The BKK summer camp is a world-renowned annual event with students travelling from far and wide to train hard and meet new friends. This years camp in Kingham Hill school, Kingham Oxfordshire was to be my first time to attend and having attended many IKK camps I knew to expect long days, hard nights and tough sessions and I was both surprised and not in the least disappointed.

On Wednesday 10th of august I arrived via planes trains and automobiles at what would be my home for the next 5 days, a delightful old English boarding school, and after registering and unpacking I had just time enough to get changed before the first session of the camp began just after 3pm.

To get everyone in the mood and give them a taste of what’s to come Hanshi Steve Arneil 9th Dan, brought everyone through a kion class with a heavy emphasis in both the warm up and main body of the class on the 17 hand and 21 leg techniques. As some of this was new to some students a heavy caution was given that they should learn quickly or suffer the consequences. Thankfully I was spared this burden, as the next session that evening saw the squad for the world tournament getting together for what would be our extra session each day on the far side of the field.

Shihan David Picktall and Sensei David Jones had been charged with running the squad for the summer camp and run us they did. We started every morning at least 15 minutes before the regular class with a well-paced jog followed by rounds of skipping. Then came the fitness work; sprints, bunny hops, push ups, burpies and sit ups as well as conditioning work, all before breakfast which was served at 8am.

The next 2 sessions were typically along the lines of working on everyone’s individual combinations and techniques both in the line and with partners and pads. This was intermingled with combination drills, footwork sessions and good old fashioned push-up sets that really made the arms burn particularly when you had to pick up you 1Kg hand weights and do the 1 to 10 punching combinations Sensei Jones had brought from Wales.

A small comfort in our hard working hours was to look across the field and see the other students sweating, running and to hear them kia-ing and knowing that although the squad was separated from the main class we were all in it together. However this was a short lived comfort as after dinner each evening while the rest of the students sampled the delights of an on campus bar, the squad of fighters would assemble for another 2 hours of blood, sweat and toil. 

And so the pattern was set with everyone trying to get as much food and rest between training sessions as possible until early Saturday morning when all and sundry were awoken from their well earned sleep for the traditional night (4:30am) training session. With more than 5 rows of 25 students we faced east and performed hundreds of punches and kicks until the sun broke the horizon and we were bathed in its warm and gentle glow. Then, as the panoramic English countryside spread out before us we continued to punch, kick and kiai while locked in sanchin dachi until Hanshi, satisfied that we were all finally awake, sent us back to our rooms to get cleaned up for breakfast.

The final session on the Saturday was all budo. That is for easily a full hour or more we sparred, 2 fights on one fight off, 1minute 30 second rounds. This was a wonderful experience as we got to spar with people whom I have only seen from a distance or read about in magazines. It was also a good opportunity to practice some of the new techniques and combination we had picked up. The atmosphere was electric and the spirit in the dojo was only matched by the heat and enthusiasm of the students.

When the sparring finished It was time for the prospective 3rd Dan candidates to perform their own katas on front of everybody, an interesting sight I must add. Following this Hanshi presented those who were successful in their gradings with their certs and licences, our own Alan from Mullingar being one of them who grades for 2nd Kyu. The final act of the day was for Shihan Picktall to announce the BKK world tournament team and after the 20 fighters had been selected and presented with some familiar faces naturally, included Hanshi Arneil wished us all well and closed the camp.

I must inform you dear reader that summer camp is not all blood, sweat and tears and over the 5 days many friendships were forged and renewed, with the BKK squad making myself and Senpi Dave king more than welcome. A special mention must also go to the “oosh” gang lead by the more than capable Oliva from Mullingar who seem to be a human duracel bunny full of energy and always up for a laugh no matter how tired everyone else seemed. A final mention goes to the sketches which were excellent and hilarious (yeah! I know!) and sayonara party where after so much hard training we surprisingly still had enough energy to dance the night away.