From 26 to 28 March 2023, the third JKA spring training course with Naka-shihan took place in Bad Camberg, near Frankfurt, in Germany. Over 250 karate enthusiasts had gathered for the occasion to spend three days learning intensively under one of the most popular karate instructors in the world.

Naka-sensei emphasised the differences between sports karate and budo karate, hereby using clear examples to show how the body can be used efficiently in budo and how the techniques can be optimised by this. A central aspect was how we as karateka do not simply practise the katas as a form, but can gain new insights through the katas, which were designed to teach us certain aspects of budo.

Naka-sensei’s demonstrations repeatedly caused incredulous amazement and inspired all participants, so that despite the long training times of over nine hours in three days, tension and excitement were kept high at all times.

We are very grateful to Naka-sensei for his tireless efforts, which made this course an unforgettable event for all participants. We are already looking forward to welcoming Naka-sensei again in Bad Camberg next year, then during the Easter holidays, and will use the time until then to understand and internalise the many aspects he taught us about budo karate.

OSS