Last Saturday was beautiful – dry and warm. We karate-ka sure know how to enjoy that, by going to the dojo and working out! The 20th of August was super special because Hanshi made it up here again to our little town and gave three great and insightful seminars.
The first youth seminar was well received as we worked on sparring techniques and footwork. The kids had great, big smiles on their faces by the time they left. Even Graham, who had a very nice sparring match, then managed to whack his mouth on Ulysses’ head when he sat back down! But these are tough guys and they were not deterred.
The black belt beam ceremony was held right after the youth class so all could be there. Three men, Collin Scherba, Andrew Eyler and Kai Funk signed their names to the beam holding up the dojo. As Sensei McGavin said before they signed, that black belts hold up the dojo just as much as the beam.
We had adult sparring seminar next, with special conditioning instruction. Hanshi told us the routines he had developed for his world-class competitors, such as 360° push-ups, planks and medicine ball tosses to develop speed and quick reaction.
After a very relaxed lunch, the advanced people had a chance to work with Hanshi on Kata Techniques for Competition. Judging from the praise we heard in the ensuing days, this was also a very well-received class. Students from green belt on up were able to learn what sets the competition apart and how precise you need to be to win.
A big thanks to Bob, who’s hobby of taking pictures helps us keep track of our events! Take a look of all his seminar pictures at TigerPhotography. Here is a small sampling:
Warm up sprints in dojo
Learning how to spar in the seminar
Black Belt Beam Ceremony
Learning how to block
Hold a plank on a medicine ball for 60 seconds
