From London to Know Shinseikai Karate
Ho avuto la fortuna ed il piacere di conoscere Angela Bruce diversi anni fa subito dopo che aveva vinto il “Kyokushin British Knockdown Open Tournament”, fin da subito capii la passione e l’amore che nutriva questa piccola ma fortissima combattente di Karate Kyokushin allieva del bravissimo Nick da Costa.
Ci siamo allenati insieme ed oltre la passione per il Full Contact Karate che ci unisce e’ nata una bella amicizia.
Di seguito riporto un suo articolo (scritto in inglese e spero di poterlo tradurre al piu’ presto) sulla sua esperienza fatta nel mio dojo.
A few years ago, I was considering moving to Rome. I had the opportunity to
work there with 2 good friends of mine Max and Luigi. As Rome is my
favourite city I always hoped and dreamed of living there…I still do.
One of the greatest passions in my life is karate. I practise kyokushinkai
and I have competed in knockdown tournaments both in the UK and abroad.
So,something that was very important to me if i did move to Rome was to find a
reputable karate club with a very competent and respected instructor.
I did a lot of research on the internet and through my own karate organisation.
Filippo, out of all the people i had contacted seemed to me to offer exactly
the kind of training and the right mental attitude that i was looking for.
I went to Rome to visit and while i was there I went to the dojo where
Filippo was instructing. I was a little bit nervous as it can be quite
intimidating going to a new dojo where you don’t know the instructor or your
fellow students. Filippo introduced himself and we chatted…in English…he
speaks very well! Fortunately for me, as I don;t speak much Italian!
Straight away he made me feel at ease and he showed me where i could get
changed into my gi for the class.
At the beginning of the class I was introduced to the other students by
Filippo and he explained that i had come to train with him. Everyone made me
very welcome. So, we started the warm up together and I remember becoming
very hot very quickly! We then began to practise fighting combinations in
twos. So with my partner we would take it in turn to [ractise on
eachotherdifferent punch and kick combinations.
For most of the session though, i had the fortune to train with Filippo
himself. This was a fantastic opportunity for me to experience training with
one of karate’s top fighters.
Filippo is a very talented martial artist and he has many weapons in his
armoury. He moves very well, he has speed, strength and what i admire most
and am envious of most are his amazing legs!! His leg work if wonderful. I
appreciate a lot his technique and the range he has with his legs. The only
thing i could do was fight very close to him otherwise he would destroy me
with his legs! But he is very gracious. Even though he has an amazing
talent, he still has the martial arts spirit and is very modest about his
talent which i respect very much.
The atmosphere of the dojo was also very special. Having competed at the
highest level in kyokushinkai I have had the opportunity to fight and train
in many different dojos. I have to say that this is one of the friendliest.
The students respect Filippo and he has a great way of getting the best out
of the student. Each karateka is different and needs differnt direction from
a sensei and Filippo seems to know what to do to get each student performing
at their best. There was also laughter at times in the dojo, which is
great..we all need to enjoy ourselves too…even though we do take the
training seriously!
Filippo’s track record in karate is impressive and I very much enjoyed the
time we trained together. I would very much like to repeat the experience
again in Rome and of course, if ever he comes to London he would be very
welcome in my dojo..as would any other of Filippo’s students. I would like
to take this opportunity to say hello to the students and to thank Filippo
and to wish him luck for his forthcoming world tournament in November. I
wish him every success and I know that he will be picking up a trophy at
end of it!
Osu!
Sempai Angela Bruce
British Karate Kyokushinkai
Docklands Dojo
London, E14
http://www.docklandsdojo.co.uk