The first group is led by Katsuyuki Kondō, who began his training under Tsunejiro Hosono and continued training under Kōtarō Yoshida (吉田 幸太郎 "Yoshida Kōtarō", 1883–1966) for a time, before being introduced to Tokimune. On the basis of the high level teaching licenses Kondo was granted by Tokimune, his followers represent his school as the Daitō-ryū "mainline". Kondo has done much to increase the visibility of the art by hosting seminars both in Tokyo and abroad, especially in Europe and the United States. In the last years many Branches were created all over the world. The biggest groups are located in Italy (under Alex Muracchini and Luca Canovi), Russia (under Evgeny Bodrenko and Stanislav Kopin), Netherlands (Robert Breedveld,Niels van Willigen, Anton Brandregt, and Ilse van der Hoeven), Slovakia (under Stephan Kurilla). In the USA there are also several Branch dōjōs such as Derek Steel in Philadelphia, Mark Sumi in Los Angeles and Jose Garrido in the New York City Metro area. In the United Kingdom there is a study group in Suffolk (under Oran Redmond). Australia study group is led by Rachael Crompton in Sidney. Switzerland’s study groups are led by Pascal Badan (Lausanne) and Selahattin Ak (Zürich).