On Wednesday the 8th September I was met by two of my students from Iceland at my Dojo in the Elephant + Castle, they were here for private training, and after they settled in and set their sleeping arrangements it was time for training, I started with Kata first slowly then fast repeating over and over again from Gekisai – Shisochin then after 90 minutes of training they finished with sit ups and star jumps the usual amount.
On Thursday they came to my house and trained in the morning in my Garden Dojo, thank God we was blessed with sunny skies, training started with 45 minutes of pad work which is quite arduous and then Shisochin to Seisan then after training they were able to relax in the sun until it was time to leave, that same evening they came training at my Dojo and another 90 minutes of basic’s and conditioning by this time they began to feel the benefit.
Friday lunch time they came once again to my Garden Dojo for training and this time would be spent on focus pads and many combinations, and so to prepare one of the contingent for their examination in the future I worked on the finer details of Kata, this person is probably one of the best all-rounder devoted candidate’s I have had the pleasure of teaching.
To end training I suggested that they should complete the Institute’s familiar finish, and which they did with bodies perspiring profusely, they gave their thanks and lay in the sun to cool down, and after an hour they said their goodbyes.
But it was not all about Karate – Do during their time in England they managed to visit a Columbian Restaurant and sample the cuisine, and to their delight travel to Portsmouth to watch a Football match and visit Nelson’s flagship – HMS Victory, best known for her role in the battle of Trafalgar, the Victory currently has a dual role as the flagship of the Commander – in – Chief navel home Command and as a living museum to the Georgian Navy.
I look forward to seeing them again in Iceland in November, the home of the Vikings.