By Héloïse Tan
On March 22nd and 23rd, the second edition of the Ile-de-France Championship was held in Maisons-Alfort, in the suburbs of Paris. Following on from the great success of the first edition, which attracted a large number of competitors, this year’s event was open to all French and European competitors, and welcomed Gauthier Fabry (Limoges, France) and Filipe de Oliveira (Braga, Portugal), among others.
Saturday was devoted to individual shiais, showcasing intense fights across all categories. In the Women’s Kyus division, the commitment of the fighters and their incredible energy surprised everyone, especially as some of them were taking part in a shiai competition for the first time. This promising start bodes well for the future of women’s Naginata in France. Romane Bizé (JCMA) claimed gold, with Joséphine Roth (Versailles Budo) securing silver and Elisa Reynaud (Versailles Budo) taking bronze.
The Men’s Kyus division was equally competitive, with new kyus facing off against more experienced opponents. José Delgado Hernandez (JCMA) took gold, showcasing refined technique and efficiency. Vincent Tan (JCMA) earned silver, while Patrick Nikiel (TUESG) rounded out the podium with bronze. The fierce competition highlighted the growing depth of talent in the men’s ranks.
The Women’s Dan competition was an opportunity for all participants to surpass themselves and aim for the highest competitive level. During the competition, the competitors demonstrated exceptional fighting spirit. Héloïse Tan (JCMA) took gold, followed closely by Monica da Silva (LC Rocquencourt) in second place and Fanny Hamot (JCMA) in third. This ranking sets the stage for future challenges and rivalries!
The Men’s Dan competition was a thrilling showcase of speed, precision, and technical mastery. Once again, the rankings from previous competitions were turned upside down, with former talents reaffirming their technical competence in shiai such as Benoît Laurençon (TUESG), who took gold, as well as talents continuing to sharpen and rise such as Julien Bloch (Versailles Budo) on the second step of the podium and Guillaume (Versailles Budo) ranked third. The high level of competition left all participants with much to be proud of.
At the close of the first day, referees noted a clear improvement in overall skill levels, with competitors demonstrating a richer technical repertoire and a more refined approach compared to the previous year.
Sunday morning saw the team competition. It’s worth noting that a number of new kyus were bold enough to take on the more experienced competitors, giving them valuable sparring experience. After intense matchups, the “JCMA 1” team (Héloïse Tan, Léo Tan, Fanny Hamot) claimed the top spot. The improvised “Team d’un jour” (Hugo Soleau, Gauthier Fabry, Filipe de Oliveira) secured silver, while “TUESG 1” (Marc Philippot, Loïc Vargoz, Benoît Laurençon) took bronze.
Sunday afternoon featured the mixed individual competition, with all matches conducted in an ippon shobu format to maximize the number of encounters and learning opportunities. Even eliminated fighters continued to compete to establish an overall ranking:
1st place: Guillaume (Versailles Budo)
2nd place: Filipe de Oliveira (Braga, Portugal)
3rd place: Léo Tan (JCMA)
4th place: Marc Philippot (TUESG)
5th place: Damien Blanc (Versailles Budo)
6th place: Héloïse Tan (JCMA)
7th place: Emmanuel Fray-Lacoste (TUESG)
8th place: Hugo Soleau (JCMA)
As a special recognition for their relentless energy and unwavering spirit, Romane Bizé (JCMA) and Joséphine Roth (Versailles Budo) were jointly awarded the Fighting Spirit prize—a well-deserved honor for their exceptional performances.
In conclusion, the 2025 Ile-de-France Championship provided a fantastic opportunity for competitors to test themselves in a series of refereed shiais, offering invaluable preparation for upcoming national and European events. Given the success of this second edition, this tournament is undoubtedly set to become a staple on the Naginata competition calendar!