Participants gathered at the Thornhill Community Center to train with Kurihara Sensei from Honbu dojo.

It was our first gasshuku since the pandemic so it was exciting to see many smiling faces eagerly awaiting Kurihara Sensei. Participants came from as far as Miami, New Brunswick, Quebec, Manitoba, Ottawa and the suburbs of Toronto.

The first day training was tachikata and use of the hips. Kurihara Sensei taught gedan barai, gyaku tsuki from the front, back, left, right, and other turns. This was an introduction to Taikyoku Shodan performed in every which way possible.

The first session on Saturday covered the katas Bassai Dai, Jion, Gojushiho sho, Sochin, Kankudai. Kurihara Sensei explained the technical points and demonstrated various applications. The evening session was devoted to gohon kumite, ippon kumite, jyu ippon kumite. Sunday’s session were the Heian Kata, Tekki Shodan and Bassai Dai performed from both the left and right side.
The gasshuku concluded with a friendly team tournament.

We would like to thank Kurihara Sensei for sharing his expertise with us. A special thank you to all the participants for making this event a success, and our gratitiude to Saeki Sensei for all his efforts to make this event possible.

CJKF