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Aim

The Hizen Foundation is a charity set up for the promotion of community participation in healthy recreation for the benefit of the inhabitants of Inner London by the provision of facilities for learning Kendo (Japanese fencing) and other similar sports. The Foundation was formed in 2004 by four members of the Kendo club of the same name (www.hizen.info/). Its aim is to create the first permanent facility for the practice of kendo in the UK.

Such a facility would bring the following benefits:

• As the first permanent venue for Kendo, its facilities would be tailored to promoting excellence in this sport/art.

  The Hizen club is lead by a former GB National Squad coach and has trained two former UK Men’s Kendo Squad Captains and a former Women’s Kendo Squad Captain, plus over a dozen UK Squad members. A permanent home would enable:

  • the development of tailored training programmes;
  • the purchase and storage of specialist training equipment;
  • the fitting of specialist facilities (such as a large sprung wooden floor) required for save/advanced practice;
  • the availability of regular and frequent high quality practice opportunities;

  all of which are difficult to achieve in venues rented for only a few hours a week.

• As new community sports facility in inner London the venue would focus on supporting minority and ethnic community activities.

  In addition to being a permanent venue for Kendo, we expressly wish to develop a venue that is welcoming to the many minority sports and activities that may be found in the inner London area. Many of these find hiring larger spaces difficult as they have relatively few participants to cover the costs and we would aim to offer favorable rates for such groups.

• The venue would also act as a means of encouraging community involvement in sport

  The venue would create a new sports facility in one of the relatively deprived areas of inner London (probably Camden or Hackney). By offering some sporting activities that are not easily found in standard sports facilities we would create new routes into sport for those not attracted by activities such as football, basketball, gym etc.