We are pleased to report on the Dan Examinations held by us, held on December 6, 2020. It was the only Dan exam we could organise this year. The planned Dan exams of the summer Gasshuku, to which we would have invited Ogura-Sensei, unfortunately had to be cancelled due to Covid-19, as well as the Gasshuku!

2020 is without any doubt a year we all won’t forget, COVID-19 pandemic has claimed many victims worldwide, our lives at home in business and our habits have been severely limited by the restrictions that are still in place!

This year was particularly sad for the JKA Switzerland family, we mourn the death of our Sensei Sugimura, founder and heart of JKA Switzerland, who passed away on 9 March. We have lost not only our revered teacher, but a good friend and exemplary motivator in all aspects of life. Time passes quickly, but the pain and sadness is always very present in all of us.

We hold the on December 6 the first Dan examination without Sensei Sugimura since the founding of JKA Switzerland in 1969. Sensei Sugimura will live forever in our hearts and together we will undoubtedly continue and develop his life’s work JKA Switzerland.

The examination was conducted in strict compliance with the current COVID-19 measures, which was more than a challenging task from an organisational point of view! In the sports hall it was compulsory for examiners and candidates to wear a protective mask. This was not pleasant for the candidates and made breathing more difficult!

We had to divide the candidates into several small groups so that the upper limit of the maximum number of people allowed in the sports hall was not exceeded.

At the end of the day, everyone did well, the candidates were well prepared and fulfilled the requirements of JKA Switzerland.
We had 17 candidates for the exams, 15 of them passed the exam.