I haven’t had time to write much for the blog lately, I keep
quit busy with the dojo, my granddaughter and going back to college. However,
let me give you an update on what’s been going on;
4-8 of April Amber, Jason and I traveled to the east coast
for 5 days. We left Indiana on Wednesday and arrived in Maryland Wednesday
evening and got a hotel. On Thursday, we
spent a day wondering around at the beach in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. It is a
very neat little town and has some neat shops. That evening we went to the dojo
of Jeff Sullens (Anshinkai Martial Arts) in Belcamp, Maryland. Jeff’s dojo is a
nice little space, his students were all very nice and we had the opportunity
to teach for about three hours, covering several sections of the Okinawakan
International curriculum and evening getting a little of track with a section
of Aiki-Jujutsu. Later that evening Jeff provided dinner at his dojo and we
were able to socialize and met several of the students off the mat and get to
know everyone. Jeff, his wife and students were great hosts and are working
hard to adapt to the new organization and curriculum changes.
On Friday morning we went to downtown Baltimore and visited
the Harbor and National Aquarium, it is truly a cool place, it is unique in
that you follow a spiral path up several stories and then back down again,
seeing several different habitat displays. We all three really enjoyed the
visit to the aquarium and spent several hours there. Later that evening we
changed hotels, to be closer to the seminar venue. Friday evening we began the
first of a three day Gasshuku at the dojo of Vance Parker (Parker’s Gojuryu) in
Woodlawn, Maryland. All three days we worked on the Okinawakan International
curriculum, covering basic’s, Break falls, Ido Dachi, Ido Kogeki, Sandan Uke
Harai, Sandan GI, Ippon Kumite, Nippon Kumite, kata from Gekisai to Sanseru,
and bunkai. Vance took us to a nice dinner at an Asian buffet on Saturday
evening.
On the 5th of May, Amber, Jason and I traveled to
Jacksonville, Illinois to the dojo of Steve Foster (Karate-do Kai of
Jacksonville). We arrived an hour and a half before the seminar start time, so
we ventured around Jacksonville to take in the sights, it is a nice town with a
cozy feel to it, and several of the homes were architectural marvels, just
beautiful homes. We met everyone at Steve’s dojo and had a nice seminar. We had
some guests join us from the Gojuryu Karate-do Kyokai. We trained for 5 hours
total, with a small lunch break that was provided for us by Steve. We covered
Sandan Uke Harai 1-4, Sandan Gi, Ippon Kumite 1-6 and then began to work
through the kata, worked bunkai and then bo Buri. After the seminar, several of us went out to eat
at a very nice restaurant and had a enjoyed talking with each other. Steve and
his students are working hard to adapt to the Okinawakan International
curriculum.
Next up is the International Gasshuku in July…
