Goju-Ryu Karate-Do Kyokai - GKK

November 2013 Newsletter
Goju-Ryu Karate-Do Kyokai
www.goju.com
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Did You Know?
by Rich Stamper
Did you know that we now have a program to facilitate developing vibrant and
growing GKK schools? We do! Mr. Bill Kane has devised the program and is in the
process of implementing it. More information to follow, but in the interim please feel
free to contact Mr. Kane at kane.williamw@gmail.com for assistance with starting a
new program or improving an existing one.
GKK India Book
by Firoze Wadia
The concept was derived when Bhadresh Dave realized that in India,
there are very few books available on karate and most were for people at
advanced levels. Hardly any existed for students at lowest/basic level .
So he thought of writing a book for his own students, which would
contain not only the technique but also how to execute it in brief.
Basically the idea was to make it available for beginners, who could go
through the book and learn techniques and understand what it takes to
reach a senior level.
It took around 5 years to complete. More than a thousand
copies were sold at a very very reasonable price of around 2 USD. The
idea was not to make money but to impart knowledge to beginners.
Currently it's in English only and will soon be translated into one of the
Indian languages (Gujarati) to be released in the state of Gujarat where he
also has dojos.
GKK India Promotion
by Ed Myers
“On August 14th 2013 Bhadresh Dave was promoted to Roku Dan by
the GKK headquarters promotional board. Sensei Bhadresh is the coNational Director of India. He currently has 11 dojo(s) with 48
Dan(s) and 153 Kyu(s). Please extend your congratulations on a job
well done. “
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Yamakura Shihan Seminar at the Ambler (PA) Dojo
Edited by Zak Zaklad, Ambler GKK
F
rom September 13th to 15th , 2013, Sensei Bill Kane and the Ambler Dojo hosted a weekend of training and
camaraderie. We were honored again to have Shihan Yamakura, and also a strong contingent of more than two
dozen black belts, including GKK leaders Ken Maunz and Dwight Scales, school heads Nancy Ault (Maine), Frank
Matt (NY), John Henderson (PA), plus Ambler’s own crew of black belts, and GKK visiting members.
We’re taking a slightly different approach to writing an article about the weekend. We will have a brief description of
the events, promotions, and pix; but the main emphasis will be on personal impressions and learnings. We asked each of
the participants to share a highlight of their weekend, and this article will feature the common threads in what we received.
Events
The weekend began with an informal workout of the black belts Friday night, led by Shihan and Sensei Kane. There
were maybe 30 of us, local and national, renewing friendships, and receiving instruction and wisdom from our leader.
On Saturday morning, we split into several groups. Shihan worked with Bill Kane one on one, while Ambler’s Zak
Zaklad ran the regular Ambler open class for all kyu-level karateka, with guest instructors Ken Maunz, Dwight Scales,
Nancy Ault, and Frank Matt. The remaining black belts went off to practice. The Saturday advanced class was led by
Ambler’s Vic Lim with guest instructors Ken Maunz and Dwight Scales.
Saturday afternoon was devoted to belt-level seminars, each led by Shihan. After a communal lunch, there was a white
belt session, followed by a green belt session, followed by a brown belt session, followed by the late afternoon black belt
session. During the colored belt sessions the black belts practiced kata together in another room. Then most of us gathered
for potluck dinner and camaraderie at the Kane’s.
Sunday morning, Shihan agreed to do yet one more seminar before he left for the airport, for the benefit of those who
could not attend Fri / Sat sessions due to religious or personal needs.
Promotions
Bill Kane – rokudan, Vic Lim – godan, Jon Rook – yondan, Jill Emery – nidan, Scott Abbotoni (Maine) - nidan
Highlights
To lead off this section, here are words of 4 of our
kids:
Jennifer, age 7, white belt; "I loved working with new
teachers and Master Yamakura. And taking pictures."
Faith, age 8, white belt; “I had a great time and want to
do it again!”
Yamakura Shihan and the White Belts
Madeleine, age 10, brown belt; “When I entered the room, I was
nervous because I hadn’t met Shihan Yamakura before. Once in the
class, he called me up in front of everybody and I did the kata
Seiunchin. I was very nervous because I thought I would mess up
big time but I knew that I had to be confident. I want to continue
karate because I enjoy it. I also appreciate the teachings from our
black belts.”
Ryan, age 12, brown belt; “It was an incredible experience working
with Master Yamakura. It helped me so much to have him break
down all of the katas and then put them back together. I liked seeing
all of the people from other dojos that we get to see once a year."
Yamakura Shihan and the Brown Belts
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Barry, adult green belt;
“What I
appreciated more than anything else was
Mr. Yakamura's ability to explain things
so simply, yet so clearly and effectively. I
learned nothing really new through the
seminars, but my understanding of several
things was deepened considerably. It was
more than worth the time, and would have
been worth at twice the cost.”
Shihan Teaches the Green Belts
The intangibles
The 8 black belts who responded each offered a thoughtful mini-essay. Themes have been summarized from these
responses.
Many saw GKK as an extended family, with strong, committed leadership. The “gathering of the tribes” is important.
Many expressed gratitude for the guidance of Shihan and other experienced leaders. Our out-of town guests were delighted
and grateful for the welcome and hospitality they received from their Ambler colleagues, and also for the social/dinner at
Bill and Michelle Kane’s home.
There were both clear differences and strong commonalities in the practice of Goju, as manifested in kata performance.
In several, e.g., seiunchin and shisochin, there were marked differences in terms of hard/soft, fast/slow, breathing. Shihan
noted that after you get to a certain level, you can make a kata your own, your “signature”. Sensei Ken also made that
observation.
Growth and improvements were widely seen in black belt performance. There was a tangible "jelling" that Shihan
Yamakura noted at the BB session. Helen M observed, “At that moment in time, the 30 people in the room were in sync
and it felt wonderful.”
On the other hand, there was commonality in kata structure and intent. One very interesting session of yudansha, led by
sensei Ken, had each of us perform a kata of her/his choice, while the others observed and then commented. I noted that
several chose kata shisochin, and there were marked differences in where in the kata performers were explosive and where
they were flowing. There was acknowledgment of the value of these differences.
Specific learnings
The important katas sanchin, seiunchin, and tensho as “training” katas, for developing skills rather than showing a
specific bunkai or combat application.
Kumite shows your best skills, while kata shows your weaknesses.
In kata training, it’s good to mix things up — vary speed, direction, just arms, just foot movement, etc.
As mentioned above, variations in kata are good, “Within range of acceptable”
Emphasis on separation in kata performance.
Ken had an interesting take: saifa kata is for fighting someone stronger than you, while sanseiru is for destroying a
weaker opponent. Ken also had an interesting take on sanchin kata. Some of us (Zak and Gerry H) have been doing
sanchin with strong force but projected outward. To be closer to Miyagi sensei’s vision, the force should be concentrated at
the hara (tantien) rather than projected out. This change is partly physical, by not leaning forward and by sinking, and
partly mental, by feeling the power centering at and emanating from the hara, and sinking the mind and the breath to the
hara.
Wisdom from Shihan
As you age, you must listen to your body and take more rests, but you must continue to challenge yourself.
Summary — common values across GKK
It was striking that from all the diverse schools across GKK, there were strong common themes:
Commitment to Goju Ryu as a Do
Spirit of humility
Sharing with colleagues, cooperating and collaborating
Seeking further learning, at whatever the level you are
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Ambler Seminar
by Frank Matt
Again the Ambler dojo opened their arms for all of us wanting to train with Mr. Yamakura. What a great weekend filled
with a lot of training and ending with a few promotions.
Friday night started with light kata work and Mr. Yamakura teaching us the finer points of kata. After we finished our
light workout we peeled our sweaty clothes off, changed and went to dinner at a great pizza restaurant.
Saturday training was awesome. We all trained with the other school leaders in attendance. Mr. Ken, as always, is full of
knowledge and other things as well. Mr. Scales is always a pleasure to train with.
The training with Mr. Yamakura is priceless. He always amazes me when I'm fortunate enough to be in his classes.
Lastly congrats to Mr. Bill Kane on his promotion to Roku Dan , Mr. John to San Dan, Mr. Scott Abbitoni to Ni Dan and
Miss Jill Emery to Ni Dan.
Newsletter Archive
by Eric Naujock
At this point in time the entire newsletter archive I have found or received from 1995 through 2013 is now online. The
latest (October) Issue is available to the general public as well as the content of the issue. Next up I will try to move the old
archive from the xayara engine prior to the 2006 conversion.
One of the new features of the GKK website is the ability to have a full contact system. We can put together contact
forms and cards that will allow as much information about yourself on the website. We can post the following information
on your cards;
Photograph - This can be either a JPEG or Png image., Email address, Address information with the following
fields; Address, City or Suburb, State or Province, Postal/ZIP Code, Country, Telephone Number, Mobile
Number, Fax, Website
Other Information. This is a large text edit field where you can tell your own story.
All the contact cards also offer a vCard option to make adding your contact information to an address book very easy.
Additionally if you have a valid email address there is contact form where a guest can send you an email directly from
the website. There is a captchas program attached to the site to stop or slow down spammers from sending you junk emails.
A Captcha is a program that asks the question of "Are you Human"? For more information please refer to wikipedia for
more information.
These contacts are being used for the Officers, Dojo Listings, and GKK Headquarters.
One option I am considering is creating a practitioner contact page in the members area. This would be a page listing the
practitioners in our organization. If there is interest in this option please let me know and I will start putting the information
online. At this point in time this section would be visible to members only vs available to the general public.
If you would like to send me updated information please feel free to send it to my email address at webmaster@goju.com.
First Nazarene Church Goju Karate Club Promotions
by Kim Barrington
The First Nazarene Goju Karate Club held a promotion on Sept 16
th 2013. Black belts in attendance were Sensei Kim Barrington and
Trisha Ballweg.
Students promoted were Nate Wirsiing to 6th kyu ho, Elise Dracos
to 6th kyu ho, Logan Ayre to 7th kyu, Alexis Barrington to 8th kyu,
Patrick Conner to 9th kyu.
I would like to thank Trisha Ballweg for helping with the
promotion and I would also like to let all of those that went up for
promotion that I am so proud to call them my students .They all did a
super job . Thank you to the parents for taking the time out of their
busy schedules to bring their kids to class. Also thanks to the G.K.K
for all the support they have given us.
Note. As an added bonus this month, included is a segment named after the infamous Hollywood film editing room;
The Cutting Room Floor
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The Cutting Room Floor
Bhadresh Dave
Frank Matt doing Sepai
Jenny shows good kicking form
Ken Maunz and Zak Zaklad
Ken Maunz teaches the black belts
Nancy Ault and Helen Muth
Nancy Ault and Jim Jackson
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Paul Stetsko and Angie Monday
Sensei Bill Kane and student
Yamakura Shihan teaches shuto to white belts
Yamakura Shihan
Yamakura Shihan teaches white belts
Yamakura Shihan teaches, Zak Zaklad takes notes
M. Yamakura
Chairman
3763 Old Creek Road, Troy, MI 48084
chairman@goju.com
Ed Myers
CEO
11568 Reed Road, Whitehouse, OH 43571
ceo@goju.com
Dwight Scales
USA Director
1940 Bobolink Lane, Toledo, OH 43615
dwight.scales@imagineschools.com
Greg Dodge
GKK Marketing Director
2430 Georgetown Ave., Toledo, OH 43613
marketing@goju.com
Deb Crawford
USA Business Manager
5705 Northlake Road, Springfield, IL 62711
sharpda71@msn.com
Bill Handren
Newsletter Editor
115 West North Street, Dwight, Il 60420
yokagawa2002@yahoo.com
Kim Barrington and student
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