Special October JKA Scottish Gasshuku 2007 Report

After much planning and anticipation the Special JKA Scottish October Gasshuku finally arrived. The Queen Anne High School Leisure Centre Dunfermline was the venue from Friday 19th to Sunday 21st October for this special event. Over the 3 days students who attended were treated to a fantastic weekend of instruction of the highest level from the following JKA Instructors

Sensei Osaka 8th Dan JKA
Sensei Ohta 6th Dan JKA
Sensei Inokoshi 4th Dan JKA

Introduction of Instructors at the start of the Gasshuku

The course got underway on the Friday where there was a real sense of excitement and anticipation in the Dojo. After a short introduction of the instructors the class started and Sensei Osaka then taught the entire class for 3 hours. The first half concentrated on Kihon with the second half concentrating on Kata. Sensei Osaka's exceptional technique could be seen by all during his explanations and demonstrations of the various points he was emphasising specifically with regard to the use of the hips during the execution of the various combinations. This made it very easy for the class to understand the points being made

Mokuso at the end of Friday's lesson

Saturday saw the classes being split into 3 groups. The Colour belt section and Brown belt section both trained in the main hall with the Black Belt section moving to a separate hall. Each class then got a different Instructor for each half of the 3 hour session. The Black Belt section was instructed once more by Sensei Osaka for the first session with Kihon and Kumite drills which concentrated on body shifting

Black Belt class Saturday session

This was then followed by Kata Gankaku from Sensei Osaka

Kata Gankaku from Sensei Osaka

The second session was taken by Sensei Inokoshi who concentrated on Kata Kanku-Dai along with various applications. Sensei Inokoshi is an instructor from the JKA Honbu Dojo in Tokyo who is currently undergoing the prestigious JKA Instructors class and this was his first visit to Scotland. His strong technique and knowledge during a question and answer session at the end of the class showed why he is currently on the Instructor program.

Sensei Inokoshi during Saturday's session

Following the conclusion of the days training the Instructors stayed back to oblige the numerous requests for photograph's etc. from students

Sunday saw the same format as Saturday with the classes being split into 3 sections over 2 different training halls. The Black Belt Section was instructed in the first half by Sensei Ohta who concentrated on Kihon and Kumite punching and kicking drills with specific attention being paid to how the hips were used during the execution of the techniques this followed on from the Sensei Osaka's session on Friday. As well as his first class instruction and technique Sensei Ohta's sense of humour was also very much on form as he kept everyone's spirits up during the class. The class then practiced Kata Bassai-Sho along with some application points

Sensei Ohta during Sunday's session

The second half of the Sunday session saw the Black Belts being once more instructed by Sensei Osaka with the emphasis on Kumite, specifically body shifting and countering against an opponents attack. This followed on from the Saturday session. There was a lot of counter attacking using kicking techniques which by the end of this part of the session had everyone digging deep into there energy reserves to keep all the counter attacks sharp and fast

Sensei Osaka teaching Kata Sochin

The days training was then completed with Kata Sochin from Sensei Osaka

The course concluded with everyone coming together once more in the main hall where everyone thanked the instructors for a very enjoyable weekend and a presentation was made

From Left to Right Sensei Inokoshi, Sensei Osaka and Sensei Ohta

From the feedback received afterwards from those that attended the course it can be said that it was very much a success and enjoyed by all with many already pledging to return next year

The Instructors did get a chance to visit some sites during their time in Scotland which included a trip to Gleneagles and Edinburgh Castle and Sensei Inokoshi even attended the Dunfermline versus Hamilton football match

Thanks to everyone who attended the JKA Scottish Gasshuku 2007 and helped to make it a success we all are looking forward to next year's event