GALLERY — LATVIA, JULY 2008
On July 2008, Onaga Yoshimitsu Kaichō attended the convention of Honorary Consuls in Latvia. During this trip we planned our Shinjinbukan Latvia Gasshuku (Karate training camp) and other business events. Onaga Yoshimitsu Kaichō's delegation was divided in two groups:
SHINJINBUKAN DELEGATION: Arakaki Shunichi, Takaesu Shōhei, Jimmy Mora and Shinoda Hosei.
BUSINESS DELEGATION: Naka Isao and Tunehiko Shimabukuro and Mr. Oshiro.
Here are a few highlights:
Arrival to Hotel Gutenbergs, Riga
Opening Sessions at Heiankai Club
Helsinki, Finland
The Okinawan delegation travelled from Naha to Osaka to Helsinki, Finland.
After spending the night in Helsinki, Finland, the delegation departed to Riga, Latvia.
Arrival to Hotel Gutenbergs, Riga
Onaga Kaichō and his delegation arrived to Latvia on July 2nd. The accomodations were arranged at Hotel Gutenbergs, located in the center of Old Riga. The Gutenbergs Hotel was first contructed in the 17th century and a second section was added in the 19th century.
After checking-in and having a quick coffee break, Onaga Kaichō went right to business: non-stop three hours of Yobiundō (conditioning exercises). The main location for the 2008 Shinjinbukan Latvia Gasshuku was at the Heiankai Club in Riga. This is a community center dedicated to Eastern culture and art. Several months ago, Dr. Artis Pabriks started working with the instructors/owners of the Heiankai Club: Mr. Vladislav Kriket & Dmitry Viktorov, as well as with a small group of dedicated Shinjinbukan students.
Unfortunately, my flight from Paris to Riga was delayed for a few hours. And Artis and his students had all the fun without me during that first session with Onaga Kaichō. When I finally arrived to Riga, my luggage was lost for a week. Mon Dieu!!
Welcome Party
After the first training session, Artis, Vladislav and Dima hosted a welcome party for Onaga Kaichō and his delegation at the LIDO RECREATION CENTER. And I arrived from the airport straight to the party. This was is a cool place with a beer cellar, restaurant, bistro, amusement park within the entire complex.
Every morning we had breakfast at Hotel Gutenbergs, and we reviewed the daily itinerary and discussed the training for each day.
Opening Sessions at Heiankai Club
July 3rd — During the first two days, Arakaki Sensei and myself taught two daily sessions: morning and afternoon. Also in attendance were Takaesu Shōhei and Shinoda Hosei
By the way, the bike you see parked outside Heiankai belongs to Vlad's (Vladislav). Nice!!
During every session, we focused on the basic concepts of the Shinjinbukan System: Tsuki, Keri and Tenshin.
And we worked every detail of Yobiundō and all the Kihon Gatas.
Jō Demonstration
During one of the sessions, Arakaki Sensei demonstrated the use of Jō (杖), a wooden staff with an approximate length of 1.276 meters or 4.18 feet that is used in traditional Japanese Martial Arts. The propper name of this weapon Martial Art is called Jōdō (杖道). The remarkable techniques of the Jō are quite different than the much longer Bō (棒), or staff, which has an approximate length of 6 shaku or 1.82 meters or 5.96 feet.
After ending class, we had a quick photo session.
BELOW LEFT: From Left to right, Dmitry Viktorov (Dima), Artis Pabriks, Arakaki Shunichi, Jimmy Mora and Shinoda Hosei.
