They say all roads lead to Rome. In Rome, they have a history that goes back to Roman times. In Roman times they had gladiators who practiced free combat against each other and against wild animals. You could perhaps call it the sports kumite of that time, just with slightly different rules which did not really aim to protect the participants, but actually somewhat the opposite.

The Task Fighting courses are Shindenkan's schooled approach to freestyle fighting step by step. That is it gives the participant an insight into what freestyle is and what it takes to be successful in a real match. But the question now is what is a real fight. What is reality really? It is different from person to person and yet not. Reality cannot be changed, it is more a matter of how you look at it. Some look very directly at reality and others will not look at it as it can be scary at times. But regardless of how you look at it, it is as it is and you can only change it by looking at it and recognizing that it is as it is. What do I really want with all this?

When you mention the word freestyle, many people think of a covered area and two competitors with a referee. A bit like a boxing match. It's also freestyle but it's not real. Another free fight is an assault in the middle of an open street - that's what you call reality. In Shindenkan, we deal with reality and the courses are designed by Kimu Sensei precisely with the focus on the participants having to deal with reality and not the illusions.

Can you be a world champion in sports kumite and do well in a street fight? Maybe and maybe not, because it depends on which opponent you have in a street fight and how experienced this person is in fighting without rules - whoops, I just said that. Without rules, what's the point. We live in a legal society full of rules, so there must also be rules for street fighting. No, unfortunately not, it's reality and it's about survival and not about taking home a prize. Coming home in one piece is a prize in itself. You can try to ignore reality, but one day it hits and it can hit really hard. So isn't it better to deal with and prepare for reality instead of denying it and getting it right in your head very hard.

The Task Fighting courses are about reality for the individual participant. And you are taken on a journey with a focus on what is reality in freestyle step by step. At the same time, the participants also get an insight into what sports kumite is and what results can come out of both ways. So it is up to the individual to choose whether they want to live in a house built by experienced, trained craftsmen with the right toolbox, or whether they want to take the chance and live in the very nice castle built by inexperienced and untrained craftsmen who have built the castle with hammer and chisel and not much else.

The TF 1 course in March 2016 had 35 registered, all of whom had set aside time to hear and learn about freestyle and to take the first step on the stairs towards the reality called correct attitude.

After 45 minutes of Ryugi reviewing the two ways to freestyle the results both ways can create, it was in the dojo with a focus on attitude and motto: avoid getting hit. All participants wear mouthguards and gloves. It's not because the first step is about hitting hard, but it's for safety reasons. When you are under pressure and tired, your concentration and the important keypoints go awry. And when that happens, there may be a risk that distance judgment goes the same way. But then it is good that there is safety in the course so that no one gets hurt 🙂

The TF1 course also gives participants the opportunity to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of different techniques. Many have a favorite technique. But can it be used in a real fight and is it effective? Or does it only give you points on the confidence account when you do it?

The schooled approach to freestyle wrestling was not invented in this century. It is more than 100 years old and in Shindenkan we are so lucky that the door back in history is present in the form of Kimu Sensei who is therefore able to design and create all the courses so that the participants get the most out of them if they want to.

You can't fight if you can't hit correctly.

You can't hit right if you can't move right.

You cannot defend yourself if you cannot be at the right time and place.

The school approach step by step. Can it be said more clearly? No, but the question is how it is understood by the individual participant in the course and what they want to do about it. Perhaps participation in TF2 will provide the answer 🙂

On behalf of the course theme, I have to say thank you to Kimu Sensei for the trust to teach this course and many thousands of thanks to all the participants for showing a fantastic attitude and concentration throughout the TF1 course 2016.