Reported by
Keegan
Wong,
Curtis Mason,
Alex
Klexschelsky
Kyokushin and Kumite
By Tats Nakamura
No TV, no email, no cell
phone, .... just a bunch of good people and Kyokushin Karate.
(Well, the word "bunch" doesn't fit to describe this event
when it had over two hundred seventy people attending it.) The
IKOK-C Summer Camp provides our students with an ideal place
to focus on three things: Training well, training hard and
training harder!
Fourteen participants from
our dojos thoroughly enjoyed all aspects of the event as we
had many different activities aside from Kyokushin classes
such as Water training, Yoga, Kickboxercise, Sayonara party
and dance, and many more! Having said that, the main event of
the summer camp is always Black Belt Fights for Dan Grading.
This year saw eleven dan candidates and among them were Sempai
Curtis (Downtown) and Sempai Alex (Richmond East). They were
going for Nidan (Second Degree Black Belt). This meant they
had to fight out 20-man Kumite.
To our beginners, let me
explain what type of role Kumite plays in Kyokushin Karate.
This Karate consists of various components on its training
method. At Vancouver Kyokushin Karate, we believe that Contact
Fighting or Kumite is the most important aspect of this style
(Now, keep in mind that this thinking is not necessarily
shared with other dojo's instructors. After all, we are all
different.) because that's what motivated Sosai Oyama to
create Kyokushin Karate in the first place. Among hundreds of
karate styles out there, Kyokushin (or other contact styles
broke away from Kyokushin) is the only one that requires a Dan
candidate to go through the back-to-back kumite in an
extensive length up to 50-man for Go Dan (5th degree black
belt). This fact alone tells us the vital importance of Kumite.
But why so important? The
answer is simple. It's because the contact fighting is the
only way to find out whether or not your techniques work. Even
if you throw a beautiful kick in Kata, whether it can be
practical in actual Kumite is another question. This makes
Kyokushin Karate a Martial Art, not a sport. It requires a
practitioner to sharpen up his/her techniques to "deadly
weapon". In order to reach that kind of level, one has to
spend much time and effort in training. You get defeated or
knocked out otherwise. Another benefit of Kumite is to force a
student to train hard. You can take it easy in Kata if you
want to, but you can't in Kumite because you have to deal with
an opponent before your eye. In other words, Kumite can
tell straight out how much you have trained.
I'm very proud to say that
the above mentioned principle was perfectly followed by Sempai
Curtis and Sempai Alex. They did a great job in the 20-man
kumite. I mean they not only completed the task, the two black
belts fought very well and finished it strong. The quality of
their Kumite was very impressive. And I, as their sensei, am
big on quality. I could easily tell how much they had trained
for this by watching the way they fought. Congratulations to
both of them and thank you for letting us be part of such a
wonderful moment. When they finally finished it off, the
energy and electricity filled in the gym was just incredible.
The two has inspired many
students with their accomplishment. They both have a full time
job and a family to support. Sempai Alex is 42 while Sempai
Curtis is 47. They set a perfect example to our students that
determination and preparation will let us overcome any
obstacles regardless of our age and circumstance. The sense of
fulfillment which this worthy endeavor granted them must be
truly rewarding, and that's what makes us strong and confident
at each challenge we face along the way in training. Take the
initiative in setting up a goal, then prepare yourself to the
best of your ability. When it is finally over, you will
surprise yourself to know what you are really capable of.
Lastly, I would like to thank
IKOK-Canada for continuously giving us the great event.
Special thanks goes to Sensei Larry and his team for
organizing such a dynamic event as this. The next year will
mark the 25th anniversary of the summer camp. Plan ahead to be
there. Osu!
Tats Nakamura
Vancouver Kyokushin Karate
Tomomi with Eden (North Richmond
Dojo) Our
tents and gazebo
Participants from our dojo
Shihan Stuart ties Ni-dan belt on
Sempais Curtis (left) and Alex (right)
A group photo right after the 20-man
kumite
- You can view more photos and
write-ups at:
http://www.kyokushin.ca/events/summer_2009.html
