Tag: featured
For three days on the Thursday, Friday and Saturday preceeding the August Bank Holiday weekend, Shiranamikai held its first beach gasshuku (or ‘Shelanamikai’ as it became affectionately known) at Camber Sands, Sussex.
At the start of each session we had a gentle jog along the beach to help us warm up. Thursday and Friday we had the place pretty much to ourselves but on Saturday morning, the amazing weather brought everybody flocking to the beach. Fortunately the coastline at Camber is vast and has a gentle incline so there was still plenty of space to train on one of the many banks of sand closer to the sea. Nobody kicked sand in our faces. But they didn’t need to anyway as we seemed quite adept at doing it to ourselves. (Have you ever tried doing mae geri on a sandy beach?)
We had a total of four chilled training sessions, during which we practised Heians Shodan, Nidan and Godan, Kanku Dai, Empi and Sochin. The evenings too were enjoyable with a great bunch; back at the cottage, dinner included delicious takoyaki, courtesy of Sonoko and Miyuki and a tasty barbecue with lots of fruit and veg. With Camber being just over two-hours’ drive from London, we’ll definitely be doing it again next year!
Once training had finished on Saturday, there was just enough time for a splash around in the sea before a quick change, bite to eat, and shooting back to Swiss Cottage for our afternoon session.
Back at the dojo, it was the last* club session of the year for Sonoko, Anju and Yuma until they return next summer. We all wish them our very best and hope that they enjoy training in Japan.
*Nearly the last as they were back on Sunday morning… then trained on Monday evening too! See you soon, ladies!
This year during summer camp we looked at Kihon kata, Heians Nidan through to Godan, Jion, Empi, Unsu, Nijushiho and Sochin. Team exercises helped students explore the meaning of each sequence.
There were some very creative interpretations and entertaining demonstrations (!) but everybody worked well together to show their understanding of the kata bunkai.
After our final session on Friday it was off for some well-deserved sushi – a fitting end to the week’s training.
To those who attended each day, well done, you get a certificate for your efforts. Two students received merit for also training Tuesday and Wednesday evening, while three picked up distinction for outstanding attendance by coming Saturday and Sunday too – that’s every possible Shiranamikai lesson over the whole week!
After training on Saturday, we were out to eat again for Sonoko, Anju and Yuma’s farewell dinner!
Put the first week of August in your diary for next year: Monday 1st-Friday 5th August 2016.
We had a long but rewarding day at the JKA England 2015 National Championship. Well done to everybody who competed!
Shiranamikai results as follows:
Kentaro Silver in Kata and Silver in Kumite
Marika Bronze in Kumite
Keeley Bronze in Kumite
Oliver Gold in Kata and Gold in Kumite
Shion Gold in Kumite
Yuma Gold in Kata and Silver in Kumite
Tara Bronze in Kata and Bronze in Kumite
Anju Gold in Kata and Silver in Kumite
Alex Bronze in Kumite
Shiranami Team B (Kentaro, Yuma & Shion) Bronze in Kata
A fantastic result of 15 medals!
And what better way to celebrate than a picnic after training this Saturday! (Beats a Saturday night burger at McDonalds, Cobham services on the M25.)
Incredibly proud of everybody who competed – well done guys, all your hard work and extra training paid off!
This was a very good hour-and-a-half lesson from Ohta Sensei prior to our club kyu grading. We were pleased to welcome Sensei Sarah and her students for their first grading – well done everybody, you trained really hard!
Congratulations to all who passed. Keep up the training and practise every day so that when the next grading comes around in September, you’ll be ready.
Our instructors for the weekend were Imamura Tomio 7th Dan and Shiina Mai 3rd Dan from the JKA Honbu, Omura Fujikiyu 7th Dan from JKA Thailand, and JKA England’s Ohta Yoshinobu 7th Dan. This year also saw instructors from JKA England’s technical committee teach for the first time at one of our international courses.
Training was organised slightly differently this time; basics and kumite was still in grade groups but after the halfway break, 3rd Kyu and above were able to choose which of the selected katas they wished to practise on each day. Beginners up to 4th kyu remained in their own group for Heian and Tekki Shodan katas.
Sensei Imamura and Sensei Omura have visited England before to teach, and their lessons this time were superb as expected. In contrast, Shiina Sensei was visiting the UK for the first time so there was much anticipation.
Her kumite drills reinforced the fact that there is no such thing as ‘basic’ kumite. Her timing changes kept everyone on their toes and her speed, power and technique really impressed. She finished off her session with touch-reaction training. It was clear how everybody, whilst trying their best, was enjoying it, making for a great atmosphere!
Training on the last day culminated with Ohta Sensei calling each kata in turn giving brown and black belts an opportunity to perform their favourite kata of the weekend in front of all present for final pointers and corrections.
On the Sunday there was a dan grading and congratulations go to Sonoko on passing her Shodan!
It wouldn’t feel like a proper gasshuku without a club side trip! This time we visited the Bluebell Railway, travelled on a steam train and then on to a local pub for a hearty dinner.
The next JKA England gasshuku runs from 11-13th September with Senseis Imura 7th Dan from Tokyo and Sawada 7th Dan from Belgium and Ohta Sensei from England.
It was great fun on Easter Saturday!
We had our regular afternoon training session with lots of basics and combos, finishing with kata.
Afterwards it was time for the chocolate Easter egg and spoon races: a regular egg and spoon race first as a warm-up, followed by (in the style of) crabs, Popeye, wheelbarrow and Haribos balanced on heads.
Well done to each of the winning teams – hope you enjoy eating your prizes!
Remember that training continues throughout the Easter break so if you are off from school, this is a good opportunity to get some eggstra training!
Well done to everybody who competed in JKA England’s first open competition. It was a long day but thanks to Apple and trees, there was plenty to keep all of us from the club occupied between events.
Ohta Sensei introduced guest clubs and associations before the main finals commenced and it was nice to see a mix of representations when it came to the awards.
Shiranamikai results as follows:
Kentaro: 4th Place in Kata, Bronze in Kumite, Shion: Gold in Kata, Silver in Kumite, Alexander: Silver in Kata, Tara: Gold in Kata, Silver in Kumite, Reno: Gold in Kata, Itsuko: Gold in Kata, Silver in Kumite, and Anju: Gold in Kata, Gold in Kumite, plus the Trophy for ‘Best Girl Competitor’!
The next competition won’t take place until mid-next year but if you were straight back in the dojo on Sunday morning for regular training then top marks – your preparation has already started.
We had a fantastic lesson with Shiina Sensei at the O2 dojo. Students who attended the gasshuku will have had an idea about what to expect – boundless energy from this huge personality… and powerful techniques delivered with great control.
What was particularly engaging about Shiina’s style of teaching was the way in which he involved everyone present. Right from the beginning, he asked if there were any special requests for him to cover during training. He also said that we should discuss techniques with each other and work collaboratively to make them effective.
This was a tough training session! Punching, kicking and leg switching to loosen us up; put into practise with groups of three in ten-set rotations, over and over again, spurred on by Sensei’s shouts of “DON’T STOP! DON’T STOP! DON’T STOP!” And we didn’t. For the best part of forty-five minutes, the training was intense.
A brief respite came while Shiina Sensei instructed Heian Nidan. Gathering grades up to 4th Kyu close, he demonstrated each sequence of applications clearly for practise in groups of three. Brown and black belts were tasked with Bassai Dai and after performing the kata, it was bunkai for us too. Sensei asked us to suggest four elements of the kata to practise surrounded by the same number of attackers. After finishing with the fourth attack, it was straight back to the first opponent for a round of ten free-kumite attacks!
Toward the end of the session, coloured belts joined the groups of brown and black. To finish, all black and brown belts lined up and other grades faced them for free kumite. Three partner changes later, the lesson was over.
Somebody commented how they’d never seen my face so red before. This is quite possibly true. I myself noted that some people seemed to have sweated for the first time ever in a session – well done! But out of everyone who attended, there wasn’t a single face without a smile.
Many thanks to Shiina Sensei for visiting our club!
Austin
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JKA England Autumn 2014 Gashuku
This autumn, past World and All Japan Champion Shiina Katsutoshi 7th Dan and Sawada Kazuhiro 7th Dan from the JKA Europe Technical Committee joined Ohta Yoshinobu 7th Dan for the three day joint training camp in England.
There was a lot of kumite; investigating how it links into kata and vice versa. With an interesting take on Heian Yondan, Sawada Sensei demonstrated how the opening moves might be utilised to control an opponent during free-kumite. We practised this and parts from other forms in the same way; good to make one rethink our first katas and consider how to apply techniques in a more advanced way.
Shiina Sensei’s take on kata bunkai was involving to say the least! Many karateka have practised a kata against multiple opponents, but what captivated was how he linked techniques with such fluidity. Then, when back to the first attacker, it was another rotation but this time with ten free-kumite attacks.
On the first day, Shiina Sensei’s kata applications were for Heian Shodan. On the final day, Sochin! There was a great demonstration with the same ten free-attack kumite against a dozen-or-so opponents. Two members of the JKA England squad were first in the middle then Shiina picked out a slightly older, non-squad member to highlight a different approach. Their softer approach showed a great contrast in style but even so, they had left nobody standing!
Ohta Sensei gave us what has become his customary, in-depth kata lesson. Each course, he breaks down one particular form for practise. It’s not always immediately obvious which kata we’ll be doing until some time into basics and kumite. This time though it was Chinte and true to form, he broke it up into parts then pieced everything back together with ease. Just like a puzzle, it can seem easy when you first look at the finished article, but when yours is less than picture perfect, that’s when you realise how complicated it really is.
A dan grading followed training on Sunday and it was great to see club members Anju and Alex pass Shodan and Sandan respectively. Well done, both!
We had a good turnout from Shiranamikai students. It’s important to attend these courses – brown belts especially, for whom it is a JKA England requirement in order to grade – to train alongside members of other clubs and see the standard of the JKA members across England, Europe and worldwide who make the effort to pursue their pastime so dedicatedly.