IKD World Camp & Tournament 2014

Transcription

1 IKD World Camp & Tournament 2014 Photo by Bryan Mattias June 12-16, 2014 Camp White Pine, near Haliburton, Ontario Written by Jill Lampi, IKD Manitoba IKD World Camp 2014 Summary Page 1

2 Table Of Contents About IKD World Camp & Tournament 2014 Happy 40th Anniversary to the Woon-A-Tai s! 2014 IKD World Camp Theme: Shin-gi-tai Welcomed By The Magic Yellow Schoolbus June In Canada, Keep Warm! Morning: It All Starts At Six The Second-Best Part Of Camp: The Dining Hall The Best Part Of Camp: Training With The Masters Training Schedule: Enthusiastically Kept Busy Tournament At World Camp Extra Lectures: Sharing The Knowledge Fun Social Events During Off Hours Introducing: IKD New Teaching Method About The IKD New Teaching Method About IKD Bunkai & Enbu: Traditional, Self Defense and Free IKD Standardized Bunkai: Sochin IKD Standardized Enbu: Kyu Ranks Thanks For The Memories! Videos, Pictures & More Find Out About Next Year s Camp & Cup! Campfire near the Men s Cabins IKD World Camp 2014 Summary Page 2

3 About IKD World Camp & Tournament 2014 June 2014 marked the third World Karate Camp & tournament for the International Karate Daigaku (IKD) which was formed in early This year s World Camp was held north of Toronto, at Camp White Pine, on the edge of Lake Placid. Regularly used as a boys and girls summer camp location, Camp White Pine covered a large area. Many of us slept in 12-bunk cabins (girls in one area, boys in the other - and no fair, the boys have the fire pit!) but more private rooms were available at Shelly s Motel near the Dining Hall too. Around the camp grounds, there were a variety of activity buildings - some with beautiful hardwood floors that were cleared out for us, and used as dojos. And yes, there were flush toilets and showers with hot water - although you might have had to wait for them to warm up for a while at times! Thank you Shuseki-Shihan Frank Woon-A-Tai, Shihan Maureen Woon-A-Tai, Shihan Dexter Shim and to all those who worked many hours to plan and execute this exciting event: Sensei Bernice Hughes for registration, Henry and Cherry Wishroop for running the camp store, and Ken Woon-A-Tai for the extra driving! Thank you also to those who allowed us to use their pictures & video stills in this Camp summary: Bryan Mattias, Michel Gaudet, Janice Pyke, Margaret Duszota, and Jill Lampi. If the ultimate purpose of the IKD World Camp is to bring together the best instructors the IKD has to offer, to work with the most motivated karateka within our association, in order to build relationships and share and spread knowledge that will strengthen our entire organization, then the 2014 IKD World Camp & Tournament is indeed a success! The IKD has some of the best Shotokan karateka in the world and we want to share it! IKD World Camp 2014 Summary Page 3

4 Happy 40th Anniversary to the Woon-A-Tai s! Just before this year s World Camp, Shuseki- Shihan Frank Woon-A-Tai and Shihan Maureen Woon-A-Tai celebrated a big wedding anniversary: 40 years! If you re connected with the Woon-A-Tai s on Facebook you might have seen the pictures of their wedding, attended by so many karateka decked out in their karate gi this year s World Camp participants recreated part of that original ceremony! Thanks to some extra creativity from some people who know them well, Sensei Frank and Sensei Maureen were left with big smiles, lots of laughter and some funny souveniers of the celebration. Here s to another 40 years! IKD World Camp 2014 Summary Page 4

5 2014 IKD World Camp Theme: Shin-gi-tai Every year, an underlying theme for that year s IKD World Camp is shared. This year, Shihan Dr W. Dexter Shim, 8th Dan of IKD Trinidad introduced the theme in the Japanese concept of Shin-gi-tai (which translates to body mind spirit ) and how it applies to seeking excellence in our martial art. A secondary theme of Saigaku-ni was introduced at the same time in Sensei Shim s welcome speech: That of striving for continuous improvement, striving for perfection of all techniques and all aspects of our karate training. When training gets difficult, that is when we train our character Shihan Dr W. Dexter Shim Be sure to watch Shihan Shim s welcome speech as part of his World Camp 2014 playlist!. Sensei W Dexter Shim addressing the class IKD World Camp 2014 Summary Page 5

6 Welcomed By The Magic Yellow Schoolbus Camp isn t just about training karate and learning new things, it s about making friends, too! The journey from the Toronto Airport to Camp White Pine is where all of the karate camp magic began: On the Magic Yellow Schoolbus. Every person on the bus was a karate enthusiast! Usually there are only a handful in every club, and this was a bus full of them! It was a little intimidating, but very exciting, too! Karateka arrived as their shuttles brought them from the airport. There were IKD members from Antigua, St. Lucia, St.Vincent, Trinidad, Jamaica, and New York on the bus, and groups from England and Puerto Rico came in separately. And since camp is in Canada, there were Canadians from 8 out of the 10 provinces! The magic of camp really started to grow on that bus ride. People reconnected with friends from previous camps and tournaments and IKD events around the world, introduced new friends coming along for the first time, and laughed and talked about what they were looking forward to. When we arrived at Camp White Pine, the excitement combined with the beautiful scenery typical to the Canadian Shield, and everyone was all smiles! IKD World Camp 2014 Summary Page 6

7 June In Canada, Keep Warm! When camp is in Canada in June, it s best to prepare for chilly nights. The warmth during the day is deceptive in terms of how quickly it can get cold! Having sleeping bags was essential to keeping us warm in our bunks, and the IKD Camp organizers did an excellent job making sure we could rent warm bedding for a reasonable cost. When you re flying in to take part in camp and are already carrying two or three karate gi, it s nice to leave the pillow and blanket behind and rent it at camp. When you come next year, be sure to bring a sweater, long pants, sun block and bug spray. Morning: It All Starts At Six And for some, 6AM is far too early to be awake. In our cabin, those who broke the restful silence were respectfully requested to not breach the 6AM barrier in future mornings, and we did pretty well the rest of the time - probably because we were all more tired. First class starts at 6:30AM and one of the best things about it is that there s NO RUN! We started our class in the Pinetages building shortly after 6:30AM and did a karate warmup and a karate class and a karate cooldown. Excellent. IKD World Camp 2014 Summary Page 7

8 The Second-Best Part Of Camp: The Dining Hall Being a summer camp location that can handle hundreds of people at one time, Camp White Pine s dining hall is probably a special place for all of us who went to camp. The food was excellent this year! Lots of meat, lots of variety, vegetarian options, excellent desserts! There s nothing like sharing a satisfying meal with your karate friends when everyone is feeling excited and inspired. If you haven t been to Camp White Pine and World Camp to see the dining rituals, you ll have to take part in a camp for yourself to witness first-hand how it brings together the entire group and keeps it a community experience. Even for those of us who train together every week, the chance to sit down at World Camp and chat while eating a meal can bring us closer and reinforce our friendships back home! IKD World Camp 2014 Summary Page 8

9 The Best Part Of Camp: Training With The Masters One of the great things about training with the IKD in general is the variety of instructors we re privileged to learn from during seminars and training camps. IKD World Camp 2014 was no exception! Here are the instructors we enjoyed in the various courses: Shuseki-Shihan Frank Woon-A-Tai, 9th Dan & Chief Instructor of the IKD Shihan Maureen Woon-A-Tai, 8th Dan & IKD Vice Chief Shihan Dr W Dexter Shim, 8th Dan, IKD Vice Chief & Head of IKD Trinidad Shihan Alice Bernstein, 7th Dan & Shihan-kai Senate Member from Barbados Shihan Keith DaCosta, 7th Dan, HQ Instructor & IKD Shihan-kai Senate Shihan Josef Woon-A-Tai, 7th Dan, HQ Instructor & IKD Shihan-kai Senate Shihan David Pyke, 7th Dan & Head of IKD Maritimes Shihan Paul Bernstein, 7th Dan & Head of IKD Barbados Shihan Bryan Mattias, 7th Dan & IKD Vice President from IKD Quebec Shihan Marcel Lussier, 7th Dan & Head of IKD Saskatchewan Shihan Guy Bourgon, 7th Dan from IKD Quebec Shihan Hector Sotomayer, 7th Dan & Head of IKD Puerto Rico On top of all the Shihan-kai present, there were highly experienced and knowledgable instructors from Antigua, St. Lucia, St.Vincent, Trinidad, Jamaica, New York, and England, plus a lot of great Canadian talent from 8 out of 10 provinces! Unfortunately, due to political unrest, Venezuela was unable to attend this year. Shihan W. Dexter Shim started us off in the mornings and lead a number of our training sessions, Shuseki-Shihan lead the IKD New Teaching Method courses, and the IKD Kenshushei sections were lead by a variety of Shihan. We were also honored by the attendance of our IKD President, David Clarke! IKD World Camp 2014 Summary Page 9

10 Training Schedule: Enthusiastically Kept Busy The all-ranks camp schedule had eleven regular training classes. For some sessions, all ranks were together, and for other sessions students went to different buildings and were taught by different Shihan depending on their rank: 9th to 7th kyu 6th to 1st kyu shodan to nidan sandan+ / instructors On top of those eleven training classes, there was a tournament, two evening lectures, dan testing, judge s exams, general meetings and for the Shihan-kai, more classes and meetings! It wasn t all karate, though - we had time to relax and talk to new friends and old friends in the afternoons, and time for a nap, too! Tournament At World Camp For a little bit of International competitive fun, and as part of the Judge s clinic and testing process, there was a tournament at World Camp as well! Team Kata, Team Bunkai, Team Enbu with categories for all ages, including youth, teenagers, and adults. And of course, Individual events in both kata and kumite. What a great chance to perform in front of the Masters, then spar against some new competition, and get a chance to get some feedback afterwards as well! IKD World Camp 2014 Summary Page 10

11 Extra Lectures: Sharing The Knowledge This year the IKD World Camp introduced extra sessions lead by members of our association from around the world: IKD Quebec instructor Shihan Bryan Mattias, 7th Dan, spoke on the subject of Running A Successful Dojo. From his 35 years experience running a club, Sensei Bryan shared personal experiences and offered advice to dojo heads teaching both children and adults, competitive and recreational, weaving both victories and humbling moments into the mix. You can find his club on Facebook and on the web. IKD Ontario member Sensei Anthony Green, 6th Dan, lead a special session teaching introductory Ukemi Training (break falls) For Enbu & Bunkai. IKD Quebec instructor Sensei Alain Dumas, 6th Dan, inspired his audience with the research he s put together as part of his 6th Dan testing on the topic of the Mind/Body connection and its importance in excellent martial arts. You can find more information about Sensei Alain at IKD UK member and Physiotherapist Gill Drew-Griffiths, 2nd kyu, gave a talk on healthy warm-up practices and ways to improve flexibility. You can find her business on Facebook. Fun Social Events During Off Hours Saturday afternoon before the 430PM class, everyone gathered on the beach of Lake Placid to join a team or just watch: Tug-o-War! Four teams yanked and strained and yelled and laughed themselves through the contest, and all of the team members were personally introduced and cheered for at dinner that night in the Dining Hall to finish it off. Saturday night was free on most everyone s schedule, and the Bon-ding Fire by the lakeshore burned long into the night. With no meetings or lectures, It gave us all an opportunity to chat with our favorite Shihan as well, and get to know some of the ones we d never met before. What a great time to get better acquainted with the IKD family! IKD World Camp 2014 Summary Page 11

12 Introducing: IKD New Teaching Method Shuseki-Shihan Frank Woon-A-Tai lead courses at camp to introduce the IKD New Teaching Method, with plans to make recordings of each instructor class. With the IKD being just over three years old, the Shihan-kai are busy developing a lot of fundamental material and structure for the association to operate from: February 2012: IKD Grading Syllabus released June 2013: IKD Kenshusei program released Compendium of IKD Bunkai using Traditional Techniques being released This year the association focus continued to build on the knowledge released through the IKD Kenshusei program while also relaying the IKD New Teaching Method, and making plans for the future. About The IKD New Teaching Method Videos are available on YouTube and the IKD main website, so be sure to watch them for ease of learning. In short, the IKD New Teaching Method takes kata, kihon, and kumite and combines it in new and unique ways for 21st Century training. The old way of up and down the floor training is being replaced with a three-person team format that helps students learn to move with their team or kumite opponent right from junior ranks. In the IKD New Teaching Method, students in groups of three first perform kata in team format, followed by that kata s bunkai, then IKD Enbu Kumite using the standard kihon/basics for their level. Once these three exercises have been completed, the group rotates and begins the cycle again with a new defender. After three rotations and cycles of kata, bunkai and enbu, the group exercise is complete. Find out more about what Shuseki-Shihan Frank has said about the IKD New Teaching Method, and be sure to check out Shuseki-Shihan s entire playlist as well! Amongst the information is the standardized bunkai for Heian Shodan, Nidan, Sandan, Yondan, Godan and Tekki Shodan, as well as part of Bassai Dai. IKD World Camp 2014 Summary Page 12

13 Preparing For Heian Yondan Bunkai About IKD Bunkai & Enbu: Traditional, Self Defense and Free Being only three years old and focused on taking Master Nakayama s ideas about excellent Shotokan Karate as a base for our association, the International Karate Daigaku is in the process of developing and releasing its own compendium of Bunkai and Enbu, and special training tools for all 26 Shotokan kata. Shuseki-Shihan reminded us that once this compendium is developed and shared, the IKD will focus itself more on Bunkai and Enbu that are more free-flowing and less traditional at its World Camps and seminars. Demonstrated to us for the future were examples of Bunkai and Enbu with a self-defense/grabs feel, and another with a Heian kata drill feel. Instructors and students alike are encouraged to learn and teach from this growing compendium of IKD Bunkai and Enbu using Traditional Techniques, as a way to introduce your students to how a team bunkai and team enbu works, as well as reinforcing the application of each of the kata techniques they practice every class. Advanced students will learn the standardized version more quickly and are encouraged to delve into the realm of free bunkai/enbu and self-defense bunkai/enbu! IKD World Camp 2014 Summary Page 13

14 IKD Standardized Bunkai: Sochin At camp, Sochin s standardized IKD Bunkai using Traditional Techniques was introduced to the Sandan+ and Instructor class. Using simple attacks and simple defenses, students are able to demonstrate their clear understanding of the basics of the kata they perform. You can find the playlist on YouTube. IKD Standardized Enbu: Kyu Ranks Enbu-Kumite was introduced to the Sandan+/Instructor class at camp using the kyu-rank testing syllabus. Part of the IKD New Teaching Method materials, standardized Enbu- Kumite drills are done in groups of three, using the IKD Grading Syllabus combinations. Here s an example of brown belt level Enbu Kumite, basic level from shizentai and an advanced version of Enbu Kumite in free stance for 4th kyu level. Enbu Kumite from free stance IKD World Camp 2014 Summary Page 14

15 Thanks For The Memories! Videos, Pictures & More Now that we re all home from World Camp and have returned to every day life, we re left with fun memories & new friends and new knowledge to continue our karate journey with until the next time we can get together again. For those who would like to get connected, Facebook has a strong community of keen IKD members and their clubs, and it s turned out to be a fun way to meet new people while also watching what other IKD clubs around the world are doing as well. A YouTube channel was set up for World Camp 2014 and you can find courses, drills, and other lectures from the camp there. With all of the standardized bunkai recorded, these videos are very valuable to every IKD dojo! Get connected: International Karate Daigaku main group on Facebook IKD Open World Camp group on Facebook International Karate Daigaku main channel on YouTube IKD World Camp 2014 channel on YouTube Find Out About Next Year s Camp & Cup! In 2015, the IKD World Camp takes place as part of the IKD World Cup tournament. Originally scheduled to be held in Venezuela, the tournament has been moved to Toronto Ontario for 2015 due to current political situations and unrest in Venezuela. Follow the IKD on Facebook for information as it is released, and bookmark the main IKD website and get your information from there: IKD World Camp 2014 Summary Page 15