On the weekend of October 12^th Calgary Kyokushin Karate hosted its 8^th annual Friendship Seminar. The seminar, which was formerly held in February, was moved to October this year to spread out Kyokushin events in the Calgary area. The instructor for the seminar was IKOK-C Branch Chief Shihan Stuart Corrigal. Because the camp was revealed only a month before the actual start date, the participation at this years�f camp was lower. That being said, all who did participate commented on how they really enjoyed the smaller classes as it allowed for a more intimate training atmosphere.

On Saturday afternoon Shihan Corrigal conducted an IKOK-C official�fs clinic. The IKOK-C official�fs course was introduced three years ago to set new and higher standards of officiating within the IKOK-C. With these standards in place, IKOK-C certified officials have become amongst the elite in officiating throughout the IKO and confirms that the IKOK-C is and continues to be a leader when it comes to setting new standards in officiating in the IKO.

Advanced belt training was the last session held on Saturday. After about an hour of complex Ido Geiko, Shihan introduced some of the new Bo katas that have been brought back into the Kyokushin system in the last few years. For many it was like starting karate all over again. Indeed we are all beginners.

Saturday night many of the participants came together at a local restaurant for the sayonara party. After a hard weekend of training all were ready to relax and have a good time. It was a great chance for members from the Calgary club to spend some time speaking to each other and with Shihan one on one in a more relaxed atmosphere. All had a great time.

Early Sunday morning marked the last class of the seminar. Though many were stiff and sore from the previous few days of intense training, almost all attended the 8:00 am class.  Since Shihan had to leave late Saturday night, Sensei Nathan Howat from Edmonton conducted the morning session. The session was an extremely educational and was centered around different aspects and training methods for tournament fighting.  Everyone left inspired.

I would like to especially thank all of you who took time out of your busy schedules to attend this weekend. I hope you found it as educational and as inspiring as I did. Without you this could not have happened. Hope to see you all at the Calgary Cup at the beginning of March.