Monterey Branch, U.S.A / July 2010 - Contributor: Monterey Branch Master Kazuki Arita

Jyvaskyla Shorinji Kempo Embu Training Session, 28.-30.5.2010

Quite a few years had passed since the last international training session in Jyvaskyla and we were very happy for the opportunity to have Sanada-Sensei, a WSKO instructor, visiting us. Sanada-senseis entourage included Tajika Toshio from Ookubo branch (Tokyo), Kadotani Soichiro and Hoshino Aya from Tokyo University branch. Besides our Japanese guests there were altogether 67 kenshis from Finland, Sweden, Russia and Germany eager to dive in to the exciting world of embu-training.

The training session started already on Friday evening and proved to be quite different from all the other training sessions I've attended. The topic was embu, and indeed everything we did that weekend was strongly connected to embu-training. Starting from the warm-up, all the teaching was planned to serve the ideas of how to build a well-balanced embu and how to train it in an efficient but safe way.

At the beginning of Fridays training we were asked to form pairs in which we would be training for the whole weekend. In these pairs we learned how to teach and be taught, how to learn and improve together - half for yourself and half for the others.

The teachings of Sanada-sensei were accompanied by various metaphors and references to sports studies. Further enhancing our learning there was a very skilled embu-pair from the Tokyo University to show us how a university level-embu is meant to look like. After seeing their performance, we got to try it out ourselves. All the pairs got to train Sanada-senseis victorious kyu-embu and the dan holders also trained a dan-embu. On Sunday there was a miniature embukai where all the pairs performed the embus and got feedback. I must say that was very impressed by the progress everyone made with their embus in just two days.





















Thinking back to the training session, I'm happy to say that there're a lot of things I learned. One of these things, which at least for me brought in a new perspective to embu training, is how the judging is done. What the judges look for in a good embu, what makes an impact and what kind of mistakes are the most obvious. This, of course, has a tremendous effect on how a good embu is built. Changing your perspective and looking at your own embu from the outside is something to really think about next time we build an embu with my partner. A very practical point of view we learned was how to use an embu sheet in building and training your embu.

After the training session I felt quite exhausted, having learned so much both physically and mentally. What will stay with me, however, is the memory of how much progress you can make in just three days. And how the progress can only be made when you have the right attitude. Nijon pare - no clouds shadowing your mind.

I would like to thank everyone who took part in making this training session possible. Thank you for your hard work in building a yet another memorable international training session!

Kirsi Maki-Kuutti, 1st dan, Jyvaskyla Branch

 

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