karatewidow
Member
Knowing is not enough, we must apply. Willing is not enough, we must do ~ Bruce Lee
Posts: 17
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Post by karatewidow on Sept 15, 2010 16:48:53 GMT
Although I am not a participant in Shotokan Karate, I found myself faced with the chance to travel to Somset where Steve and Dod would be taking part in a “Friendship” course organised by Steve Hyland. Steve, Brandon and myself drove to Somerset on Friday arriving in the afternoon. I felt very nervous as I knew nobody there. Even though Dod and Kim Watt would be there, I had never met them. Steve and Brandon both met Steve Hyland when he was last in Aberdeen. Within a couple of hours being there, I felt like I was visiting family. Brandon had not been feeling too good and Steve and Rachel were great with him. Whilst the course was going on, I spent time getting to know Kim and Rachel. We sat in the garden drinking tea and chatting about everything. I was more than happy to help Rachel with the lovely meals that she had prepared for us all over the weekend. After the end of the course it was time for some of the folks to go home. There were so many people from other associations and I honestly believe that there will be many more occasions where we can all meet up and have just as much fun as we did this weekend. We were made to feel so welcome in Somerset even though I was not taking part in the course itself. I gave Rachel a great big hug before we left and I felt a little sad leaving because we had such a great time. I smiled all the way home remembering the weekend I had just experienced. I have made some great friends and I hope they feel the same. I just can’t wait till the next one when we can all get together again, and hopefully make even more friends.
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Post by fujicolt on Sept 17, 2010 20:42:43 GMT
Pam, Maybe you can get the word out to other karate widows - if yer can't beat them join them. And by the way I have told Kim to measure you for a GI! think about it!
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Post by stevie on Sept 17, 2010 22:44:31 GMT
now where do i start . After being lucky enough to be invited to steve hylands friendship course for sep 2010 me my wife and son jumped in the car on Friday 10th sep and drove the 545miles from Aberdeen to steves family home in the SW of England.after the 10 hour drive we were instantly made to feel welcome.(sorry to just cut straight to the course itself but if i mention all the bits i want to i will be on here for days.over the next two days myself and the other 15 karate-ka who were invited took part in over 10 hours of the best karate instruction that you are going to get.consisting of lots of close quarter striking and blocking lots of lesser practiced and i reckon lesser known techniques.targeting exercises using tennis balls(one of my favs)and a session on kicking taken by one of steves longtime students and friends Rod de silva. the last session on Sunday evening we were given jiyu ippon and kihon kumite(i got picked to face bob Davis from this forum and the guy is about 2ft taller than me but you should see him move and a hell of a nice bloke as well) and then kata. after wards when everyone started making their way home we were told that in all there were people from7 different federations and over the weekend i don't remember 1 person talking about which federation they were with, just 13 guys 3 girls training in the art they love and having a great time after wards which for me is what it is all about. we left Somerset on Monday morning more than a little sad and i can safely say it was more like being with family because thats just what me Pam and Brandon were treated like by his family. well thats about it but if you ever get the chance to go to one of Steve hylands courses dive in this is the 4th one i have been to 3 in Aberdeen 1 in Somerset and you can bet your ++se i will be at the next one!! steve
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karatewidow
Member
Knowing is not enough, we must apply. Willing is not enough, we must do ~ Bruce Lee
Posts: 17
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Post by karatewidow on Sept 18, 2010 5:10:17 GMT
Steve, I will be happy to try and get the word out to other Karate widows but being measured for a Gi? ?? Don't think so. I enjoy watching and hearing all about it but taking part Mmmmmm not for me. I will help in the backgrond ;D
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Post by Dod Watt on Sept 19, 2010 17:17:48 GMT
Like many of you I had heard excellent reports regarding the Shotokan Karate Friendship Course hosted by Steve Hyland. Unfortunately I have been unable to attend previous events but myself and one of my Dan Grade Students (Steve Duncan) recently traveled to attend the SKFC held in somerset for Black and Brown Belts. I have written a short report that i hope you find interesting.
As Stevie Duncan says "where do you start?" , the course was extraordinary in concept, location, format and content and it would take pages and pages to describe it all.
So I'll start with the title of the course: The Friendship Course. As the name suggests this was one of the main aims, to promote friendship between different groups of shotokan karate practitioners, and to me it totally succeeded, I think I have left Somerset with a whole new group of friends all with a common interest ( Shotokan Karate ). We all really enjoyed the training and also the socialising after the training. You would never have guessed that 7 organisations were represented and everyone got on so well.
The course is held on the land surrounding Steve Hyland's beautiful hillside woodland home. The Dojo was a large wooden floored/matted Marquee. We were made very welcome by Steve and his family and i simply must on behalf of all, thank Rachael who never stopped during the whole weekend preparing and serving all the superb meals plus a lot more for us, well done Rachael! I could go on an on about the hospitality but words can't say enough. The training was hugely different from other residential courses I've been on. This became obvious from the beginning when Steve informed us that it is his sad opinion that many Shotokan Karateka in the UK are only diligently practicing about 30 per cent of the full Shotokan arsenal of techniques and tactics/strategies etc. A serious claim but I am sure everyone left the course agreeing with him.
For this course we weren't doing the same old same old Age-uke gyaku-zuki type set combinations. Instead we were instructed on using a wide array of different blocks, parries,punches and strikes and then putting them together in combinations and applying them with a partner in various kumite formats.
As warned by Steve, to us, the strikes etc we were using felt awkward to start with as we don't use them often in our regular training. Unless they appear in our Kata. This soon became obvious especially when we watched Steve perform the techniques so fluidly and so efficiently against various opponents.
His 'practice gained' fluidity became very clear when Steve several times showed amazing speed and timing by demonstrating the techniques at full speed and power against opponents with such kime that his glasses flew off! Yet he completed the technique and then caught his glasses! Total Zanshin! He laughed about it – we applauded!
However, Steve was very patient and helpful and once we started using them in fighting sequences they really started to flow and very much felt like fighting when combined with the UNSOKU (Footwork) Steve prescribed to aid the techniques. the kumite got very physical and real!
We also did a training session on control and accuracy that was simply ingenious – hard to do but very productive. This simply involved the use of tennis balls suspended from a frame by string. First of all we just had to hit the ball, then we had to hit it then stop it, then move, hit it and stop it, and so on and so on, till we were all able to accurately control the ball by using different strikes, then as an exercise for targeting we then ran through the frame hitting the balls from different angles.
The impact work session showed without doubt that shotokan Karate has a wide arsenal of very forceful techniques and Steve urged us all to use more impact work in our training to increase accuracy, distancing and kime. It is obvious he has done so and when he demonstrated a simply, but explosive, double handed trust to the chest several of us were sent hurtling through the air to land in a heap.
We were all overjoyed when Steve's long term friend and Student : Rod De Silva 5th Dan arrived to join us on the second day. This meant we had an even greater increase in personal attention which was so brilliant but at the same time very taxing.
Steve then handed a class over to Rod De Silva who took us through some kicking techniques. His way of teaching how to kick properly is amazing, he broke everything right down and explained each section so we could practice our kicks in structured detail. When we finally put it all together it just felt right. Rod's technique is simply beautiful to watch.
I could go on for hours and hours as the course its self provided 10 hours of instruction in two days, but I'd probably be still typing up until next years spring course.
Steve where do you get it all from, brilliant, a truly great course.
To sum it up, to leave a course knowing that you have learnt something new, and especially knowing that you have left with at least 6 months+ of info to work on, is bloody fantastic and a rarity in my opinion.
Thank you to Steve and Rod for their brilliant instruction, never once did you think you were just one in the crowd the attention to each of us was so constant.
Thanks to Rachael for looking after us all so fantastically, and finally a big thanks to all the guys and gals who attended, for helping me get through the course and for the new friends I have made.
I would love to hear the comments of others who attended who also visit this site.
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Post by jimlukelkc on Sept 21, 2010 13:35:52 GMT
Sounds great, sorry I missed it. By the way I am back from outer mongolia Steve lol.
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