SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE AT THE GREATEST CAMP ON EARTH
Ronald Allan Charles, Ph.D.
“Something for everyone” sounds like a come-on sales pitch. Well, y’all come! That’s our Southern invitation to what we humbly bill The Greatest Camp on Earth. All camps present fine programs and instructors. The one coming to Charlotte, North Carolina, June 16-20, has some novel offerings.
Give serious consideration to how you will you spend your summer. Certainly you can waste it fishing, camping, traveling, or working on your next couch-potato rank, but I suggest, if you are on the planet and near the southeastern part of North America during June, that you attend The Greatest Camp on Earth.
I have taught at Eagle and Glass City Camps in Ohio , Camp Bushido in Colorado , Camp Bushido West in California , All Carolina Camp in both South and North Carolina , Bryn Myr Camp in Pennsylvania , and at last year’s Greatest Camp on Earth. At each I learned something worth passing on. I like the unique offerings of The Greatest Camp on Earth. Simply writing about them gets my judo juices running.
Caught in the Web – Learn to design a website for your club or organization from Tom Reiff, one of cyberspace’s most respected webmasters. Tom designed the United States Judo Association’s website and offers his skills, both on the mat and on the web. Don’t get tangled in the World Wide Web without Tom’s guidance.
Jujitsu smorgasbord – Where else under one roof can you find highly skilled sensei sharing techniques of danzan ryu jujitsu, neko ryu goshin jitsu, Kodokan goshin jitsu, Brazilian jujitsu, akayama ryu, and USJA jujitsu? And they share without going for each other’s throats (which they COULD do!), in an atmosphere of mutual respect and welfare.
Coaches’ heaven – Effective coaching does not come naturally. Many variables are involved. Coaching courses focus on learning about them and how to improve teaching and planning. These courses lead to certification, required if you want to coach beside the mat at major judo events. Earning your Coach credential -- something you do not want to leave home without -- could help if you ever encounter litigation concerning judo. Though the instructor list makes the course sound like something from a medical convention rather than a judo event, the good Drs. Chris Dewey, Barbara Gessner, Ronald Conn, and Ronald Allan Charles will guide you through the ropes of Levels I, II, and III without tying you up too much. See Dr. C. and Dr. C. and Dr. D. and Dr. G. in action. Gee.
Flighty maneuvers -- Ever fly through the air, besides from a throw? Ed Byers does, for half the year, spending thousands of hours protecting our skies as an Air Marshal. Learn martial arts from the marshal himself. Ed’s skills for disarming and disabling those who would harm others, in a working area smaller than your linen closet, are phenomenal. Don’t miss his Defensive Tactics class and weapons training. Postpone your flight until he is again airborne, and try to be on the same plane.
Drown yourself in kata -- There will be more kata at this camp than anywhere else in the world. Virgil Bowles and Gary Monto will happily evaluate your kata, even kata not featured on the camp menu. Experience the planet’s newest judo kata, Renraku no Kata, developed by 9 th dan Ed Szrejter. This is your chance to learn a kata directly from its developer.
Training for judgment day -- Kata judge training and certification classes are planned. Camp is the ideal setting, because judge candidates need practice, which requires many participants doing kata.
How many martial arts can you name? -- The Greatest Camp on Earth offers more styles under one roof than you can shake a stick at, and some arts do exactly that. Do hsinge, shruri, bagna, cuong nhu, kenjitsu, isshin ryu karate, jeet kune do, boxing, ultimate grappling, and aikido tickle your fancy? If you have interest in these arts, you can learn from those who have mastered them.
No joking about the choking -- Judo is one of those sports where many players don’t know the rules. Don’t get choked up about not knowing them. Learn them at the referee certification course conducted by national referee Dana Rucker. Serious competitors and all instructors should attend, and all brown and black belts should seek certification. Tournaments need help with refereeing, and learning the rules of the game helps with club instruction.
Fold, staple, and mutilate your way to getting bent out of shape -- Don’t you just love those lawyer commercials on TV asking if you have been injured or if you think you might be injured or know someone who has been injured or if you know someone who might think about getting injured or even want to be injured? And if someone is injured on YOUR mat, do you know what to do? Betcha you don’t. With this in mind, camp offers Adult CPR, First Aid, kappo, and massage and healing arts. Don’t break what you can’t fix.
Flip ‘em and lick ‘em – flip the coins and lick the stamps that is -- Most martial artists don’t know that stamps, coins, and phone cards showing their art(s) even exist. Master Collector Ronald Allan Charles has put together the world’s largest collection of judo and other martial arts stamps, coins, and telecards on the Internet (http://usja-judo.org/~judo.stamps ). Dr. Charles will show items from his extensive collection and discuss this injury-free, safest aspect of martial arts and how, unlike the arts themselves, getting what you want needn’t cost an arm and a leg.
Under the big top – As at a circus, you must choose from simultaneously ongoing activities on six mat areas and off-mat referee and coaching classes. Mats are designated for competitor classes, jujitsu, juniors, kata, martial arts other than jujitsu and judo, and special use. Except for lunch and supper breaks, activities run all day long. It’s amazing how much you can learn in one nine-hour day on the mat.
From the best teachers come the best students -- Teachers representing the United States Judo Federation, the United States Judo Association, and United States Judo, Incorporated offer their expertise. Instructors of other martial arts are highly respected in their fields. Some, like Ernie Cates, have developed ryu or styles of their own and made significant contributions to the world of martial arts. At least eight instructors are martial arts Halls of Fame honorees.
No kidding around -- Children studying martial arts today will become sensei of tomorrow. Topnotch instructors will be working with them. Junior competition, junior jujitsu, and judo games sessions are planned.
Welcome to the ball -- Gus Carper will present two of his most popular classes: Teaching Judo with Big Balls and Uchi-komi for Dummies. Gus, in classes designed to entertain and educate both kids and instructors, uses big balls to teach balance and falling skills, and dummies (nobody we know) to assist with throwing practice.
They come from far and wide -- Nick Lowe, a widely traveled teacher, will come again from Great Britain , where he trains the national team, to teach competition techniques. He also will teach judo grips popular in Europe , a class that promises to be a gripping experience.
Time for throwing up – Saturday’s tournament is free to campers, with a nominal fee for others. Referee candidates will dazzle everyone as they demonstrate skills for certification. There will be training sessions in working scoreboards and timekeeping and in wrestling with judo. Something for everyone.
Going up? – Think you might be ready for promotion? Let our rank examiners help you make that decision.
Going down? -- Bring your bathing suit to immerse yourself in the camp experience at the pool. Bring your appetite for diving into fine lunches in the dojo and restaurant dinner buffets. Bring an extra martial arts uniform so you don’t drown in your own sweat. Make travel plans early and reserve a discounted room at the camp hotel. Rooms fill quickly. Bring a team to share costs.
You is singular. Y’all is plural. Plurally plural is all y’all. So all y’all come!
Camp schedule: http://www.usja-judo.org/~usja.camps/Daily%20Schedule.htm
Course offerings: http://www.usja-judo.org/~usja.camps/Courses.htm
Instructor list: http://www.usja-judo.org/~usja.camps/Instructor%20listing.htm