🇬🇧 🇱🇰 Samurai-Camp 2025 Sri Lanka V4 (EN)

30. SAMURAI-CAMP: After a series of exciting training trips (March 2025, December 2024, May 2024 and October 2023) over the past two years, we hadn’t actually planned to go on another trip in August 2025. But when we received an invitation to a dream wedding, there was no doubt about it: the adventure had to continue! So, on 8 August, we took off with Qatar Airways via Doha and finally landed at Colombo Airport in Sri Lanka. For the first three days of our trip, we had chosen a hotel near the Ragama training centre – the Goldi Sands Hotel Negombo. With full board, we were well looked after and ready for the challenges ahead. The main training day, excitingly titled Samurai Camp Day, fell on Sunday, 10 August. Despite construction work and a lack of space due to the expansion of the dojo, enthusiastic students flocked from all corners to experience the art of Tatsu-Ryu-Bushido intensively. Saiko-Shihan Christian Wiederanders, our experienced mentor, took time for each individual and made sure that all participants received the new international Tatsu-Ryu-Bushido shirts. Almost all 60 shirts were distributed in one go! Christian was supported by Senpai Kaushalya Nirmana, who also passionately participated in the training sessions. At the end of the day, all participants were delighted to receive a new medal – a symbol of their dedication and commitment. As a special gift, Christian also presented Grand Master Renil Fernando with the first English book for the dojo’s new library. The memories were captured in pictures with beaming faces, while we already dreamed of the future spacious room of around 300 square metres on the second floor, which will soon be available for more participants. A third floor for accommodation and a seminar room will also follow. After the intensive training sessions, we continued south to the Radisson Blu Resort Galle, where we were accommodated in a fantastic, spacious room with a huge terrace and breathtaking views. Here we had the opportunity to exchange ideas with other interested parties and even hold some training sessions, but without pictures, so as not to compromise the anonymity of the participants who would be taking part in a subsequent event. Of course, an unforgettable visit to a turtle farm, including a donation, was a must – these encounters with nature are always so moving! The following Friday, we returned to Negombo, where Christian took care of his suit for the wedding celebrations. The second Saturday brought a big surprise: in a beautiful ceremony with over 150 guests, Shehan and Mithila tied the knot. Christian was even appointed best man – an honourable task that he took on with pride. After the intimate ceremony, a small party awaited the guests, while the bride and groom, organised by Sabina and Christian, were accommodated in a hotel for two nights before the big day on Monday. The big party at the Royal Ramesses wedding hotel brought together over 300 guests and offered a magnificent programme. The atmosphere was exuberant, and you could feel the joy and togetherness that such events bring. And so this extraordinary journey came to an end. We returned home enriched by numerous new impressions and contacts. The anticipation for the next Samurai Camp, which will take place during the Easter holidays in 2026 between 28 March and 12 April, is already overwhelming. Sri Lanka has enchanted us once again, and the memories of this adventure will remain in our hearts forever!