9th Annual Sierra Camp will be August 15-16-17, 2008

Karate in the Sierras!

Every year ISKA hosts a two-day, multiple-instructor training camp in the Sierra Nevada mountains right outside Yosemite National Park.

The next camp will be August 15-17, 2008!

Master Vincent Cruz and the ISKA Senseis invite you to our annual Sierra Camp, three days of karate training and martial arts fellowship at Camp Green Meadows, Fish Camp, CA.

Discover karate's Basic Principles! The basic principles are the skills inside the skills.

Sharpen your Kumite! Footwork, timing and spirit are the keys to kumite. Kumite sessions emphasize victory through strategy and superior timing.

Analyze your Katas! For kyu ranks we study Bassai Dai, Empi, Kanku Dai and Jion, presenting one kata per year in rotation. For black belts, we rotate through the Sandan katas: Hangetsu, Gankaku, Jitte, Tekki Nidan and Tekki Sandan. We often devote Sunday morning to the applications of the Heian katas. For advanced black belts we keep things lively with advanced katas and special sessions tailored to the audience.

Make Lifelong Friends! Karate friends are friends forever. At the Sierra camp, strangers become friends you'll see again and again at ISKA events and seminars. At the campfire session, people share their experiences about karate and life.

Relief for Aching Feet! The ISKA Sierra Camp has its own dedicated massage therapist (an honorary sandan), trained in Swedish Esalen and Hawaiian Lomi-Lomi techniques. She sets up shop in a quiet spot near the creek, and rubs tired shoulders and aching feet between sessions.

Camp Agenda

The 2008 camp agenda will be announced a couple of months before the camp in the spring of 2008. In the meantime, this was the agenda for the 2007 camp, to give you an idea of the camp's structure and emphasis.

The basic principles to highlight for this year's camp are:

• External
• Point and Circle
• Taisabaki
• Body Alignment
• Contraction/Expansion of Body
• Balance .
• Projection of energy

These are the basic principles that are highlighted in Empi, Gangaku and Unsu, our katas for this year. (We will also have a session on Tekki Nidan and Tekki Sandan.)

Black-belt ranking is continuous throughout the weekend. Your evaluators will be watching as you participate in classes.

Friday August 17

Camp Opens at Friday 2:00 pm.  Registration begins at 2:00 and continues into the evening.

3:30 to 5:00 Early bird Work out: Sensei Nobuo Hatanaka on  Contraction/ Expansion of Body

6:00 light dinner

7:00 - 8:30  Work out-Topic Projecting Energy and Body Alignment with Sensei Bruce Clayton .

9:00 Campfire Program (get acquainted, Sensei Beth Waldow )

Saturday August 18

6:00  Spirited Sunrise Workout with Sensei Armando Jemmott; Optional early morning run with Sensei Beth Waldow.

7:00-8:00 Breakfast

8:15-9:10  Topic Taisabaki and Balance- Sensei Nobuo Hatanaka and Sensei Robert Camden-Ishimaru.

--------------------------------------- 9:15-10:30 First Kata Session -------------------

Color Belt Kata: Empi Sensei Armando Jemmott

Lower Dan Kata:  Tekki Nidan - Sensei Manuel Carrillo; Tekki Sandan - Sensei Gilles Lavigne (run in series, 40 mins each.)

Higher Dan Kata: Gankaku Sensei Rhandir Bains and Sensei John Leggett

Shihan Kata: Unsu Sensei Ricardo Llewelyn    

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---------------------------------- 10:45-12:00 Second Kata Session -------------------------------

Lower Dan Kata Bunkai (Tekki Nidan, Sandan) Sensei Carrillo; Sensei Lavigne

Higher Dan Kata Bunkai (Gankaku), Shihans join this group, led by Sensei John Leggett ; and Sensei Randhir Bains . 

Color Belt Kata Bunkai (Empi), lead by Sensei Llewelyn, Sensei Jemmott.

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12:00-1:00 Lunch

------------------------------------------- 1:10-2:30 Kobudo/Kumite 1 ------------------------------

Color Belt Kumite with Sensei Alex Huichapan and Sensei David Laverne ;

Black belt kobudo kata "Shushi no Kon" with Sensei John Kinsey.  Bring your bo.
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-------------------------------------------- 2:30-4:00 Kobudo/Kumite 2 -----------------------------

Black Belt Kumite with Sensei Robert Stevenson and Sensei Armando Jemmott ;

Colored belt kobudo kata "Shushi no Kon" with Sensei John Kinsey.  Bring your bo.
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4:00-5:30 Sensei Llewelyn will introduce us to Topic Asais Junro Kata series: Junro Shodan.

6:00-7:00 Dinner

7:30-8:30 Open Forum:  Tips and tricks for teaching children, a roundtable featuring Dianne Laverne, Bettina Camden-Ishimaru, Tom Kubiak...   open to all really.

8:30 - 9:30 Black Dragon Ceremony (private by invitation only).  Members and inductees bring hakama.

9:00-10:00 Campfire Program.


Sunday August 19

6:00  Spirited Sunrise Workout - Sensei Jenny Williams
      Optional early morning run with Sensei Waldow

7:00-8:00  Breakfast

8:10 -9:25  Clinic on applications of Heian Godan by Sensei  Bruce Clayton & Sensei Justin Butler .

9:30-10:30  Clinic on choking applications from multiple katas by Sensei Taurus Bailey .

10:30-11:00  Question/answer/demonstration session.  Visiting senseis have an opportunity to take the floor for a few minutes to share a favorite technique. 
 
11:00 Closing ceremonies, Hanshi Cruz

12:00 Lunch, camp clean-up

Camp Green Meadows

The ISKA Sierra Camp is held at the Jack L. Boyd Outdoor School at Camp Green Meadows, in Fish Camp, CA. Fish Camp is about 1.5 hours north of the Fresno Air Terminal on Highway 41. Go past the pond and the bridge, and turn on White Chief Mountain Road. Note that on-line mapping services mislabel this road. For detailed directions click here.

Your camp fee includes bunkhouse accommodations, hot showers, and free meals for the duration of the camp. For those who require more privacy, Fish Camp offers many lodging options, some within walking distance of the training hall.

Between training sessions, ISKA participants enjoy the camp's tall trees, green lawns, burbling brook, hiking trails, horseshoe pits, basketball court, volleyball/badminton court, campfire meetings, and restored Miwok Indian village.

WHAT TO PACK. Download a list of clothing and equipment to bring to camp. Click here.

What if you don't want to sleep on a bunk bed? The camp does not have accommodations for families. There is a limited amount of room for RV's and tent camping, and there are several nearby motels and hotels. We made a list for you. Click here.

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