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After months of anticipation the time finally arrived – we were at Toronto airport, mingling with the South African contingent who had arrived at the same time. After a long journey through rush hour traffic we arrived at our hotel, the Sheraton Fallsview and checked into our room on the 22 nd floor. Upon opening the curtains the magnificence of the falls hits you – an amazing sight which you could never tire of! After a morning of sightseeing with the OTGKA group it was time for the formalities to start. Sensei George and Sensei Linda attended the World Championship referees meeting on Friday night in preparation for the eliminations on Saturday 13 May. The nervous anticipation was evident so it was an early night for all. What a day! We were running from mat to mat to make sure that we saw all of the team in action. Both Sensei George and Sensei Linda were refereeing all day (11 hours!!) but they were able to pass on some valuable words of advice to the team via myself, Toni and Frankie. All of the team did tremendously well and the spirit in which they competed was true Budo. Everyone played their part in a great day and there were positive comments from other teams regarding the performance of OTGKA. Unfortunately there were a few injuries but hopefully nothing long –term. May 14 th saw the demonstrations and the World Championship finals. The whole day was very well put together and the demonstrations, including one by OTGKA, were excellent. It was actually a very emotional day and some of the OTGKA team had a few tears during the Taiko drums performance. The finals were a credit to all those involved and it was wonderful to see such a diverse group of countries in the finals. The OTGKA finalists gave their all and came away with a haul of medals and also some wonderful memories I am sure. After the medals presentation it was straight on to the start of the Gasshuku. Four full days of training and special seminars with a fantastic line-up of instructors led of course by Sensei Higaonna. The other instructors were Sensei Bakkies, Sensei Terauchi, Sensei George, Sensei Ernie, Sensei Linda and Sensei Sydney. Sensei Nakamura was also around, interpreting for Sensei Higaonna and making sure that the event ran smoothly, which it did! Sensei Linda held a special seminar – Women’s Karate – which was attended by over 60 women. The enthusiasm of the participants as well as Sensei Linda was wonderful to watch and I know that many of the women came away inspired to train hard and, in the words of Sensei Keiko Fukuda, Judo 9 th dan, to ‘Be strong, be gentle, be beautiful’. I was lucky to watch some of the training and it certainly looked like both the participants and the instructors were enjoying themselves. The atmosphere was full of camaraderie as well as a desire to learn from all of the instructors and each other. New friendships were made and old friendships renewed. I have attended quite a few gasshuku’s as a spectator, and this stands out as the best. IOGKF Canada and Sensei Nakamura should be very proud of staging a wonderful event that will be remembered for all of the right reasons. The Sayonara party was held overlooking the falls and all had a good time, with plenty of food, speeches and singing! Sensei Higaonna looked so happy and said that he was unable to express adequately how he felt, but that he had been very impressed by the whole event. Some standout memories for me were the whole team’s performance in the World Championships, Sensei Linda and Steph, Cheryl, Helen, Angela performing their demonstration in front of Sensei Higaonna, Sensei George as Simon Cowell during IOGKF Idol, Joost’s performance of a Bryan Adams song during the same event (well, it was very funny anyway!), Sensei Linda’s Women's’ seminar, the number of black eyes in the OTGKA contingent (and not just the competitors!) and finally, making new friends as well as meeting old ones. One final comment – it was wonderful to see Sensei George and his student, Sensei Linda, sitting next to each other on the Head table at the Sayonara party – a memorable milestone in a journey which will hopefully run and run. I look forward to the next one in 4 years time! Maroulla Unofficial OTGKA Team Mum
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