Gasshuku in Koh Samui Thailand
This proved to be a successful venture to promote South East Asian IOGKF. Sensei Geoff Pickup invited me to help promote Goju Ryu in Thailand, obviously the most popular martial art is Muay Thai followed by Taekwondo. Having witnessed the Thai Boxing training at the WMC Gym in Koh Samui and to me this is the ultimate stand up fighting system however, we must move with the times and such demanding systems are not for everyone. As we know there are many facets to Goju Ryu from kata to Hojo Undo there is something for everyone irrespective of gender and maturity.
In attendance during the training was a contingent from Malaysia who enjoyed the training very much, hopefully this will now be an annual event. Geoff has a fantastic dojo with huge floor space and bungalows for rent on site, all in all a fantastic venue for a gasshuku.
Foreign investment on the island is evident (they even have a Tesco!) and the cosmopolitan community is growing at a fast rate which in turn means jobs for the local community, the people of Koh Samui were very friendly and helpful during my stay. Geoff showed me around the sights of the island, I saw 'Big Bhudda' which is a fantastic sight, a 20m high golden statue on a hill overlooking the sea. One thing that stands out from my trip is seeing a water spout (see photo) which we saw heading in towards land and then suddenly veered off back out to sea.
Getting around Koh Samui is easy, there is a profusion of motorbikes but this can be a traumatic experience, due to the lack of protocol when driving on the roads. There are shops and bars and beautiful coastline, the temperature while I was there was a staggering 37c and in the evening a warm 28c. Martial Arts can't protect you against the ever present attack by mosquitoes the best defense is a net or you won't be able to sleep at night, and arm yourself with plenty on mosquito repellent. Sensei Geoff Pickup is a Vegan he invited me to some of the restaurants to sample Vegan food, to my surprise the food was quite delicious, and easy to digest.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank Sensei Geoff and his wonderful family and friends for inviting me to this Island in paradise .
George Andrews
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