IOGKF Newsletter

December 2011

Festive Greetings from Higaonna Sensei &
Message from Nakamura Sensei

End of year message from:

Sensei Tetsuji Nakamura – IOGKF Vice-Chief Instructor

At the end of the year, I would like to look back over this year and see what happened in IOGKF International. 

In February, Higaonna Sensei visited New Zealand to conduct the Oceania Gasshuku.  He and I also visited Fuzhou, China for the grand opening of the Kanryo Higaonna Sensei Memorial Hall built by IOGKF China.  In April, he went to the Ukraine for the Euro-Asia Gasshuku where Kuramoto Sensei and I assisted him.  In May, Higaonna Sensei went to Cancun, Mexico to teach at the Miyagi Chojun Festival.  On the way back from Mexico, he stopped in Canada and came to my dojo's grand opening.  In July, Higaonna Sensei went to Portugal to conduct the European Gasshuku.  He then taught at the IOGKF Japan Gasshuku in August, the South American Gasshuku in Venezuela in September and at a Gasshuku in Azerbaijan in October.  In November, he taught at the IOGKF Chief Instructor Gasshuku in Fuzhou, China. 
 
Many senior instructors in the IOGKF, such as Sensei Bakkies, Terauchi Sensei, Sensei Ernie, Yamashiro Sensei, etc, also travelled to various countries to teach at national and local Gasshuku.  I believe that the IOGKF is the best Karate organization because it has so many talented instructors who not only produce great seminars, but also posses the highest level of skill and understanding of the art.  This is all due to Higaonna Sensei's teaching that "Goju-Ryu is a lifetime discipline".  All of the senior instructors spend many hours of their own training working on improving their skills.
 
In last 5 years, Higaonna Sensei has reduced his overseas seminars due to his age, as well as his wish to focus on his research on Goju-Ryu history.  However when I look back over this year's schedule, I see that he was still quite busy.  This was mostly because Higaonna Sensei wants to promote the World Budosai being held next year in Okinawa.  The World Budosai is the special event, for all IOGKF members, which is held in Okinawa - the birth place of Karate, once every four years.  Higaonna Sensei wishes that many Karate-ka will come to this event, train under the top masters of the world and experience the culture, music, food, beaches and great hospitality of Okinawa and its people.
 
All staff members in IOGKF Okinawa are working very hard to make this event a life time experience for all visitors.  I encourage everybody not to miss this great opportunity.
 
At the end of my message, I would like to wish all IOGKF members and your families’ health, wealth, and all the best for the coming year 2012!

FESTIVE GREETING FROM HIGAONNA SENSEI:

SENSEI TETSUJI NAKAMURA: