The sun was high and beautiful in the sky when the Shindenkan summer convention 2016 kicked off. There were 160 participants who were all looking forward to a blast of a convention.

Shindenkan's new graduation structure "progression by effort" was to stand the test after a year of rollout. There were 99 registered for the graduation and everyone made a fantastic effort. At the beginning of 2016, there were the first indications that "progression after effort" was a great success. The procedure was subsequently adjusted to, after the spring meeting in March. Towards the summer meeting 2016, the tools in the procedure have been allowed to work and prove their function.

In other words, it has become more visible for the individual student to understand which criteria must be met in order to be graduated in Yakami Shinsei Ryu Karate Do and it has become more clear for the individual student to understand that the more responsibility one takes for your progression, the more responsibility you also take for yourself.

The energy at this meeting was very high with everyone and it was fantastic to see how Jokokidz, Jokoteens and adults together can create an atmosphere of energy and desire to learn something. New concepts were also tested, one of them was creation of a girl group among the very young 10th kyu students. This was a great success especially because the responsible instructor Christian created an atmosphere that meant that the group was not happy to change instructors when Christian just had to step in as acting convention doctor for a short moment.

The main topic of this convention was kata - What is it - What can be learned from it and is it worth anything? Really good topics to which all the participants both got good answers and were tested in a practical and fun way. At Shindenkan, we place a lot of emphasis on learning to be fun but educational. This makes the students relax and receive knowledge much better.

Between lesson 2 and lesson 3 there was a break in the form of Shindenkan's Friends. The support association set up the sale of cake and coffee. A huge thank you must go to all the cake bakers from the local schools who put themselves forward. This time the break was also used to introduce the new Shindenbrand concept, which has been expanded with new options, cheaper prices and much easier ordering methods. There was great interest in the new concept and it will be a beautiful sight to see many Shindenkaners dressed in Shindenbrands when we get to the X-mas convention 2016.

The summer convention is the traditional graduation convention for Black Belts. This time, as a transitional period, Brown Belt graduations were also opened up. Both brown and black belt graduations are a long process with planning and stop tests, which must all add up to a higher unity. With a course of that type, it is therefore always an extra pleasure to see the graduates reach the finish line. And it is special to see the diversity in the graduates.

It's not about being young, big and strong to graduate. It is about a certain thing, namely will. Will is something that all people contain in the same amount. But there is a difference in how much will the individual person pulls out and uses. For this brown belt and black belt graduation, there was a wide spread among the graduates. There were the big boys over 40 with a fighting weight of +100 kg and there was the young girl under 18 with a fighting weight of +40 kg. Then there were also the super cool adults over 50 who showed to that extent that because you are 50 years old and because you have a minor injury of over 10+%, you can have a will that kicks ass.

There are a number of final exams that all graduates must go through and pass. The last stop test is a stamina test which involves the graduate hitting and kicking a punching pad. This takes place over three stages and there is no fixed time set aside for this. For the graduate, it's all about giving it maximum gas for as long as possible.

For this year's stamina test, all graduates were on the floor at the same time and the test was therefore conducted as a separation race, which was decided based on the grade they were set to. The highest set degrees would automatically finish last and thus get the longest time in the test. But no one knew how long each of them would get.

The last two graduates were both women at opposite ends of the age scale. Nevertheless, it was two women who showed that with the right attitude you can do anything you want. As the time ticked down on the stopwatch, there were more and more of the men present who very visibly turned a little pale in the face and who gradually became very hollow-chested when they saw what was being done on the floor. In a stamina test, it doesn't help if you have big muscles and think you only have to hit hard once or twice. It's about the will to carry it out, no matter how much it hurts - it's the life or death attitude that's being tested here.

Just to boost the male self-confidence, the third last graduate who was Michael from JFr, almost 56 years old, was stopped when his physical limit moved close, which he was not entirely satisfied with as he believed that he had much more in him J But Kimu Sensei, who is the judge in the stamina test, could see that the limit was close and therefore it was probably best to stop Michael, as we in Shindenkan look after each other.

The remaining graduates, Viktoria and Anette, continued their tests with a willpower that gradually set records. A record that in energy use corresponded to approx. 10 boxing rounds - without a break in between. Now it is not the first time that Anette has set a record in the stamina test and it should not surprise anyone if she does it again, for the next graduation. This time it was also the same with a knee which had been twisted around a lot during a previous stop test and which had gradually grown twice in size. But it's no problem when you have two legs and thus also two knees

Both Victoria and Anette had passed their physical stop tests with a gold Iris as a result. That is a distinction that can only be achieved by completing the physical stop test at a level higher than that required. There are only two in the Shindenkan who have achieved this very rare distinction.

So, dear male Shindenkaners, it is now up to you to show these cool superwomen that their strength of will can also rub off on you. It is clear to see that age is not an obstacle.

Anette was also awarded the gold Kohaku-jin badge. This is awarded to students who, in spite of having degrees of more than 10+% according to the Labor Market Agency's table, still train and who are role models. Gold Kohaku-jin is awarded after 6 years of training with the bronze mark and of course the requirement is progression, all the years..

A huge congratulations must go to all graduates who showed that willpower is a trademark in Shindenkan.

The 2016 summer convention was also a competence graduation convention. This time it was Iai-jutsu that was the skill. It was an experience that left an impression on the multi-track martial arts system we train in Shindenkan and there was even military precision. There is no doubt that all spectators and participants were taken back to samurai times during this competence graduation. This is not only because swords were drawn from 34 participants, but it is largely due to the atmosphere that was created. A silence that was only interrupted by the given deep and heavy commands from Kimu Sensei and the sound of a resounding kiai when the sword was in place. In fact, only live torches and Taiko drums were missing to make it even more authentic. It is an amazing sight when 34 participants draw their swords and perform the techniques at the same time.

In Shindenkan, there is constant development on all fronts. This also means that there will be new generations who can help take the organization further along the way. At the summer meeting 2016, there was therefore room for the appointment of two new chief instructors and deputy chief instructors.

The honor went to Elisabet Shishu, who was appointed chief instructor at Jokokan Frederiksberg and even as the first female chief instructor in the organization's 50-year history in Denmark. The second appointment went to Karsten Shishu, who was appointed as chief instructor in Jokokan Korsør. Both chief instructors were also awarded the Shogo titular title of Renshi-Dai.

To be a back-up and as the next in line, Mathies Shisho and Claus Shishu were both appointed as deputy head instructors in Jokokan Frederiksberg and Jokokan Korsør respectively.

The event manager for the last 10+ years, Søren Renshi, is now also being replaced by a new dynamic duo – two new event managers; Claus Shishu and Matthis Shishu, who both acted as deputy event managers during the 2016 events. From 2017, the 100 % will replace Søren Renshi, who will continue to be event manager and activity manager in SDKSkyt and Shindenkan's special courses and leadership seminars, as well as back-up as event manager for Shindenkan's events.

All graduates are wished a huge congratulations on their new degrees and all members and their parents are wished a very good summer and thank you for this season. We are all looking forward to seeing you again in the next season, which will be at least as exciting.