By Bjarne Iversen, Member until 2012
It could have been the title of a Steven Spielberg film, but the action took place far from Hollywood and far from the well-known film director's normal scenes. However, the action was as hectic and intense as in the best American action films. It was due to the fact that 2 completely different but at least equally competent instructors had put around 41 gi-clad Shindenkan karate fighters on Saturday 13/11-2010 from 8 to 11. The instructors were Kjeld Renshi-dai and Brian Renshi-dai and the stage was Tjørnely School in Greve.
The purpose of the session was to introduce the karate fighters to Task fighting and this Saturday it was about Task Fighting course 1 which, in addition to being part of the curriculum you must go through in order to pass graduation to 6th kyu, aims to give the participants an insight into and understanding of realistic battle scenes and what forces are at stake when we really approach each other with up to 80 % force and speed.
The course started with Kjeld Renshi-dai and Brian Renshi-dai telling a little about their own background and prerequisites for training and teaching Shindenkan karate. Furthermore, they told a little about the differences between Yakami Shinsei-ryu karate and other karate forms' differences in fighting techniques, where Yakami Shinsei-ryu karate is based to a greater extent on a very broad basis of different techniques in order to better anticipate the opponent's moves and think several steps/ actions forward. In short, it's about better preparation and better techniques, which is a big and often decisive advantage in freestyle situations. As often before, we were reminded of our responsibility to be role models.
With this in the backpack, the next step was to practice Task fighting in practice. Since Task fighting is tantamount to close combat, it is a requirement that everyone wears a mouthguard. An item not everyone was equally excited about getting installed in the upper mouth. But there was no way around it – safety above all else! Then it was a little different, fun and cool to put on gloves. Then we were all actually ready for battle!
Courses are no excuse to avoid warming up, so of course this had to be done before we really got down to business, so that we are warm in the joints and muscles and thereby minimize the risk of injuries. However, a not entirely insignificant consideration was taken this early Saturday morning. We got rid of the infamous circuit training J
After finishing the warm-up, we were first of all carefully instructed in the necessary safety distance, as it is so boring to have to spend the rest of the weekend with blue eyes and bent ribs.
Children and adults with belts in all sorts of colors, mouthguards, gloves and a determined look now faced each other. Child against child. Adult against adult. Task fighting was on! In the first part of the training, we faced our opponent. The opponent also changes regularly using rotations in our line-up. We practiced different strokes with 40 % speed and power. The instructors kept a close eye on us and gave us personal advice during the training itself. Advice which was subsequently repeated in plenary, so that everyone became aware of the types of mistakes that could be made. With this feed back, we were even sharper and now ready for Task fighting with strikes with 80 % speed and power. The pulse was high and the sweat gradually trickled onto everyone's bodies.
But the faster it went, the harder it was hit, the more realistic it became and then it's really fun to train karate.
After this we moved on to different types of kicks. Again first with 40 % force and then with 80 % force. The kicks require a little more in terms of correct technique and physics. Fatigue began to set in, but the mood and motivation never failed. We continued undeterred with the demanding training until all punches, kicks and combinations had been trained sufficiently.
I personally always look forward to training at the local karate club, as the training and the social cohesion are top notch. To that extent, the social aspect also carries the courses and training camps that are held across the local clubs. This Saturday was no exception, for the unity of our Shindenkan organization is truly unique. The instructors also strengthened this unity by continuously ensuring that we evaluated our challenges in small groups in relation to the techniques used. So therefore the motivation for training and learning was also at its peak and it was exciting to see how the combination of controlled technique and power could create the beginning of the desired realistic situations. A realism that I am quite sure will increase on the upcoming Task fighting courses. I am already looking forward to course 2 and another lovely Saturday with some good karate friends.
