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40th Anniversary W.K.K.A.
Team Kenshikan Scotland consisted of : - Donald Morrison "Kengo"
- Amanda Colquhoun
- Nick Hendry
- Gordon Watson
- Alan McLaughlin
We set off for Japan on 29th October 2003 and arrived in Japan the following morning at Kansai International Airport. A 1 hour train journey later we reached Otsu Train Station and checked into The Shanpia Hotel, Otsu. The following morning we walked down to Sohonbu where we were greeted by Soke Sensei, Naidame Soke Sensei and Sohonbu Staff. That weekend we trained at Katata Dojo in preparation for the Championships on Monday 3rd November 2003. Kanazawa Sightseeing After the Championships and Examination we had 2 days sightseeing. The first day we spent in Kanazawa and visited the Kirin Brewery on the way back to Otsu. Kanazawa is the hometown of Kenichi Kusunoki Sempai and we thank him and Outska Shihandai for a great day. Kyoto Sightseeing The following day we visited Kyoto City with Nidaime Soke Sensei and his family. We visited the wonderful "Golden Temple" Kinkaku-Ji and everyone who has been before has another photograph with the temple in the background. In the afternoon we spent time at the Kyoto Film Studio Park and had a fun-filled time taking photographs of Ninja and Samurai. Training at Katata Dojo and Sohonbu After the sightseeing the Scotland Team moved to Katata Dojo for the remainder of our time in Japan. As well as being the location for our daily training with Nidaime Soke Sensei we were able to take part in the evening classes held by Honma Shihan and Kusunoki Sempai. Friday night training with Nidaime Soke Sensei's " TOKUREN" Class at Sohonbu was hard, very hard. It let us see some of the top children train and it was a real eye opener. Question: Why are the children in Kenshikan Japan so good at Kumite ? Answer: They have to fight their way to the front of the line to practice/checkpoint their Kata with Nidaime Soke Sensei. Thank you to Soke Sensei for the meal at the Restaurant overlooking Lake Biwako. The food was wonderful and we were honored by his presence. In our last night in Japan we trained with Honma Shihan and we thank Honma Shihan and his class for the great training. After training we went for a meal a Tenkaipin and thank Honma Shihan and Kusunoki Sempai for their kind and generous hospitality.
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