German Training Camp 2019 with 40th Anniversary of Shorinji Kempo in Germany

In 1979 Walther Wunderle, today’s Honorary President of the German Shorinji Kempo Association, founded the first Dojo (Sugakusa) in Germany after his return from Japan at the request of Satoh Sensei in the city of Augsburg. He had been in Japan for almost 4 years to study martial arts “at the source”. Finally he met there Satoh Sensei, who taught him in Shorinji Kempo. Walter Wunderle found in Shorinji Kempo a martial art that combines both physical practice and personal growth. He was taught by Satoh Sensei during his numerous stays in Japan, as well as by Aosaka Sensei during European courses.

Wunderle Sensei is now 7th Dan Junhanshi and is the first European to reach this rank. One of his first students Kurt Kammerl, current president of the German Association, founded the second Dojo in Augsburg East in 1986. Over the years, the German Shorinji Kempo community has grown.

The German Shorinji Kempo Association was officially founded in 2001 and now has 8 dojos. In addition to Augsburg, dojos with a total of about 250 Kenshi were created in Königsbrunn, Kammerstein, Schwabmünchen, Bobingen, Berlin and Munich. In the context of the celebrations to the 40th anniversary of Shorinji Kempo in Germany an international Gasshuku was organized from 18.10. -20.10.2019. 10 nations with about 140 Kenshi took part.

At the invitation of Lord Mayor Kurt Gribl, a delegation came together in the Prince’s Room of the Augsburg Town Hall on 18 October to take part in a festive reception on the occasion of the anniversary.

On behalf of the Lord Mayor Mrs. Petra Keller welcomed the representatives of Japan, France, Italy, Sweden, Finland, Russia and Switzerland as well as the Branchmaster of the German Dojos and the Managing Director of the German Japanese Society Rainer Völlmerk. The Consul General Tetsuja Kimura and the Deputy President Douglas Beard addressed greetings to the representatives of the participating nations. The martial art Shorinji Kempo was demonstrated in an embu performance. At the end the president of the German association Kurt Kammerl thanked for the greetings and the invitation to the reception. This shows the solidarity of the city of Augsburg with Japan and the importance of the martial art Shorinji Kempo for international relations.

The Gasshuku took place in Königsbrunn, a small town near Augsburg. It was led by WSKO Instructor Aosaka Sensei (9th dan daihanshi and Secretary General of the European office Shorinji Kempo), Kenji Satoh Sensei (8th dan daihanshi) with son Takuma Satoh (6th dan junhanshi). Once again we would like to thank all Sensei for their help!

Already on Friday evening the Gasshuku began with skill exercises, which served the first getting to know. Saturday and Sunday were dedicated to the training from 9 to 15 o’clock.

The warm-up on Saturday included yoga exercises and on Sunday an original, dynamic warm-up took place, in which movements of animals were simulated. Kihon and Hokei were followed by work with techniques in groups of different graduations.

As with every course, the instructors encouraged the Kenshi to change partners regularly and work with practitioners from other countries to promote encounters and friendships. The philosophy classes on Saturday given by Aosaka Sensei were dedicated to the virtues jin (仁), gi (義), chû (忠), ko (孝), rei (礼) and haji (恥).

The next day Satoh Sensei informed about the foundation and history of the martial art Shorinji Kempo. He also spoke about his personal experiences and developments in this discipline. On Saturday afternoon the German Association organized a charity gala for the benefit of the association “Weisser Ring” for the victims of crime. Several German dojos and foreign associations presented the different facets of Shorinji Kempo to the public.

The demonstrations included numerous Embu, including the winners of the European Embukais in the 3rd dan category and more from Arnaud Tiquet and Hanna Svedberg.

A special feature was the musically accompanied representation of the Italian federation, as well as a realistic representation of defense techniques in a possible everyday situation.

The Taiko group from Augsburg framed the event with impressive musical interludes. The Augsburger Puppenkiste were guests and enchanted all present with their puppet show. Aosaka Sensei and Satoh Sensei will associate a special memory with the presentation of puppets with Dogi. The gala ended with a “punch and kick challenge” in which almost all Kenshi participated. The spectators should reward the effort of 200 Tsuki and another 100 Geri in a row with a donation. The efforts had been worth it, because at the end a considerable amount of money was added up.

Together with other donations Kurt Kammerl presented a cheque of 1000 Euro to the “White Ring” in the name of the German Shorinji Kempo Association.

On Saturday evening the participants gathered in the hotel for a Bavarian evening. Many Kenshi wore the traditional Bavarian clothes. The participants were spoiled by the Bavarian cuisine in the form of a buffet. A modern dance show enlivened the evening. Afterwards we danced with music and some Sensei took part. The Kampai sounds of the different tables followed. The party ended for most at 24:00 o’clock. Because on Sunday training was on the program again.

For the guests who were still present on Sunday evening they could see how beer is brewed during a brewery tour in Augsburg. Afterwards good Bavarian food followed and of course some beers.

The 8th European Taikai and 2019 European Regional UNITY Study Session in Stockholm, Sweden

From July 5th to 9th, 2019, we had four wonderful days of gradings, embukai, training, party and social gatherings with participants from 22 countries and a total of almost 450 people. From the look of it, we can proudly say it was all in the spirit of So Doshin’s philosophy, where everybody involved worked hard towards our common goal, looking beyond winning and personal gain.

>The Swedish Shorinji Kempo Federation is grateful for the trust given by Aosaka sensei, letting us host this event, and by Shike So Yuuki, serving as the Honorary President of the Taikai. We also want to thank Kawashima sensei, Arai sensei, Matsumoto sensei and all the European instructors who made the study session success. The Taikai was a great opportunity to promote Shorinji Kempo, with the finals and demonstrations broadcasted live. For Sweden, the results were promising, with two gold medals and one bronze. Mixed pairs competed in the Mens division, and half of all the winners in the entire embukai were women. Quite unique in the world of budo, just as our President of WSKO, So Yuuki, is.

During the Taikai, several Honorary Guests attended:

The Ambassador of Japan, Mr. Shigeyuki Hiroki

H.E. The Marshal of the Realm, Mr. Fredrik Wersäll

The Cultural Attaché of the Embassy of Japan, Mr. Toshio Yadomi

The President of the Swedish Budo & Martial Arts Federation, Mr. Gundmark

The Vice President of the International Aikido Federation, Mr. Leif Sunje

The General Secretary of the Swedish Taekwondo Federation, Mr. Ala-Häivälä

The most important part of the event was perhaps the actual training, as it is during practice that we refine the practical aspects of our teachings. We believe that our beautiful philosophy of personal development in harmony with others, stressing the importance of contributing to a better society, can be of great importance in wealthy countries in the west, where individualism has broken many ties with our past. Welcome back! Alex Tilly, Vice President of the Swedish Shorinji Kempo Federation

2019 Shorinji Kempo Unity Study Session in Monterey, California, U.S.A.

Gassho

“2019 Shorinji Kempo Unity Study Session in Monterey, California, U.S.A” was held at the Gym of Monterey Peninsula College in Monterey, California, U.S.A. on June 29 & 30, 2019.

There were 102 participants from 22 branches from the U.S., Canada, and Japan. Fortunately, we could invite Mr. Mitsuru Sakashita sensei (Seihanshi 7^th Dan) as the Shorinji Kempo Unity International Instructor from Japan. He is a Secretary General, Religious Affairs Department, Kongo Zen Sohonzan Shorinji.

On June 29th (Sat), 2019, the Day 1 of the study session started from the opening ceremony following the Chinkon. After that, we did warming-up and Kihon led by Sakashita sensei, and Techniques divided into 3 groups based on ranks led by Sakashita sensei and 3 WSKO instructors. All the participants enjoyed practicing techniques with various kenshi from different branches together. We had WSKO & Hokai Lecture by Sakashita sensei. He explained about “Teaching of Kongo Zen” and importance of each of us as the parts of Dharma.

In the evening, we had the Welcome Party at one of the best restaurants in Monterey with enjoyable talking and laughing very much.

On June 30^th (Sun), 2019, the Day 2 also started warming-up and Kihon led by Sakashita sensei. After that, we did Technique divided into 3 groups, Hokai Lecture by Sakashita sensei, and Q&A sessions. In the Hokai lecture, Sakashita sensei explained about “Living a life based on the faith in Dharma” and emphasized that we practice Kongo Zen as “Gyo” in order to express the nature of Dharma. We could understand how important it is that we should apply what we practice into our daily life. Sakashita sensei’s teaching based on deep knowledge about the Kongo Zen and Dharma is beneficial for us and could impress all the participants.

After the closing ceremony, many participants took pictures each other while talking about reunion at the next Study Session again.

All the Monterey Branch members and volunteers are very happy to see that many of the participants could enjoy the study session with big smiles. We would like to express the greatest appreciation to the precious time and passion to participate and cooperate for Sakashita sensei, all the Branch Masters, and all the participants. Thank you very much.

Kesshu & Regards

Contributor: Kazuki Arita (Secretary General, United States Shorinji Kempo Federation)

The International Training Camp in Saint-Petersburg has happened during the first weekend of April 2019. It was the 6th instalment of the event that Baltika Brunch hosts annually under direction of the branch master Alexander Sofronov (4th dan). For three days, (5-7th April) the northern capital of Russia welcomed Kenshies from all over the country as well as international honored guests:Sensei Didier Camp (6th Dan) from France, Sensei Alex Tilly (5th dan) from Sweden, Sensei Kurt Kammerl (6th dan) and Sensei Manfred Birling (5th dan) from Germany , Sensei Seppo Ruusukivi (5th dan) and Sensei Timo Mäki-Kuutti (5th dan) from Finland. The seminars began on Friday (5th of April) in the evening and finished on Sunday (7th of April) afternoon.

Alongside the 6th International Training Camp, the first Russian Embukai has happened. In the morning of the 6th of April Russian Kenshi took part at the Embukai at the categories Kyu-Kenshi and Dan-kenshi. The judges were the branch masters and key instructors of the main brunches in Russia and included Alexey Rokitsky (5th dan), Makoto Hamakava (5th dan), Anatoly Lukutin (4th dan), Alexander Kramar (3rd dan) and Anton Kozlov (3rd dan).

The first place winners of the Russian Embukai are Natalia Sotnikova and Igor Titov (Baltika Brunch) – category Dan-kenshi; Alexander Semchenko and Eugeny Khukhryantsky (Moscow Brunch) – category Kyu-Kenshi.

The Seminar and Russian Embukai have been included into the program of events that celebrates cross-cultural Year of cooperation between Russia and Japan and became part of the 19th Festival «Japanese Spring in Saint-Petersburg» organized by Japanese embassy. For the award ceremony Russian Embukai has been delighted to welcome the general consul of Japan in Saint-Petersburg – Mr. Yasumasa Iijima. 

For russian Kenshis and Senseis it was, as always, a remarkable experience that boost their motivation and confidence to deepen their knowledge in Shorinji Kempo, to connect more with like-minded people from all over the world, to contribute for the spreading of Kaiso’s teaching in their hometowns and for general development of Shorinji Kempo in Russia.  Russian Kenshis and Senseis are extremely grateful to international guests for their support and master-classes and hope to engage with more techniques and practices next year! 

We plan to hold WSKO Hombu Training Camp as detailed below. We look forward to seeing many of you at this event.
We sent detailed information to branch masters on December 20, 2018.
If you have any questions, please ask the WSKO Secretariat trough your branch master.

Event Information
1. Date: March 26th (Thu.), 27th (Fri.), and 28th (Sat.), 2020
Note 1: Dan Grading / Special Dan Grading Examinations are scheduled on March 25th (Wed.); however, they may be rescheduled to be held during the program of the training camp in case the number of applicants is small.
Note 2: There will be an optional training session for questions and answers on March 29th (Sun).

2. Site: Headquarters of the World Shorinji Kempo Organization
3-1 Hondori, Tadotsu-cho, Nakatado-gun, Kagawa-ken, 764-8511 Japan

3. Contents: (1) Lectures – Lecture by President Yuuki So
– Lecture by Secretary-General
– Lecture on the Intellectual Property of Shorinji Kempo
– Hokai Seminar (optional)
(2) Techniques – Techniques (Kihon and Hokei) by all participants and in rank groups
(3) Friendship Party
(4) Others 1) Branch Master Qualification Certification Seminar (for members from countries without a national federation, free of charge)
2) Dan Examination (3rd Dan, for members without national federation)
3) Special Dan Examination
Note: If you / your member wish(s) to take an examination of the above Items 2) and 3), please ask the WSKO Secretariat for possibility. We will announce the closing date for application on a later day.

4. Eligibility: WSKO members with rank of 1st kyu or above and age 16 or older.
Note: If there is any kenshi who are 2nd kyu or lower, please ask the WSKO Secretariat for advice.

5. Languages: Events will basically be conducted in Japanese and English. If you think it difficult to attend the event spoken in Japanese and English, you are requested to bring a kenshi who will help you with translation.

6. Lectures and Instructors: President Yuuki So, Secretary-General Kazuhiro Kawashima, and WSKO Instructors

7. Attendance Record:
(1) If you attend the Hokai Seminar during this Training Camp:
Your attendance will be recorded as one UNITY Study Session attendance.
(2) If you do not attend the Hokai Seminar during this Training Camp:
Your attendance will be recorded as one WSKO Study Session attendance.

8. Other: How to apply and closing date for the event, as well as the closing date for exam applications, will be announced at our next correspondence to branch masters.