Shudokan Karate Kids Do Dresden

 _____________________________________________________________________________                                                                                                              

 

 July 9, 2011, Artern - The Shudokan Karate and Education Canada Society  sports/cultural exchange with German youth continues in Artern, Germany. Students were greeted with specially designed "friendship" T-shirts with the logos of the two clubs.

 

Shudokan students have also engaged in a karate-wrestling exchange and demonstrations with instructors and students of  Athletenclub “Germania” Artern e.V.

 

Shudokan karate students have also had the privilege of practicing with the local Shotokan Karate Club where exercises and techniques were exchanged in the spirit the friendship and camaraderie common for martial arts practitioners throughout the world.

 

On one special day Shudokan students were warmly greeted in the town hall by the Mayor of Artern. After that they were treated to a discussion of the importance of sports by Olympic gold and silver medal hurdler Johanna Schaller-Klier--examining her Olympic medals and having photographs taken with her later. In addition, Pierre Mueller of Landessportbund Thüringen e.V. Germany, a key sponsor of the visit, made a formal presentation and there was a gift exchange.

At an earlier day the students travelled to the the historic mountain town of Thale where they took a beautiful gondola ride up a mountainside to Seilbahnen Thale Leisureworld. This provided a breath taking view of the town and the stunning Bode Valley. There they toured a petting zoo, rode a downhill bobsled track, and explored the mountain.

 

 

Possibly the highlight of a trip of wonderful experiences was the opportunity to travel to the thriving old  world metropolis of Dresden. There visited the Aboriginal artworks being exhibited under the title of "The Power of Giving" at Kunsthalle im Lipsiusbau, a part of Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden (Dresden State Art Collections).  This is an unique exhibition project between the U’mista Cultural Centre in Alert Bay, BC, Canada and the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden. Both institutions have exchanged objects from their collections and presented them in simultaneous exhibitions that examine the question of what the association between "the gift" or the act of “gift-giving” and power is. Sensei Calvin Helin played a small role in this exhibition having written a short essay for a fantastic book that was published to commemorate the exchange.


Everyone later attended the FIFA world cup soccer match between Canada and Nigeria. The fact that such a match took place while the students were visiting Germany is indeed likely to be a one-in-a-hundred year coincidence. Though the results of the match were poor for Canada, the experience will never be forgotten by Shudokan students. The excitement of the large crowd and the atmosphere of a FIFA event were amazing.

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                       
 

 

Would like to Give Special Thanks:

 

Unique opportunities such as this are not possible without the generosity, support, dedication and hard work of key people. The Board of Directors of Shudokan would like to specifically thank:

for the much appreciated financial contributions. In addition, the society would like to thank the organizations of SOS Children’s Village British Columbia (Canada) Society, and  Landessportbund Thüringen e.V. Germany for their sponsorship. Finally, Shudokan's Board wishes to extend a special thank you to Mr. Pierre Mueller and Reinhart Aulinger of Stewart, Aulinger & Company for their hard work and unwavering support in making this opportunity a reality.

 

 

 About:

 

SOS BC operates a SOS Children Village consisting of five family homes in the Fraser Region area attending 25 children onsite.  At the same time SOS BC supports over 100 children through its therapeutic, literacy, and recreational programs and caregiver support services.    

 For More Information:

SOS Children’s Village

British Columbia (Canada) Society

102 – 5830 176 A Street

Surrey, B.C.  V3S 4H5

Tel: 604 – 574 – 2964

Fax: 604 – 574 – 2967

www.sos-bc.org

_______________________                                                                                                                        

For further information on Shudokan go to: http://www.shudokan.ca/ or Call (604) 275-6670


 

 

Shudokan is a non-profit society whose purpose is to help Aboriginal and inner city children and youth move forward in education and life through the practice of martial arts. Since its inception, it has had over 1000 students join, and is now in its 9th year of operation.

 

Shudokan Website is Now Available in Japanese Language

 

Thanks to the generous sponsorship of Touchstone Webworks Inc. the Society website is now available in Japanese.