Sándor Dubi is thecaptain of theHungarianNational Men’s KendoTeam. He wontheindividual European KendoChampionshipstitletwiceand wasalsothemember of the team atthe World Championships, where Hungary tookthe 3rd placeinthemen’s team competition. Thisyear, he willconduct a kendoseminarin Budapest, whichwill be heldafterthe21st Budapest SakuraCup.

When and whydidyou start practicingkendo? 

My dad took me to the first training because I always enjoyed playing with swords. They thought it will be good forme. Well, it was a good decision. I’m still grateful for it.

Your brother is also a successful competitor. How does it feel to practice and go to the competitions wit hhim?

I always enjoyed working to get her with Attila, and have always been proud of him. Our personalities are really different, so our style in kendo is different as well. I’m really happy that he could find his own style. People don’t eventhink about how difficult it is, when you have to find your own way when you are young.

Do you?

Youk now, we could have said, that ’I’d rather play football because I don’t want to go to thehard and strict kendo practice…” – and in this case, I’m not talking about my brother. I’m sure it’s a good feeling that you are always there for eachother… Of course it is! I’d mention two specific things: the first is that before goingt o a competition we always gather in our parents’ house. The other is that during competitions I always have the feeling that I’m on thes hiaijou with him, and the other way around. It’s interesting, and pretty hard to explain. In most of the cases, when I fight him, I know what he is planning to do, However, last time, at the National Championships there was a moment when we were standing still. It took quite a long time actually. I think that wast he first time when wedidn’t know any thing about the other’s plans. I really enjoyed that moment. I believe our kendo has improved.

Has your attitude to wards competiong changed any thing during the years?

As a child you aim to win a lot of medals and trophies. I wasn’t really successful in this, I think I was a latebloomer. I started to have results in the age of 19-20. I always got mad if I lost, and I blamed my self. The will in me is still really strong, but I learned how to deal with lost matches. Kendo teaches us to practice and develope our selves until the end of our lives, doesn’t it.

Who are the people o rwhat are the influences that made you develop during the years?

I could say my parents, my companions, my friends or the sense is who helped me a lot. As a competitor the most important thing forme is stamina. As I’ve said I learned a lot from the experiences when I lost. Of course you can only learn from these after wards. When you lose, first you only feel like you are tired of thew hole thing. Even if you have been working your really hard, some how you can’t succeed. In these cases you need a lot of strength to go to then exttraining and keep pushing even harder. This was thething, who made me develop: I transformed the disappointments in to energy.

What do you think, why is the Budapest Sakura Cup important for beginner kendokas?
Beginner sor the little more experienced kendokas could me a sure their skills in this competition a tequeal level. Thanksfor Tibor Bárány the tournament has be come international.

Why is it special this year?
This year, there’s a seminar after the competition, what I would recommend to all the competitors and even for thenon-competitors as well.

You will lead the seminar. What are you going to concentrateon?

Since beginner and experienced kendokas will alsotake part atthetraining, I would like to start with the basics. Later on we will move on to the shiai techniques, performed by the Hungarian National Team. In the end, we will have jigeiko. The most importantaim is to share our experience and to help the participant sin their development.

The European KendoChampionshipwill be heldinApril. What do you think about the team’s condition?

Of course our aim is towin in every cathegories. If it wouldn’t be there’d be no point of we aring the national team’s out fit. I’m sure that every single teammate of mine thinks the sameway. I think the preparations were going really well.

What are your plans after the EKC?

We will continue the preparations for the World Championships. This year’s EKC is a really important stop forus. We can mea sure our skills, and see what we need to develop. Most of us will stop competing after the WKC, so we also have to find then extgeneration for the team.


Czimbalmos Mercédesz