By Jokokan Honbu
2004 has been a tough but very successful year for the Jokokan association. It has been a year in which Jokokan has really begun to reap the fruits of the many years of preparatory work carried out by the few.
The Jokokan association has now reached 300 members aged 6 to 62, and the membership still does not seem to have reached the ceiling of around 400-500 members with the current instructor, training and space facilities. A ceiling that will perhaps already be within reach in 2005, which time and continuous effort will hopefully wash out during the year.
It has not only been Jokokan Denmark, a member of Jokokan Europe, which has felt and experienced clear progress and been successful. So does Jokokan International.
The world-renowned, absolutely leading and highly recognized Japanese martial arts magazine "The Hidden, Budo & Bujutsu" brought the first great six-page article series on Jokokan and Yakami-ryu martial arts in their December issue, with Yakami-ryu's supreme Grandmaster; Soke Sensei Tonegawa as a natural frontman. Three months of in-depth background research conducted by “Hidden Magazine” blue-stamped Jokokan and Yakami-ryu martial arts into the public spotlight, which was a natural step in Jokokan's continuous development and opening process, especially in recent years.
Jokokan International's new Honbu-dojo is also under construction on an island outside the main island of Shikoku. It is sponsored by friends of Jokokan. Also, new training facilities have been created and offered at the foot of Mount Fuji-Yama to Jokokan.
The 2005 calendar has just been posted on the website in accordance with Jokokan's open communication form and policy. We constantly try to live up to our motto "We do as we say, and say as we do - all the time and in the front row".
Jokokan wants to make a difference for the benefit of other people of all ages and genders and regardless of social status and family background. This also reflects the composition of the Jokokan members, where the common interest revolves around Yakami-ryu karate techniques, values and philosophical thoughts, which say that life is an affirmation and not a denial, and every person can make a far greater difference in life than this man commands himself – faith and an active effort can move mountains!
The Jokokan calendar reflects life's constant development through continuous and inevitable challenges. The calendar therefore also reflects this increased understanding of our association's and members' Yakami-ryu needs. There are therefore a number of repeats and a number of innovations.
The biggest innovation is two annual mini training camps under Jokokan Honbu-dojo ICHI auspices, which continue directly to the formal federation graduation. The mini training camps will have a concentrated duration of approx. 3 hours and is included in the total number of teaching hours with up to double weight. They take place in mid-June and December.
The mini training camps will be targeted at the Yakami-ryu needs of each specific target group, and will exclusively target correct and in-depth curriculum training for the individual belt groups. In this way, a correct understanding and execution of all Yakami-ryu Gensei Karate-do curriculum techniques is ensured by all Yakami-ryu practitioners regardless of school and background.
The main instructors at these mini-camps will be Honbu-dojo's Chief Instructor, Kimu Sensei, Gokui Menkyo Kaiden and Honbu-dojo ICHI instructor, Jens Iversen, 5th dan.
Jokokan's great member success in 2004 has meant that we had to revise our original plans for a new Shiatsu training course in 2006 at the earliest to be offered again this year. In May 2004, 14 Jokokaners passed and completed the training. In the first half of the year, we will offer this basic training to a new team of a maximum of 20 people on a first-come, first-served basis. Both members, family, friends and supporters can register.
The Shiatsu training is the basic training which provides knowledge about massage, anatomy and meridians. The Shiatsu training is subsequently supplemented with Ki courses 1, 2 and 3, which teach the participants to generate and activate ki (energy) and then by Ki & Meditation courses 1 and 2, which expand the participants' knowledge and understanding of the larger contexts in human development and opportunities for self-realization, where parts of Yakami-ryu's toolbox with 1,000 years of experience are used in an unpretentious and direct way. Ki & Meditation course 1 will be offered in the second half of 2005.
Main instructors on 2005 courses will be Honbu-dojo's Chief Instructor, Kimu Sensei, Gokui Menkyo Kaiden on Ki & Meditations course 1, as well as Honbu-dojo ICHI instructor, Jens Iversen, 5th dan on the Shiatsu training with Kimu Sensei as censor.
Jokokan's website would also like to thank all its friends, supporters, sponsors, members and over 20,000-25,000 monthly readers worldwide for their interest, support and positive expressions of Jokokan's voluntary and unpaid work for the benefit of others and society throughout 2004. Many thanks for that!
We humbly and gratefully look back on the year that passed, and purposefully and committedly look forward to the new year 2005 – the Year of the Rooster. With best New Year's wishes and greetings and a BIG THANK YOU to all members, family, friends and supporters, this traditional New Year's article concludes.
