Kato Sensei Comes Again

It was St. Patrick's weekend and despite the harsh winds and flurries of snow, people from all over the country descended on Tuam to attend a seminar with Shihan Kato (8th Dan). Some brave souls from England decided to undertake the journey across the water to the wild west of Ireland. They drove all night and then came straight into the dojo for training. Their dedication to the cause had to be commended. Sensei started off the Saturday morning training by teaching a special class just for children. He guided them through the basics of karate and corrected their postures and positioning.

The second class began at the end of the children's class and training began with some kihon exercises using some often neglected stances from karate such as sanchin dachi, musubi dachi, uchi-hachiji dachi and heisoku dachi. After various exercises focusing on the correct use of the body in punching from these stances, Kato Sensei went on to instruct us in the proper use of the hips and feet when trying to move forward and backwards with a hip thrusting motion. Next we moved on to the kata Rantai, which involves a myriad of leg techniques and unique foot work and proved to be quite a challenge. After going through various sections of the kata it was all put together and performed several times. This marked the end of the first day or training and the start of the celebrations of St. Patrick's day. A very enjoyable evening was had by all. Familiar faces got together and resumed where they had left off and new friends were made.

Sunday morning training began as the previous day had left off with the black belts performing Rantai. After instructing us on some of the finer points of the kata, Kato Sensei taught us the applications and we practiced them with partners. In doing the kata really became alive and each time the kata was performed we were able to visualize what we were doing and why. At the end of the hour the junior grades joined the class and each one was given a black belt to practice with. Kato Sensei showed them different foot movements to close down a variety of distances when sparring with an opponent and then allowed them to practice this with their partner. Kato Sensei then taught them how to use these foot movements in conjunction with kicks with each juniors grade aided by their partner. The class was then broken up and the appropriate level of kata was taught to the relevant grades. The class then finished and one member of the Sei Bu Kan dojo in Cork city successfully graded to shodan.

The feedback from the weekend was very positive and everyone seemed to have had a great time and enjoyed the training and getting together on this Irish holiday. I would like to thank Kato Sensei for coming to my home town and sharing his karate with us, Sensei Brian Toomey for all his help and support on the weekend and everyone at Tuam Karate Club for all their help during the weekend.
Osu!