Gasshuku is a Japanese word which means 'living together'. As with many translations the concept of 'living together' is only a fraction of the whole meaning. Everyone involved in Karate will appreciate that this intensive training is close to the essence of our art.

I describe below some of the aspects of Gasshuku, which I have experienced over the years and which may assist you in approaching this important aspect of Karate-do, but first it may be appropriate to consider what can be gained from participating in it.

When we go to our normal Karate class and put on our Dogi, we usually refer to the activity as 'training', however it is generally understood that training is what occurs outside class. In other words, in class you learn how to perform Waza, Kumite and Kata. Outside of class it is your task as a follower of Karate-do to train your mind, your spirit and your body so that you can perform the activities you have learned in class. Often training can extend to other aspects of your growth such as courage, determination, stamina and on the occasions that it does, we welcome that with our full enthusiasm. However, training usually involves the characteristics referred to above.

On the other hand, these events take us into less known and understood dimensions. An often unrecognised benefit of living together and training together is the opportunity to discuss Karate with your seniors in an informal environment. Wherever the Gasshuku is taking place in Japan, Australia or New Zealand, living together in the same place ensures the opportunity to share meals, to drink and socialise together and to talk about all aspects of Karate. Ordinary daily life involves having to perform duties and functions immediately before and immediately after training often precluding us from being able to take advantage of the knowledge of our seniors and people around us, merely by having the opportunity to talk to them. Gasshuku training ensures that you and your seniors will be together for at least three days and up to six days. You should always make sure that you come armed with questions so that each Gasshuku represents a significant step forward in your Karate training.

Another aspect that should not be under estimated is the opportunity Gasshuku provides you with to think exclusively about Karate. On no other occasion do you have the luxury of being able to concentrate on this one thing to the exclusion of everything else for an extended period. Naturally we come to these events with some kind of head baggage. We may be pre-occupied with an issue from work or home, but as soon as the training starts we go through a very quick mental adjustment which moves these thoughts to the side (or eliminates them altogether) in favour of what we are there to do. This is one of the reasons why Gasshuku represents such a strong learning opportunity, so much so that many of our Karate achievements can be referred back to what we took on board at a particular Gasshuku or simply a random memory of such training.

Gasshuku also offers the opportunity to carry out extensive study in accordance with a single or limited theme. This theme may be for example, a consideration of the importance of hips in moving from one position to another, the existence or non-existence of stances or the importance of hand techniques striking at the same time as the advancing or retreating foot lands. Six or seven training sessions in a row focusing on a theme gives students of Karate the opportunity to perfect significant and fundamental changes in their Karate technique. They also develop an understanding through intensive training, which might not otherwise have occurred outside the Gasshuku environment.

Of course Gasshuku training is always strenuous and quite difficult. The sheer volume of training in a short time takes a heavy toll on our bodies. If the training is particularly rigorous, not only do we exhaust our muscles, but by the last few training sessions, our spirit starts to wane as well. At this point the true benefit of the training is revealed, but only to the strong. Strength is not measured just by physical ability but also by mental and spiritual characteristics. The students who benefit most from Gasshuku training are those who develop not only their physical Karate but also their mental and spiritual Karate. In particularly difficult conditions such as we have experienced in a hot and humid Japanese summer or at icy cold Turangi in New Zealand, we learn that long after our bodies refuse to carry on, our mental and spiritual toughness can carry us through. To learn these things in close quarters with other Karateka who are experiencing the same thing enables a bond to be formed between us which causes us to think back many years after the event with great satisfaction.

Bonds created during Gasshuku training endure for a lifetime, in much the same way as is experienced by military personnel who have endured harsh training or faced conflict together. This mental and spiritual development is central to Karate-do. Without it, we are doing nothing more than physical exercise and the resulting benefits are limited accordingly.

With multiple intensive training sessions over a number of days, it is inevitable that injuries will occur. Provided the injury does not totally incapacitate us, it can actually present an opportunity for us to understand the truer nature of a fighting art. Whereas in ordinary training injury may simply result in you deciding not to attend the next training session, such latitude is not available to you in Gasshuku training. In Gasshuku training you are encouraged, even compelled to carry on and to recognise that you have weapons which you can use on all your limbs, and your head. Where you are unable through injury to use one or more of them, you will learn in this training how to use the others instead. This experience is invaluable. It is often assumed that you must be able-bodied to be able to defend yourself, but almost inevitably in a real-life self-defence situation some injury will occur. Being able to understand how an injury will impact on your ability to defend yourself and when, is critical to your survival but is not necessarily an experience that you otherwise have the opportunity to hone outside Gasshuku conditions.

Having regard to all of the above, it is not surprising that many of us look forward to the next opportunity to be able to immerse ourselves in Gasshuku training and close out the rest of the world which so often gets in the way of our training endeavours. I urge you to embrace this enthusiasm and actively seek out your next Gasshuku opportunity.

Gambatte kudasai

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