planning and logistics, and Sensei Kavita and Sharon, our club administrator, were up late many a night to ensure we had a seamless experience for all participants on the day. We kept participants safe and organised the necessary equipment, including scoring equipment, timers, clipboards, and Covid-safe cleaning kits. We also provided essential items such as water, gloves, gender neutral groin guards and bandanas.
On October 29th 2022, Camden Kempo hosted our National Taikai (tournament) at our friends club in Chiswick. This made it super easy for Shorinji students from several different clubs to join us. As hosts, we delivered on all the behind-the-scenes tasks and managed the running order of the day. This was all carried out on the day under the watchful eye of our head judge – Sensei Mizuno. Sensei Kavita even got to wear her black hoi for the occasion and had two very senior Sensei help her get dressed.
Our tiny club organised a groundbreaking non-gendered tournament that showcased all the full contact combat messiness ,as well as a range of demonstration categories. Too many times in the past, members of this club and our founders have had too few people to fight and felt short changed with their entry fees. By staging a non-gendered tournament, we provided a platform for our female, trans and non-binary members to shine alongside the men and we hope it will redefine the landscape of martial arts competitions for the future.
We were grateful to have a dedicated team of volunteers, including Iris, Robin, CJ, Rosanna, Claire, Sharon, Charlie, Vincent, Sensei Ofelia, and Sensei Kavita. We invited 14 experienced judges to ensure fairness and quality throughout the event.
We were thrilled to have representation from various Kempo clubs, including Bristol City, Imperial, Marylebone, Wimbledon, East London and Hong Kong. Our Grand Master 8th level black belt Sensei Mizuno was in attendance. He was very warm in his praise to us after the event and we even got a mention in his subsequent speeches in Japan.
Our effort was rewarded by winning the Out For Sports Tournament of the year.
Demonstrations
Contact us camden@bskf.org if you would like to invite us to your event.