By Martin E. Hansen, Member until 2018

Täsk-fighting probably became the nickname in many people's ears, or that's what they thought when Task Fighting 3 (TF3) was over. There are several articles here on the website which describe what happened during the 2 TF3 course days. Many voices with nonsense such as "Shindenkan is not realistic, because they do not participate in tournaments", "If you are so good, why don't you show it?" remained in the periphery after TF3 silenced all these statements, and was completely buried after the Shindenfight seminars (SFP1.1 –SFP1.6).

The Shindenfight seminar series, like all other courses, is designed by Kimu Sensei. The task of passing on and communicating the course was left to me and Søren Renshi. For us, it was part of our training as leaders and instructors, but also to revisit the knowledge about realistic combat that we have built up over the years and have sweated, cried and bled ourselves with, how could we pass this on as optimally as possible? It was also the first time that a series of courses filled a total of 6 seminars, spread over 2 months. This was also one of the challenges both for the participants and for us as instructors – to keep the pot boiling for a long time, but we succeeded very well and big praise to the participants here.

Everything in Shindenkan is done thoroughly as we have a 1000 year old heritage. As part of the eternal development spiral for us Honbu instructors, we were served on a golden platter a nice and finished course package by Kimu Sensei. This is done for each course in Shindenkan, as goal achievement and success require thorough preparation. This course was special as this is the last freestyle course before 1st dan in the multi-track martial arts system; Yakami Shinsei-ryu Karate-do. This means, therefore, the last course in freestyle wrestling, which after all consists of a total of three naturally overlapping freestyle courses before black belt;

• First stage, TF1; Basic Sports Kumite - What is it?
• Second stage, TF2 ; Semi touch sports kumite - do and don'ts
• Third stage, TF3 ; Sportskumite – full contact to MMA with few rules, without weight, gender and age classes.
• Fourth step, SFP1 (optional); ShindenFight, 15-18 hour intensive course based on TF3

Over three months we met for TF3 and Shindenfight course teaching at Kimu Sensei's home. It always starts with some food, which we coordinated every time, so that we got the best and cheapest food offer every time. The meal is followed by coffee and plenty of water, which is especially needed, as we are always being pushed all the way to the border area - and sometimes beyond our competence capacity, seen from a holistic perspective. It is incredibly instructive and developing, and an absolute privilege, to be taught by a real Bujutsu martial art grandmaster, who, on top of that, can also do so much else in terms of his work as a top manager and management consultant in the international arena over the last 20 years. This time it was a total of over 60-70 hours with Kimu Sensei, a further total of 2 x 250, 500 hours for Søren Renshi and I to coordinate and not least practice!.

As usual, it is always the tip of the iceberg of work behind that you always only hear about. But then there is what lies hidden under the water – by far the biggest part; Kimu Sensei's "preparatory work" - the delivery of a neat and finished course package, which closely fits into the curriculum handbook and follows the common thread, and which the course instructors are carefully trained in afterwards. In addition, this extremely thorough preparation means that we course instructors are most likely to deliver the goods, while at the same time standing in a good light, - and who doesn't like to be completely J. Jebs, nothing is accidental in Shindenkan :-).

We have always had realistic kumite in Shindenkan, but unlike many other martial arts systems, in Shindenkan we have a schooled approach to fighting through building a solid foundation and not being thrown into tournament fighting from day 1, which in the end is still an unrealistic approach to combat. Our matches have not been publicly available as tournaments, but part of brown/black belt graduations, where it has been held behind closed doors. However, a few have witnessed Shindenkan kumite and gained deep respect after seeing how violent it is when a fight is fought without rules, with mercilessness and realism. Why then do we think that tournament competition is unrealistic, it is here that you can show what you can do and win gold medals? The reason is quite simple – there are rules and everyone fights on equal terms, in weight classes, by gender. Are there rules out on the street? Can you tell the bully that it's an unrealistic way he's fighting while beating you to the punch? This was knowledge that all the participants had gained on the TF3 course, which now had to be refined and cherished in the Shindenfight seminar series.

It was a real mosaic of facial expressions that met Søren Renshi and myself at the first seminar SF1 The reason was of course that the participants had experienced one during TF3 and now did not really know what to expect from Shindenfight. What we as instructors could tell the participants was that we had to go in depth with the techniques, practice routine through the already known approach with several levels of tempi 20, 50, 80 and 100 % The increasing tempo is part of the schooled approach which gives possibility for an optimal learning forum - from: practice the technique slowly, to: test whether it also works when it is needed! And since time was short for each individual seminar (2 ½ hours), it would also go quickly J The first day of the course was intended as a recap of hand techniques, so there was plenty of time to practice the 3 steps which were a battle on the line , 45 degrees and free kumite (randori), which were the same 3 steps as during TF3. It was very important that all the participants learned what the difference is between fighting in a straight line and if you move to the side (45 degrees) and what the possibilities and limitations are.

Thus, the first 3 seminars went with a recap of respectively hand techniques, leg techniques and combination of hands and legs in the 3 tempi, and thus also served as programming of the body and a lot of tai-sabaki. What was really interesting to see was that from time to time the participants got better at moving both in a straight line but also to the side, which was one of the most important messages, as it was also during TF3 - "Jump and get beaten , go to the side and be the best", outsiders probably don't understand that much, but for those who have participated it is obvious. What we as instructors were really happy to see was that the participants only needed a very short time to press the "Now I'm on" button, but quick cash settlement from either an instructor or the kumite partner also helped if you had a sluggish start J In order not to get too friendly, the opponent was constantly changed for each technique to reflect realism, because out in reality it is big against small, tall against short and girls against boys. As with all martial arts, it is a matter of attitude, which was also the essence of the first Task Fighting course. What ultimately determines whether you win over your opponent out on the street is your attitude and whether you are settled. The last 3 days of the course were therefore designed to raise realism one more notch. Of course, the essence of the whole Shindenfight was that it is a course in realistic fighting, which the message, which was regularly shouted in chorus "If sports kumite is entertainment then Shindenfight is realistic", also testifies.

During SF4, there was a small surprise after all the techniques on the different levels had been beaten through. I had been alone with the team all evening, but then Søren Renshi appeared for the last half hour. People had grown tired but still gave him a friendly look and thought, "What have they come up with, now they have taken turns teaching alone?" Kimu Sensei wanted to introduce something new, as the contestants had done really well during TF3, so now they should have the opportunity to fight against more opponents. This part of the course lasted a relatively limited time. but became an important learning for most. How to defend against multiple opponents? There is a strategy to follow, and it has been tested in many battles and is a knowledge that is over 1000 years old. We have the motto that you should not invent the deep dish several times, so of course this knowledge must be used, as it is still relevant today. Søren Renshi and I have tested it at our instructor camps for the last 10-15 years and we were excited to see how well it was received by the participants at Shindenfight. It worked really well, and the participants walked into the traps, which of course had a purpose, namely that they should have some so-called "AHA" experiences. The most important thing was that the participants also learned what it means to be pushed to the bottom when punches and kicks come pouring down in a veritable shower. What could be concluded was i.a. if you give up you get beaten, it is difficult to move and maintain control when there are 2 or more opponents and you may have to strike first yourself. Most were allowed to feel a lot of punches and kicks, which in reality might have ended disastrously, so you have to be happy for the dojo, which is a training arena where you can test yourself under relatively safe and secure conditions.

Although we have now trained kumite under controlled and protected conditions and have not participated in tournaments, the result and the injury statistics that are also included testify that we are realistic in our approach to fighting in Shindenkan, we just don't win medals, we become a life experience richer. There were quite a few "mishaps" during the 6 seminars, which are probably also described in some of the participants' articles. In short, however, I can say that there were fiber bursts, nosebleeds, concussions, sprains, cuts (not from knives, but uncut nails - which you hopefully learned from J), stretches and a number of technical knockouts (incapacitated for a few to several seconds). .

In addition to perhaps putting a tick on yourself on the injury list, the Shindenfight courses have certainly also given the participants a new angle on kumite and a routine in handling higher pressure, and given an insight into how all the theory in the bullfights should be acted out. So in addition to the participants constantly getting the buskers about THANK YOU and the kumite's 4 steps, they actually also tried to show it, and you did well J As an instructor, I was happy that I got the task together with Søren Renshi. It has been a real pleasure to experience how all participants have grown over time. Those who came with anxiety have come face to face with this anxiety and either fought it or learned to hold on to it. Those who came and thought they could do it all, have learned to look at themselves more realistically even when it's all about to boil over a bit. There is already a clear difference between those who have taken part in the course and those who have opted out, but then it is good that it is not a one-time pleasure.