Participants from the 2017 IKKU Weapons Choice Clinic blowing off some steam after class.
The 2017 3rd Annual Weapons Choice Clinic took place on Saturday February 25, 2017 at Duluth Middle School in Duluth, GA. The event was hosted by Kyoshi-Sei Larry Griffin, Chief Instructor of Keishin Karate Kai. As usual, this special event attracted a big turn out with 43 attendees from 9 Dojos. Participants gathered from across the U.S., including attendees from Georgia, Florida and Maine. Hanshi Ron Downton, Assistant Director of the IKKU and Chief Instructor of Tora Shin Karate Kai led the event for the day and lent his kobudo expertise to all groups.
This was the 3rd successful of such clinics offers by the IKKU. The format of the clinic was based on a principal of sharing traditional kobudo knowledge without boundaries. Typically a student must show a certain amount of proficiency before being allowed to move to another more advanced and dangerous weapon. However this special event allows participants to choose the weapons of their preference as opposed to following a more rigid process to earn this exposure. Participants picked a group to work with in the morning hours prior to lunch and then had the option of staying with the same group in the afternoon or moving to an entirely different weapon for the afternoon session. Sessions included Kobudo Anatomy, Basics and Kata as part of the agenda for the day.
A special offering at this years event was the Eaku or Boat Oar with our guest instructor Hanshi Lenny Jordan of the KYOSHINKAN. Hanshi Jordan’s organization is based out of Cartersville, GA. Hanshi Jordan focused on the anatomy of the weapon and then followed with the Kata – Tsuken Akachu no Ekude. This was s special opportunity for participants to get exposure to a new Eaku Kata that wasn’t currently available in the IKKU curriculum. We thank Hanshi Jordan for sharing his knowledge to the IKKU family and participants.
Needless to say this was a very successful clinic with only 1 minor injury occurring from a kama cut. Luckily this injury only required a band-aid. Not too bad of a record for the 200+ man hours of weapons that were used on the floor for the duration of the event. The IKKU will certainly continue to hone and modify the clinic format in order to bring participants the very best in Traditional Okinawan and Japanese Martial Arts.
Instructors for the 2017 3rd Annual Weapons Choice Clinic From L to R: Renshi Shihan Nadine Oka, Shihan Dai Matt Downton, Kyoshi-Sei Larry Griffin, Hanshi Lenny Jordan, Hanshi Ron Downton, Kyoshi-Sei Jenny Downton, Kyoshi Kim Blue and Shihan Dai Mike Downton
Instructors, Weapons and Kata:
Renshi Shihan Nadine Oka – Kanigawa no Tonfa
Kyoshi-Sei Jenny Downton – Bo San
Shihan Dai Matt Downton – Tosan Kama
Shihan Dai Mike Downton – Nunchaku Ni
Hanshi Lenny Jordan – Tsuken Akachu no Ekude – Eaku Kata
Kyoshi-Sei Larry Griffin and Kyoshi Kim Blue – Chatan Yara no Sai
Additional IKKU Information
Don’t forget our next upcoming event which is the 2017 IKKU Bokken and Iaido Clinic. The event is scheduled for April 22, 2017 and hosted by Shihan Dai Amy Howell at the Legion of AllStars in Griffin, GA.
For information about joining the IKKU – International Karate Kobudo Union then please visit our IKKU Registration Page. We welcome new members to our organization and have 6-8 scheduled events each year. This will allow you direct access to Soke Joseph Ruiz, founder of the IKKU and other High Dan Instructors from the IKKU.
For a full listing of upcoming scheduled sessions please visit our Events Page. Here we showcase our upcoming Clinics, Camps and other opportunities for engagement with the IKKU.