Kendo in Lithuania?

[Charuzu]

Hey Everyone

This summer I may be going to Lithuania for a bit and I was wondering which cities have kendo clubs. (Bonus points if anyone knows if Klaipėdos Universitetas/Klaipėda University has a club)

[krys]

This summer I may be going to Lithuania for a bit and I was wondering which cities have kendo clubs.

Vilnus and Kaunas.

(Bonus points if anyone knows if Klaipėdos Universitetas/Klaipėda University has a club)

There are probably three dojos in the whole country so I doubt it.
Ask them yourself:
fed1
fed2

[dwez]

In this instance the Kendo Clubs of Lithuania Google Map is your friend.

[krys]

Incomplete as it follows only one of lithuanian kendo federations.

[VejuMote]

Hey! There are curently five clubs in Lithuania. There are three in Lithuanian Kendo Association (that belongs to EKF) - it's Trijega KenYuKai (in Vilnius); Vilnius University Kendo Club (in Vilnius - this is the one I go to ); and Aikishuren dojo (in Kaunas). And then there are Kyumeikan Kendo Club in Kaunas and Vilnius Kendo center in Vilnius. If you want more information or contacts, you're welcome to ask It would be very nice to have guests :>

[dwez]

Hey guys, thanks for your input. I always state that local knowledge is the key aspect of getting these maps correct and therefore of value. I also decided a while ago that these would only be dojos recognised by the EKF and FIK, so if there's more than one federation in Lithuania then I'll only be plotting the main one.

I try my best to start these things off hoping that someone local will take up the challenge to maintain their map which will guarantee accuracy. In this instance I was contacted by Gerardas Rukas, President of Lithuanian Kendo Association who agreed to collaborate on the map with my help. He explained a little about the Lithuanian kendo situation and that those not part of the LKA are not officially recognised and therefore cannot take part in competition or hold examinations.

Of course Charuzu is only going for the summer and may just be concerned about practicing regardless of internal kendo politics in which case your advice will no doubt be useful. However, regarding this map I hope you appreciate why it is the way it is. If there are still amends to the map required then please contact Gerardas with any changes (his email is in the 2nd of kry's links http://www.kendo-lka.lt/en/contacts.html), thanks.

[VejuMote]

Having in mind your decision include only those, which are recognised by EKF (that is, belongs to the Lithuanian Kendo Asociation)... then only one on the map (Trijega in Vilnius) belongs to LKA. Aikishuren dojo and VU kendo club are not listed http://kendo-lka.lt/lt/naujienos.html here you can see, that those two also belongs to LKA, as their members are between winners...
And that club in your map, in Kaunas (kyuemeikan) - does not belong to LKA... And I wrote about those two other clubs just "for the sake of it" - maybe someone would also be interest in visiting them too.

[VejuMote]

I can understand why you are not willing to believe me But then maybe you should contact Gerardas for an update - if you spoke with him few years ago, you don't know about Aikishuren and VU clubs, because they are only few years old

[Nebulagleam]

VejuMote is correct.
As a one of the founders of Vilnius University kendo club (which is led by Kastytis Belazaras, secretary of LKA) i can reasure that we are the members of LKA, why Gerardas Rukas didnt include us, probably because the club was established less than 2 years ago.
Same goes for Aiki Shuren Dojo (kaunas). The head of this club (Edgaras Indra) is also a Event-manager of LKA.
So i hope this clears a view a bit. Ofcourse if you doubt the info you can always write directly to the president .
I hope that the map will be updated, because it is very valuable tool both for people who are visiting Lithuania both for us who are practicing here .

[krys]

President of Lithuanian Kendo Association who agreed to collaborate on the map with my help. He explained a little about the Lithuanian kendo situation and that those not part of the LKA are not officially recognised

I do not know the details of the situation (and do not wish to know them) but it looks to me like listening only to one side.

and therefore cannot take part in competition

They take part.

And that would be all from me about the matter.

[dwez]

Having in mind your decision include only those, which are recognised by EKF (that is, belongs to the Lithuanian Kendo Asociation)... then only one on the map (Trijega in Vilnius) belongs to LKA. Aikishuren dojo and VU kendo club are not listed http://kendo-lka.lt/lt/naujienos.html here you can see, that those two also belongs to LKA, as their members are between winners...

Your local knowledge is clearly going to be more accurate than my map,

And that club in your map, in Kaunas (kyuemeikan) - does not belong to LKA... And I wrote about those two other clubs just "for the sake of it" - maybe someone would also be interest in visiting them too.

Indeed just visiting clubs it is useful to have that extra information provided by those locally.

I can understand why you are not willing to believe me But then maybe you should contact Gerardas for an update - if you spoke with him few years ago, you don't know about Aikishuren and VU clubs, because they are only few years old

I believe you completely, however in the first instance I would recommend you contact Gerardas and ask him to update it. Alternatively if you wish me to do so I'm more than happy to add any LKA club so just send me the address, website URL's practice times and I'll add them. Gerardas gave me this information on 23rd June last year, and stated some clubs would likely become members. If this situation has changed then I suggest Gerardas is the guy to go to and ask the map be up-dated, perhaps he has forgotten about it, I'm sorry I can't speak for him in this instance.

VejuMote is correct.
As a one of the founders of Vilnius University kendo club (which is led by Kastytis Belazaras, secretary of LKA) i can reasure that we are the members of LKA, why Gerardas Rukas didnt include us, probably because the club was established less than 2 years ago.
Same goes for Aiki Shuren Dojo (kaunas). The head of this club (Edgaras Indra) is also a Event-manager of LKA.
So i hope this clears a view a bit. Ofcourse if you doubt the info you can always write directly to the president .
I hope that the map will be updated, because it is very valuable tool both for people who are visiting Lithuania both for us who are practicing here .

Thank you for the information, again I think Gerardas is the best person to handle this. I only started this to help kendoka take part around the world and I'm glad you can see the value of it. These maps are not without mistakes, I freely admit, though because I don't live in the respective countries. I do the best I can based on the knowledge available, often incomplete or in a different language to my own. When someone local contacts me and is willing to take over I am trusting they will provide a more accurate map than I can possibly deliver, hopefully with the respective association taking complete ownership and using it to it's best capacity.

I do not know the details of the situation (and do not wish to know them) but it looks to me like listening only to one side.

Indeed I did krys, perhaps I am naive and too trusting in this instance. However, when the president of a national kendo association offers to contribute to the map of his country I am not about to argue about it with him. I hope all those who have commenteed about Lithuanian Kendo and who have much greater local knowledge appreciate that I belive they know far more about their Kendo Association.

However as Gerardas is the President of the officially recognised association I am leaving the map in his capable hands. I will contact him and state there are questions about upgrading the map but I would advise that all aspects of this map are, in the first instance sent to him. I hope everyone undestands the position, cheers.

[dwez]

Guys, after contacting Gerardas he got back to me today with a request to add the Vilnius University Kendo Club and the Aiki Shuren dojo, which I have done. I have also made it clear on the map that additions and amendments should be sent through to his email and then he will contact me to make the changes.

Thanks for your patience, I hope I've now resolved some, if not all of your concerns.

[VejuMote]

That's nice

[Charuzu]

Hmmmm, maybe I'd be better for me to go to Vilnius University instead.
Here's the Program's webpage for the Summer intensive. I've had people tell me alot of great things about VU, I'm just not sure what they have since their website is less detailed.

Could anyone tell me where I could stay the cheapest price? (Or better yet, would anyone wanna put up with me for 4 weeks? lol)

Thanks

[Charuzu]

I only have 8 days till I arrive in Lithuania and 7 days till I depart from the United States. Luckily, I've found a place to stay for most of my trip and I hope that I'll get things figured out for the last week. I'll be in Vilnius from the 21st of June to the 26th of July

It's going to be really tight though, I'm going to be working on a budget of about $6 a day. :/

As such, I have to ask a few more things:
-Does VU's club have any fees? If so, how much?
-Should I bother bringing my Hakama and Gi? (I ask this because I'm both a beginner and since I haven't even practiced for over a year so I'm probably back to square one)
-How much does the club charge for Shinai?
-What is the clubs Schedule? (I hear that the Language program keeps you busy most of the time)


Thank you