This is the forth Gasshuku I have conducted in Lamai on Koh – Samui in Thailand the island is small with a population about fifty five thousand people and their main industries are Tourism, Fish and Rubber.
There are lots to do in the day and night and temperatures in the upper 30’s and humidity to match, Sensei Geoff Pickup is the senior representative in Thailand and has a large Dojo with 8 bungalows where people are welcome to go train and stay and incorporate a holiday with their families, the kind of place we all dream about owning.
The official training was Friday - Monday 9am – 12pm – 5.30 – 7pm all grades the training was directed on each individual because there was only a small group, having said that they came from Australia, Singapore and Malaysia.
There was also a grading at the end of the training in which 4 children tested for junior shodan, these children were some of the best I have had the pleasure of grading well done to Emily, Liliy, Mick and Tangui you are a credit to your instructor Sensei Geoff.
After the training had finished one could go back to their dwellings take a cool shower and head for the beach which was 30 meters away and have a massage with a cool drink or cocktail and bask in the sun, and all this in only the third month of the year.
But for me it was going fishing to a complex that I managed to catch 3 fish in 4 hours and the biggest was a 30 kilos Mekong Catfish and a Red tailed Cat fish, a special thanks to Lawrence for taking me.
The Sayonara party on Monday evening after the training finished, was for me the best food I have ever had, the food was cooked by a French couple Corinne and Christian and it took all the day to prepare, there was mouth watering dishes like Chicken in coconut sauce, Sea Food in Thai spicy sauce, Exotic vegetables in a mild curry sauce and many more dishes.
I would to take this opportunity to thank Paul, Gavin, Billy, Radhika, Charlie and Demitri for their hard work in such a challenging climate.
Look forward to seeing you all in 2011 in Koh – Samui.