BCAF 2024 Shochugeiko in Shawnigan Lake, BC Registration Open
2024 BCAF Shochugeiko in Shawnigan Lake, BC, August 2nd - 5th, 2024
Info Package
If you already know you're coming, skip the information and register here
Welcome to the 2nd Annual BCAF Shochugeiko!
Host dojo Shawnigan Lake Aikikai would like to welcome you to the 2024 BCAF Shochugeiko. Join aikidoka from all over BC and beyond for a weekend of intense practice, local exploration, swimming and socializing.
It seems timely and appropriate for the zeitgeist we are living in to give this camp a theme, ‘Diversity in Aikido’. We are featuring a diverse set of instructors, three male and three female, who all bring their own flavor to their practice. A variety of instructors who will each bring a different conceptual approach, teaching style and breadth of experience to our program, showing everyone in and outside of aikido that there is room for diversity in our community, and that aikido is big enough to hold space for everyone and can approach everyone with an open mind, heart and spirit.
Location
Shawnigan Lake School Campus
1975 Renfrew Rd
Shawnigan Lake, BC
The venue will be Shawnigan Lake School, on their private campus. We will have access to their gym and fields. There is accommodation available in the dorms on campus. All meals will be prepared and consumed at the dining hall, also on campus. We will have access to the lake for swimming, right across the road.
When you approach the main entrance, please do not enter here. Instead, look 50 meters further and take the next entrance, called the WEST GATE. Follow the signs to the gym, past the hockey arena. There is some parking right by the gym. If this is full, please park at the hockey arena parking.
| Schedule | ||
| Friday evening | 18:30 - 19:45 | John Petersen Sensei |
| 20:00 - 21:15 | John Petersen Sensei | |
| Saturday morning | 9:00 - 10:15 | Megan Sekiya Sensei |
| 10:30 - 11:45 | Megan Sekiya Sensei | |
| Saturday afternoon | 13:45 - 15:00 | Ramin Arvin Sensei |
| 15:15 - 16:30 | Ramin Arvin Sensei | |
| 16:45 - 18:15 | Swim break* | |
| Saturday evening | 18:30 - 19:30 | Dinner |
| 20:00 - 21:30 | Demonstrations** | |
| Sunday morning | 9:00 - 10:15 | Sharon Bader Sensei |
| 10:30 - 11:45 | Sharon Bader Sensei | |
| Sunday afternoon | 13:45 - 15:00 | Myrna Harrod-Taniguti Sensei |
| 15:15 - 16:30 | Myrna Harrod-Taniguti Sensei | |
| 16:45 - 18:15 | Swim break* | |
| Sunday evening | 18:30 - 19:30 | Dinner |
| 20:00 - 21:30 | Kawahara Sensei Memorial Hike*** | |
| Monday morning | 9:00 - 10:15 | Daniel Kempling Sensei |
| 10:30 - 11:45 | Daniel Kempling Sensei | |
NOTES
*Swimming
There is lake access right across the road from campus. As this is part of school grounds, we must have a certified lifeguard on duty, which is why we have a designated swim time slot. If you wish, there are other spots around the lake to go swim where a lifeguard is not needed. If anyone of you is a certified lifeguard, please let us know. You can contact us at selskens@shaw.ca.
**Demonstrations
We invite all shochugeiko participants, instructors and students alike, to prepare a small demonstration. The idea is to invite the local community, family and friends, to come and watch, while we celebrate and showcase our art to them and each other.
You can demo anything you like. A solo or paired bokken or jo kata. A randori or jyu waza session. A group demo with your dojo members. An alternative warmup routine. Tanto dori. A poem. Whatever. Keep it short, maybe a few minutes.
Show the confidence you have earned, and if you mess up, show the humility you have learned. Relax and have fun with it. Show what you are passionate about, without the pressure of testing. In keeping with the theme, ‘Diversity in Aikido’, let’s share our wide variety of interpretations of what our beautiful art is about.
If you would like to participate, please let us know (up to a day in advance), so we can organize everyone into a demo roster and announce to the public who you are and what you will be demonstrating. You can contact us at selskens@shaw.ca.
***Kawahara Sensei Memorial Hike
Please join us for a hike up local Baldy Mountain. We will bring our bokken and, in memory of Kawahara Sensei, practice 500 cuts on our way up, as was his advice as a DAILY routine. When we reach the top, we should be able to enjoy a wonderful view over Shawnigan Lake, the Cowichan Valley and the Gulf Islands, and maybe the sunset. Perhaps another late-night dip in the lake afterward.
Looking forward to seeing old friends and new faces!