Finngasshuku 2016: Sunday

And so there it game. The last day of Finngasshuku 2016.

 You know how on Friday you look at the schedule and think that: "Fuck - there is 15hours of training coming my way this weekend!?!" and then you kind of realise that it passes faster than lightning...

 That's pretty much what happened to me at this Gasshuku.

 On Sunday morning we got Hirohito sensei's basic training session for all kenshis.

 Followed by Juho in two groups. Kazuhito sensei was with 2nd Dan and above.

 And then it was time for the group embu training and show. We had had about an hour on Saturday to train with a completely random group of people in various ranks, to make a group embu of 5 parts together.

 And on Sunday, all 8 groups performed it in front of everyone.

The results were astonishing, thinking that these were people that don't usually train together.

 They came from differet ranks and countries.

 And yet in one and a half hour - all put together shows that looked like real group embus.

I have never done this in my life and I don't think many others had either. And I have trained for 16 years. 

 And boy this was a fun excersise.

It was great to see how the team worked together.

What kinds of techniques they put in, what formation, how did they create unity.

 Groups had 4 to 8 members.

 And the only rules were that the first and the last parts needed to  be solo forms, the middle parts 2-4 should be paired.

 There was so many different styles.

 This time there was also no evaluation given, it was for the sake of the show and training.

 Our group "Team Antero" was in a diamond or cross shape and we were very proud of our set.

We did tenchiken dai 1 solo form, paired form, oshi uke nage, gyakugote and giwakendai 1

 Others were a bit more creative. We kept it simple.

But the UNITY on this gasshuku was very visible

 No matter if you are an old friend or a new friend. All worked together.

 In the afternoon Q&A session, Kazuhito sensei got some tricky questions, including how to do a katakuruma... His answer was: Let's get the swedes to do it...;)

Cause there is always someone willing to show their skills...

 ...Or indeed just entertain in any possible way that they can....

 I have met P before, but i am not sure if I had gotten such a treat of his personality before this Gasshuku before this day.

 But then again, Kazuhito sensei also has a great sense of humour...

At the end of the night, the spirit of the Gasshuku demanded some extra shots at 'Pain'.

 "You laugh now - wait until I hurt you..."

 Sometimes it is quite hard for me to explain to my non-kenshi friends, why exactly it is like the best thing in this universe to spend a whole weekend causing and receiving pain... Just writing that here right now makes me think that I should probably prepare a better explanation if I don't want to sound like the world's biggest masocist.

 But 'No pain - No Gain' Gasshuku was one of the best I've ever attended. And I don't think I was the only person thinking like that... Just look at these faces...

 And just in case you didn't get enough pain during the actual practise - there is always a helpful kenshi like Antti, to climb on your back and give you that extra little bit of spanking. God, I love this hobby.

 Okay kenshi OR two....

I hadn't gotten enough of energy out of my system either.

This was the group of people who made this Gasshuku happen:

 Also called the Jyväskylä Branch.

 Later on we gathered to Uncle Timo's backyard for some BBQ and beers.

 The party was for the foreign kenshis and organisers.

Sausages can be a bit exciting for the delecate minds.

 And cause after effects.

We sat until the sun had long set.

 And P had entertained us with his magic tricks.

At the end of each great Gasshuku, there is a Gasshuku hangover. Also in this case, there is major withdrawal symptons for me. I just spent the most amazing weekend with 50+ of my friends from all over the world. And now they have all gone home and left me here. Yes it hits me hard every time. Even when I know that there are great gasshukus to come, I really enjoyed this one. The teaching was excellent. The group spirit was spot on right there. We all worked together to make it happen. Thank you so much for the senseis, to the organisers, to the foreigners that some had come just by a random reason to our little village in the middle of no where. You guys are the salt and sugar of life. See you next time!


/Viimeisenä treenipäivänä esitettiin ryhmäembuja ja käytiin läpi 'kysymykset ja vastaukset' session antia. Sunnuntai päättyi grillibileisiin Timo-sedän takapihalla, johon oli ulkkarit ja järjestäjät kutsuttuna. Kaikenkaikkiaan palaute leiristä oli hirmuisen positiivnen. Opetus oli todella maailmanluokan tasoa ja treeniä oli tarpeeksi - puhumista sopivasti. Pokkurointia oli mahdollisimman vähän, jolloin kaikki partyt yms olivat erittäin lämminhenkisiä bileitä, joissa sai hengailla vanhojen ja uusien ystävien kanssa vapaasti. Kiitokset kaikille, ootte aivan parhaita. Leirikrapula on nyt kova, mutta niinhän se aina kun on joutunut päästämään 50+ ystävää lähtemään kotiinsa ympäri maailmaa ja itse on tarvinnut mennä töihin.


Pictures of our Dantai embu (c) Henrik Perssson and the handstand and Jyväskylä branch picture: (c) Sven Hebbe

Finnish Gasshuku 2016: Saturday

Saturday im Finnish Gasshuku 2016 started as a sunny but slightly windy day here in Jyväskylä. 

Antero treated us with some special warm up activities as well.

 "Pretend that you are an airplane. Now fly."

 Then we had basic techniques with Kazuhito sensei.

 We got in lines and tried to do better what wasn't going so grand on Friday night...

 Eventually we split into two groups.

 Second dan and above and shodan and below.

 In the morning there was still some time to discuss which directions to turn over someone.

 The higher grades and Juho also often means that we honor the theme of the gasshuku...

 But you wouldn't believe the pain, based on the kind of happy faces I captured on my camera.

 Does that actually mean that kenshis enjoy the pain?

 Why does it make us smile?

 Jay, you have finally twisted my hand so that it hurts! Marvellous!

 On lunch break, it is friend-selfie time.

 Or groupselfie.

 Or high-jack someone else's selfie.

 I asked Kris to show me who pain actually feels like...

 As the weather was still alright at that point, we had a group photo outside.

Even main organisers were in good spirits.

 After lunch, it was time for some Howa.

 Kazuhito sensei talked of the differences of Doins and Shibus. So how in Japan, you can study Buddhist philosophy as a religion, as part of your Shorinji Kempo studies.

 For foreigners this is hard, because you would have to be in Japan, a lot to do it.

 Then it was time for some more Juho, soft techniques, so throwing people around.

 And trying out those pressure points.

 My Swedish friend was not quite sure if she wanted to do it. Kirsi was helping her.

 Strangling. What fun!

 Swedish-Russian pain in action.

 In the afternoon, there was a session of making group embus.

 This is what our group's look like: 5 parts, 8 persons. I don't have any pictures because I was concentrating on training:)

 Arnaud and Jonatan getting some pointers from the senseis on their own embu.

 And the day ended with a Q&A session. Hard day of practise, but very rewarding.

/Lauantaina treenattiin kovaa. 'No pain, no gain' -leirin teemaa on kunnioitettu ja energiaa purettu urakalla. Lauantaihin mahtui perustekniikkaa, ryhmäembuilua, Q&A sessiota, kuristustekniikoita sekä tietysti paljon laatuaikaa kaikkien ystävien seurassa.