Manaka Sensei's 2006 UK Seminar

 

Manaka ‘Unsui’ Sensei, the founder of the Jinenkan organisation, returned to UK to teach a seminar at Swansea University in September 2006.

In the week leading up to the seminar, Manaka Sensei held a number of classes in which he taught topics such as the Kihon waza of the Takagi Yoshin Ryu, seated sword techniques and general principles of Muto Dori (unarmed defences against a swordsman).

By the weekend of the seminar, students had arrived in Swansea from a number of countries including Norway, Sweden, The USA, Belgium, Switzerland and others. While support for the seminar from overseas students was good, the same unfortunately cannot be said for Jinenkan members from the UK as a disappointing number of people chose to take the rare opportunity of being able to benefit from such high level instruction on their own doorsteps.

Training on the morning of the first day of the seminar was in Jinen Ryu Kusarifundo (weighted chain). This was the first time that many of the participants on the seminar had received formally structured training in this weapon and the training included a number of basic methods of striking with the weights of the Kusarifundo as well as techniques used against a sword wielding opponent.

Following a lunch break, training continued with Kukishin Ryu Biken (sword) and Manaka Sensei carried on teaching the methods of using the sword where he had left off in his last European seminar in Switzerland in 2005.

The topic for the second and final day of the seminar was in Takagi Yoshin Ryu Jutaijutsu. The training in these techniques was hard and many people found that they could not continue training throughout the whole course of the day. One seminar participant viewing the scene in the training hall said it resembled a battlefield with a number of bodies lying on the sidelines.

Although the training was hard, everyone who took part (including those who had to sit out from training) had a good time and also learned a great deal from Manaka Sensei.