10th Jodo Seminar
Czech Republic from April 14 to 15, 2007
Since October 2002, and regularly each spring and autumn, Fred Quant has been coming to Czech Republic to teach Jodo, to practice with us and to help us. Five years ago, about ten persons came, most of them not even knowing exactly what it is all about, or what Jodo is. Only two (including me) out of these ten still practice Jodo. However, the number of participants of these seminars has been increasing gradually; the contents of the seminars became more varied, and more importantly, the number of persons who come regularly has increased. More and more Czech Jodoka practice regularly with us, and they even visit the seminars abroad. I wanted to make the 10th seminar an exceptional one, and decided to ask Pascal sensei, whether he would like to come and teach together with Fred. I was pleasantly surprised myself that he found time and agreed to come.
The seminar took place on April 14-15, 2007. Over 50 persons asked to participate, but in the end, a few less arrived (47 and two teachers), from 8 different countries - in addition to Czechs, also Slovaks, Austrians, Hungarians, Germans, Maria Rosa from Italy, Sylvain and Fred from the Netherlands, and of course Pascal sensei from Switzerland. It was a final try before the European Gasshuku in August.
We practiced on Saturday and Sunday. The theme was "ken jo ichi gotoshi" and indeed, we trained with jo and bokuto for approximately the same time.
We started with kihon tandoku, uchikomi geiko and sotai. Pascal sensei demonstrated on kasumi no midare that even the most complex kata are in fact "only" the kihon, hence it is necessary to study kihon during every training session. It is good that less experienced students could hear this information from someone who experienced and explained it by such an example, as it is easier for them to believe it this way.
On Saturday afternoon, we trained mostly with bokken - kihon, kiri awase, happo giri and finally, the more experienced of us Shinto ryu kenjutsu kata (ju, chi barai, uke kaeshi and inchu). During the kiri awase practice, we experimented with the rhythm and I found it remarkable how easily this can disturb us. I think it is a fairly common problem, mechanical repetition of a movement without sufficient concentration on it.
The trainings passed away very fast, but the program continued. Pascal sensei offered before the seminar to demonstrate calligraphy and to tell us something about it. Most of the participants did not see such a demonstration before, and it became one of the highlights of the weekend. We ended after midnight and I think nobody was disappointed. Saturday was a success also due to carefully rationed Becherovka liquor.
On Sunday, we started at 7 am. We practiced in two groups. The less experienced participants exercised kihon with Pascal sensei, while the rest worked on ran-ai. After a short break for breakfast, we trained jodo kata in three groups - tokushu waza (suigetsu and shamen) for the beginners, omote waza (ukan and kasumi) for the middle group and chudan waza (midare dome, ushiro zue and yokogiri dome) for the rest. For some of us it was a reiteration, however many people learned a new technique. In the last training in the afternoon, most participants practiced ai suri no ken with Pascal sensei, while four of us continued with kage waza.
During the whole seminar, Pascal sensei together with Fred showed the kata and techniques with precise and clear explanations, with the help of Michal Kolisek who was translating into Czech. During the whole time everyone paid attention and listened to the instruction and the interesting information. I think the mood in the dojo was excellent - at least I felt great and till now (a week after seminar), nobody complained.
After the end of the seminar, we went for the airport to Vienna and found some time for a lunch and a few minutes of talk before the departure. Both teachers returned to their families, who deserve our thanks for lending them to us for such a long time. Thanks to Radek's help, I did not get lost on my way back to Zlin, either.
After the seminar, I also asked both teachers for answers to a few questions for a Czech journal about martial arts and I was once again entranced reading their replies.
Thanks to all,
Patrik Orth, EJF Czech Republic
Fédération Européenne de Jodo / European Jodo Federation