By Jokokan Honbu
With 150 registered participants on the floor and 150 enthusiastic supporters on the benches during the 5-hour event, this once again created a fantastic atmosphere during the Shindenkan Spring Camp.
300 people gathered on a Sunday where the theme of this year's spring camp was “Time for reflection with correct understanding, feeling and why; positions, techniques, movement theory and responsibility”.
At the same time, Kimu Sensei had taken up a call to explain a selected important orientation, set of values, context or story that would be of interest to all Shindenkaners on the floor and out on the benches. Quite simply in the practical realization that not everyone was equally well-orientated and updated through Shindenkan's website, locally or through newsletters in a busy everyday life and personal prioritization.
Kimu Sensei therefore told and explained about the graduation process and criteria fulfillment for both adults and JokoKidz before they could be nominated for graduation within the various TG (Team Groups). Since there were to be brown belt graduations at the same time during this event, it was also told about what and why the various graduantees had to go through, including the 5 brown belt stop tests. For black belt there are 7 stop tests. All students who reach brown belt graduations are reasonably well prepared for 2-3 times as many years as many other karate-do systems. In Yakami Shinsei-ryu Karate-do, the normal is 9 years to 1st dan, black belt, which also includes our 1965-67 legacy, thus this corresponds to 2nd dan, black belt, Kodosoku-kai Gensei-ryu Karate-do.
Then all participants were put through Ukemi (fall training) and here it was nice to see that those who had attended the Jujutsu 1 course three weeks before had learned a lot. In particular, their technical understanding and basic approach to fall technique was different from those who had not yet completed the course. It was really affirming to witness.
Then it was time for Kihon (basic technique), which was planned so that "the ball was set up so that it could be smashed into the goal". Since the subsequent theme was kata (the essence through figure exercises). Here there was really time for reflection, explanations, many repetitions and many positive statements and encouragement from the instructor team. All the participants worked so intensely and concentrated on the camp theme that Kimu Sensei adjusted the time so that the participants could roughly get out of bed the next day, and there was still time for the subsequent two-hour graduation session, where 94 Shindenkaners were set for graduation.
The following graduations and results are hereby confirmed as of March 22, 2009:
Elisabet Bjarkmann, 14 years old, Jokokan Ballerup Karate School. Chief instructor Jens Iversen;
1. 1.kyu, Yakami Shinsei-ryu Karate-do
2nd 1st dan, Bujutsu Kodosoku-kai Gensei-ryu Karate-do
Results for graduation process stop tests:
· 3 x Bronze circle: 6 min. 54 seconds and subsequent Cuba test; 2,760 m (13.8 km/h)
· Syllabus test 1½ hours: Passed
· Freestyle test ½ hour; Passed
· Definition test; Accepted - on the border
· Rally test: Passed
· Final graduation; Passed
Søren Hansen, 48 years old, Jokokan Ballerup Karate School. Chief instructor Jens Iversen;
1. 3.kyu, Yakami Shinsei-ryu Karate-do
2. 2.kyu, Bujutsu Kodosoku-kai Gensei-ryu Karate-do
Results for graduation process stop tests:
· 3 x Bronze circle: 8 min. 16 seconds and subsequent Cuba test; 2,710 m (13.6 km/h)
· Syllabus test 1½ hours: Passed
· Freestyle test ½ hour; Passed
· Definition test; Accepted - on the border
· Rally test: Passed
· Final graduation; Passed
