Ryukenkan Dojo - Tauranga New Zealand
"Karate in Paradise" - It's a rough task, but someone has to do it!
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Ryukenkan Dojo - Tauranga New Zealand "Karate in Paradise" - It's a rough task, but someone has to do it!
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It started with a Phone Call... By Renshi Rickard The phone rings, the voice at the other end tells me it's Warren Hart, a voice I haven't heard for nearly 10 years. Warren and I first met in 1999 at the Ryukyu Kempo Karate New Zealand training camp held at Kiwi Ranch near Wellington. After all these years, that camp still holds a place as one of the best camps I have ever attended in New Zealand - all credit to Mr Adam Lang (Godan - Shaolin Ryukyu Kempo) for organising such an awesome event. During that weekend, Warren and I spent a lot of time training and comparing methods, learning what we could from each other - not to mention spending far too much time laughing and carrying on. The camp finished, and I forgot to get contact details for Warren, so we lost touch. As it turns out, Mr Hart was browsing the web one day and he finds the Ryukenkan website. "I spent a lot of time studying the content and comparing it with the other Alliance websites that are online..." said Mr Hart. Deciding that it sounded as if the Alliance had what he was looking for, Warren picked up the phone. After spending some time reminiscing the '99 camp and having a laugh about the things that happened, we moved on to the business of who, what, where, why and how the Alliance could assist Warren and his dojo. After all was said and done, I had offered to come down to Wellington towards the end of February and teach a seminar weekend for Warren and his students to help them understand what makes the United Ryukyu Kempo Alliance different from other Ryukyu Kempo organisations. When I announced the seminar weekend to the students at Ryukenkan, and told Shihan Richardson (of Bukenkan Dojo, New Plymouth) about the seminar, we soon had a whole bunch of people travelling away to meet new friends. The 23rd of February arrived and we piled into our cars for the long drive to Wellington. Stopping at various places along the way to stretch the legs and admire the scenery...
The Cookie Time DC3 at Mangoweka...
The DC3 Pilot... (Dad won't let him in the real thing!)
The Mangoweka Viaduct...
The Gumboot at Taihape... ...the convoy arrived at Mr Harts house at nearly 10pm. With the other travellers squared away with their hosts, Warren and I settled down to training at around 11pm and finally knocked it on the head around 1am. We spent time looking at the differences between kihon waza (basic techniques) between our old Ryukyu Kempo lineage and the methods of the Oyata lineage. We also spent some time working on the Naihanchi Shodan kata. The Saturday seminar kicked off around 9am and we began by introducing the visitors and making acquaintances. Warren had opened the seminar to a number of other Ryukyu Kempo organisations, and we were pleased to have the chance to catch up with old friends and share with them what we have been learning. Of the guests present, the two highest ranks were Mr Sean Fitzpatrick (sandan) and Mr Kenneth Bartlett (sandan).
Kenneth Bartlett (Sandan - Shaolin Ryukyu Kempo) assist juniors to understand the technique being taught Following the introductions, we got into the teaching. We spent the Saturday working Exercise 1 through to Exercise 4 showing how the exercises firstly introduce basic technique, then add increasing levels of complexity and advanced principles as they progress. While doing this, we also compared how the exercises augment the practice of kata to build a strong foundation for good Kempo. We also looked at kata bunkai (technique breakdown and analysis) and how that related back to the exercises and principles taught. Judging by comments on the day, one thing that seemed to stun most people was how much information and technique we taught based on only the first seven movements of the Naihanchi Shodan kata and our exercises.
The group work through Exercise 2 Around mid-day, we broke for lunch. Mr Hart had arranged that all attendees would bring something to donate for a shared lunch. We all ate our fill - and there was plenty left over. In addition to the group lunch, Mr Hart also chose to take a leaf from the Alliance book and collect canned food for donation to the less fortunate. All attendees were asked to bring 2 cans of food resulting in an impressive pile which was donated to the St Vincent de Paul Food Bank.
The Canned Food pile grew as people arrived... it was much bigger by the end of the weeekend... All through the day ,we focussed on good footwork and culminated in the introduction of the principles contained in the advanced Kuzushi kata. We also spent time looking at various kanji and their meanings as they relate to the study of Ryukyu Kempo. This was an aspect of Karate virtually unheard of in New Zealand. As I have studied the kanji under the guidance of Kaicho Amor, I have been astounded by the depth of meaning and understanding which is uncovered - I'm sure that others felt the same after I shared what little understanding I had of this incredibly deep and complex subject.
Explaining kanji meanings helped people understand the depth of our art. Later in the afternoon, the Tauranga students and Shihan Richardson demonstrated various kobudo kata using the Bo, Nunchaku and Chizikunbo followed by an explanation of how empty hands methods translate into kobudo methods - the similarities and benefits of training both hand-in-hand. Saturday drew to a close around 3pm giving the visitors a chance to catch some sightseeing or kick back and relax some. We went off into Wellington city and checked out the Beehive (Government building), House of Parliament the Wellington Railway Station (an unheard of concept in Tauranga!), the Observatory and the Botanical Gardens finishing off with a ride on the cable car and a quick burger at Mc Donalds in the centre of the city before joining everyone else at Mr Hart's house for a BBQ dinner and a few (more) good laughs.
The Beehive...
It must have been a long ride... the other guy is dead! The dinner presented a good opportunity to get to know our new friends better, and a chance to talk story with Mr Fitzpatrick further. I retired at midnight leaving Mr Hart and Shihan Richardson discussing the differences between the Alliance teachings and what we had all previously learnt over the years. Sunday kicked off around 9am and we spent the morning studying the Bo. We split the group in two, with those who had little Bo experience studying the basic Bo Exercise under the guidance of Sensei Irvine, while those who had some experience had the opportunity to learn the first stage of the Combat Bo sequence under the watchful eye of Shihan Richardson. This gave Mr Hart, Shihan Richardson and I the chance to work further on kihon and kata.
Shihan Richardson and Mr hart discuss Bo technique Once most people had got the feel of the Bo, either by way of the Bo Exercise or Combat Bo 1, we decided to take it a little further and taught some Bo Bunkai.
The Combat Bo Group.
Sensei Irvine and one of the Bo Exercise Groups The Sunday session wound up around mid-day, we finished the weekend in a formal setting and thanked Mr Hart and the other guests present for their part in organising an enjoyable weekend for all.
The Sunday Seminar Group Then came the long drive home - made slightly easier by the obligatory visit the the Chocolate Factory at Paraparaumu... mmmm chocolate....
Mmmmmm....... But it's not Cadbury though!
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