By Pia Bruun, Member until 2012
Saturday dawned, which was supposed to deal with task fighting 1. Like all competence courses, this consists of both ryugi and ryuha. Those responsible for the competence course and thus presentation of the theory as well as having to lead us through the physical part were Kjeld Renshi-dai and Brian Renshi-dai. Both of them have an enormous base of experience, which meant that the presentation was credible and empathetic. Both Kjeld Renshi-dai and Brian Renshi-dai have fought both nationally and internationally and both have won medals for their skills.
It became very clear how big the difference is between Shindenkan and traditional karate. The difference between training combat continuously when a certain (high) level has been reached, and reaching so far that there is no more to strive for. With a difference where the training is built on kihon-kumite-kata, and later the opposite, and where the skills are diverse, kotachi, kenjutsu, jujutsu, in order to continue to have the opportunity for further development and with a foundation built on more than 1000 years of experience, and structured so that the common thread is always present. Ensuring a development with a sense of security and confidence that the deep plate has been invented and thus also the essence. Where it is then "simply" a question of tuning.
Task fighting 1 deals with the physical part a lot about TAK - correct technique, distance, contact. The distance to the opponent was set to the correct safety distance. Everyone wore mouthguards and the choice was up to us whether we also wanted to wear gloves and leg guards. Attack and defense were practiced, both punches and kicks, with a continuous focus on THANKS. A lot had to be practiced in not hitting the pad with high force, but instead focusing on technique, distance and contact. We were constantly reminded that it was about our attitude, attitude, attitude. And thus also MINE – correct Mai-ai, Setting, Tai-Sabaki, Technique.
Task fighting 1 is distance-wise not a question of breaking the comfort zone, for example unlike jujutsu 3. But personally I experienced that I unnecessarily performed a technique with more movements and thus also used more force than necessary and where I was not aware about it before I was stopped and asked why. It's a technique that I like to perform, but it just requires my opponent to be close... and here we weren't close enough to each other for it to have an effect. It was therefore also about being able to adapt to the situation at that time and not choose the familiar (comfortable).
As time went on, the sensation of the mouthguards in the mouth was forgotten. Again and again we trained attack and defense with firm but friendly pressure from the instructors, and slowly the focus also came on CT – center and timing. It suddenly became easier to see where the attack came from, and when, and much earlier than at the beginning. It gave me a different overview and energy, and I look forward to practicing it again both for Task fighting 2 and in the dojo.
