It’s hard to believe it has been over a week now since we left our home in Canada. We travelled 10,000km to Omagari, Japan to train with the rest of our Seiwa Kai family. Welcoming us with open arms, it would be six long days and thirty hours of sweat, sweat, and more sweat before the end of our training together.
The first day was just the warm-up, they joked, as we were trying to acclimatized to the heat. Punch after punch, kick after kick, and kata performance after kata performance we remained focused while the sweat ran down our faces. And even though it was hard and we were gasping for air, we couldn’t be happier knowing we were going to learn so much more during our time in Omagari.
Simple yet effective adjustments would be made throughout each hour; slowly but surely improving our technique. At the end of each day we would drag ourselves back to our rooms to wash up and replenish ourselves with delicious Japanese food, then to go back and fall asleep for yet another day of training.
It didn’t take long for this routine to feel natural. We even looked forward to it, although we knew we would be sweating in just a few minutes.
But like all good things it had to come to an end. We finished with one last performance, hugs and of course some high-fives, while wishing all of those who were about to test for their next Black Belt rank “good luck“. In the end we can’t wait to bring everything we learned to our students back home and to our fellow instructors within Seiwa Kai Canada.
Special Thanks To:
- Seiwa Kai Canada
- Seiwa Kai
- Our karate family
- Jokyo Paul, Shidoin Victoria, Sempai Jenn and all of the coaches
- To the Japanese locals who helped us get around
- And of course our main support during the entire week of training – Jeric – who captured every moment and wished us luck. Thank you for keeping us on the straight and narrow and for finding the way to and from our destinations!
This month I (Sensei James) would like to nominate Ethan as the Student of the Month for his generosity and humble sportsmanship during his first tournament with the Ontario Karate Federation. For those of you who could not attend October’s recreational tournament or had to leave early before Ethan’s division was up, him and I were watching while another young student was competing. Within this division it is required to be equipped with protective gear and something to distinguish which colour you are (blue – ao or red – aka in karate).
The day starts with the sun barely up and you begin to make your long drive to the venue. When you arrive you walk through the doors to hear nothing but commotion as each competitor makes their way to compete. And even though you are tired and you know it’s going to be a long day, it is always exciting to be there.
So you want to go for your next belt level? It’s not that easy… well it is but only if you put in the work.
