On Sunday 11th October I had the privilege of accompanying some of CFTS's senior grades to a course being held by Kasuya Hitoshi Sensei (8th Dan, Chief instructor of WSKF) in Farnham, Bucks. Kasuya Sensei was visiting from Japan to complete an ‘International Open Tour’ assisted by 8th Dan Mitsuoka Tomiko Sensei at whose dojo we trained.
The group from Milton Keynes comprised Sensei Andy Gillies, Sensei Simon McMahon, Sensei Pam Waterhouse, myself, Garrath Greene and Chris Gillies Sensei who had been invited by the WSKF, the World Shotokan Karate-do Federation, to Farnham to train with Tomiko Mitsuoka Sensei (8th Dan) and Chief Instructor of the WSKF, Kasuya Hitoshi Sensei (8th Dan).
The WSKF were incredibly welcoming, both before and after the training session, with a number of people introducing themselves to us and showing interest in sharing their experiences. We started the training session with a formal bow (seiza and mokuso) which included two minutes reflection in respect for a gentleman called Kamiyanagi Sensei who was the last living student of Master Funakoshi and president of the WSKF (Kasuya Sensei’s mentor).
One of the truest comments of the day was when Kasuya Sensei talked of our mind being like a bucket and our knowledge filling it with water. To learn the new techniques he was teaching combinations involving spinning – Kasuya Sensei termed as “kaiten waza.” These techniques assisted in learning to absorb our opponent’s power, before returning it. This required emptying of that bucket to enable us to be open to the new moves. The class tried to master the techniques with varying degrees of success. These combinations were challenging but gave a really good sense of achievement when completed correctly.
The combinations were followed by insight into two katas, Chinte and Nijushiho, Kasuya Sensei moved through patterns and techniques (pausing to break down more complex moves to show how to create maximum power) to applications and knowledge he had picked up throughout his years as a student of karate.
The final section of the course contained instruction into Kumite focusing on body evasion (tai sabaki) and retaliation using the same side of the body that we blocked with. This was aimed at speeding up reactions and encouraging students to think about a single powerful retaliation technique. It was amazing to see the speed and power that could be generated by some. He told us that during a competition his arm was broken, so he had to block and counter using the same side.
The day was fascinating! The information shared almost more so than the techniques practiced and I look forward to broadening my knowledge further in the future.
It was an amazing training session with two incredible karate-ka and we came away weary but elated.
Thank you again to the World Shotokan Karate-do Federation.
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