As per annual tradition, the autumn JKA camp is organized in Brussels around the official Belgian holiday of November 11 (armistice = commemoration of the end of the 1st World War in Belgium).

On behalf of JKA Belgium, several Japanese guest instructors were invited. For this edition we warmly welcomed Ogura Sensei (8° dan JKA & Vice Chief Instructor JKA HQ) and Takechi Sensei (5° dan JKA & Jyosen-Ji Temple Master). The latter came not only to instruct during training, but also to hold a Buddhist memorial ceremony in honor of Miyazaki Shihan & Iida Shihan.

Naturally, Sawada Sensei (8° dan JKA & JKA instructor Belgium) and Gneo Sensei (8° dan JKA & Chief Instructor JKA Belgium) were also present, together with the most recent successful 5° & 6° dan from JKA Belgium. There were therefore more than enough instructors to provide some fantastic training to all participants (split by grade / age). All together we welcomed more than 400 participants of different ages and degrees.

The typical drizzly autumn weather was the perfect backdrop for Friday 10/11 to Sunday 12/11 each time 2 training sessions per group can be programmed. And we can already speak of a very successful edition, because the atmosphere was exceptionally good and the training sessions all had a nice balance between instruction and practice. The focus during the training was either on the various basic kumite forms and its derivatives (at the lower grades) or on the kata with an extended bunkai or oyo (at the higher grades).

On Saturday, a serene memorial ceremony was held under the leadership of Takechi Sensei, in honor of both Miyazaki Shihan (RIP 1993) and Iida Shihan (RIP 2022). Everyone was very welcome during this ceremony to reflect on the passing of both JKA icons. Iida Shihan’s farewell is still relatively fresh in our memories. But it has now been 30 years since we had to say goodbye to Miyazaki Shihan.

Both Takechi Sensei and Gneo Sensei gave a moving speech. Most memorable were the following memories of Miyazaki Shihan: “He was never angry at anyone who made a mistake during training!” and “He accepted everyone as they were, not only for their good qualities but also for their associated flaws.” Maybe we should all try to do this a little more? In this way, tolerance in our world would increase a little bit.

Despite a span of 3 decades, his Belgian JKA family has still not forgotten him. It is even the task of the older generation who really knew him to inform the younger generation about the identity and importance of Miyazaki Shihan. Under the leadership of his successor Gneo Sensei, his life’s work continues unabated and the Belgian JKA family remains one big family.

The presence of both Kanazawa Sensei (Kancho SKIF HQ) and Castrique Sensei (Chief Instructor SKIF Belgium) proves that Miyazaki Shihan is still respected outside our own JKA family. The link they all have with Taisho University is perhaps not surprising.

We look back on this autumn JKA camp with a big smile, because we had the opportunity to: refine our technique under the guidance of fantastic teachers, to fraternize with other karateka before and after the training and to be together with our JKA family. What more could we wish for?

New appointment for the annual spring JKA camp in Louvain-La-Neuve during the Easter weekend!

 

Kind regards,
Andy Willaert
President JKA Belgium