1998 WMKA World Seminar
June 1998 St. Louis Missouri
It was a 16 hour drive from the Collingwood Dojo to the 1998 WMKA World
Seminar, held this year in St. Louis Missouri USA, but our Dojo members arrived ready to
train. The Canadian contingent were fortunate to be staying at the Budokai Dojo, and
offer their sincere thanks to Mr. Jim Alexander for his kind generosity.
This year,
the emphasis was on fundamentals. A great deal of time was spent on basics and the
necessity of proper training routines and drills in class. Kata Bunkai were
practiced for the first three kata to help juniors and seniors alike achieve uniformity
among the various Dojo. Fighting applications taken from the
seemingly simple basic techniques were taught.
Saturday afternoon, the
seminar broke into two groups. One group practiced kumite drills led by the very
capable Mr. Ehachi Ota, 7th Dan, Kyoshi, and assisted by Mr. Bill George, 6th Dan, Renshi,
and Mr. Don Caponigro, 5th Dan. This group worked on the seven yakusoku kumite, with
emphasis placed on the importance of 
foot work and
body shifting. The second group worked on the bo kata Shirotaro-No-Kon, led by
Toshimitsu Arakaki, 7th Dan, Kyoshi, from Naha, Okinawa. The group worked diligently
on this kata and its fundamentals.
The seminar
participants attended a banquet on Saturday evening in honour of the founder of the
style, Grandmaster Shoshin Nagamine. The most senior
teachers each
gave a small address on their special relationship with the founder.
The Canadian
students came home physically tired yet with their zest for training renewed for yet
another year. We look forward to seeing everyone again at the next World Seminar. 
