Karate Klub Kranj invited to The Memorial Summer Camp 2010 with Terry Daly, 6.dan, Uechi-Ryu (England) from Wednesday, August 25 to Sunday, August 29, 2010. It was really nice to meet old and new friends. Thanks to Igor sensei and his Dojo members for organising this great seminar. See some impressions below.
For more impressions visit
http://www.facebook.com/photo_search.php?oid=152479513218&view=all
Welcome to the Uechi Ryu Karate Do Berlin Dojo. We are going to publish some of our activities this way now. Please feel free to contact us at any time in our Dojo to practise with us or just send us comments on our posts.
As a traditional Karate Dojo we follow the way of the ancient masters of Okinawa in the Uechi Ryu Style. Since this is the first post I’m not digging into it now. Just a Welcome to our Blog!
Keep on Shoken’
Sensei Dell Hamby wurde auf Okinawa erfolgreich zum Godan (5. Dan OKIKUKAI) getestet. Herzlichen Glückwunsch!
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Sensei Dell Hamby promoted to 5th Degree Black Belt OKIKUKAI on Okinawa. Congratulations!
Am Pfingstwochenende 2009 fand in Erlangen ein großer international besuchter Uechiryu / Shoheiryu Lehrgang statt.
Lehrgangsleitung:
Sensei Tsutomu Nakahodo, 10. Dan
Sensei James Thompson, 8. Dan
Sensei Hirokuni Yamashiro, 8. Dan
assistiert von John Carria, 8. Dan
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Uechiryu / Shoheiryu Summercamp 2009 took place in Erlangen with
Sensei Tsutomu Nakahodo, 10th Degree Black Belt
Sensei James Thompson, 8th Degree Black Belt
Sensei Hirokuni Yamashiro, 8th Degree Black Belt
assisted by John Carria, 8th Degree Black Belt
See more Pictures
Sensei Jürgen Steiner wurde auf dem Uechiry / Shoheiryu Pflingstlehrgang 2009 in Erlangen erfolgreich zum Godan (5. Dan OKIKUKAI) getestet. Herzlichen Glückwunsch!
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Sensei Jürgen Steiner promoted to 5th Degree Black Belt OKIKUKAI during Uechiryu / Shoheiryu Summer Camp Erlangen 2009. Congratulations!
Am 01. und 02.Mai 2009 fand in Rheinfelden ein Kobudo Seminar mit Sensei Yukio Kuniyoshi (Shihan 7. Dan) statt.
Kuniyoshi Sensei hat mehrfach die Ryukyu Kobudo Tournament Championships gewonnen. Er verbreitet sein Kobudo-Wissen durch Seminare weltweit. In Rheinfelden wurde Sensei Kuniyoshi von Sensei Dell Hamby (Shidoin 4. Dan) assistiert.
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A great Kobudo Seminar with Sensei Yukio Kuniyoshi (Shihan 7. Dan), held in Rheinfelden on the Swiss Shibu took place May 1st – 2nd, 2009. Kuniyoshi Sensei was assisted by Sensei Dell Hamby (Shidoin 4. Dan).
(25 Participants from Spain, Swiss, Germany, Belgium)
See more Pictures
Back to Basics
I believe the two days of instruction by Shihan Kuniyoshi and Sensei Hamby will mark a turning point in my Kobudo training. I do not mean this in the sense that I made any dramatic improvements in my technique over the course of the two days of training; in fact, it became painfully clear just how little I actually know. The turning point was the increase in my understanding of what Ryukyu Kobudo looks like when executed correctly. Shihan Kuniyoshi’s technique is so crisp and exact that by watching him I have begun to understand, though certainly not replicate, the connection between stance, arm position and weapons technique. Kuniyoshi’s instruction showed that I have been overly focused on the movement of the weapon and ignoring the positioning of my stance and arms. This is probably a common beginner mistake – rather than ensuring that my stance and body positioning are solid, I have been putting all of my attention on the weapon.
Kuniyoshi’s repeatedly reminded students that good Kobudo technique starts with a correct stance, then the proper placement of hips, shoulders, and arms and finally culminates in the correct positioning of the weapon. He further emphasized that the legs and hips are the key to generating speed and power. In particular, during our Bo training, Kuniyoshi stressed that regular practice of Bo Kihon is necessary in order to increase proficiency. I admit that like many new Kobudo students, I have been too eager to learn new katas rather than diligently practicing the basics. Kuniyoshi and Hamby gently reminded us that there is little sense in rushing ahead to learn Shodan and Nidan-level katas when we have not yet obtained a firm grasp of the fundamentals. Kuniyoshi was effective in delivering his message that there is no short-cut to mastering the Bo – only through countless repetition of Bo Kihon basics can progress be made. I am now resolved to
put a renewed emphasis on my Kihon training and taken Kuniyoshi’s message to heart: “katas will improve only as Kihon improves.” This same advice applies to the other weapons (Tekko, Nunchaku, Sai) as well.
This was the fourth Kobudo training camp I have participated in over the past year-and-a-half and it is always a pleasure to come together with training partners and friends from Berlin, Erlangen, Dusseldorf, Basel, Switzerland and Leuven, Belgium. I also enjoyed meeting a three-man group from Spain for the first time. Over this year and a half period, the improvement in the skills of all of us at the white belt level is perceptible. We are clearly all making steady progress and the training sessions are having the effect of motivating us to work even harder so that we can demonstrate improvement at the next joint training opportunity. Yet, once again, the “secret” to gaining proficiency is to return to the fundamentals and put in the long hours needed to make the stances and transitions second nature.
Berichte und Bilder vom 3-tägigen Kobudo Seminar im Dokokai Berlin mit Sensei Dell Hamby (4. Dan Ryukyu Kobudo Hozon Shinko Kai).
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Impressions from our last Kobudo Seminar, held on the Germany Dokokai, Berlin with Sensei Dell Hamby.
(25 Participants from Berlin, Erlangen, Düsseldorf, Belgium)
Learning from Sensei Dell Hamby is a real pleasure. Hamby has great enthusiam for Kobudo and, perhaps more importantly, for teaching Kobudo. Expert martial artists are not difficult to find, but experienced martial arts instructors with a passion for teaching are rare. Sensei Hamby is one such instructor, he combines undisputed expertise with a sincere desire, and the requisite patience, to impart his knowledge to students of all ranks. Hamby makes a point of gathering the participants together following training segments and provoking a discussion that draws out students’ difficulties and questions. Through such teaching tools, Hamby creates an atmosphere in which participants’ views are acknowledged and incorporated into the training.
This was the third Kobudo training camp that I have participated in under the instruction of Sensei Hamby, and, for me personally, the most instructive. Having already attended earlier training sessions with Sensei Hamby, I knew that what you get out of such training seminars is in direct proportion to what you put in. With this is mind, I spent some weeks prior to the training focusing on learning the Bo and Sai katas. My earlier experiences had demonstrated to me the difficulty in trying to absorb Sensei Hamby’s instruction while I was still confused about which way to turn during a kata. By having done a bit of homework in advance and memorizing the kata sequences I could focus on the finer points of proper technique and application rather than looking around the room to see what everyone else was doing.
Hamby spent considerable time focusing the training on how to properly use the hips and body to generate speed and power in Kobudo techniques. Following numerous repetitions, students began to better understand and apply Hamby’s instruction during Bo Kihon, the Bo kata Shushi no Kon Sho, Sai kata Chikinshitahaku no Sai, and Mezato no Tekko. Clearly it will take quite some time and practice for these katas to become second nature, but I believe Hamby was successful in laying the foundation for the students and all of us left the seminar filled with new insights and knowledge that will keep us busy for months to come.
It is remarkable that in just a little more than a year, Hamby has overseen the creation of two Hozon Shinko Kai dojos in Berlin and Erlangen. Despite only training with Hamby a few times a year, the students are dedicated and eager and it appears all are making considerable progress in their training. Now that the seminar is over and Hamby has returned to Basel, we students are setting about trying to incorporate all he taught us. It will take some months to digest all the new material and much hard work will be required, but I’m sure I am not the only one who is already looking forward to the next opportunity to train with Sensei Hamby and our fellow students from Erlangen.
Am Wochenende 01.-02.11.2008 fand in unserem Dojo ein Kurzlehrgang mit
Sensei Joachim Röttinger (5. Dan OKIKUKAI)
und Sensei Jürgen Steiner (4. Dan OKIKUKAI) statt.
Weitere Bilder hier
As a long-time Uechi-Ryu practitioner with very little experience with weapons, I had my concerns about spending a weekend at a training camp that would be 2/3 Kobudo and just 1/3 Karate. Especially given the fact that the Kobudo training would include a number of weapons with which I’d had no experience with what so ever. Another doubt was my concern that most Kobudo training is of limited practicality; after all, how often does one find themselves carrying around a nearly two-meter long stick? And thus, over the years, I’ve tended to shy away from weapons training and just stick to my Uechi-Ryu. But as it turned out, the training camp was an eye opener for me and I ended up really enjoying the Kobudo training.
We spent time training and learning katas using the Bo, Sai and Tekko. As noted, I’m the first to admit that these weapons are not something you would carry around with you on a daily basis, but that’s not the point. After a few hours spent slowly working through the Kobudo katas, under the excellent guidance of Swiss-American Dell Hamby, I began to enjoy the katas more for their artistry and rich history than as self-defense exercises. When done well, a Bo or Sai kata is as beautiful a thing to watch and do as any performing art. So I am thankful to the training camp for opening my eyes to these new art forms.
But the training camp was more than just Kobudo training. We spent time working on the Uechi basics, the katas and the pre-arranged drills. I always enjoy these gatherings for the sharing of ideas and interpretations of techniques. Different instructors teach differing applications for techniques, some interpret a blocking technique as a defense against a very specific attack, while others might view that same block as a defense against a completely different attack. The same goes for how different instructors interpret the execution of attacks. Most of the time there is no “right or wrong” with these differing interpretations – everyone can usually make a credible argument as to why they execute a technique in a certain way. And that is exactly how it should be. In fact, it is part of what makes these training camps interesting – the exchange of views among experts sharing their considered insights.
But perhaps most important of all, our training camp brought together a group of like-minded individuals, with varying levels of experience, but who all shared a desire to improve their martial arts skills. The participants included Germans, Swiss and Americans who train at half a dozen Dojos stretching from Berlin down to Basel. We slept on the Dojo mats together, we dined together, and we trained together. And by the end of 3 days of joint training we came away exhausted, but satisfied that we had improved our martial arts knowledge and exposed ourselves to new ideas. Most important of all, through our time together we developed new friendships and once our muscles recover and our bruises heal, we are looking forward to the next time we can come together again for training and sharing.
holger