Haslemere Wado Karate Club was privileged to host a seminar with Wado Ryu karate master, Sensei Fumio Sugasawa 7th Dan, on Wednesday 19th July. Exactly 30 students attended the course on what proved to be the hottest temperature ever recorded in the country for a July day, which is a great credit to them all.  Unfortunately injuries and holidays meant that around a dozen others who wanted to be present were unable to do so, which is a shame, but hopefully there will a next time. (and of course it was too hot for a few to attend!)

Sensei began with a vigorous warm up and stretching routine and then went into a series of basic moves and then combinations, which left everyone in literally pools of sweat. Just when most thought that they could do no more, Sensei slowed the tempo down and started working on some fundamentals principles of Wado karate, first via Kihon kata, then via a series of blocks. Jodan uke, Shuto uke and Kake Uke (Pinan Yondan hook block) were explained in great detail and students had a chance not only to practise themselves, but to watch Sensei repeatedly demonstrate the movements on Sensei Corin. (Whose arms were very sore the next day!)

Sensei explained that power is not generated through a snap or kime at the end of the movement, but rather through fluid and relaxed movements. Why worry about the end of the movement he said, you must worry about the bit before, as that is when the blocking of a punch or kick occurs!

Sensei then went into great detail with the higher grades on blocking and protecting a wider area, rather than trying to definitively block a single attack with an exact block. Sensei's speed, grace and movement was amazing to watch, although not that easy to copy!

The point about relaxed movement being far more powerful than harsh, strong movement (that looks powerful) was drummed in again and again. Sensei then finished up by explaining his reasoning for doing so and taking some questions about what he had shown us. He discussed at detail competition kata in Wado and stated that there is a shift of opinion, led by Grandmaster Ohtsuka, on how it is performed. Competition kata in Wado does not allow students to practise proper kata in the main he said, as most kata is done for show and practitioners exaggerate the strong movement. To much Wado is taught on kata looking good he said, but we must work harder on changing this. Sensei made this point to Corin when he trained with him many years ago in Hook. "Nice competition kata, but not proper Wado" was the expression used!! We all have a lot to learn and this course helped us get another glimpse into how much hard work we all have to continue to do in our studies.

The evening finished and Sensei joined a few of us at a local pub for a drink and a chat which was fascinating, listening about his thoughts on Wado. Sensei noted that he thought he hadn't even scratched the surface of learning Wado karate and stated that he was just at the "tip of an iceberg"!!!

Many thanks go to Sensei for coming down and instructing and also showing us his technique and thoughts. He was amazing to watch. Thanks also to all those that attended in 38 degree heat and it's great to see such high level instructors come directly to our clubs so regularly.