2018 Yoshukai Summer Camp

"Osu! Summer Camp is just one week away (exciting, right?!). 

 

 

 

If you haven't made your reservations and registered to attend, go ahead and do that right now. Remember, the deadline to pre-register is June 11th!

 

The official camp schedule is now finalized. You can download it here : 

 

2018 Summer Camp Program

 

So go ahead and start planning which classes you want to attend throughout the day. This year, we're especially excited for some additions to our kids' classes. Children under 10 will have the chance to work with Master Culbreth and Master Toyama this year in addition to classes on breaking and sparring as well as perennial favorites such as self-defense and our traditional karate games to round out the day.

 

Every camp we try to bring you new and interesting classes to advance your martial arts training, and this year is no different. Our brand new offerings include Ms. Serrian's Bare Knuckle Freestyle Sparring class, Submissions with Mr. Blumreich, Black Belt Bunkai with Sensei Hofmeister, and Improvised Weapons with Mr. Bishop. 

But even as we add new elements, we always strive to ensure that popular favorites are also available. So this year, we're bringing back our essential Yoshukai History class with Kaicho, Basics of Iaido with Sensei Lecut, and Environmental Fighting. 

We're also bringing back our morning run from last year's camp, led by Mr. Girvin. So bring your running shoes and plan to start the day off with an easy mile jog around the beautiful Lakepoint State Park. 

As always, please remember that kyu grade students under the age of 10 must choose from the classes on the far left of the schedule in white, while students aged 10 or older can choose rank appropriate classes from the rest of the schedule. Students may always attend a class that's below their current rank, but students may not attend a class that is higher than their current rank (except for those who tested for shodan the night before). 

 

Please also remember that camps are in many ways about finessing and refining your current understanding of a kata or technique. We find that rushing to learn a brand new kata in forty minutes is tough on everyone involved and doesn't help those who really need to focus on fine-tuning their kata. That's why we require that all kyu-grade students (this does not apply to black belts) at least know how to walk through the kata if they are going to take a class on a specific form. Don't know how to walk through a kata you really want to learn at camp? Talk to your instructor and see if they'll introduce it to you prior to camp. You don't have to be an expert, but you do need to be familiar with it.

Also remember that we make as many classes as possible open to all students. Just because a class is listed as open to yellow belts, does not mean that it won't be a valuable class for higher ranking students, even black belts. So to give you an idea of how you might plan your day, here are some examples of personal schedules you might choose:

• Adult Brown Belt who wants to focus on black belt testing, especially getting ready for self-defense: 
1. Self-Defense or Rho Hai Sho
2. Japanese Semi-Knockdown & Full Knockdown Fighting (you'll be thankful you did at the end of your test!)
3. Intro to Hapkido (to help with self-defense) or Yoshukai Sparring
4. Yoshu
5. Yoshukai History (to help with your written test)
6. Advanced Sai or Advanced Bunkai (to give you a fuller understanding of your katas)

• Adult Green Belt who just tested to green and hasn't learned any green belt kata yet: 
1. Self-Defense (You're going to need it for your self-defense routines)
2. Intro to Bunkai (Bunkai is essential to understanding your training), Japanese Fighting, Mastering Language, or Improvised Weapons
3. Intro to Hapkido or Yoshukai Sparring or Intermediate Nunchaku
4. Submissions, Ippon Kumite or Okinawan Bo
5. Intro to Sai or any of the yellow belt courses available this period
6. Advanced Bunkai or either of the yellow belt classes available

• Youth or Adult Black Belt:
1. Intro to Shodan Sai or Basics of Iaido (the Calibration period is only for Instructors)
2. Advanced Shodan Sai, Japanese Knockdown Fighting, or Mastering Japanese Language. 
3. Sai Tai Bo #1-4, Intro Hapkido (for self-defense), or Intro to Teaching Children. 
4. Bo Tai Bo & Sai Tai Bo #5 & 6 or Yoshukai Iai or Submissions
5. Advanced Shodan Open Hand Kata or any of the classes open to yellow belts, especially Yoshukai History
6. Intro to Shodan Open Hand Kata, Black Belt Bunkai, or Advanced Judo & Falling

• Adult Yellow Belt who's main goal is to learn more about fighting: 
1. Self-Defense
2. Japanese Semi-Knockdown & Full Knockdown Fighting
3. Yoshukai Sparring
4. Submissions
5. Bare Knuckle Free Sparring or Environmental Fighting or Adult Grappling
6. Advanced Judo & Falling or Intro to Spinning and Advanced Kicks

• Green or Brown Belt Kyu Grade Child Under 10:
1. a) Self-Defense for Testing & b) Niseshi & Rho Hai Sho
2. Youth Grappling, Falls, & Rolls
3. a) Green Belt+ Kata & b) Advanced Kicks
4. Traditional Weapons w/ Mr. Culbreth
5. Youth Self-Defense
6. Karate Games & Competitions

These are just some examples and are not inclusive of all options, but we hope it gives you an idea of how you can arrange your schedule throughout the day to make sure that you are getting the most out of your individual training! If you have questions about a course that's being offered or if you'd like help in figuring out what classes would be best for you to go to, feel free to email Ms. Hines at sherrie.l.hines@gmail.com, and she will be happy to assist you. 

We look forward to seeing you all there! Osu!

~Ms. Hines & Mr. Hofmeister