JKA Shotokan Ireland held its annual autumn Gasshuku in Portlaoise on the 22 October 2022. This was the first time since the Corona pandemic that the gasshuku was held and it was great to have our members and friends  from across Ireland  back training JKA katate  together. Our organisation runs this gasshuku in Portlaoise in the centre of Ireland to enable karateka from across Ireland to attend.  This year was no exception with approximately 75 people ranging from age 10  to 70 years old from Dublin, Cork, Belfast and Laois attending the training sessions.

The course instruction was provided by two of our senior instructors, Louis Tuttle Sensei 5^th Dan JKA from Dublin and Fred Lynch Sensei 5^th Dan JKA from Cork. Louis Sensei’s class focused on Ido kihon as well as kumite drills utilising kiri kaeashi which challenged all present. Fred Sensei’s class focused on kata Heian Shodan with the addition of empi uchi, uraken uchi and haito uchi techniques between the basic movements which enabled all grades to train hard using something familiar but with the complexity of incorporating additional techniques.

As always we were delighted to have our friends from JKA WF Northern Ireland, which is chaired by John Richardson Sensei 5^th Dan JKA, attend and support the course.

We look forward to our next course which is planned for spring 2023 and welcome anyone who wishes to join us to train in JKA Karatedo

Osu