International Goju Ryu Karate Federation

It was great seeing all the dojo head instructors and other black belt members last weekend (10/10-12/08) at the 2008 IOGKF-USA Black Belt Gasshuku in Spokane, WA! During each day, we all had a great time training hard and asking questions of Bakkies Laubscher Sensei, 8th dan from South Africa. Laubscher Sensei was humorous, friendly, and relentless, and taught both junior and senior level kata and bunkai to meet the needs of all participants. Everyone especially loved the "cat pushups" and the new, complex bunkai (or otherwise called the "three stooges applications", since some people were stepping on or running into each other, it was a site to see). Many attendees appreciated the fine accommodations at the Red Lion Hotel on the river front. Some of us toured parts of the beautiful Spokane city with its warm and friendly people; landscaped parks, tall green fir trees, and rock formations and granite walls throughout the town; wooden and iron bridges over flowing green river waters with ducks and pigeons; and rushing water falls over jagged rocks. At night, we enjoyed the local Japanese cuisine for the Friendship Dinner, and also a few sports pub restaurants with the local folks cheering on our favorite teams. On Sunday evening, about 10 of us went to dinner with Bakkies Laubscher to Anthony's, a fine-dining seafood restaurant with glass walls and windows that overlooked the river and Spokane Water Falls, with a view of the colored lights on the World's Fair Tower in the distance -- at the dinner, Laubscher Sensei treated all of us to his daring and funny stories during his many travels worldwide (lions, and tigers, and bears, oh my!), which was great fun and laughs into the night (especially his dramatic "Daisy" story, and now we will never perform a backfist technique the same way at before). I wish to personaly thank Laubscher Sensei for his long travel to the USA, his excellent instruction, and considerable time, and to thank Gene Villa Sensei and his dojo team for their outstanding efforts in hosting a very successful and memorable gasshuku! Domo arigato gozaimashita.
Respectfully,
Michael V. Gardner
U.S. Shobukan, Herndon, Virginia
South East Region, I.O.G.K.F.-U.S.A.

Fantastic gasshuku with Sensei Bakkies this last weekend. This was my first visit to Spokane. Nice city with a small town feel. Nice bars and restaurants. Ken and Kathy Ayers and I found an excellent Mexican Restaurant and ate way too much right before the Friendship Dinner. The weather could not have been better. The pine trees and the cool brisk air was a perfect setting for training. Sensei Gene's dojo is beautiful! It looked like a mountain lodge with a warm inviting feel. But like most places we train, it got hot and crowded quick.

Training with Sensei Bakkies was eye opening and memorable. The IOGKF is in good hands. Just to see his speed and ease of movement along with his power is inspiring. He mentioned that when he first saw Higaonna Sensei he remarked about how fast Sensei's movement was and that he instantly said "I want to move like that!" That same sensation came to me seeing a man of his size move. I can also still see him doing Neko Undo. I have never seen anyone do Neko Undo with such ease. Probably the highlight of the weekend training for me was the advanced work we did on the "timing" of Shisochin kata. I had never worked in such detail on that aspect of a kata before. Finally as an instructor it was a delight to observe and learn from Sensei Bakkies teaching style and technique. His imposing structure mixed with his gentle nature, his "rip out your throat" intensity with his subtle humor. I always like to come back with something profound to relay to my students. The thing that I will most remember was Sensei Bakkies statement: "Karate is simple but it is not easy."

In the end, the most valuable aspect of a gasshuku is the people. It is always so good to see everyone again. We are an organization of people so nothing replaces sweating and groaning next to someone on the dojo floor or sharing a pint of beer in a loud bar. While there are many things to gain, this part is what truly draws me to these gasshukus. I think that most everyone left the gasshuku feeling that the IOGKF-USA is heading in the right direction. We have a long was to go but we are starting to do the right things to be a healthy and productive organization. During the entire weekend I kept thinking "How do we become a better organization?" After the meetings and after talking with the other dojo heads I definitely came away with my personal direction (and a direction that I hope others will follow): Instead of thinking "What can I get from the IOGKF?" I want to redirect my thinking to "What can I give to Higaonna Sensei and the IOGKF?"
Sam Larioza, Ohana Karate, Michigan, USA