The annual National Training Seminar of the North American Beikoku Shido-kan Association (Shorin-ryu) was held at the end of July at Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan. Sean Deuby, who originally trained with Hanshi Iha from the late 70's to mid 80's and achieved the rank of nidan, brought Wayne Murphy, Dave Porter, and Paul Klotz to participate. Over 130 karateka participated in the weekend. Well over 100 of these were black belts from new shodans up to experienced 7th dans. In the spirit of friendship and cooperation, by the time the weekend was over, practically everyone had an opportunity to work with everyone else.

Sensei Iha coached us on kata and two-person drills (ippon kumite), while Sensei Nakasone taught us sparring techniques and dynamic ippon kumite. A team of 4th to 7th dans assisted them, circulating through the groups and coaching on fine points. A kata tournament was held Saturday afternoon. All participants performed Chinto for a judges panel consisting of 7 of the highest-ranked karateka (6th dan and above). The winner of the men's division was 6th dan Kirt Butler (below), while the women's winner was 2nd dan Melissa Peel.

It was  a terrific weekend of learning, getting reacquainted with old friends, and making new ones. We highly encourage you to join us next year at the end of July!

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For more information on the North American Beikoku Shido-kan Association, please visit www.ihadojo.com.

Hanshi Iha and Sensei Nakasone