On Saturday 7th July we left Heathrow airport bound for Japan. After a 2 hour connecting flight from Osaka to Naha and a short taxi ride we arrived at our hotel early Sunday afternoon. It was hot! Later that evening we visited the famous Higaonna dojo and watched the last 10 minutes of a regular class. The sweat was flowing just watching the students practice seiyunchin kata. This was our first trip to Okinawa and it was wonderful just to watch a small class in a truly traditional dojo.
The reason for our long journey was the 6th IOGKF world budosai, a martial arts festival held in Okinawa every four years. Over the following 6 days we took in 20 hours of training under the best instructors from around the world. We were also privileged to have lectures from Aragaki Shuichi Sensei, 10th Dan (last living student of Chojun Miyagi Sensei, the founder of Goju Ryu Karate), Sakiyama Sogen Roshi (Zen Master) and Hu Jinhuan (China Fuzhou Teacher's University Wushu Professor, Tiger Style).
The week finished with the Master's Demo with some of the brightest talent the IOGKF has to offer, followed by the traditional Sayonara Party. At the closing party the results of the black belt grading, which was held earlier in the week, were announced. This included the news that Sensei George Andrews, OTGKA chief instructor, has been graded to the rank of Hachidan (8th Dan).
After a week of great training we returned to the mainland and spent a further week sightseeing in and around Kyoto. We're back now and looking forward to sharing our experiences and new training ideas with you.
The reason for our long journey was the 6th IOGKF world budosai, a martial arts festival held in Okinawa every four years. Over the following 6 days we took in 20 hours of training under the best instructors from around the world. We were also privileged to have lectures from Aragaki Shuichi Sensei, 10th Dan (last living student of Chojun Miyagi Sensei, the founder of Goju Ryu Karate), Sakiyama Sogen Roshi (Zen Master) and Hu Jinhuan (China Fuzhou Teacher's University Wushu Professor, Tiger Style).
The week finished with the Master's Demo with some of the brightest talent the IOGKF has to offer, followed by the traditional Sayonara Party. At the closing party the results of the black belt grading, which was held earlier in the week, were announced. This included the news that Sensei George Andrews, OTGKA chief instructor, has been graded to the rank of Hachidan (8th Dan).
After a week of great training we returned to the mainland and spent a further week sightseeing in and around Kyoto. We're back now and looking forward to sharing our experiences and new training ideas with you.
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