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Sensei Torben Svendsen is a 7th Dan Black Belt in the art of Traditional Okinawan Goju-ryu Karate-do and is a senior instructor within IOGKF ark. His Karate career began in the seventies and has spent an extensive amount of time training with Master Morio Higaonna. At a time he was an assistant instructor at the world headquarters of IOGKF when it was located in America. He is co-founder of a successful International company that utilises his experience for good. He sat down with IOGKF Magazine for this brand new exclusive interview. Artikel Remastered from IOGKF magazine - January 2015 3
? In our last edition, you mentioned in our 60 second interview why you started Karate. Can you please tell us 1who and what has motivated you to continue since then? Started in 76 I started karate training in 1976 and I was only 11 years old. For the first couple of years I think the main motivation for continuing was my teacher, Sempai Søren Nielsen. He was a brown belt when I started but was graded Shodan later, a true talent in technique and as a teacher, word had it that he was one of Kyokushinkai s biggest talents. Even though we were only two young boys in the adult class, and that was tough, Sempai Søren managed to motivate me to continue. He did so by taking good care of us with a good sense of humor and protecting us against the macho men Back then training consisted of basics a little kata and a lot of kumite. Some years later Sempai Søren decided to stop training karate due to an illness a new Sempai was appointed to take over the dojo but unfortunately he did not have any pedagogical skills and I decided to quit and take up Volley Ball instead. Karate and training in the dojo was still pulling me though so I started training again Over the next couple of years I hit a few more bumps on the karate road; stopping and restarting again, until I finally committed fully in the early eighties. My dojo started out as a Kyokushinkai dojo, then changed to GoNoSen, (a kind of Goju-Kai) until we finally changed into Goju-Ryu and IOGKF, and wow, that made a change A new motivator Meeting Sensei James Roussaau in 1986 and attending the European Gasshuku in Spain in 1987, meeting Higaonna Sensei and all the seniors of Europe, that was amazing. I discovered that true Goju-Ryu karate was so deep so complex with such a range of interesting training perspectives. This was a new motivator. In 1987 my sensei, Kurt Nicholaisen decided to quit karate and I was asked to take over the dojo, 22 years old and 1. Kyu. I accepted and took this new challenge very seriously. I felt responsible for passing on Goju-Ryu to all my students. This was my new motivation to do my best. Back then I was working as a trained waiter in very fashionable restaurants, but I decided to cut down work to a minimum and committed myself into training and teaching. I went to my dojo 3-4 days a week (travelling by train 1 hour each way) and taught all classes for 2-6 hours per day. Once a week I took the early morning train to Sensei Henrik Larsens dojo, 2 hours south of Copenhagen, to train with him for 3 hours before heading home with ice packs on my shins, elbows and head after a lot of kumite training In 1989 I travelled to San Marcos to train with Higaonna Sensei for 3 months. I came back to Denmark, worked hard to save money, quit my job in 1990 and went back to Honbu dojo to train more. This trip was a major motivator for my future training. Not one but many To sum up your question I guess there has been many motivating factors through out my karate life; My Sempais and Senseis, I will refrain from names because there are so many. I always enjoy training with different Sensei s because there is always something to learn. Sometimes a little detail can change the whole picture, You just have to keep open and curious. 4 Artikel Remastered from from IOGKF magazine - January - 2015 2015
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? Can you please tell us about your time training with Higaonna Sensei in San Marcos, USA? Are there any memories that stand out to you?... a nightmare Staying in San Marcos for 3 months in 1989 and especially 6 months in 1990 was the time of my life that changed my karate in a way that is difficult to describe but I guess it could be summed up by saying that it changed my attitude and understanding towards training and the benefits of never giving up Nanakorobi Yaoki. Without going into all the details I can say that a part of my stay in 1990 was a big nightmare. A couple of months after I returned to Honbu Dojo in 1990, Alanna came to me and said: Sensei wants to talk to you in the Chinese restaurant next door... When Sensei started to talk he was so angry and by the tone of his voice, his eyes and the whole atmosphere I pretty much understood hell had broken loose though I didn t understand any Japanese (Sensei Paul Enfield was there to translate). Stay focused The reason why Sensei was angry with me was because I hadn t taken my responsibility as a senior towards some Danish students who were visiting Honbu dojo. The matter was about where and with whom they were staying in San Marcos. I was 25 years old and had had the responsibility of my own dojo since I was 22 years old. I had seen this trip as my escape, my room to breathe, with no responsibility for no one, just me training and enjoying life. (The weekly training routine was: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday from 10:30-12:00 (or 13:00) and every evening Monday-Friday for 2-3 hours. On top of that Sensei had invited the seniors of the dojo to come to his garage dojo for morning training Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 8-10, I was invited too). Of course there was more to the story but basically Sensei told me off because I, as he said, couldn t run from my responsibility. Back then I was so scared at first. I was scarred that Sensei would throw me out for being so stupid and irresponsible. Coming back to the dojo from the restaurant everybody was kind of moving away from me except for Alanna who assured me that Sensei liked me, for as she said: If Sensei didn t like you, he would not have taken the time to talk to you, he would just have thrown you out I didn t know what to do, this was the trip of my life and now my dream was falling apart, and I had disappointed Sensei. The next couple of days training for me changed, Sensei didn t pay me any attention and I sensed that I should stay away from the special morning training at his garage. During those days I was really in doubt if I should stay or just leave the dojo and go back home to Denmark. Mostly all the people back home that I spoke to over the phone advised me not to go home because they thought that I had done nothing wrong and that my Sensei was treating me unfair Well I decided to stay with or without any attention from Sensei, I decided that I would train and absorb as much as I could from his teachings regardless. So I did and for nearly two months Sen- Artikel Remastered from IOGKF magazine - January 2015 7
sei only corrected my technique once, I clearly remember how he harshly grabbed my hand during Shisochin kata and twisted it into the right angle. It was a tough period even though everyone else at the dojo was very nice to me. On one day where my girlfriend, who had come over to visit me in California, wanted to go to Sensei s house to say goodbye, so I went along with her. Sensei smiled to her and wished her a safe trip back home, then he turned to me and said: See you tomorrow morning for training in my garage, I bowed deeply and said: Hai, Sensei After this everything was back to normal again and we never talked anymore about it At the end of my trip I attended the 2nd Miyagi Chojun Festival in San Diego and I won the Kata competition. Of course I was happy for winning but what meant the most was when Alanna came up to me and told me that Sensei had said to her, on the way down to San Diego, that he thought that I would be winning the Kata competition. Before leaving the dojo Sensei presented me with a gift, a training bag with his signature on. And as Sensei Miko Peled came up to me and said: Bad start, good ending Next year in 1991 the European Gasshuku was hosted by Denmark. The first couple of days Sensei used me as his dummy when showing different techniques. Then one day Alanna came up to me and said: Sensei wants to talk to you in his room at 3 o clock I froze instantly, - what had I done wrong now? I had 2 hours with a heart rate reaching 200, sweating, freezing, not knowing what to do about myself. Then I came to his hotel room and Sensei Henrik Larsen was there - looking like a question mark too. Then Sensei started to speak. He told me that Sensei Paul Enfield had opened his own dojo and that he wanted to spend more time with his wife and newborn baby and that he therefore had chosen to leave Honbu dojo. So now Sensei just wanted to ask me if I would like to take over Sensei Pauls job as assistant in his dojo; helping Alanna in the office, teaching 2 nights a week and teaching when Sensei was out travelling I was stunned Even though I was honoured and very happy being asked to take this responsibility I declined the offer two days later after very serious thoughts. The reason was that I was in the middle of my education. A few months later after the Budo Sai in Okinawa, Sensei Nakamura was offered and accepted the job and as we all know now, this was the right person to hold that position. Later I had been thinking that Sensei just tested me and today I am grateful for this experience because it changed my life, it changed my karate and it taught me that you can never run away from your responsibility.., you have to learn to live with it and not make it a problem.? Do you think training has evolved in any way since you commenced practicing? And if so, how? Yes indeed or at least our understanding of exploring and grasping the deeper meanings of this unique art has evolved. When I trained Kyukushinkai in the mid seventies and later GoNoSen in the early eighties, we never trained Kakie, Hojo undo or Bunkai, we had regular warm-ups like in any other sport so there wasn t any Junbi Undo either. During training the Sempai or Sensei would often punish errors by hitting the students with a Shinai (a bamboo sword). It was very common that we were punished for almost all mistakes. 8 Artikel Remastered from IOGKF magazine - January 2015
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? What is the importance of the philosophy of the mind, body and spirit working together in Karate? Karate is not a sport it s a Martial Art and it s a way of life; Karate-do. We call it self-defence, but how many times in life do you have to defend yourself? How many times have you or will you be attacked in life? Well, normally I get answers as never or maybe once or twice Well, I say that you are being attacked every single day! It happens all day long! You are constantly under attack and you have to defend yourself against yourself; how you use your body, muscles, posture can ruin your physique, your thoughts can drag you down and make you weak or ill, how and what you decide to eat can ruin your body and physique, how and with whom you interact will have a great impact on your emotions, your mood, your whole life etc. There are so many aspects in your life, so many choices, which will affect your life and your health. The most important (if not the only) thing you can train is awareness. Karate trained with awareness will help you gain power. Sanchin is awareness training: You have to be aware of each single muscle in your body, tightening up in a harmonized way, so that your posture is correct. (Body & Mind) You have to be aware of a correct breathing. (Body & Mind) You have to be aware of your mind and that your thoughts don t drift away. (Mind) You have to be aware of your eyes that they are fixed without being fixed on a specific point. (Body & Mind) You have to be aware of digging deeper into understanding the 10 Artikel Remastered from IOGKF magazine - January 2015
where, what, how and why this is the most important kata we have; o simple in technique and yet so difficult. (Mind) You need to focus more and more in each repetition. (Body, Mind & Spirit) You have to train Sanchin every day to fully understand the benefit from it. (Spirit) You have to be aware of not being aware in order to just be there Mushin or No mind. (Mind) In our modern society we often refrain from everything that is difficult and boring, we must not feel pain, everything has to be smooth and easy and we need to be entertained all the time, we are lazy. I guess this is just a part of being a human being It also reflects how we bring up our children, ( Curling Children Children growing up with parents sweeping their path in front of them), resulting in generations to come who have not got any tools to get through life s obstacles and not taking responsibility for their own life and actions Karate is boring! Repetition after repetition, Mo Ichi do, one more time, but it is important to build character and to perfect your technique, to make it become a mechanical reaction that you don t have think about. Even the smallest detail is important; you can say that if you can t even focus and correct a small thing, how will you be able to deal with larger things in life? It is by going through obstacles in life, not letting them stop you, that makes you stronger, this builds up your spirit. Karate is life in a world compressed into the dojo. Here you get to see yourself. You meet you physical pain when your body gets tired by the many repetitions and from the Hojo undo and Kakie training. Your mentality is tested and trained in how it reacts to the Mo ichi do, the continuous search for perfection and importance of the tiny little detail of a technique. Your spirit is If your mind is weak it will send out signals to your body that it should quit, when that happens your spirit will break and you will get nowhere. The philosophy of Body, Mind and Spirit is just as important in karate as in life. Artikel Remastered from IOGKF magazine - January 2015 11
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? What can you tell us about your field of work? Has you Karate experience helped to shape your career? I m partner and co founder at ManuVision in Denmark. We do Body Sessions, training, leadership courses, we work with Veterans with PTSD and we have an education program where we train new ManuVision therapists and trainers. We have educated around 150 therapists and trainers most of them living in Denmark, but we do have a Manu- Vision House in Barcelona, Spain, we have people in Napier, New Zealand, Melbourne, Australia and New England, USA So if anyone are interested there are possibilities around the world. Karate has and still does help me in a lot of my ManuVision work. The Manu- Vision training is founded on the Junbi Undo of Goju-Ryu, with more focus on the health benefits rather than karate techniques. In the body treatments I use the principles of the stances. Many of the points to hit ( Kyushu ) are the same as the points to heal, like they also use in Acupuncture or Shiatsu. My training of awareness and the pursuit of perfection also helps the treatments. In Manu- Vision training, with our education and courses, I definitely use my experience from almost 40 years of karate training; setting and pursuing goals and the Mo Ichi do, the mental training from fighting and also kata performance are all valuable and helpful in this line of work. Of course Sanchin and Tensho has a profound impact on both my training and treatments in ManuVision.? What can you tell us about your own personal training regime? I start each morning with Sanchin Kata and I try to do a little meditation too. I go to my dojo teaching and training 3-4 times a week and I conduct one regular ManuVision training class and one ManuVision Extreme Class (higher intensity and stamina training) a week. Often before going to bed after brushing my teeth I run through some basics or maybe a kata, without moving just doing the hand techniques. If I don t train for a while (a day or two), I feel like I miss something, I feel I get weaker and loose the touch of technique. It doesn t have to be a lot of training maybe just 10 minutes with a focus on e.g. a specific technique or an idea for a Bunkai. Artikel Remastered from IOGKF magazine - January 2015 13
? Do you spend much time developing Kata bunkai? And if so, do you have a process you use to do this? I don t have a special process that I use. I guess karate is in my head most of the time and in some special moments an idea to a technique pops up, this can be during a training session when practicing Bunkai that the flow suddenly changes. In the middle of a kata a bright thought appears like Wow, now I know why we do it like this. Sometimes ideas even pop up when I m in the middle of something else; dining, watching television or doing something completely different. Teaching others also gives me great inspiration. I think that when you pass on such a great and deep tradition as karate you have to be interested to see what lies behind, be curious, keep your mind open, accept the fact that you don t know everything and enjoy that there is a possibility to learn from anyone, even from a beginner. I guess you can say that I m cheating because even though I m mostly placed as the Sensei, the teacher, I have to admit I often gain just as much from my students by watching them, listening to them and pairing up with them. I think it s about being open and not thinking there is a simple truth, because there probably isn t such a thing. It s merely seeking the wisdom and being curious of what lies beneath even the deepest step you can imagine. 14 Artikel Remastered from IOGKF magazine - January 2015
? What can you tell us about the importance of Kakie to Goju Ryu training? I believe Kakie is very important, it teaches you the importance of a good posture, how to keep your balance and the roots of your power (Chikara Ni). Because of the close distance to your opponent in Kakie you become very aware of the importance of Zanshin (awareness); changes in your opponents breathing, the constant contact of the wrists enhances your sensitivity towards any move your opponent might make - in close fighting all senses has to be trained and alert.? What are your opinions on sport Karate? Do you think it should be an Olympic sport? No, Karate should never enter the Olympics. The way that sports karate has evolved into being very specialized, so much indeed that a kata fighter won t be training kumite and vice versa. Because this will ruin the goal, is just shows that sports karate has moved away from the concepts of traditional karate. I m not saying that all competition is wrong but again we really have to be aware of what and where it s taking us. In kata for example, you move your focus from your mind and your feeling of the technique, the connection between the techniques, the depth of and meaning behind the techniques to being judged by the exterior. Kumite has changed from being close combat self-defence, defending yourself against an assault, often someone grabbing you, into a fighting game on a long distance side of things. There is nothing wrong with change and there s room for both, we just need to be aware of the difference, when and where we do what and maybe the sports karate should be named differently to minimize the confusion between the two styles.? If you only had five minutes to train for a whole day, what would you practice? Sanchin would be number one, then focus on some exercises to develop Chiru no chan chan and/or the kata that I m focus on in the particular period of time. Artikel Remastered from IOGKF magazine - January 2015 15
Based on an interview by David Lambert IOGKF Australia (AOGKF) 16 Artikel Remastered from IOGKF magazine - January 2015