Saturday was the first Kata workshop we held at Zen-Shin in 2021. This comes at a great time for us, as lockdown restrictions are easing, and adults are now back in the dojo.
We went through Gojushiho Sho during our workshop, a high level Shotokan kata. Sensei Jumoke was inspired after watching the EKF championship male finals, where Ali Sofuolgu performed the same kata to win in his category.
At 54 moves in total, performing this kata can feel more like a marathon. What I enjoy most about this kata is the juxtaposition between the slow, opened-handed preparation movements, like the tate shuto uke in fuda dachi at the beginning of the kata, to the aggressive, quick succession of techniques that are performed whilst charging forward. To me, a similar kata would be Bassai Dai, as both kata are characterised by their strong techniques and pacing.
We took the students into Dojo 2 to watch some examples of how this kata is performed at an international level. It was good, especially for our youngest students, who may have not been exposed to kata performances of such a high caliber.
I urge everyone who came on Saturday to keep practicing what we covered on Saturday. For anyone that didn’t attend last Saturday, our next kata workshop will be on June 19th 2021.
Antonio joined us during lockdown in 2020, when the situation around Covid looked bleak, and businesses were shut down.
It was during this time that Zen-Shin took a great leap forward by creating the online Zoom dojo and members area. Our Karate dojo could now be accessed by anyone with an internet connection.
Antonio had already trained for years at other clubs, but decided to join Zen-Shin during the lockdown as we were offering regular online training.
Since the he has been a regular to our online classes, and even getting partner involved in some online Kickboxing fun.
It was Saturday 5th June when he came and visited us for the first time in real life. It was great to have him in real life to train along with us.
Antonio demonstrates great commitment and consistency when he trains. Two very important characteristics in order to get good at anything.
We look forward to seeing you more in the future.
