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First of all apologies it has too long twixt blogs and that is mainly down to the GibShot or should I say “Gibraltar” summer which as always is great. Special shout out to everyone for National Day yesterday the fireworks where loud man!

We have our class allocation for this year at the following times and schools:

Monday 9pm Bayside School – Entrance is opposite (across the road) entrance to Victoria Stadium
Tuesday 8pm Bayside School – (as above)
Thursday 6pm St Bernards School – 1 Chicardo’s Passage

It is my intention to start a children’s class this year once our registration is done so if you have contacted GibShop please email me again and I will arrange a meeting with everyone. (email: sensei@gibshot.com)

As we start to look towards the rest of the year at this point although unconfirmed Sensei Mick Dewey 8th dan (my instructor for some 27 years) is scheduled to be here towards the end of the month any non members who wish to join the class please let me know.

In November GibShot has a busy month. I am heading to Munich for a 3 day karate seminar on the 1st November ending 4th. Following this I will again be organising the 48th Portsmouth Open Karate Tournament in Portsmouth with Sensei Dewey. Details can be found on our facebook page. The tournament is on the 17th November anyone with an official karate licence can apply to take part and GibShot hopefully will be represented as usual.

Ossu

So the June  2018 Naka course in Chiclana came and went. Four great days of training and as usual with Naka sensei it hurts but you don’t know it till you finish.

The firtst blog covered the aspects of all 4 days, the second day being a repeat of the first day because the first is only for dan grades normally instructors. The actual course proper is Fri/Sat/Sun and in the heat it is serious too.

The kata’s we performed or tried to perform over the 4 days were as follows:

Heian Shodan, Heian Nidan, Heian Sandan, Tekki Shodan, Tekki Sandan, Basai Dai, Basai Sho, Kanku Dai, Kanku Sho, Sochin, Meikyo and Wankan. The kata sometimes had extra techniques added in order to both help those that were unfamiliar or hinder those that were and make them think more e.g.

Heian Shodan had the following combination added to it after the gedan barai’s. Mae geri, oi tzuki, gyaku tzuki, yoriashi kizame tzuki. The second day had the oitzuki end in a kosadachi stance with the gyaku tzuki. Is is hurting your head yet? Every kata I mention sensei also demonstrated and had us practice one or two bunkai applications helping to reinforce the kata but not spending too much time on any single one, we also did not do ALL the kata each day.

As usual his emphasis is on the punching technique and he spent a lot of time explaining the difference between a “sport karate” technique and “budo” which in essence is where most student are in their minds.

I cannot begin to implore you if you can, to search Naka sensei’s courses out wherever they may be in Europe and there are several, you just have to do some work and search for them.

Oss

The year goes round so quickly so here I am once again stood in front of Sensei Naka (or Naka shihan as they call him here) and another 4 days of JKA teaching. The course here in Chiclana, at the southern tip of Spain a stone’s throw from Cadiz is really worth doing. What’s not to like as the sun shines, the sea is warm enough..ish to dip in or maybe your hotel pool will do the trick. The evening is spent in what really is a holiday resort but not so crazy as the Magaluf’s, Torremolinos or Costa Brava.

We await his arrival in the dojo as usual most of us saying hello to friends from previous courses some just looking mean and warming up all the while you know they’re out of their comfort zone.

Enough. Day one.

The usual Naka 90 minutes for the brown and black belts, mainly black as this really is an instructor type class with emphasis on what we are covering over the main three days to follow. In fairness it’s starts to hurt around 10 minutes in as the quads from most instructors get a work out they rarely get and all we are doing is oi tsuki, gyaku tsuki …. well; to begin with. If you have never trained with him his revelation is what some call the double hip twist. Which is exactly what it looks like but if you work with it long enough it actually isn’t that because Naka has a mission. That mission is hips, core muscle control and using body axis points that make motion positive not negative and faster without strength. Sound complicated? That’s what development feels like… until you see it working. No doubt I’ll write more about it over the next three days.

The lesson moved from that into oi tzuki, mae geri, gyaku tzuki. Then onto oi tzuki, gyaku tzuki, suriashi kezami tzuki. This was all then added to the kata haian shodan which was fun if you like knots. Naka’s tendency to add to basic kata is nothing new, my Sensei Mick Dewey has often had course attendants scratching their bonce as the simplest of kata are turned into a spaghetti of legs and twisting heads using just kihon as the base paint.

Following that we tentatively touched (about 8 times) Sochin kata but using zenkutzu dachi stance to help with the hip exercise I mentioned earlier. I was pleased to see some of those warm up macho boys looking around for clues when the kata was underway. We finished that off with the kata as it should be performed with the correct stance, helpful for those of us that were tired and our brains seem to be turning to fudge.

After another 2 minute water break we were back talking or rather listening to Naka sensei sum up the class and the next few days, ably translated into spanish by his interpreter and into english by Akita sensei over from Germany. I first met him proper three years ago when I reminded him of his time when he was right hand boy to Kawasoe sensei in Shepards Bush. We never met then but we had stepped on the same boards. A different style to Naka but always in front doing it like the rest of us.

We ended with what I think is his favourite kata Haian Nidan. This is my fourth year and we do it everytime which is fine by me it is one of my favourites too. It links as everything does to body axis’ and the sense of budo Naka is trying to promote in how techniques are used. In essence, faster, more powerful using not strength but technique just like we were always taught but can never seem to grasp until we get on courses like this or listen more clearly to our own sensei.  More from me later.

Ossu

Sensei

Well 2018 is upon us and no doubt plenty of resolutions will be made and broken. I’m not interested in your broken promises though, I am hoping you will change your life completely and take the first steps on the path called Shotokan Karate. The history is well written about on websites and in books all around the world so I won’t waste your time.

Gibshot, well me actually, is looking for new students. If you are over 16 and good health then I can teach you karate. We have classes which are probably the easiest way to learn as there are other students around you to follow. You must train twice a week to be eligible for examinations which are approximately every 4 months and of course you’ll need a karate suit (Gi) and the appropriate belt (Obi).

If you prefer to train privately I can do 1-2-1 sessions either at your home if you have a space large enough (a small fitness studio) or you can train with me in a studio during the daytime, lunchtime for example.

Training sessions last for 90 minutes, no you don’t get a break, yes when it is hot you can have a sip of water (please ask first as indulgence is painful) and there is contact and touch control during the training.

The first lesson is free and costs are dependant on your circumstances and whether you want personal or group tuition. I cannot guarantee you will become another Bruce/Notorious/Rock but I can guarantee you will have fun, gain confidence and improve you ability.

We also attend courses in Spain and the UK for tuition especially brown belts onwards who need it for examination purposes to black belt. We also attend UK competitions and win medals at least once a year.

Give me a shout or an email if you are interested and start your path today.

Oss

Sensei

It’s been ‘a’-while as they say mainly due to me concentrating my writing elsewhere but don’t fret I’m still here. Throughout the summer Gibshot as usual decamped to a studio kindly lent to us by Transition as we still try to find a permanent home. The school spaces via the GSLA are brilliant and we are grateful but they have many down days due to school holidays etc which render them closed. Understandable but not ideal.

I’ve been busy getting my head ready for the Portsmouth Open Championship on November 18th at the Mountbatten Centre in Portsmouth, Hants. Hopefully heading there on the 16th doing some training with Sensei Dewey at Honbu dojo and Sensei Smith at Lovedean.

GibShot itself has a couple of new members Kate and Debs who are back into karate after a small lay off much like many people including myself between 1983 and 1991. It happens for a myriad of reasons the main thing is you get back into it and grow again

I have also have a few questions recently about self defence classes. Short answer is yes I will do them but I need a few people to register their interest then register their commitment by turning up for the lessons. There is a great opportunity for office workers to get an hours self defence in every week and build not only your strength but confidence as well. Just contact me at the email below.

Oss

Frankie

sensei@gibshot.com