Last weekend the British Shorinji Kempo Federation held their Winter Training Seminar. Several of our students went, and everyone had a great time.
Alongside all of the things you would expect from Kempo training – basics, techniques, working with partners, fun, laughter and learning – we had sessions on ukemi (rolling) and chaining techniques together.
For those less confident, plenty of teachers were on hand to give advice on falling safely. For others, a series of increasingly interesting obstacles to jump over were provided! Sadly I was having too much fun to remember to take photos of that part…
It was excellent, a great opportunity to practice techniques with a range of people from across the country. — Faye
Some of our sessions were all together, while for others we split into groups of similar grades. This gives the best of both worlds – the ability to train with and learn from more experienced students, along with a focus on techniques suitable to your own level.
One of my favourite quotes from the day was the instructions on how to split – “this grade with this teacher in that corner, this grade in that corner with this teacher, … 4th dans and above in that corner, try not to kill each other.” (We did, it turned out, have a teacher. I think Sensei just got bored of speaking.)
I really enjoyed the BSKF Winter Seminar. Partly because it was great training with people from other dojo’s, partly because of the joining of techniques such as uwa uke geri into ushiro ukemi, and partly because I was happy to have been taught by Mizuno Sensei, something I thought I would never experience.
Overall it was a great experience and would recommend if you are someone who has never attended a seminar like this. — Tom
Of course it wasn’t all hard work. An excellent lunch was provided, and after training we went for a meal together to relax and strengthen our community.
