By Viktor Nørgaard, Member until 2017

My name is Viktor and I am 11 years old. I started Karate in Ballerup/Måløv just after the summer holidays and think it's really fun. Today I was going to my first convention, which is called SST.

I was a bit excited about what it was and what was going to happen. Just as we arrived I was crossed off and then we were all gathered in the hall. Here, Jens first had to tell us about Shindenkan and the history of it. It was exciting to hear about the history of karate and about the samurai. We were told a lot about how to progress and get the next belt and it was really good. I think it's really cool that you can learn so many things, and I'm impressed that you can get the black belt in 9 years. It also gave a lot of respect for those who have lower kyu because you have to learn a lot before you get a new belt.

I didn't know all those things, but I also think that it was a bit too long a presentation as I really wanted to start doing some exercises.

First of all, we had to stretch and I got a lot out of that. It was good that we had to do it several times and that way get more out of it. We learned some new stretches.

Then we had to start doing exercises two by two. I came over to that team with the adults and the teenagers and after seeing what we had to do we started. The instructors went around and helped and first we practiced rolling falls and afterwards we tried different throws, as you do in close combat without weapons. It is very useful to know.

After a short break, where we had a bit to drink and eat, we had to try to do some exercises with weapons. We all got a sword made of wood and lined up in rows. It was really fun to try and I'm looking forward to being able to train with weapons.

Jens gathered us after each exercise so that we could see the next one before we had to try it ourselves. The last exercise was with cushions where we had to hit them. It is something else to be able to hit harder than when we train and can only just mark.
Then we were all called together and here met Kimu Sensei. It was really exciting to meet him and he seemed like an incredibly nice man. There were a lot of people who asked some questions and some of the questions were a bit funny. I had a lot of respect for him because he has achieved so much and I hope to meet him again.

We ended up stretching out and finally saying goodbye. And then suddenly 4 hours had passed. I didn't know what it was before I came but it was definitely really fun and I learned a lot about what this sport is and also about some of the things we need to be able to do. It was also nice that there were some from the team I train with, so I knew some.

It has only made me want to practice this sport even more and I am really happy that I started it. All the trainers are incredibly nice and I especially like that you respect each other and are friendly so that you feel safe and secure.
I think the values in this sport are very important and I think I can learn a lot from it and hopefully one day become a coach myself.