JKA England Spring International Course - Guildford

Guildford Sprectrum – 30th April - 3rd May 2010

Volcanic ash couldn’t stop people from attending this year’s spring course which was filled to the brim with students and instructors from all over the world to attend this year’s spring course hosted by JKA-England at the Guildford Spectrum Leisure Centre. We had the pleasure of some of the greatest JKA instructors in attendance – Sensei Mori (8th Dan), Sensei Osaka (8th Dan); Sensei Naka (6th Dan) and Sensei Ohta (7th Dan).

For Images Please Click Here

Friday 30th April

Naka Sensei led basics starting with a class on correct posture; Exercise 1;  feet together, toes out, inhale… then exhale while slowly sinking downwards and bending the knees.  Weight should be placed on the ball of the foot and big toe, making sure back and neck are straight.

Naka Sensei then moved on to combinations that incorporated correct posture and hip rotation.  Perhaps the hardest aspect of one particular combination for most people was remembering the right time to either go forwards or backwards, as the central point was gyaku zuki.  Naka Sensei emphasised the importance of continuous movement rather than stopping or pausing in-between each technique.

The classes then split into groups with the senior Dan Grades taken by Mori Sensei who went through kata; he emphasised the contraction/extension aspect of Bassai Dai by demonstrating to make techniques bigger.  Also Mori Sensei focused on the use of head turn for the last three shuto uke blocks at the end of the kata.

The Shodans/Nidans were taught by Naka Sensei and Kanku Dai, taking us through each element.  One point he focused on within the kata was gedan shuto uke and turning quickly whilst staying low and stable.

Saturday 1st May

Osaka Sensei led basics following on from Friday’s session he continued the theme of correct posture and hip rotation.  We started punching 45º with feet at shoulder-width apart.  After that we did mae geri; concentrating on moving the hips forward at the right time whilst keeping the upper body relaxed.  To help with this Osaka Sensei had everyone partnered up in zenkutsu dachi; raising the front knee whilst counter-balancing with each other’s partner.

After short break, Naka Sensei took the Dan grades and continued on from the previous day’s session with the Shodan and Nidan students, demonstrating the most important aspects of Kanku Dai.  He pointed out the common errors, which he then allowed us to practise.  We worked through each section of the kata, starting at the beginning again every time.

Mori Sensei took the Shodan/Nidan grades and after a warm up with basics using oi-zuki, uraken and enpi.  After that we moved on to practising Hangetsu, which Mori Sensei made us repeat many times giving us a deeper understanding of this kata.  This encouraged us to stay relaxed, whilst working on the correct body tension.

After the class, there was a kyu grading for those students who wished to grade followed by a friendly international Match between JKA Norway and JKA England.  We saw some excellent fights and the overall high standard of the students from both countries was exemplary.   As always, the true comradary of the JKA competitors shone through and the match ended with lots of smiles, hugs and handshakes.

For Images Please Click Here

Sunday 2nd May

Mori Sensei led basics concentrating on our use of our hikite arm using various partnering exercises. Mori Sensei emphasised the importance of keeping the shoulder of the hikite arm down as not doing this makes movement slower.  By keeping the shoulder down it also became easier to remain at the same height when moving forward.

The Dan Grades were then taken by Osaka Sensei who led us through Jion.  He counted us through it a couple of times watching us closely and then concentrated on our weakest parts.  This included turning quickly whilst contracting and releasing the thigh muscle.  We had to focus on staying relaxed in-between movements so as to be able to move sharper and faster reinforcing the contraction/extension on the turn.

Osaka Sensei continued with the Shodans/Nidans who began with the bunkai of the first four movements of Gankaku.   We then practised the kata in sections with Osaka Sensei whilst he demonstrated and explained the most important elements throughout.  Then we were able to perform the entire kata without count, remembering everything Sensei Osaka had taught us.

Monday 3rd May

It would be fair to say that the running theme throughout the course was correct posture.  Naka Sensei concentrated further using some simple exercises to strengthen this.  We then practised kokutsu dachi remembering not to shift our centre of gravity (axis point) but to keep our hip and knee aligned.

Ohta Sensei took Enpi with the Dan grades and led the session with exercises to reinforce elements of the kata, which he then broke down into sections that we practised separately.  Ohta Sensei focused on sharp hip reaction, hip on, hip off as this is a key element of Enpi.

Shodans/Nidans broke off and Ohta Sensei prepared us for the kata, Unsu with basics that were geared towards it.  We also did bunkai to help us understand the application of this kata.  Ohta Sensei then broke the kata down into two sections that he then demonstrated.  By the end of the session, we had learned to perform the entire kata and did so to Ohta Sensei’s count.

It was a brilliant course; each day was packed out and had a fantastic atmosphere.  It was great seeing everyone especially those who had traveled all the way from Europe; these courses just seem to get better and better every time.

Report by: Roisin Campbell, Rachel O’Halloran and Jana Sersnova - Budokwai SKC

Dan grade passes - Here

JKA Worldwide Federation

One of the great things about being part of the JKA (W/F) is the fraternity of different countries that attend and meet each year.  Some to meet old friends, as well as make new ones, who you see chatting and laughing after class and in the breaks that makes the federation so special.

And it wouldn’t be a spring (or summer) course without JKA Norway (www.norwayjka.no) attending.  Speaking with Sensei Geir Larson after one of the day’s training, who commented that it has become something of a tradition to visit the spring and summer courses.  And with over 100 students from Norway attending this year’s course, it was a privilege to have such wonderful guests.

He noted that some make the course a holiday out of their visit and have a great time when they stay here.  Most of the students come from the west coast of Norway (Stavanger and Bergen) and up until a week ago, the volcanic ash situation had caused some concern.  But rest assured, being Vikings, they would have made it here under any circumstances and we are glad they did as we enjoyed the course.

Sensei Noel Casey from JKA Ireland (www.jkaireland.com) was delighted with the support that JKA Ireland gave the course, with over 25 students from Ireland, notably Cork, Dublin and Belfast.  JKA Ireland have been long term friends with JKA England and are always delighted to attend the courses. (Congratulations also to Barry O’Regan on passing his Roku-dan – 6th Dan, from Honbu earlier in the year). 

We are always pleased to see Sensei Alan Simpson from JKA Karate Do Shotokan (Scotland) (www.karatedoshotokan-scotland.com) along with students and instructors from Scotland who commented that he always looked forward to the Guildford JKAE courses and was particularly looking forward to the May 2010 one. It certainly lived up to all his expectations and was a fantastic course with the emphasis on quality instruction of the highest technical content from each instructor. It was also great to see and train with all his friends from the various countries attending has already booked for August 2010!

Speaking with Dario Chircop of JKA Malta (www.jkamalta.org), noting that he was always pleased to come to the courses here in Guildford and he and a number of fellow students wouldn’t miss the course for anything.

From Sensei Mori’s own dojo in New York - JKA New York (www.jkany.org), we spoke to Tony DeCaprio and Jacob Levitt who had travelled from the USA to be at the course.  One thing he mentioned that really touched home was that he was made to feel so welcome, inside the dojo and outside which he really appreciated.  He felt a part of what was going on and had instant comradary throughout.

We mustn’t forget the other countries that had travelled great distances to be here.  There were students and instructors from all over the JKA world federation, notably, JKA Germany, JKA Zimbabwe, JKA Portugal, JKA Switzerland and JKA Poland.

But it is looking at the JKA Honbu website, its Sensei Naka’s motto that best sums up the course and the JKA (W/F) – “Karate makes true friends”.

Team photos can be found here.

So a huge thank you from JKA-England to everyone who attended this year’s spring course, especially with difficult travel conditions. We look forward to seeing you again at the Summer course (further details can be found here).

A big thank you to Mrs Buck and her team for smooth running of this year’s course.

Thank you also to Kevin Web of Red Pepper for the photography during the course.  Further images can be found on his website at www.redpepperimages.co.uk

Course Images