A samurai camp was held in Sri Lanka for the first time, although a small samurai camp had already been held in Kenya in 1990. Now the camp was held in the Indian Ocean on the island of Sri Lanka, formerly known as Ceylon, which lies beneath India. The Tatsu-Ryu-Bushido coaching team was welcomed at the airport a week before the start of the Samurai Camp and was greeted with great joy and great anticipation at the Sri Lanka dojo. On the first Monday in Sri Lanka, the Tatsu-Ryu-Bushido induction ceremony and categorisation took place at the Royal Palms Beach Hotel near Kalatura. This was followed a few days later by three days of full Tatsu-Ryu-Bushido training. The students and sons of Sensei Renil Fernando, Senpai Shenal and Senpai Kaushalya welcomed Saiko-Shihan Christian Wiederanders, Sensei-Ho Fabian Birkle and Sabina Nezirovic with a guard of honour in their Muay Thai training halls in Ragama. The extension, which will be available for Tatsu-Ryu-Bushido in the future, is not quite finished yet, but the lovingly decorated hall was a sight to behold.
Sensei Renil Fernando opened the samurai camp with around 60 participants over the three days on Friday, 24 May 2024 in the traditional Sri Lankan ceremony. In the end, there were so many requests that two events could be organised in this form, but there was not enough space. Two new banners were also unveiled: the Muay Thai Sri Lanka banner and the Tatsu-Ryu-Bushido banner. Saiko-Shihan Christian Wiederanders and Sensei-Ho Fabian Birkle taught the curious and hard-working students about the element of earth. The warm-up kata was repeated in detail in the newly equipped adjoining room of the dojo, basic unarmed techniques were learnt and the bokken was practised diligently. On the very first day, two Sri Lankan TV stations were present to report on Sensei Renil’s new samurai martial arts system in Sri Lanka. Saiko-Shihan Christian Wiederanders, dojo leader Sensei Renil, as well as Senpai Shenal and Senpai Kaushalya were interviewed. Mixed with impressions from the training, these reports were broadcast on the sports news on television, including the largest TV channel in Sri Lanka. After a sweat-inducing training day in tropical humidity, many happy faces could be seen on the grateful students, who could look forward to two more days. Days later, they would be recognised in the hotel and on the street and asked about the samurai camp.
The second day of the samurai camp in Sri Lanka on Saturday 25 May 2024 started with the traditional Tatsu-Ryu-Bushido greeting. This was followed by a theory session on Tatsu-Ryu-Bushido, e.g. weapons, belt and title system. This was followed by a lesson in tanbo (short stick). After the lunch break with great food, bokken techniques were deepened, during which the first two katas were practised diligently. After the official end of training, there was a yoga session, while the camp participants continued to practise the techniques they had learnt in the training room next door until late into the night. The third and final day of the samurai camp on Sunday 26 May 2024 began with repetition and consolidation of unarmed and sword techniques. The participants were then able to practise diligently while three other TV stations sent their editors to the dojo for reporting. After the lunch break, it was time to get down to business: 32 students wanted to take their entrance exam. Due to the different levels of knowledge and previous experience, a placement test was carried out. Of these, 16 participants were awarded the 8th kyu, 9 participants the 7th kyu and 7 participants were awarded the 6th kyu (green belt). Afterwards, some participants were honoured with medals for special training achievements. At the end of the ceremony, there was a great rush of participants to the instructors, almost all of whom wanted to take a picture with the instructors as a souvenir. After the end of the camp, the speakers gathered in the restaurant of the Ramses Hotel for the closing ceremony. It was a great end to a fantastic event! Now everyone is eager to find out if and when it will continue and the first question was of course: “When will the next Samurai Camp take place?” Other schools are also showing interest in the next event and training in Tatsu-Ryu-Bushido.
Mombasa
