December 25th, 2022

Hasegawa Sumie
Kyoju dairi (teaching representative)

About the seminar in Slovakia
On the evening of November 21,

Somucho sensei, who was scheduled
to go to Slovakia, tested positive forthe coronavirus. As a result ofcoordination with Stefan sensei(Slovakia), I was requested to go toSlovakia alone.

And so I went to Slovakia by myself.

I could hardly sleep on the 21st and 22nd. I was told to "go alone," andfrom the moment I decided to go, my personal life disappeared into thin
air, and I just had to do everything I could think of one by one. I had todeliver the luggage to his grandson.

At 4:30 p.m. on the 23rd, I left my house in the heavy rain with two piecesof luggage. Since I had already sent my luggage to Narita Airport, I had tochange my luggage at the airport, so I left early for the 10:30 p.m.
departure.

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At Narita Airport, I packed some baggage to be sent back to my home,
except for the minimum necessary items including souvenirs to bechecked in 30 kg. I checked in early and headed to the gate, but it felt likemy first time at the airport.

The plane was almost full because the Qatar World Cup was being held atthe time.

I could not sleep during the 12-hour flight. After arriving in Dubai, I took
the elevator and escalator to the gate for my connecting flight, and had notime to look at stores. There were few people wearing masks, just a few
coughing people here and there.

We arrived at Vienna International Airport a little after 1:00 p.m. local timeon the 24th. Immigration was easy, and when we went out of the exit,
Stefan was waiting for us with a bouquet of flowers and a smile on hisface. We went to his house about 45 minutes away from the airport, put
our luggage in the guest room where we would be staying, and he showed
us around his house and dojo, which is about 30 tatami mats in size. Thegarden from the living room was lovely and was decorated with chic
Japanese ornaments and frames.

On the following day, the 25th, from 9:00 a.m., a presentation was held at
the "Bratislava Private High School for the Protection of Persons andAssets" by Stefan's students from 12 classes of 4 grades, practicing "Daitoryu Aikijujutsu, Aikido, Judo, Muay Thai and MMA (Mixed Martial Arts
Self-Defense Techniques)". The current enrollment is 310 students, morethan double the 93 applicants for the new term in September.

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The event was attended by Ambassador Nakagawa, Ambassador
Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to Slovakia, Chairman of theSlovak Olympic and Sports Committee, Head of the Bratislava
Metropolitan Police Department, Personnel Department of the Slovak
Republic Military Command, and many VIPs.

The distinguished guests seemed to motivate and encourage the students
even more. In addition, the first-place class received the "Somucho
Katsuyuki Kondo Cup" and the second-place class received the "Kyoju

dairi Sumie Hasegawa Cup," and plans were made for them to participate
in a special training session with me on Monday, the 28th. I was very
impressed with the care and concern that Stefan had for the students andfor us.

On Saturday the 26th and Sunday the 27th, the Daito ryu Aikijujutsu
Closed Seminar was held for the first time in three years. The closeseminar brought together more than 50 students from 13 countries,
including Europe and as far away as the United States, to practice after along absence.

On the first day of the seminar, all the students practiced altogether for the
first hour, and then the group was divided into two groups, one for dan
promotion and the other for other dan examinations.

In the short time of two days, we paid maximum attention to enriching thetraining of the dan examiners and other students and also checked oneach student individually while observing the whole group. During the3

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training, at the suggestion of Branch Director Stefan, we connected withGeneral Manager Sensei, who was recuperating, by video, and everyone
had a chance to talk with him and to watch the whole training. A"Welcome and Farewell Party" was also held that evening, which included
a traditional dance performance and other activities. When I returned to
my room after 11:30 p.m., my "Budo Passport" was waiting for me in myroom.

I filled in the date and name on the passport, and the name of the place
was stamped by Stephan's wife, who said, "Don't worry, we'll stamp it! Shegave me a hand and said, "Don't worry, it will be stamped! I would like tothank Mrs. Stephan's wife for her warm hospitality and support.

On the following day, the 27th (Sun.), we continued our training, and in theafternoon, we held the dan promotion examination. Seven students passed
Shodan, three Nidan, and one Sandan.

All of them also passed the 100 ukemi test.

On Monday the 28th, we had a special practice session with the top twoclasses (3rd and 4th graders) from the presentation held on the 25th. All of
the students have been practicing since they entered the school, so they
were able to catch on very quickly, and even though they did notunderstand each other's language, they were able to practice with themuch taller students in a very short time.

On the 29th, we went sightseeing at Schönbrunn Palace with Stefan's wife,
and in the evening, Stefan and I went to an opera for the first time invited4

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by an acquaintance of the general manager. The program was "TheSorrows of Young Werther. I would like to go see the opera again if I havea chance.

On the night of the 28th and 30th, we were taken to a town where aChristmas market was being held, and on the night of the 30th, Martin,
Stefan's best student, showed us around.

On December 1, I will return to Japan with 65 kg of luggage, including 40
kg of souvenirs for the teachers from the students in each country. Stefan
and his wife drove us to the airport, although we could not join them for a
farewell lunch because there was no restaurant in the airport,
He made sure that we checked in and that our travel bags were ready for
pickup at Narita, and waved to us until we were out of sight at the gate.
By the time I finished the departure screening, I received a confirmation
email from Stephan, the branch manager.

From Vienna to Dubai. At Dubai International Airport, we took a moving
train (?) I took the train (?), elevator, and escalator to the gate leading toJapan, and walked along the road for what seemed like an eternity. I could
hardly sleep on the return flight, and arrived in Japan at 6:00 p.m. on the2nd, with my legs still aching. Thanks to the fact that I had registered myvaccination certificate, MySOS, Visit Japan Web, etc. in advance, I was able
to enter Japan relatively smoothly.

I had to go to Slovakia by myself in a hurry, but with the support of myteachers, and with the cooperation of Mr. Stefan and other high-ranking5大東流合気柔術・真武館道場
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students, I was able to complete the two days of the seminar. Still, I could
feel how much everyone wanted to meet Somucho sensei.

Thank you very much.

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