IKOK CANADA WINTER CAMP 2018

Winter Camp 2018

February 22, 2018

The bell rang at 2:38 Thursday, Feb 15 and I was out the door before my students!  My bags were packed and sitting by my front door, ready to be thrown into Nadine’s car. Coffee was purchased, munchies stashed within arms-reach, and a full tank of gas. We were ready to begin the 2 Day journey (1048 kms!) to Gardom Lake! Winter camp, ho!

This was my third time attending Winter camp.  The usual excitement and anticipation of training and visiting with my Kyokushin family was tempered with a nervousness that was new. I was not just attending camp.  I would commence my Shodan grading with the tamishawari, interview, and written exam.  The encouragement I received from those around me helped temper my nerves and for this, I thank the Shihans, Senseis, Sempais, and my kohai.

That first night, and the common thread of the camp, can be summed up with one word. SPEED!  Push yourself to react faster.  Do not get caught up in finding a comfortable rhythm and remain in it. Push yourself to that next level.  Once you have worked out the framework of a kata and the techniques used, find the ebbs and flows of its cadence. Where does the kata require speed and snap?  Where does it require you to momentarily slow down the tempo.  Kata, like a musical composition, contains subtle nuances, phrasing, which when studied and executed with proper tempo, points of stress and release, becomes a thing full of life and energy! (The Pinans will never be the same again!)

And the theme continued. SPEED! Be it kihon, ido geikos, kata, kumite, the kihon kumites, and goshin jitsu, it is necessary to train with speed once the technical foundations have been laid.

Train your senses to be alert. To respond quickly and efficiently to a stimulus. We fight the way we train. Therefore, we must train the way we fight.

The teacher in me appreciated the organization of this camp!  The challenge of having so much content to cover and so little time was met with what I use daily! Rotating Stations!  An efficient use of time, space, and instructors made it possible to cover so much and allowed students to interact with and learn from multiple instructors.

All too soon, it was time to fall back into the car and make the trek back up north.  I left camp the way I always do. Exhausted, but oh so happy and with much to consider and add to my training.

Arigato to our Shihans, Senseis, and Sempais who so graciously gave of their time to organize, plan, and share their knowledge with us in this way yet one more time. OSU!

Laura Harris

Dawson Creek Kyokushin Karate

Winter Camp Write-up

This Winter Camp was a little different for me than in years past.  This year, I suffered a partial tear to posterior tibialis one week before camp.  I was disappointed that I was going to miss out on the training and my board breaking, but thankful that I would be able to complete my written exam and interview and not have to withdraw my application for Nidan.  The trip to camp turned out to be very eventful.  Myself and 4 other members of the Newton dojo were driving up in two vehicles.  We decided to stick together for the trip, stopping for meals (first and second breakfasts), coffee, and gas.  There was a real sense of excitement and comradery.  I was teased extensively about the use of my cane, and Sempai Byron was teased about the need for second breakfast.  Unfortunately we were involved in a minor car accident in Kamloops, which we later discovered was the result of a leaking brake line.  The repair was going to take the better part of the day on Saturday, and it looked like we might not make it to camp, but with the true spirit of OSU, we managed to cram all five of us and our gear into Shannon’s small Subaru and drive the remainder of the distance to camp.  I made every effort to participate at camp, adapting activities as required, and observing when needed.  The quality of instruction and training was excellent.  It was Shannon’s first camp with the IKOK-C, and she expressed how much she was enjoying herself over breakfast.

“I’m going to come out to every camp from now on!” – Shannon Phillippe

A new generation of instructors took the opportunity to teach this year.  Being a teacher, I know how hard it is to get up in front of your peers and offer a workshop, so thank you.

Osu,

Sempai Steve Watkins