At the invitation of the Brazil Branch (led by Aldemiro Castro), Shihan Takuya Nemoto of Shishin Dojo, Chiba Branch, Kyokushin Hamai Group, visited Brazil to conduct dan and kyu promotion tests and a training seminar.
Five candidates took the dan promotion test, which was extremely demanding and included kihon, ido geiko, kata, flexibility, conditioning, jumping kicks, and consecutive kumite. The Brazil Branch's traditional ido geiko alone lasted about an hour, testing the candidates' mental strength and technique.
Over the two days following the test, a training seminar was held. The instruction centered on the training system of the late Chairman Noriyasu Hamai and on practical techniques inherited from the Kyokushin karate of Sosai Masutatsu Oyama, and participants trained with great focus. Kyu promotion tests and training sessions were also held at a dojo in another region and at Shihan Aldemiro's combined home and dojo, where the students' sincere commitment to training, even in a harsh environment, left a strong impression.
This trip, the first visit to Brazil in about 29 years, was an opportunity to feel anew the international bonds formed through Kyokushin karate and the educational value that a dojo holds.
