Fall Camp 2013
Oct. 1, 2013
The fall camp this year was a great time of learning new techniques, training hard, and spending time meeting new people, seeing those I had met last year, and ,although I admit regret that some I had enjoyed meeting last year did not make it, there was comfort in knowing that because of the many training opportunities within the organization, I would certainly meet with them again.
In reflecting on the weekend, and reflecting on where I am personally in my journey with Kyokushin karate, listening to Shihan Don, Senseis and Sempais relating details about the history, philosophy and goals of the organization was very important, and I am so appreciative that Shihan is very open and so encouraging in this area. For me, coming into the area of 2nd kyu, and knowing that I am in a position where now I need to give back into the organization,to the encouragement and the training of others , it is so important to get that sense of continuity, of sempai – kohai relationship and commitment to training, that Shihan so well expresses as being key to the philosophy of Kyokushin.
On another note, the training for the weekend was great. It was hard training, physically demanding, however, I firmly believe that pushing yourself as far as you can is the only way to find out that you can actually go even farther. As Robert Louis Stevenson once said, Very few people run far enough on their first wind to find out that they have a second.” One of the most valuable things in life is to discover what you are capable of, and getting back to the philosophy of Kyokushin bit, this is firmly embraced within that.
There were many things that were new and that we are excited to bring back and incorporate into our own dojo training; many thanks to Sensei Steve Doyle for introducing the wonderful yoga warm-up exercises to us. They were fantastic! On a personal note, I would like to thank Sensei Doyle for a conversation I had with him about my own journey, where am I at and where do I see myself going with my training, very much appreciated and very timely, thank you sensei.
As well, I would like to thank sensei Jarvis Thompsen from our Prince George dojo for his commitment, encouragement, and dedication to the development of us, his students
Steve Weinard, Prince George Kyokushin.
At the 2013 Stony Plain fall camp, I learned many new things, and I also improved on things I already knew. Some of these things were: technique in my Kihon, and Kata, as well as Tameshi-wari. Great instruction, excellent food, and good company made this an amazing experience. During classes there was instruction in Kihon, Kata, Goshin Jutsu, Kumite, and Tameshi-wari. Tameshi-wari had to be my favorite class, because not only did it give me the opportunity to make sure that my technique was correct, but we also recieved an in depth explination and demonstration of proper technique, speed, and focus. The food at this camp was great, and mealtimes provided an excellent opportunity to get to know new people. My favorite time for conversation was the bon fire we had using the boards we had broken earlier. We heard stories from the Senior belts, and had a great time all around. So overall, I learned a lot, met many new people, and had a great time. I will be attending again next year, and that will be my third time attending so far. I reccommend this camp to anyone wanting to learn a lot, and of course, have a lot of fun! OSU!
Fall Camp 2013
This being my first Kyokushin camp experience you can imagine how apprehensive I felt. I’ve been training since January 2011 and I will be the first to admit that I am a bit of a slow learner in the sense that you have to explain new concepts to me more than once and slowly. As I lined up Friday evening for our 1st training session I looked around me and noticed that more than half of the camp participants were brown and black belts – eek! Suddenly I felt very intimidated and in over my head. As training progressed I was able to overcome the intimidation factor and really began to open my mind and try to take in as much as possible from all these incredible athletes. With nearly 200 years of combined experience in the room, I knew I was going to learn a lot.
Shihan Don pushed us through several sweat filled sessions covering Kihon, Ido Geiko, Happo, Gashin-Jitsu and Tameshiwari to name a few. On a side note I broke my first board with a hiji ate after Shihan Don helped me find my inner tough girl! In between sessions a few new friendships were made over some great meals provided by the lovely ladies of Mother Earth Children’s Charter School and a few good laughs were shared around the campfire on Saturday night.
This year a new component was added to our training, DDP Yoga. This was first introduced to me by Sensei Steve at our Stony Plain dojo and was well received at Fall Camp as part of our morning warm up. We finished off camp with our heads held high, proud of the effort we put in but more proud that we stood next to and trained with some great role models.
If I could offer advice to anyone who hasn’t yet attended a training camp it would be – DO! DO find the time to go and sign DO sign up. You will take away so much. Thank you to Shihan Don, all the Senseis and Sempais who shared some wonderful knowledge with me. I look forward to next year.
Osu
Dany Long
Spruce Grove, AB
