Oxford Tour 2023 Photo Album

DREAM, PLAN, ACTION DREAM, PLAN, ACTION

HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD

Nestled in the heart of the United Kingdom, Oxford is an enchanting city known for its centuries-old architecture, rich history, and vibrant cultural scene. Located 56 miles or 90 km from London, it is home to more than 162,000 people and the world's oldest University, established in 1096. The University of Oxford is a prestigious educational institution that boasts a legacy of academic excellence, groundbreaking research, and has nurtured some of the brightest minds in various fields. Its alumni include influential figures like Stephen Hawking, the inventor of world wide web (www) Tim Berners-Lee, Margaret Thatcher, Malala Yousafzai, Indira Gandhi, and Bill Clinton. With more than 30 prime ministers, 73 Nobel prize laureates, 4 Fields Medalists and 6 Turing Award winners, Oxford has a celebrated tradition of producing exceptional and influential minds. Notably, Oxford is also home to the renowned Rhodes Scholarship, one of the oldest international graduate scholarship programs and its alumni have collectively won 160 Olympics medals. The University is made up of 39 c ll i h udent body of 26,455 students, including 1 uat d 13 445 stgraduates.

KAZUMI TABATA SENSEI’S VISION & LEGACY KAZUMI TABATA SENSEI’S VISION

11943-2020 943-2020

& LEGACY

Our late instructor, Kazumi Tabata Sensei (1943 - 2020), was sent to the USA with a very specific mission in the 1960s: to spread Karate to colleges and universities. His instructor, Isao Obata Sensei, who was one of the first students of Gichin Funakoshi Sensei, had this particular mission for Tabata Sensei, and this is exactly what Tabata Sensei did. He was also the founder of the Karate clubs at MIT and Harvard.

While Karate is a self-defense art useful for protecting oneself in dangerous situations, its benefits are much broader than just self-defense. The Japanese have always believed that the practice of Karate contributes to better academic performance of university students by providing discipline, focus, resilience, emotional control, and improved mental health. Training Karate improves one’s character, and thus shapes individuals who are both better prepared, enjoining success in their professional careers, and more empathetic, working to contribute to the betterment of the world.

Tabata sensei left us in 2020, but his legacy lives on when we continue to work on spreading Karate to other American universities and also on creating international bridges. Today, for example, we have an official partnership with the Japan University Karatedo Federation (JUKF) where we annually have an exchange between univer i d f the US and Japan.

JUKF JUKF

Founded in 1957 | More than 200 colleges

The Japan University Karatedo Federation (JUKF), was founded in 1957 and is comprised of more than 200 universities in Japan. They engage in tournaments together annually at the world famous Nihon Budokan. Recently, they established an international relations chair, appointing Hiro Komine to help build international bridges with universities outside of Japan.

This album celebrates the reactivation of relations with our friends at the University of Oxford. All of these partnerships are a form of Karate diplomacy, where we aim to build bridges to connect students around the world and introduce the power of altruism as a means of helping make the world a better place.

We were lucky to have several generations of Oxford Karate Club Presidents present during our trip: Catherine, Lorenzo, and Johanna! We are excited to see the continued interest and passion for Shotokan Karate at Oxford University.

PRESIDENTS PRESENT PRESIDENTS PRESENT

DURING OUR MAY DURING OUR MAY 2023 TRIP! 2023 TRIP!

KARATE INFOGRAPHIC KARATE INFOGRAPHIC

BOSTON- OXFORD BOSTON- OXFORD

DISTANCE: DISTANCE: 6616 MILES 6616 MILES

110650 0650 KILOMETERS KILOMETERS

TOKYO - OXFORD TOKYO - OXFORD

DISTANCE: DISTANCE: 12000 MILES 12000 MILES

19230 KILOMETERS 19230 KILOMETERS

FLIGHTTIME: FLIGHTTIME: 30 HOURS 30 HOURS

Gojushiho Dai Gojushiho Dai Bassai Dai Bassai Dai

Heian Sandan Heian Sandan Empi Empi

Wankan Wankan Jion Jion

FLIGHTTIME: FLIGHTTIME: 12 HOURS 12 HOURS 6 6KATAS REVIEWED KATAS REVIEWED OR TAUGHT OR TAUGHT 3 3

SEMINARS SEMINARS 2 2

KARATE KARATE

IINSTRUCTORS NSTRUCTORS

London, UK

DAY 1, WEDNESDAY MAY 3: We embark on our 6 hour flight from Boston to London to start our Karate Diplomacy trip

Boston Logan Airport

DAY 2, THURSDAY MAY 4: We arrive at London Heathrow airport, and take a 2 hour bus from London to Oxford! In the evening, we welcome Komine san to Oxford by meeting him at the bus station, and we end our 1st day with a meeting with Komine san at an Italian restaurant to discuss the logistics of the September trip to Boston.

DAY 3, FRIDAY MAY 5: We meet for a light dinner at the Japanese restaurant, Taberu, before our 1st Karate event of the week!

We meet the Oxford Karate team at the Iffley Sports Centre.

We meet the Oxford Karate team at the Iffley Sports Centre. This facility is a historic facility as it is where Roger Bannister became the 1st man to run a mile in under 4 minutes on May 6th, 1954.

Spiros Sensei taught a wonderful seminar, focused first on how to connect the body to the punch. He emphasized the importance of feeling connected both to the ground and the punch to the core. He then worked on 3 kata with the students: Bassai Dai, Gojushiho Dai, and Heian Sandan.

DAY 4, SATURDAY MAY 6: Today was the official Coronation Day of King Charles in London. For lunch, we reunited with Catherine Fan, a graduate of MIT and Oxford and previous Karate Club President, who first helped us make the connection with the Oxford Karate Club in October 2019. She took us on a tour of the local museums in Oxford, and Ricardo was our personal guide, giving us all of the natural history information he has picked up over the years.

In the evening, Vazrik taught a seminar to the Oxford Karate Club. The goal was to build further on what Spiros Sensei emphasized in the class the day before, and he taught kihon that worked on proper handfoot timing in order to connect body weight into the punch, specifically focusing on the chain linking of power from the compression-expansion of the knee, to the rotation of the hip, to the expansion of the shoulder joint. Then, Vazrik taught two katas: Wankan (King’s Crown) and Empi (Flying Swallow)

A Truly International Karate Seminar!

For Kata, Vazrik first taught Wankan (King’s Crown) in honor of Coronation Day as a short but elegant kata that beginners to advanced students could learn. Then, he taught one of his favorite kata, Empi (‘Flying Swallow’), and emphasized the kata’s high speed and both fast and slow movements.

After training, Johanna and Lorenzo organized a reception at the Cape of Good Hope pub in Oxford, where our members from Boston and Japan could meet the Oxford Karateka and learn more about their life goals, what they are studying, and even about their aspirations to do graduate school potentially in the US! Of course, as is our tradition, we exchanged gifts to memorialize this day with the students.

Gift exchange between US and Oxford Karateka as is our tradition everywhere we go.

DAY 5, SUNDAY MAY 7: On Sunday, Vazrik taught one more seminar in the morning. The focus this time was emphasizing the differences between hip rotation and hip vibration. From there, the students reviewed Wankan and Empi so that they could solidify their memory of the kata from yesterday, and then as a special request from some of the Oxford Karateka, Vazrik taught Jion.

After the training session, we had a farewell brunch at Tick Tock cafe. We were excited to hear that many of the Oxford students are interested in visiting Boston in the fall! Ricardo took his flight back to Boston, while Cassiano and Vazrik did some gift shopping for friends in Boston. We had a farewell dinner with Komine san at Ask Italian restaurant, and finalized our plans for his September visit to Boston!

DAY 6, MONDAY MAY 8 - Our final day in Oxford and England! We met Marcela Alves, a Brazilian PhD student at Oxford University, who showed us where to find picanha in Oxford!

Cassiano and Vazrik took the bus from Oxford back to London, and then the flight from Heathrow airport back to Boston.

OFFICIAL OXFORD VISIT DELEGATION 2023