Vesa from Helsinki, Finland

1) What is your name?
-"Vesa."

2) How old are you?
-"43."

3) What is your nationality?
-"Finnish."

4) Why did you come to Japan?
-"To participate in iaidô training at Takada-sensei´s dôjô."

5) When did you start iaidô and why?
-"January 1994. I felt something was missing in my life."

6) Have you ever participated in iai demonstration in Japan? What was it like? How about in Finland?
-"Not in Japan but in Finland many times. It is always very exciting."

7) Is there a difference between training in Japan and in Europe?
-"In Finland we train the same way as in Takada Sensei's dôjô. Naturally it is much better to train in Japan with Takada Sensei."

8) What do you think about Takada Gakudô Sensei's style related to iaidô and training?
-"I think Takada Sensei's style is very powerful and elegant."

9) What kind of a teacher is Takada Gakudô Sensei?
-"He is very strict teacher with enormous knowledge of budô."

10) What would you like to say to someone who is thinking about starting iaidô?
-"You should be serious about training from the beginning. This way you learn things and make progress."

Yokohama, Japan 2009/10/10