A Matravers school pupil has been selected to represent Great Britain at the World Kendo Championships in Italy this weekend.
16-year-old Chloe Leigh is in Milan as part of the senior women’s GB team in the Japanese martial art which uses two-handed bamboo swords and is derived from the fighting methods of the ancient samurai warriors.
Chloe has just completed her GCSEs before travelling to Milan to compete.
“It’s been a bit of a struggle doing my GCSEs and training for the world championships but it’s worth it!” she said. “I was so excited when I heard the news that I had been picked.
“We’ll face three other teams in our group and we’re hoping we can make it through the groups to the knock-out stages. It would be a massive achievement to get out of our group, but we’re all really confident.”
Chloe has been practising kendo since she was 11 and now trains several times a week in Bath.
She is one of the few top kendo competitors in the country without any ties to Japan. “Most people taking part are either Japanese or have lived there, but I’ve got no links to the country,” said Chloe.
“My grandma’s partner took me along to a session because he wanted to try it and I gave it a go and just loved it.
“I started taking it seriously when I was about 13 but I never thought I would represent my country. I’m really excited to be part of the team representing GB.
“Kendo has given me so many opportunities to travel round Europe in tournaments and now it’s an amazing feeling to go to the world championships.”
The championships are being held at the internationally famous sports arena of the Mediolanum Forum in Milan over four days from Thursday to Sunday this week, 4th to 7th July, with Chloe competing in the women’s team event on Saturday and Sunday.
More than 50 nations from all over the world will take part in both individual and team competitions.
Kendo, from the Japanese KEN “sword” and DO “way”, is a martial art that has its roots in the ancient Japanese philosophy of the Samurai, the famous warriors dedicated to protecting their lord using a curved blade sword and armour.
Today practitioners (kendoka) use bamboo swords (shinai) to strike defined parts of the body, all well protected by armour, to try to score points.
• Chloe trains at Bath Kendo at Hayesfield School in Bath with local sensei Graham Williams, assistant manager of the GB team, and sensei Yukie Williams. Regular beginners’ sessions are run which are advertised on the club’s Facebook page and all ages from ten upwards are welcome.
