By Martin E. Hansen, Member until 2018

What does that headline mean? most people will probably think and what does it have to do with Yakami Karate? This and much more will be answered in this article about the year's I-camp 2004. First of all, I must warn the readers that an I-camp is not directly for the sake of the community, but for the sake of the individual, and therefore some sensitive topics will be touched upon in this article that might offend people.

Where to start and where to end? When does life begin and when does it end? Where are the limits of the universe? Is there a greater meaning to life than just earthly life? Is there life after death? – strange questions, but you have guaranteed to have asked yourself at least one of the questions, or you have been asked by others who dare to ask the same question themselves. If you only had the answer to it all, then life would not be a big puzzle.

Now you have chosen to practice Yakami Karate, which in my opinion will actually give you some of the answers, the rest you will find answers to through perhaps a lifelong search. What you can be absolutely sure of is that there is no logical/physical explanation for everything. Whether you want the answer also reflects how far you also want to reach within the world of martial arts.

That was quite a claim! Most people will probably say that he must be crazy. Why this reaction? Many people are afraid deep down to hear the truth and find the answer to the big questions in life, I crave them! Those who search must find, this also applies in Yakami karate, regardless of which part of the system you train and how far you have come. This is also one of the reasons why Jokokan is for everyone, as everyone has questions they can seek answers to in Yakami.

So I turned up to this year's I-camp with the expectation of leaving two days later with a good experience, food for thought and a step closer to the answer to some of life's big questions.

When I look back, I want to say that I got that and probably my colleagues too. I don't think it is relevant to go into specific techniques in connection with this training camp, but rather the tools and methods.

Like most people, we probably started on Friday afternoon at 17.00 and stood changed in the dojo 17.05. As can be expected from an I-camp, there is a certain demand on the athletes, not physically, but more mentally.

True to tradition, Kimu Sensei began with a welcome and a small speech in his usual warm tone. Of course, I cannot remember exactly what was said, but the point was, "You are here as individuals, it is for your own sake that you have come to train and learn", at the same time "It is important that you comes here and is rested with the attitude of learning so that we do not waste each other's time”; already here you turn off the satellite dishes.

Now it doesn't end here "Remember there is nothing at this training camp that is accidental", this must be understood as both words and actions. You then chew on it a little while you do your individual warm-up and prepare yourself mentally for the day's training. Now there were several during this camp who were also set for graduation and had to show something, as much during the camp itself, but also in the final Shiai on Saturday.

Kimu Sensei is a cunning and very kind man, so he made sure that people had no excuses and built up illusions about their own ability by drawing on his vast knowledge of scientific studies.

It turns out that the energy level of a person is not just physical energy built up with the help of muscle strength and consumption of sugar etc., but also mental energy, which is not lost on most people who only have a little knowledge of harder physical training.

Just take the example from the world's toughest cycling race, the Tour de France. One year I saw a more or less "random" cyclist get the yellow leader's jersey. The man was not normally good at driving a single start, but with the yellow leader's jersey to defend, he suddenly got "wings" and burned off the single start of his life, much better than expected. Either the man had been drugged overnight or he had gained extra mental energy from having SOMETHING TO FIGHT FOR.

Getting back to the point, but notice the last words, they are important. What most people missed was the distribution of this energy. As you can read, and hence the title of this article, it is 30/70 %, where the 30 % is the physical energy and the 70 % the mental/psychological energy. This means that physically you can only train for 30 % and the rest you have to achieve mentally.

Now this is not to be cross and contradict a Gokui Menkyo Kaiden (Koryo Bujutsu Grandmaster), because I actually think it is like that, but what he "forgot" to say (naturally because we had to interpret things ourselves and take a moment critical of themselves) is that most people have probably never achieved more than 40 % of their potential energy level.

AVS it hurt, but considering we rarely need 100 % it's not weird, we don't have the incentive for it. Had we, on the other hand, lived in a time when it mattered LIFE OR DEATH, e.g. old Japan, to stay in terms, was probably a different matter, because if you were at 50 % and your opponent at 60 %, you were a dead man/woman.

So how are we to achieve this energy level and why should we do it? The first part of the question is easy; Yakami is an excellent tool for this, second part of the question….Well..do you have something to fight for? Do you want to push your limits? Do you want to know them?

As a little help, we were told that we were all training in our own little universe, not the world as you are used to saying; He lives in his own little world, you've probably heard before. What is the difference? If you look at it scientifically and metaphysically, then a universe is in constant development, it actually expands, stars are born, stars die as well as galaxies, but there is one constant, that is the energy level according to the theories! Interesting thinking.

Transfer this to your own little universe. You must expand, create new stars, extinguish others and utilize the maximum energy. One could be tempted to say that your own universe is a faithful copy of the great universe, and if you know the outer limits of your own universe and every single star and planet, you also know corresponding parallel universes in others. Does this sound familiar? No, you'll probably hear about it later.

The foundation for a good camp was laid, at least for my own part, and we completed the first 3 hours of training with high intensity, where the program was basic, kumite (psychological) and new kata.

Most of the athletes at this year's training camp had chosen to drive home to sleep (we are getting old after all) either to ensure a proper night's sleep or for other personal reasons.

Now I want to reveal a little secret, I am not crazy as it has been confirmed from several sides. I usually sleep well at night, especially in my own bed. But now I had a little trouble falling asleep, as I knew it was important to be rested and it was like a pressure on one. It worked out in the end though, what was the strangest thing was that I woke up at night by continuing to train, by punching and kicking in the air (That's sgu da 100 % use of time), but that I can understand I wasn't the only J

Saturday I think worked even better and it's not to sound boastful, but even though you got tired physically, I could feel that the energy level increased. Something must have been done right, or was it simply because nothing was accidental and the training and methods were carefully planned. I wanted to say the first thing, and let me just be a little naive.

In fact, I think most of them worked really well when I otherwise had time to look at the others' universe, which also resulted in everyone passing their graduations after some intense free battles.

But before we got that far, during the break between the two lessons on Saturday, in addition to our lunch, we were tasked with answering some group questions, which was the only one at this camp aimed at the community. We were very much in agreement and you will feel the result indirectly in the schools in the coming time.

After a successful training camp and a lot of bruises, we sat around the table in a classroom and enjoyed a cold lager. Sure, we're serious, but we all had something to celebrate. Not just graduations, but also personal victories. What was my victory? That should be clear from this article. Have I answered some of life's big questions? Judge for yourself!!!!

Martin Hansen

Chief instructor Jokokan Korsør