The 17th
October 2018… blimey, it has been a while since this blog was last updated. The
onus is on me for that one I’m afraid. Write-up’s have never been my forte I’m
afraid – not even beginning to mention the thinking up of ideas of what to write
about in the first place…
Thankfully, however, recent
events have answered my prayers it seems — namely our recent expedition north,
to the 2019 JKAWF Scotland Summer Camp in Paisley Scotland.
Consisting
of three days of training under the expert tutorage of JKA instructors Kawasoe
Sensei and Shiina Sensei, members of our club - seven in total - made the trip
to Paisley to further bolster our knowledge of kihon (basics), kata (form), and
kumite (sparring). It was also on this trip that one of our instructors, Andy
Durney, took his grading examination for his 4th Dan (yondan) Black
Belt. A grading examination that I am pleased to say Andy passed with flying
colours!
And now
we get to the tricky bit. At this point I could end things here and leave it as
is, though that would make this an awfully short post. Alternatively, I could write
something along the lines of, “all in all, the three days of training where
very good and much was learned,” (in fact, most of my attempts at this
paragraph said pretty much that) but as I reflect on the weekend, I realise
that saying such as that would also prove a disservice. After all, I can hardly
speak for everyone present over the three days.
With that said, and speaking purely
for myself here, I found the three days of training an excellent time to look
back on the 12 months since I last stood in the Lagoon Leisure Centre in
Paisley. A chance to reflect on everything I have learned in my normal training,
to work on those bad habits and misunderstandings that everyone picks up over
time, and, in some cases, a chance to re-evaluate what I once knew about a
particular technique – gleaming new understanding of it from hearing it
explained or demonstrated in a new or different way.
The weekend also proved an
excellent reminder of the importance of continuing to work on and improve one’s
understanding and practice of kihon, with both Sensei’s, over the three days,
reiterating that what is learned in courses such as this [Paisley] should not
merely be forgotten once we return to our own dojo’s.
That all said, however, this is
all just one man’s opinion. Perhaps you have a different view of this year’s
JKAWF Scotland Summer Camp or Karate Courses in general, and if you do, feel
free to post a comment section below and let me know.
Till next time Ladies and
Gentlemen.
