Students from Itosu-kai Denmark and Soke Sakagami
We were 10 very excited black belts from Dragør branch dojo in Denmark, who spend a fast-paced 10 days in Tokyo and Kyoto. For some in the group it was their first trip to Japan, for others a joyous return.
Mrs. Marthe Bornø-Aarseth, shodan and 10 years of karate
Miss Caroline Dalgård, nidan and 12 years of karate – member of national kata team
Miss Frederikke Bjerring, nidan and 12 years of karate – member of national kata team
Mrs. Kimi Schwartz, nidan and 17 years of karate
Miss Rikke Linck, sandan and 14 years of karate – member of national kata team
Mr. Per Bjerring, sandan and 14 years of karate
Mrs. Mia Carlsen, yondan and 16 years of karate
Mr. Jan Løfquist, sandan and 21 years of karate
Mr. Peter Heneberg, yondan and 23 years of karate
Mr. Tejs Damkjær, godan and 25 years of karate
With base in these two cities, we visited several well-known places such as Yokohama, Kamakura, Hiroshima, Asakusa, Nikko, Miyajima Island as well of plenty of sight-seeing in Tokyo and beautiful Kyoto.
The highlight of the trip were the days, when we were able to participate in the training at Sakagami Soke´s dojo in Tsurumi. It is of special importance when you as a practitioner of Itosu-Ryu karate - to has the opportunity to train with your Soke. He left the impression of being a very knowledgeable and kind person - very much “still going strong”. We were very lucky to pick up 2 new katas: Matsumura no Seisan and Rohai Nidan as well as meeting new and old friends at the dojo like Suzuki sensei, Junpei sempai, and Ayumu Oda sensei who we had the opportunity to be together with at several occasions. He is a long-term friend of Denmark – domo arigato.
The general impression of the Japanese society, is that you feel very safe at all times. Everything is tidy and very well organized, there is always someone to help you if you get lost, or if you don’t understand how things work. It is our impression that Japan is a country, who emphasize simplicity and beauty along with function and hard work. It is very inspirational for western people. We loved the atmosphere, the people, the food, the karaoke, the beers and the roku gin 😊
