21st Gasshuku in Würzburg
Mai, 25 and 26, 2019
This year, our Gasshuku took place exceptionally at the end of May (usually in June), organized as always by Franz. There were 14 participants on the lawn, including our trainer, Michel Ducret. However, the other Michel - called Coco - could not come this year for various reasons to assist Michel. Participants came from Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Belgium and Germany.
As always, the Gasshuku started on Saturday morning from 6:30 am to 7:30 am, which allowed us to warm up for the day. This time, the morning training took place in the gym, because on the one hand it was quite cold and on the other hand the grass was still too wet.
This first hour is always devoted mainly to Kihon. Michel showed them to us in detail by explaining the crucial points of each Kihon. Valuable explanations, because it has once again shown that details are often forgotten once we return to the dojo. To finish the first hour, we chose the first three Kihon to repeat them as an exercise. Note that on Saturday we studied the first six Kihon, the second part being reserved for Sunday morning.
Then, everyone deserved the breakfast prepared by Franz and one of the members of the Kobudo section. Thank you for devoting the morning hour to organizing this breakfast. And this also on Sunday.
The rest of the day (9am to 12pm and 3pm to 6pm) was mainly devoted to the different Kata series. As usual, participants were divided into groups according to their progress. Michel has gone to great lengths to correct and answer many questions. After the training we had dinner in a Thai restaurant which changed us a little bit from the usual restaurants.
Sunday was the same as Saturday, except that before noon Michel offered 45 minutes of Iaido for those who wanted it.
The Gasshuku ended around 4:00 pm, which allowed the participants to return home not too late. Finally, a big thank you to Michel for having had the patience to readjust the participants' different techniques. We are already looking forward to meeting again next year at the same place.
Matthias Wenderoth, Oku-iri
Fédération Européenne de Jodo / European Jodo Federation