New York City Branch, U.S.A. / April 2012 - Contributor: Jessica Kashiwabara

United Nations International School Harumatsuri - March 30 2012

On March 30, 2012, the Shorinji Kempo New York City Branch attended the United Nations International School's Harumatsuri (Japanese Spring Festival). This was our 9th annual invitation to the event.

Students from local schools in the New York and New Jersey area, who are studying Japanese, join the event and have the opportunity to learn different crafts, skills, and arts. We were one of many booths and did our best to introduce Shorinji Kempo techniques and philosophy to these young, enthusiastic students.

We had about 10-15 minutes with each group and started by explaining gassho rei and some basic kamae. Then we practiced jodan furi ko zuki together with kiai. We were surprised how loud and clear their kiai was after only a couple minutes of demonstration. Some of their kiai were louder than our own class!

The students were all very enthusiastic and unafraid to try new things which made it easy for us to teach. They seemed to enjoy a challenge and a chance to show their inner strength. As we worked with students in pairs, each had a different experience and reaction. While learning a release technique, one student began jumping up and down with excitement saying how cool it was. After complimenting her coordination, another student told us it was because she practices fencing. One student that stood out the most in our memory was so enthusiastic that each time he completed a technique, he would smile, nod, and then strike a pose!

We also met a lovely young student named Maika Tezuka from Keio Academy of New York who was a volunteer that assisted our booth. She helped us organize the students and we were very grateful for her help and to be able to meet her.

This event has always been a great opportunity for us to work with youth and to share Shorinji Kempo with others outside of the dojo. We each were given a chance by Ohashi Sensei to take leadership and take turns teaching groups. This year, three black belt kenshi; Peter Kito, Naoko Ono, and Jessica Kashiwabara attended along with two new kenshi; I-Chin Chiang and Dima Stanetsky, who were able to experience this event for the first time.

Working with teenagers got us all to reminisce about our own youth and school experiences as we chatted over lunch together and relaxed after a day of hard work. We look forward to next year's event.

 

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