Genbu-Kai 36th Annual Goodwill

Karate-Do Championships

    The 2007 (36th Annual) International Goodwill Championships was attended by competitors and spectators from over twenty countries and from most of the U.S. States.  The special guests included martial arts legends Pat Johnson, Takayuki "Tak" Kubota, "Judo Gene" LeBell, Minobu Miki, Shigeru Sawabe Sensei and Kumite Champion Fred Smith.  There were also famous martial artist movie stars in attendance, Shin Koyamada (Last Samurai) and Michael Jai White.   Everyone was very fortunate in that there were only a couple of very minor injuries throughout the day.  And extremely fortunate because there was a great deal of very high quality Karate to be seen.  There was something to be learned, everywhere you looked!  The junior students competed in the morning, the adults in the afternoon ending with the extremely popular Black Belt Kumite event.   It was a hard fought division, with all of the competitors giving a 110% effort. 

    The turtle is one of the important symbols for Native Americans and Asian cultures.  Folklore has the turtle supporting the earth on its back, or winning the race with the rabbit/bear.  These identify the turtle with strength, endurance, stability, longevity and patience.  The Japanese symbol is Genbu, “Black Tortoise or Warrior.”  Shihan Demura’s Genbu-Kai means “Professional Martial Arts Organization.”  The kanji for both are the same.

    Senpai Edgar Albakian from Venezuela presented a beautiful framed award to Sensei Demura Sunday at the 36th International Goodwill Karate-Do Championships.

    The 36^th Goodwill Championships began with the group “Good Company” beautifully singing the U.S. National Anthem.  Then a spectacular group of martial arts demonstrations followed.  Sensei Tim vanDenover led a group of Jr. students wearing safety equipment and using special padded weapons in a Kobudo demonstration including Kihon, Kumite and Katsen (war).  Then Sensei Steven Goss demonstrated Sanchin/Shimei (testing) with Anna Valenzuela and Joe Anderson.  The test showed that these Ueichi Ryu students are very tough and can take punches and kicks.  Eric Horvath of the Santa Ana Dojo demonstrated a difficult “Double Nunchaku” Kata immediately followed by Thanh Nguyen demonstrating an exciting “Furi Kama” Kata.   Sato Sensei performed a magnificent Batto demonstration.  Performing several Batto Kata and a cutting demo.  The audience was very impressed when Sato Sensei was able to make multiple cuts from different directions, all before the first cut piece hit the floor. 

    The grand finale was Demura Sensei demonstrating how to defeat two attackers.  For this demo he enlisted the assistance of Thanh Nguyen and Kevin Suzuki as the “Bad Guys.”  Sensei tossed them around and had them flying through the air and bouncing off each other and the floor, several times each.  It was a fantastic demo and a "bad day to be a bad guy!"

    Saturday February 24th in the small gym at Costa Mesa High School in Costa Mesa California USA.  The Batto Kata Competition included all the traditional Sword forms. Advanced students were also allowed to participate in the cutting.  Cutting events followed the Kata competitions with competitors cutting rolled up and water soaked authentic "Tatami" mats imported from Japan.

    Saturday February 24th at Costa Mesa High School in Costa Mesa California USA.  Sensei Demura selected 4 advanced Black Belts (Senpai Dave Hines, Senpai Edgar Albakian, Senpai Ken Nishiki and Senpai Kevin Suzuki) to lead groups in this fast paced seminar.  The instructors exchanged groups every 15 minutes.  At the end of the event Sensei Bernard Edwards presented Senpai Edgar Albakian with an award.  Thank you Sensei Demura for another great learning event!

    Saturday February 24th at Costa Mesa High School in Costa Mesa California USA.  Students competed in Kobudo Kata with all the tradional Okinawan weapons and Kobudo Kumite using special padded Okinawan weapons as well as padded safety helmets and gloves.  The competitors seemed to enjoy the action packed event almost as much as the spectators did!

    The finale for the day from 6:00pm until 8:00pm was a Kata Seminar for Genbu-Kai adult and junior students. Everyone learned a  new Kata and many students worked on refining techniques and perfecting Kata they already know.   This event was also very well attended and several groups had to overflow into adjacent buildings to provide enough space for everyone.

    Sensei Demura conducted an International Batto-Do Rengo-Kai Seminar from 4:00pm to 5:00pm.  First all weapons were inspected for safety.  Sensei taught the forms and techniques recognized by the Rengo-Kai and the Toyama-Ryu Batto-Do Preservation Society. The event was very well attended and some groups had to be relocated to adjacent buildings to have sufficient space for safety.  The event went very well and many people were surprised at how quickly class time passed. 

    On Friday from 2:30pm till 3:30pm Sensei Demura taught an Okinawa Kobudo Rengo-Kai Seminar at Costa Mesa High School.  Basics and a new Kata were taught to Genbu-Kai students learning any of the traditional weapons.  Bo, Eku-Bo, Nunchaku, Tonfa, Sai or Kama.  Several people reported seeing a different Tonfa Kata for the very first time named "Hamahiga no Tonfa."  Thanks for a great event Sensei! 

    Friday from 10:00am until 2:00pm Genbu-Kai held a Referee Seminar in the Girls Gym at Costa Mesa High School.  Led by Senpai Dave Hines, Senpai Edgar Albakian and Senpai Roy Center.  The referees had the opportunity to practice their ring administration skills and the volunteers had the opportunity to practice their Kata and Kumite skills.  A referee seminar is well known among competitors to be "The Best Place" to practice for important competitions and to fine tune Karate skills under close supervision. 

    Friday morning from 8:00am to 10:00am at the Santa Ana, California Hombu Dojo there was a Mochitsuki celebration.  Genbu-Kai honors the ancient Samurai tradition of preparing food before battle.  Students from around the world were in attendance today.  Everyone enjoyed the event and especially the great weather.  (Sensei Demura ordered sunshine for today!)  Mochi is fun to make and good to eat!  Thank you Sensei Demura for another great Genbu-Kai  event!

    At the Genbu-Kai Black Belt Kata Seminar in Costa Mesa, California USA, Sawabe Sensei presented Sensei Demura with a beautiful award of framed hand drawn kanji calligraphy.

    From 5:00pm until 7:00pm Sensei Demura led a "Black Belts Only" Advanced Kata Seminar along with his special guest Instructor Sawabe Shigeru Sensei for about a hundred Genbu-Kai Black Belts from around the world.   Sensei Demura again used some time discussing Kata history.  The attendees were divided into groups and everyone learned a they didn't know.  Sensei spent a considerable time explaining (and having everyone practice) Kata applications.  Thank you Sensei Demura for having another great event!

    Today from 3:00 to 4:30pm at Costa Mesa High School in Costa Mesa California (in Mr. Center's Science classroom). Sensei Demura conducted a very special class just for Genbu-Kai Instructors.  Sensei discussed Karate History, the challenges faced by the martial arts industry today and covered everything else important that he needed his instructors and assistant instructors to know about!