This is Sensei Carl with Masatoshi Arakawa,
Yes that's right, Sensei Carl has been back in the UK for less than 6 weeks but he's getting ready to fly back on Monday 10th August (until the 20th).
He's returning for the 45th JKF-Wadokai All-Japan National Championships were he'll be competing against the best of the best from Japan in Kata (pre-arranged form) and Kumite (fighting). To prepare for the competition, Carl will be returning to Sensei Takamasa Arakawa' (6th Dan JKF-Wadokai) Shiramizu Dojo where he'll be training daily.
Carl also competed at last year's event where he placed in the 'best 16' for Kumite, though didn't get through the first round of Kata. This was still quite a good result considering it was his first ever competition in Japan, and the first time he'd ever competed in Kata in anything bigger than a club-only event.
Whilst there, Carl will also be taking part in an International Expedition to climb all 3776 metres of Mount Fuji, the largest mountain in Japan. He'll be climbing the mountain the day after the Japan Nationals alongside his adopted Karate Sister, Louise Fisk (from New Zealand) and Chris Heinmiller (from Canada) and hoping to reach the summit for sunrise of the 17th August.
We'll keep you informed of Carl's progress in Japan...
