The 13th czech Jodo seminar in Prague
April 11th and 12th 2009
The thirteenth seminar of Jodo is over... without a hitch
A short report from the (not unlucky) traditional jodo seminar
The thirteenth seminar of Shinto Muso Ryu Jo in the Czech Republic with Fred Quant was held during the weekend of April 11 - 12 2009, in Prague. Despite this being the Easter weekend, there were 36 participants from the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Germany and Sweden (as well as the teacher from the Netherlands). The participants included regular Jodo practitioners and visitors, beginners as well as more advanced trainees. I believe Fred manager to adjust the program to suit all of them. He prepared an interesting weekend for everyone, so that nobody had to regret the time spent on the practice in Prague. So how did it go?
Let us recall that we organize Czech Jodo practice from Zlin, in the easternmost part of the Czech Republic, and thus most of the seminars are held there. Only three times before the seminar was held in Prague and once even closer to the western border, in Tachov. After a few years, we decided to move it to Prague again, to spare the time and money needed to transport the teacher and the participants to Zlin. Thus, we were in fact visiting in a strange dojo, and considering the unlucky number of the seminar, I was expecting something to go wrong all the time. I was sure I have forgotten something, did not believe that everything was going to be all right, distrusted the calm week before the seminar and did not believe that everyone registered will come... I got a bit more optimistic after driving successfully the dreadful 300 km of the highway D1 from Zlin, after the on-time arrival of Fred and after the confirmation of the availability of the gym, but still I did not want to leave anything to the chance.
Before practice, I gave Fred a practical and useful gift. Useful especially for him and for the thirteenth seminar. The solid steel helmet from Czech army supplies made Fred happy and me even calmer. The Lignano or this year's Geneva massacre should not repeat and hopefully nothing worse can happen. Eventually, Fred refused to practice wearing a helmet, but at least we gave him a chance to return with his head whole.
During the seminar itself, we run on tight schedule. We sacrificed much of the pause between trainings, and managed to squeeze more than eleven hours of practice in one and half day. I do not recall lunch or dinner, I probably slept through them. Unfortunately, there was not enough time left for exams or longer demonstrations before or after training.
We practiced kihon tandoku and sotai; we spent a little time with uchikomi, and several hours with omote and chudan kata. More advanced participants also practiced ran-ai and kage. Part of the practice was devoted to ken kihon and happo-giri. Fred moved back and forth between the beginners and the more advanced people. When necessary, we helped him with teaching a bit.
This time he asked us to practice slower, as this is quite difficult and teaches a lot. Again, he emphasized the importance of kihon. He also gave individual corrections and answered the questions.
In the end nothing exceptional happened. The weather could have been better, the sun made the gym rather hot, but in comparison to Guadarrama summer it was not really that bad. Fred caught his plane and as far as I know everyone was able to return home safely and without complications. We returned the gym in the original state and all heads stayed uncracked. In summary, everything went well and I am already looking forward to the next year's seminar, in Zlin.
Patrik Orth (English translation: Zdenek Dvorak)
Fédération Européenne de Jodo / European Jodo Federation