Last weekend was the 1st Annual IFK Canada Kyokushin Summer Camp & Retreat,
led by IFK Canada President Sensei Steve Fogarasi, along with VP Sensei Jonathan Hémond and Sensei Mikhail Zimerman.
The camp was held at The Glen House Resort, on the banks of the St. Lawrence River. In the beautiful 1000 Islands of Ontario, half way between Toronto and Montreal, straddling the border of the U.S. and Canada. The area is a vacation getaway both for locals and visitors around the world, and is an absolutely beautiful and historic part of Canada.
It was an amazing time with an amazing group of people, and you immediately felt welcomed and know you are part of a large wonderful family.
The camp began officially with the first class Thursday evening, which included welcoming all the participants and training.
Each day kicked off with 8am breakfast followed by morning training at 10 am. Break for lunch and relaxation with afternoon training sessions and dinner.
Between classes everyone really enjoyed hanging out around the grounds of the resort, in the pool, on the docks, in the lake, etc. The facilities were quaint and very scenic, with stunning nature. We were also lucky to have wonderful weather, which everything even more enjoyable.
Each class offered different instruction (Kata, Kihon, Kumite, Self-defence), with one of the instructors and camp leaders, who included Sensei Steve Fogarasi – 4th Dan, Sensei Jonathan Hémond – 3rd Dan and Sensei Mikhail Zimerman – 3rd Dan.
With such experienced teachers each class brought a wealth of knowledge and their teaching style was so engaging that it really brought everyone’s focus and attention on the real reason to be there. To improve as karateka.
After Saturday’s last kumite class on the beautiful shore of the lake, everyone relaxed, had dinner and attended the Sayonara Party, for more laughter, singing and dancing. It was a great evening fun for everone!
Sunday morning brought one final training session and a chance to say good-bye to many people and hope to see again someday soon.
Kyokushin and the IFK in particular is such a wonderful organization where it truly feels like a big family and everyone is very excited about attending again next year and hopefully meet more students and teachers from around the world!
A sincere thank you to IFK Canada for hosting this amazing event and all the students who attended, and look forward to seeing you all again next year.
