Kyōtō Chief Instructor Invited to Teach at Kaizen No-Michi
We’re delighted to share that Kyōtō Chief Instructor Steve Ashby has been invited to teach a special Saturday course at Kaizen No-Michi Karate Club this September.
The invitation came from Kaizen instructor Andy, following the continuing friendship between our clubs and the opportunities we have had to train together over recent years.
The proposed course will see Steve teaching two sessions, beginning with approximately one hour for Kaizen’s younger Tigers students, followed by a 90-minute adult karate session.
Sharing Karate Beyond Our Own Dōjō
Teaching at another club is always a privilege. Every dōjō develops its own character, influenced by its instructors, students and the experiences they have accumulated along the way.
While we all share the foundations of Shotokan karate, visiting and training with different instructors gives students an opportunity to experience familiar principles from a slightly different perspective.
For Steve, the invitation is also an opportunity to share some of the knowledge and ideas developed through more than four decades of karate training and 30 years of running Kyōtō.
Rather than simply delivering a collection of techniques, the aim will be to explore some of the principles that underpin our karate and give students ideas that they can take back into their regular training.
Continuing the Kyōtō–Kaizen Friendship
Kyōtō and Kaizen No-Michi have developed a warm relationship through training visits and shared events.
Members of Kyōtō have previously travelled to train at Kaizen, and welcoming opportunities to train together — whether at our dōjō or theirs — is an important part of the wider karate community.
Karate can sometimes become very insular if we only ever train with the same people, in the same place and under the same instructor. Visiting other clubs, attending courses and learning from different instructors can challenge our understanding and encourage us to look again at things we may have begun to take for granted.
That exchange of knowledge benefits instructors just as much as students.
From Tigers to Adults
One particularly enjoyable aspect of the invitation is the opportunity to teach two very different groups.
The opening Tigers session will provide an opportunity to introduce younger karateka to some of the fundamentals of karate through an age-appropriate session combining technique, movement, concentration and, importantly, enjoyment.
The longer adult session will allow more time to explore the technical side of karate in greater depth, building on familiar kihon, kata and kumite concepts and looking at how the different elements of our training connect.
The precise content will remain under wraps for now!
Looking Forward to September
Steve said:
“It’s always an honour to be invited into somebody else’s dōjō to teach. I’ve really enjoyed our previous visits to Kaizen and the friendship that has developed between our clubs, so I’m looking forward to returning in a slightly different role this time.
“Hopefully I can give both the Tigers and the adults something enjoyable, something that makes them think, and perhaps one or two ideas they can continue exploring long after the course has finished.”
The event takes place on Saturday 5th September and full details of the course can be found on Kaizen No Michi's facebook.
Our thanks to Andy and everyone at Kaizen No-Michi for the invitation. We’re very much looking forward to another opportunity to share the dōjō floor in September.
Oss!