History of Kendo in Ukraine

Kendo began to develop in Ukraine in the early 2000s with the formation of the first informal groups of enthusiasts. Despite the lack of a formal structure or access to experienced instructors, interest in kendo grew steadily across different regions of the country.

In 2008, the Ukrainian Kendo Federation (UKF) was officially founded. Its establishment marked an important step in uniting practitioners under a common organization capable of coordinating national efforts and representing Ukraine internationally.

In 2009, the UKF joined the European Kendo Federation (EKF). This membership enabled Ukrainian kendoka to participate in official European seminars, competitions, and dan examinations, further integrating Ukraine into the European kendo community.

From 2010 to 2021, the Federation organized annual international seminars and tournaments. Many of these events featured highly ranked Japanese instructors, whose guidance contributed significantly to the technical development of Ukrainian practitioners.

By the beginning of the full-scale war, the Federation had over 200 active members.

In 2024, the Ukrainian Kendo Federation was officially accepted as a full member of the International Kendo Federation (FIK), marking a major milestone in the international recognition of Ukrainian kendo.

A central part of this story is the national team. In 2010, Ukraine was represented at the European Kendo Championships for the first time, and the team has competed at European level regularly ever since — including through the years of the full-scale war. In 2024 the team reached the World Kendo Championships in Milan for the first time, and in 2025 Yevheniia Kulyk won Ukraine's first-ever European Championship medal, taking third place in the individual division in Leiden.

In 2026 the majority of clubs and kendoka in Ukraine established the Ukrainian Kendo Association (UKA). The Federation had begun as a compact organization with individual membership. As the number of clubs grew and coordination, competitions and day-to-day work outgrew that form, the community carried that work into the Association — with more democratic decision-making and with open, transparent processes built for a larger scale and for present-day ways of working together.