Report - No Medals in Bologna

You cannot step into the same river twice. After the recent successes of our medalists: Krzysiek Górnicki, Marcin Wojtasik, Adam Kitkowski, and "Jerry" Wolny, the Polish team returned without medals from the XII European Championships in Iaido and the IV European Championships in Jodo, held in Bologna, Italy, from October 30 to November 4 this year.

Nevertheless, the entire team deserves recognition for their truly combative attitude and willingness to fight. In the individual iaido tournament, in the Mudan category, Paweł Kokoszka from Poznań won decisively against the Finn Salonen (3:0) and despite losing to the Belgian de Broyer (1:2), he advanced to the second place in the elimination group. Debuting at the European Championships, Grzegorz Mrozik from Częstochowa was only fighting for the starting order in the main tournament, as there was no representative from Romania, Sorin Mahiki, in his group. The only Pole in the Shodan category, Marcin Wojtasik from Warsaw, had a tougher path, landing in a four-person elimination group where the final ranking was determined by small points, but he also made it to the tournament. In the Nidan category, Daniel Demkiewicz from Szczecin showed true class, defeating Michal Kolisek from the Czech Republic (3:0) and Jennifer Michou from Austria (3:0). Adam Kitkowski, after losing to the Czech Kyncl (0:3) and winning against Wolfgang Marko from Austria (3:0), finished in second place. In the Sandan category, Maciej Aleksandrowicz from Opole also successfully passed through the eliminations, although he was in a four-person group. Jarosław "Jerry" Wolny from Poznań lost to Halls from the UK and the Frenchman Losson, being the first of the Poles to end his participation in the European Championships. Krzysztof Górnicki from Opole also did not succeed in the Yondan category. In the main tournament, the Poles fought with varying success, but none of them reached the finals. The highest-ranked was Adam Kitkowski, who lost only to the later European champion, Davide DeVecchi from Italy.

The Poles delivered a real surprise in the team iaido tournament. Our team, consisting of Maciej Aleksandrowicz, Jarosław Wolny, and Krzysztof Górnicki (reserve: Daniel Demkiewicz), ended up in an incredibly strong "quadruple" elimination group, alongside Portugal, Finland, and the defending champions, Italy. We lost the first match against Finland 1:2 (Maciej Aleksandrowicz won his fight 3:0), but we won against Portugal 2:1 (Aleksandrowicz 3:0, Wolny 2:1). Meanwhile, the Italians won their matches 3:0, 3:0 - and came into the match against Poland as clear favorites. Nevertheless, the Poles proved to be better! They won 2:1 (Wolny 2:1, Górnicki 3:0) and received warm congratulations from other teams, even the Finns, who quietly hoped to advance from the group. For the first time in the history of the European Championships, Poland reached the main tournament - and in very nice style. The final between Belgium and Germany ended with a victory for Belgium 3:0.

Less flattering words can be said about the Jodo tournament, in which only three of our representatives participated. The first to end his participation was Marcin Wojtasik in the Shodan category, followed by Adam Kitkowski (Nidan). Jarosław Wolny (Nidan) remained in the competition, clearly leading against Ivan Modolo from Italy, but made a clear mistake in the last action and ultimately was eliminated. In the Shodan category, the title of European champion was won by Kurt Dumoulin from Belgium, defeating his brother Ronny in the final. In the Nidan category, Jean-Marie Roibourdouille, also from Belgium, triumphed.

The biggest losers of both editions of the European Championships were probably the Germans. In the individual iaido tournament, they did not win any medals, and their performance in Jodo was only slightly better. As a consolation, they were "only" awarded the title of vice-champions in the team iaido competition. The Poles, on the other hand, celebrated the success of two candidates for dan master degrees in iaido. Paweł Kokoszka passed for 1 dan, and Adam Kitkowski for 3 dan. Congratulations!

Witold Nowakowski