By Martin E. Hansen, Member until 2018
A hot summer day in Denmark - can it really fit, you ask yourself? And yes, it was good enough, Shindenkan's summer convention 2013 was actually wrapped up by a hot summer day on 22 June. So hot that it was good that sponsored drinking bottles with water from the tap could quench the thirst, for those who had forgotten the drink from home. As usual, this event was a big turnout and 157 students out of over 200 registered were set to graduate.
The work of putting together a convention has an educational side and a practical side. Honbu-dojo under the leadership of Kimu Sensei is responsible for the teaching, organization and management, and the practical part under the auspices of the federation is taken care of by Søren Renshi. The tasks are delegated from here. Therefore, there is of course preparation for the event on both legs, so to speak. The head instructors are given a few days before the start of the event to draw up a framework, which they must then fill in with the relevant syllabus and at the same time delegate to the instructors they are assigned to help teach as part of their own development and training. The practical part is also delegated, such as mat transport, setting up the podium, laying out mats etc., for which Søren Renshi has a nice chrome-plated plan. The final parts and plans are agreed upon at the instructor's meeting before the event, where the total plan is reviewed so that everything runs smoothly. Instructor teams have also had the opportunity to review the training plan the night before for their own SBTLUS meet.
Thus, Kimu Sensei was able to welcome Shindenkan's summer meeting 2013 from the podium in Måløv hall, where, according to tradition, he began with a short national information speech. The main points were to present the voluntary forces in the new Shindenkan organization's structure and bodies adapted to the trend and needs of the time, now that Shindenkan has gradually become a significant size.
The size also means that Shindenkan has now become more attractive for sponsors and for this event drinking cans were distributed at check-in, through the sponsorship agreement entered into by Kimu Sensei himself. As another initiative, all participants received a letter to take home about a new support association "Shindenkan's Friends" which aims to support the community and development in Shindenkan. Shindenkan's Friends is founded by volunteers in Shindenkan consisting of both practitioners and family members of practitioners.
The second main point in Kimu Sensei's speech was the controversial in Denmark, but internationally recognized POMW project, where the marksmanship training; POMW Pistol ”Fundamentals” has now finished with 28 successful participants. 80 % ended up shooting Danish division standard, and the last 20 % were close. Project manager Kimu Sensei has been totally uncompromising in his international development of POMW at the absolute top level, and still is now at POMW LRS (long range shooting) and the essence of shooting through POMW shooting technique has proven to really hit home and prove Minouchi Sensei's theory. The results speak for themselves and the participants have learned to shoot in what you can safely call the better half around 20-60 times faster than what the shooting world is otherwise known for. You can read more about the result of POMW 1 + 2 = POMW Pistol Fundamentals here on the website.
The superstructure on the POMW Pistol "Fundamentals"; POMW Pistol "Intermediate", which is based on the terrain and IPSC shooting disciplines, will be held in August and September with a maximum of 20 participants.
Before the convention officially started, Kimu Sensei also told that this convention offered a great many graduations - as many as 157 of this kind as well as several higher degrees. Read their individual articles here on the website as well as the new graduation article, which tells more in depth about the graduation process.
As usual, the event was started with a TG team division, so that each group could be assigned a team of team instructors led by Jens Hanshi-dai, Søren Renshi, Martin Renshi and Kjeld Renshi-dai. The first lesson was Ukemi (fall training) on the mat areas that had been laid out in advance by the participants at SBTLUS and other volunteers who had met shortly before the start of the event. During the next hour, the participants were taken through the basic falls – forward and backward roll falls as well as side falls and front falls.
As something new, several instructors were allocated for this lesson, which Kimu Sensei had decided based on the experiences of previous competitions. In Shindenkan, we always try to optimize things and make it better and more efficient if we can, which also applies to practical training of new potential instructors at national level. So some of the SBTLUS participants were used as assistant instructors and had already been introduced to their new role. They all coped well and several of them were also met with challenges that had to be solved along the way, and it can look like chaos when 200 participants have to do fall exercises J.
Half an hour was set aside for fall technique, after which there was a short break to get the mats out of the way and have something to drink. During the break, everyone could tell that it would be a long and hot day, as it was already very oppressive inside the hall, so it was pointed out that it was very important to have something to drink.
After the break, the TG groups were sent out to the same main instructors, who now had to teach in-depth standardization of kata and bunkai for the next few hours. In shindenkan you build up step by step, which was also the message in this lesson, just as it had been in the lesson with fall training. Learning kata is like building a house, first you build the foundation - which is the basic technique, then you build the walls - which is kumite, and finally the roof - then a kata house is finished and preferably according to the grandmaster's original drawing.
In all groups, they worked hard and the energy was sometimes low, but then the atmosphere was lifted with small energizers from the instructor team. All participants were challenged and most were introduced to a new kata or new bunkai, so they had something to work with, but at the same time they gained a greater understanding on their own level of what kata is and why it is the way it is. It is of no use to be able to show a kata without knowing the contents, it is equivalent to always talking about a wine and being able to show the bottle, but never having tasted it and knowing what it actually contains.
With this lesson, the official part of the summer convention ended and, according to tradition, a joint picture had to be taken of all the participants, including the massive audience, who are now regular guests at Shindenkan's conventions. However, it gradually requires a massive wide-angle lens to accommodate everyone in the picture, as you can see, but it's only great that more and more of us come to our rallies. We really enjoy the good support from families, friends, supporters or whoever wants to watch the participants from the bench. Thanks!.
The graduation session began with a competency graduation in kotachi (wooden knife), where the 10 participants on the floor performed great technique and there was real style over Benedikte, who had chosen to show up to both the event and graduation with her leg in plaster and accessories. supporting leg”. Next, the TG groups were called to the floor one by one in increasing degrees and had to perform selected techniques from their syllabus. Kimu Sensei was in a good mood as usual and gave all the groups a challenge when they were asked to show techniques that were not directly on their syllabus. They all managed it in great style and were able to finish on the floor in the traditional kata division, where you perform the kata from the bottom of the penum up until you can't remember the next kata in the sequence. Impressive to see that there was a 9th kyu who performed Jin-i and other higher kata 🙂
Since there were also brown and black belt participants for graduation this year, they now had to go through their final stop test, which also traditionally takes place during the event, as it firstly has a high entertainment value J but also good support from a lot of people. The last stop test is the pot test, where the graduate must go through 3 rounds of unknown duration. The first is punches with hands/arms on a punch pad held by an instructor, the second kicks on a punch pad and finally a combination of both. The test is intended as a stamina test and the better shape the graduates are in, the longer it lasts. However, there was a difference in this test from before and it was that one of the participants was not for graduation, but had been asked to take a pad test....
Around. At 18.00 the graduation was over and the head instructors got together to vote, while the other instructors entertained with a warm-up, after which Kimu Sensei from the podium could hand out stripes and new belt colors to 157 nominated students.
However, there was a graduation that was something very special and is actually Shindenkan history. Kimu Sensei has, after all, the only power of attorney to graduate beyond rules and guidelines, and as he says "Once in a while rules and guidelines have to be broken". Kimu Sensei described the young man who had long impressed him with his attitude and fighting spirit, throughout the 2012-2013 season, who had developed very positively of late and was always in a good mood, a good friend and teacher, after which he asked Karsten Nielsen from Korsør stepped on the podium and graduated him to 1st dan senior, actually half a year before he had the opportunity. It was a very proud, but also deeply shaken and moved Karsten who received a well-deserved tribute and applause from the floor.
This also happened to Pia Hornung from Jokokan Ballerup Karate School, from whom Kimu Sensei graduated 4.kyu Yakami Shinsei-ryu, half a year before she could graduate. Pia is a quiet girl, but has continuously made a name for herself with her great effort and willingness to learn, throughout her membership of Shindenkan.
Such two very special graduations have not happened after the year 2000 – it is very special, and both graduates can rightfully be extremely proud of their achievements. Such an achievement takes years to achieve with constant effort, attitude and willingness to implement and learn. But Kimu Sensei had noted this in his black book (rumors say that today it is an EXCEL program).
Naturally, there was also applause and words of praise for the new black belts, which you can read more about in their articles here on the website, and Søren Renshi deservedly came home with a new densho degree, JODEN HIDEN. All in all, a nice graduation before the summer holidays. In the Shindenkan, we also pay tribute to those who train even if they have a chronic injury or defect - if this is officially 5% or higher in degree (cf. Labor Market Authority table), they can be awarded the Kohaku-Jin which symbolizes their attitude and will as a role model despite their " disability”. Jane Nielsen from Jokokan Korsør was awarded kohaku-jin bronze, Asger Chandler and Anette Bjarkmann, both Jokokan Ballerup, had their bronze badge changed to a silver badge, which can be awarded after having worn the bronze badge for 3 years or more. The Honbu-dojo under the leadership of Kimu Sensei would also like to thank the volunteers who had taught during the season at courses and competitions by rewarding and thanking them with something good for the palate in the form of some good bottles of red wine.
