Black Belt 2013

Black Belt Camp – Armstrong, BC
June 14-16, 2013 

Black Belt Camp in Armstrong was a lot smaller than it usually is this year.  This weekend was very intense covering many areas of karate, kata, goshin jitsu, ido geko, motivational ido geko.

A big weekend for me, as my technical test was to immediately follow the last training session.  This was a benefit to me as I was very nervous about the test to begin with, but because of the distraction of training, the nervousness came & went depending on how busy we were.  I have more than once realized that this organization is really a big family working toward the same goal.  A family that supports itself in many ways.  While we were training in Armstrong, in Richmond there was the “Relay for Life” in honour of Sensei Kathy.  Regardless where we are, the support is non-stop from our members.  My son played a part of the “Relay” in Penticton, when he was finished work.  He missed the survivor lap but walked with the participants & his sister for 2 hrs to support those who are still living with cancer in their lives.  He gave me one of his daffodil tags, to hold in memory of his journey through to his cure.

The family I speak about was with me this weekend.  I have trained in Sensei Larry's club a few times & every time I visit they all welcome me with open arms.  So this weekend there was a strong show of Armstrong students who give back so openly & help you along your path of karate.  This is what our organization does without thought, just like the term, muso uchi, which translates to instant reaction to attack, but this group instantly reacts to my struggles & supports me without thought.  I hope that I will do the same if the opportunity were to arise for me to help others.

Every time there is a camp there is so much to learn that I hope I remember the most important information to help me continue to grow.  If there was a way to capture all the knowledge that is shared with us, by osmosis or just by having a great memory, would be the best thing possible for all of us.  My notes will have to do until next time, so that I can add onto what I took in from this camp.

What is so rewarding about these camps is the social time spent together as well.  Listening to stories from the past or present from everyone who wanted to share, just makes this a more rounded affair.  It goes without saying but the food is always so much more amazing in Armstrong!!

Thank you, to all who I have bugged in the last few months to help me get this far, I will not forget & hope to repay or pay forward the assistance I have received from you all!

Thank you to the Shihans, who unselfishly offer their time to train with us, when they have family at home they would probably love to be with.

Meg Black, Penticton Dojo

Osu

Thank you for another great Black Belt Camp hosted by Sensei Larry and the Armstrong Dojo.

Training consisted of kata (Sanchin, Tensho and Seienchin), fighting training and footwork, Goshin Jitsu, Ido Geiko and Sanbon Kumite.

Basic techniques we should know but seem to challenge our minds when we are asked to a change or footing, alter direction, use a different technique for each movement, mawatte but never using the same as long as you ended with your left leg in front.    The simplest of things can challenge your mind when you apply a deeper thought to training.

An intimate group of students instructed by Shihan Don, Shihan Stuart and Sensei Larry, it’s impossible to leave a camp like that without learning something.

A great opportunity for senior belts to train hard and bring back some of the lessons learned for their students.

Thank you Sensei Larry for opening your home for the BBQ.  As usual the food was delicious, company and conversations were enlightening and everyone had an enjoyable evening after a day of training.

Thank you to all instructors for sharing your knowledge with us.

Osu

Tracy Russell

Black Belt Camp 2013

Unfortunately, a small group of us missed the first training Friday night.

Come Saturday morning we were more than ready to take on the challenges of camp.

We started with working to increase our proficiency in Sanchin, Tensho and Seienchen katas.

The second session was our fight training class where we were concentrating on the concept of fast feet off line movements.

Some games were used to warm us up followed by footwork and pad drills. There was some light sparring thrown in to make sure we practiced what we had just learned.

The final session of Saturday was a Goshin Jitsu, Ryan bore the job of Uke as Shihan Don demonstrated the throws locks and holds.

After all this fun and excitement it was time to unwind with the BBQ at Sensei Larry’s home where he donned the Sensei BBQ hat an cooked up a storm.  Great conversation was had and dialog about Sempai Kohi was the theme at the last conversation of the night.

Sunday morning training was conducted by Shihan Stuart, where we sweated doing basic Ido Geko changing the turn every time and playing with our minds.  To say it was a challenge would be an understatement. However it just shows us that Karate is ever evolving and your mind is the only limitation.

After Sunday morning training it was time to say goodbye and good luck as Kelly and Meg stepped up to challenge their Shodan grading.

Osu

Arthur Leithman