by Jeremy Chevaux
On may 17th and 18th took place the national French tournament, in Rocquencourt.
This year has been quite special, as the event opened with a junior section’s taikai.
How inspiring to see those young fighters putting all their hearts into their first fights!
We could clearly see some future champions at work there! Good job, kids ????
Winners :
1st : CHIN Alicia
2nd : Gvero Anais
3rd : Corniou Emma
Fighting spirit : Vargoz Corwin
Fueled by the positive energy of the young fighters, Kyu competitors gave their best as well, I have to say we witnessed an improvement in terms of quality of the fights year after year in this category, as the level grows and we could see some nice technics put in practice, with no incidents such as broken blades.
Winners
ladies :
1st : HEGGER Bettina
2nd : ROTH Jospehine
3rd
: BIZE Romane
Winners Men :
1st : TAN Vincent
2nd : DELGADO HERNANDEZ Jose
3rd
: SEMIAO Emmanuel
Regarding Women Dan Championship, as per usual, it’s a lesson given in terms of technical approach of our budo, way more gracious than our manly style.
I have been impressed by Kyu ladies performing so well facing more experienced partners! Congratulations, girls !
Winners :
1st : VEYRUNES Carole
2nd : ROTH Josephine
3rd : TAN Eloise
Fighting
spirit : BIZE Romane
Final Category of Saturday was Men dan division for which I can express myself on a more personal angle.
Preparation for this one has been quite hardcore for me as I just recovered from injuries to my ribcage received at the beginning of the year.
Fortunately, with the help of my friends and senseis, I felt ready enough to face the big challenge of this first half of 2025.
As usual, this tournament has been a great moment of friendship and performance, as I ended up in final facing my sempai and brother in arm, Guillaume Dufeil, which completely blasted me in the previous taikai (Tokunaga cup 2025, which he won btw !).
This duel was more than just a fight for a gold medal, it was a fulfilled promise to meet at the top we made beforehand. We didn’t spare each other and fought with all that we got, ending in a tight victory for me.
Thank you, Guillaume, for this unforgettable moment of Naginata. We trained and suffered together, and this was one of those fights you don’t forget.
Winners :
1st : CHEVAUX Jérémy
2nd : DUFEIL Guillaume
3rd : VARGOZ LOic
Fighting spirit : TCHOUKAVOFF Guillaume
After celebrations of this first day, came the final Trial: TEAM Championship !
I love those kinds of confrontations as you must add to your fighting skills, a good touch of strategy.
All teams were great to face, we could even see some trying to score hiki wake to get out pools for example (nice try, sneaky guys !).
WINNERS :
1st: Versailles 1
2nd : ROCQUENCOURT
3rd : TUESG
This conclude our latest adventure to date, but many great challenges await now, as European championship is already on the horizon…