The third women's Gasshuku, held in the Honbu dojo for the OTGKA in London, had the best attendance so far, with 25 representatives in total, from Germany, Iceland, Denmark and all parts of England. The theme this year was inspired by Keiko Fukuda Sensei, 9th Dan Judo and her wonderful words of: "be strong, gentle and beautiful; in mind body and spirit" which also works perfectly for Goju-ryu Karate.
The course started in traditional form, with junbi-undo
and then basics which moved onto the 'Ju' of Goju ryu, where we practised
yielding with an attack and use of neko-ashi, tai sabaki and variations
of san dan gi. Incorporated into this were a few self defence techniques
and then we finished the session with moving analysis of Gekisai Dai Ichi.
The remainder of the weekend covered all apects of the Goju-Ryu syllabus,
including Sanchin training, Chi-Ishi, Kata some padwork 'Go' sessions,
as well as looking at some more self defence techniques. It was wonderful
to see progress in all the ladies who attended throughout the course,
in terms of their tremendous effort and improved technical ability, i.e.
they got stronger and louder!!. There was definite growth in their self
belief and
confidence in their own techniques and this created a wonderful atmosphere
of friendship and shared experience in the participation, of which was
an honour to be part.
We all enjoyed a hearty lunch each day and my thanks
to Christine Dow for looking after us all superbly! On Saturday night
we 
also
got together to 'pack' some pasta or pizza and some great garlic bread
at the local Pizzeria, which was just the type of refuelling required
for the next day! This was also a great opportunity for everyone to chat
and share in the birthday celebration for Drifa from Iceland!
My thanks to all who helped in the organisation and of course all the participants for their support for this course. I very much look forward to seeing you all again next time.
Webmasters Input
A found a quote on a forum about last years event " I train karate, Wado Ryu to be precise. This last weekend I attended a women-only karate course in London, held by a female 5th dan instructor of the Goju Ryu style, which is traditional Okinawan karate. It was, and I hate this word, awesome. By which I mean truly awe-inspiring"