On the beautiful Autumn morning of 6 April 2024, Steyn Dojo played host to the second Black Belt Training of 2024. The much-anticipated visit of Kasuya Sensei (WSKF World Chief Instructor) was now a mere 2 weeks away and final preparations were underway for his visit, the country-wide training seminars, as well as the Dan Grading. The nervous excitement was palpable… Several senior grade karateka have been preparing for their next Dan gradings for a substantial number of years and their grading opportunity was just around the corner.
Under the watchful eye of Mike Dukas Shihan, attendees spent the first half of the session on elements of the katas Bassai Dai and Jion, which form part of the Shodan (1st) grading syllabus.
Intricacies of foot movement and stance transitioning in these katas were explored and demonstrated. Hand techniques were under the magnifying glass, for the purity of the technique and the effectiveness in application.
Mike Shihan demonstrated how understanding of the application of a movement transforms a student’s execution of the moves. Our host, Stephan Steyn Sensei (4th Dan) is seen here as the obliging recipient of some focused instruction on the application of movements #2, #3, #7 and #8 of Jion.
Teisho uchi, as seen in movements #23, #24 and #25 of Jion, is often overlooked in terms of the significance of this open-handed technique and the importance of the correct arm and elbow position during execution. Mike Shihan made a point of showing how a student should correctly execute this technique for maximum power generation and for ultimate protection of the karateka’s muscles and joints.
The formidable kata, Bassai Dai, was next on the list. This kata, with it’s powerful moves and swift transitions was demonstrated by Jaco Visagie Sensei (4th Dan), who was commended for his excellent Yondan (4th Dan) grading in October 2023.
Mike Shihan drew students’ attention to the finer details of this kata and particularly to the importance of contraction and expansion of the muscles throughout the execution of Bassai Dai.
“If the cup doesn’t touch the saucer, there can be no magic…”
Senior karateka who would attempt their Godan (5th Dan) gradings, were asked to showcase their chosen grading katas. In this segment, the beautiful and complex kata “Hangetsu” took centre stage. Junior students had another rare opportunity to practice this advanced kata with their senior mentors, under the expert guidance of Mike Shihan, who has studied this kata as a particular focus for some of his own earlier gradings.
Our co-host, Zilla Steyn Sensei (4h Dan) is seen executing the challenging and complex movements of Hangetsu.
In the final segment of the day, Stephan Steyn Sensei (4th Dan) demonstrated his chosen grading kata, Gojushiho Dai. This dynamic and powerful kata, with its unusual hand movements and intricate rotational patterns, proved to be a challenge for many students.
Fortunately, most students understand by now that karate “is a journey, not a destination” and that learning and correction and mistakes are inevitable. So, while the experts tweaked finer details of movements, the rest of us bravely forged ahead in the hope that we might also one day be able to perform this kata with a semblance of graceful power and composure.
At the conclusion of a full and stimulating morning of training, we greeted each other with the promise that in two short weeks we would reconvene at Kasuya Sensei’s seminar, and we could hardly wait!