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2011 IOGKF Canada Fuyu (Winter) Gasshuku
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Sensei,
Every time I come to one of your gasshuku’s I
think – “There is no way you can
top this one!”
Guess what? You did it again but this time
you blew it out of the water. Now I am really saying “How in
the heck are you going to top this one?
This weekend’s Gasshuku with Spongia Sensei
ranks as one of my top experiences in karate. Actually I
can go at bit farther and easily say that it was also one
the top experiences in my life. The karate training was
wonderful as in all IOGKF gasshuku’s but what made this
weekend very different for me were:
1. The
Zen Mediation: I knew Spongia Sensei taught zen
mediation but I did not know he was a Zen Buddhist Monk!
(The stories of his journey made me feel like the things I
have done so far in my life were insignificant in
comparison) We weren’t just taught how to “mediate”. We
were given a rare deep taste and glimpse into what zazen and
Buddhism are. Spongia Sensei expressed that he was a little
reluctant and scared at first to share this with us. He
feared that we might just superficially learn or
misunderstand zen and Buddhism. I can speak for myself and
say it was quite the opposite. It was touching to see how
much his teaching came from his heart and how much he cared
about each one of us. I constantly strained to hear every
word Spongia Sensei spoke in fear that I would miss even one
message. The two profound things that he said that will
stick with me forever were:
a. When
I asked him how long he had been a “teacher” his answer was
something to the effect of: I never intended to be or even
thought of myself as a teacher. I just felt that at a point
in time it was just time to “give back”. To simply and
naturally give back all that has been given me. In his
words – “I feel that this is the only way for me to try to
give back something of the richness I received in my life
from Karate-Do and Zen practice. I also think that
something good can come from my action and words it comes
from the wisdom of our Ancestors and Teachers, I owe
everything to them.” This one message has changed how I
look at being given the special opportunity to teach and
lead others.
b.
Here is the one that really touched me: “The one most
valuable thing you can do for humanity and the universe is
to ‘be in the moment’.” By that he did not mean to
just pay attention or ignore all distractions but to do the
one thing you are doing right then like it is the most
important thing you have ever done. Make each step you take
from the dojo, or even the act of putting on your socks the
best and most important thing you have ever done. He said
to approach “cleaning the floor just like you are washing a
baby”.
c.
The funniest moment was when Sensei Jeff Mann asked the very
serious question “What is the biggest mistake that
westerners make in trying to understand Zen?” I loved it
when he paused, smiled and gave the answer “Trying to
understand Zen.”
-
How much
I really know:
You know, after training in karate for almost 18 years
you think you would have seen it all my now but guess
what? 80% of what we did this weekend was completely
new to me!!!!!!!! Throw in the Zen practice and it
really got me to realize how little I really know. All
it did was give me the drive to learn more.
-
People to model: A
few years back one of my business mentors told me a
simple life changing “secret”. The said “Do you want to
know the secret to success? It is simple. Just
copy what other successful people do!” Both in
the business, education and karate world I have been
fortunate to spend time with exceptional people.
Higaonna and Nakamura Sensei’s are at the top of that
group. I knew the instant I met Spongia Sensei that he
was someone I had to learn from. He probably sensed
this but I watched everything he did and listened
intently to everything he said trying to absorb
everything. His ability to “connect” with people was
uncanny. He did it by making that one person he was
talking to the most important person in that room. He
inspired us to want to learn from him when he started
out apologizing for his poor English and his fear that
we would not be able to teach us but would “try his
best”. His English was in fact better then most of my
neighbors in Michigan and what he had to teach us
literally out of this world. I even watched how he ate
and drank and socialized with us. I hope he did not
feel like I was “creeping” him but I was just fascinated
and wanted to learn by observations as much as I could
because I knew this life lesson would be over on
Sunday. Such a short time to learn so much.
-
Levels of teaching and
leadership: Prior to this weekend I thought that
there were three levels of a teacher or a leaders.
Level one was the ability to teach or “present”
material. Good teachers and leaders got people to
understand information or skills. Level two was
to “motivate”. At this next higher level the student
would learn but then go a step farther and develop the
drive to do a little more. Level Three was to
“inspire”. I find inspire to be a beautiful word. It
goes well beyond just to motivate. I thought that this
was the highest level of leadership. This weekend I
realized that there was another level. Level Four
is the ability of a leader or teacher to significantly
and immediately “change a person’s life”. It is true
that at the right time a teacher will come into your
life. It is also true that the student has to be ready
for the lesson or message. Spongia Sensei came at the
right time for me.
-
Once
in a lifetime:
I am always trying to convince more of my students to
come to the IOGKF gasshuku’s. But this time I was a
little bit sad. When I got back I told my students of
the wonderful weekend. That it well exceeded my
expectations. I had the other students that attend talk
of their experience. But I was a little bit sad because
I knew that they had just missed something special that
they would never get a chance to experience. Now they
might get a chance to train with Nakamura or Spongia
Sensei again but it would never be the same as what we
experienced this last weekend. It might be similar but
it would never be the same. I was sad for them that
they missed it.
So Sensei, thank you for bringing, or really
I should say sharing, Spongia Sensei with us. It was an
experience I will never forget and just leaves me wanting
more.
You spoke of your mission to bring all the
top IOGKF Sensei’s to Burlington for gasshuku’s in the near
future. I am looking forward to your “Karate Jam
2011” world tour!
Sam Larioza
Ohana Karate, USA
Onegaishimasu Sensei,
Sensei, thank you very much for giving us the
opportunity to train under Spongia Sensei, he is an
exemplary Karateka whom I sincerely admire. I have known
Sensei Spongia for many years and the comments his students
shared with me at international gasshuku were confirmed
during the weekend training session.I sure learnt a lot,
specially does interesting Hojo Undo exercises he had us do,
utilizing the human body as the weight.
A master leaves his legacy by his hard work
and knowledge transfer and Higaonna Hanshi, has done an
amazing job in passing his knowledge of Goju Ryu to his
disciples, Higaonna's legacy is alive and will continue to
prosper with Masters such as yourself and Spongia Sensei.
I am looking forward to the many events our
organization is offering this year.
Thank you,
Genaro Liriano.
Sensei,
Thank you for hosting such a wonderful
gasshuku. My students had a great time, as did I.
As a professor of religion, I listen to and
read the work of many scholars. Some are good teachers and
some are not. Spongia Sensei is a wonderful teacher. His
introduction to Zen was truly excellent. We are lucky to
have him in the IOGKF.
Thank you. I look forward to seeing you and
training with you again soon.
Best,
Jeff Mann
Susquehanna Dojo, USA
Dear Nakamura Sensei,
Just want to let you know that Joie and I
made it to our destinations safely. And of course to thank
you again for the wonderful training and hospitality.
Looking forward to doing It again real soon.
I will check your 2011 schedule and see when is best.
Sincerely, L.Tapia
New York, USA
Dear Sensei Nakamura,
Thank you so much for a great weekend of
karate and friendship. The training with Sensei Paolo and
youself was the best I've experienced. I've come to expect
a great training whenever I come to Canada or wherever your
name is on the training schedule.
Also, thank you for inviting me to your home
for dinner. I was honored and humbled to share in the great
spirits, wonderful food, engaging conversation, and sincere
rapport of friendship extended by yourself, your family, and
your students.
Thank you for taking an interest in myself
and my training. I look forward to training with
you further in the future.
Sincerely,
Ken Damerow
Ohana Dojo, USA
“I am so thankful to have attended the IOGKF
Canada Winter Gasshuku. I gained so much and was honored to
be surrounded by so many others who study Goju-Ryu
Karate-Do. My knowledge greatly increased over the course of
the Gasshuku and so did my relationships with others in our
Goju-Ryu Karate-Do family. Thank you to everyone, and all my
thanks especially to Spongia Sensei and Nakamura Sensei for
sharing their great skill and wisdom.”
-Jamie Beaudoin, Susquehanna Dojo, 7th
kyu
Hi, Sensei. I just want to
thank you again for such an interesting gasshuku! The
wonderful thing about our style of karate is that there is
always something new to learn. I always love learning new
applications, it helps everything make sense! And it gives
me hope when even some upper level black belts get confused!
I love being an honorary Canadian. I think I have more
friends there than anywhere. It is always a place I look
forward to going. Congratulations on your new dojo. It is
just beautiful!!! (Good incentive for Sensei Sam) And as
always your staff did a wonderful job of organizing and
making us feel welcome. I look forward to the next
session. Thank you for including us.
Julie Fisher
Ohana Karate
Fowlerville, MI, USA
I have been to many Gasshukus over the last five years. This was the first time that I tried meditation. Sensei Paolo taught us to mediate and hold this state for over one hour. At first, I found it difficult to stay still and allow my mind to relax. However, after trying to focus on my breathing instead of what my mind was thinking, I began to actually relax and enjoy the quietness around me. After our mediation was over, I could not believe how much energy I had to train with Sensei Paolo. I really enjoyed this Gasshuku and the different technics that were taught to us by Sensei Paolo.
Nicolas Kambasis, Ishi Gogyou Martial Arts
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