Kumamoto Training

With Nakamura Shihan after keiko: outside the Shototakuhiro Dojo

I had the pleasure of travelling back to Kumamoto City and coaching at Nakamura Shihan's dojo: the Shototakuhirokan. It was really great to catch up with Nakamura Masamitsu Shihan, Nakamura Akiyoshi Sensei, the Nakamura Family, Ogasawara Senpai, and a selected group of club members.

Shihan asked me to check and critique the students' kata; namely, their shitei-gata and their respective tokui-gata. My focus was to: (1) refine the students shisei and alignment in relation to their junanasei; (2) improve their kakato chushin; (3) introduce a handful of 'level up' aspects for several kihon-waza (found in the aforementioned formal exercises); and (4) to be able to accurately self-monitor skill development, stagnation, or decline in skill and 'application capacity'. Overall, I saw some significant improvements and, with practice, these will become subconsciously ingrained; and accordingly, will result in large scale improvements that can be easily self-monitored.

I was very lucky, as outside of the training, Nakamura Shihan also gave me some great technical advice from his treasure trove of JKA/Shotokan knowledge, which I deeply appreciate. Taken as a whole, and as I have said before, I highly recommend anyone who lives in (or visits) Kumamoto City to seek Nakamura Shihan's training. Osu, Andre

(c) André Bertel. Oita, Japan (2015).