Category Archives: Visitors

Articles, Club, Eugene Oosthuizen, Events, Visitors

Invited Instructor – Sensei Bernard Buys

On Wednesday night, 6 November 2019, the senior class enjoyed a training session with Sensei Bernard Buys. Sensei Bernard is no stranger to Solis Ortus.

He started the class by teaching us how to speed up our punches. A simple technique actually. So, instead of thinking about the hand having to do the punch, think of the hand which will become your next Hikite (put back hand).

After this great eye opener we moved on to hips. If you have ever had the pleasure of watching (martial) art in motion and seeing Sensei Bernard on the tatami, you will know that HIPS and the use thereof is Bernard Sensei’s forte.

The Japanese are very good with the use of their lower body. We are very good in using our upper body strength. We all need to figure the glue between the lower and upper body. HIPS HIPS HIPS!

We do Heian Shodan with zenkutsu dachis and xhosa dachis. The xhosa dachi forces you to squeeze your hip muscles and go down into deep solid stances. These moves ties in beautifully with Empi. The session moves onto Jion and one can see the karatekas getting faster the more they apply Sensei Bernard’s teaching and tips.

The class is finished off with a fun way in which to use your hips. Loosen the little side strings on your gi, now karate your heart out. If the strings did not move, you have not used your hips.

Looking forward to implementing this technique with our youngsters.

Work hard on staying fast on your hips, push and never give up!

Article written by Sandy Oosthuizen

Articles, Club, Eugene Oosthuizen, Events, Visitors

Taniyama Sensei and Okuma Sensei visiting South Africa

It is not always possible for JKA students to travel to Japan and train with our masters and share in their knowledge.

SAJKA bridges this gap by bringing our Japanese Instructors to our doorstep.

Taniyama Sensei (7th Dan) and Okuma Sensei (6th Dan) visited SA from 1 October – 7 October 2019 and hosted a few seminars for SAJKA Karatekas.

On Tuesday, 1 October 2019 3 sessions were presented followed by another two on the Wednesday. The weekend was jam-packed with further interesting classes.

Sensei Eugene and other Solis Ortus karatekas attended the Tuesday session where they did top training session with Okuma Sensei, working on Hangetsu and the bunkai.

On Saturday, Sensei Eugene accompanied more Solis Ortus students. Okuma Sensei went through Jitte and broke it down into smaller parts explaining the bunkai and techniques.

Sunday’s sessions was filled with valuable JKA judging and refereeing by Okuma Sensei and Taniyama Sensei gave a fantastic class on distributing of weight and how to use is in Basai-Dai

Thank you SA JKA for providing us all with the opportunity to train with our masters.

Oss

Articles, Club, Competition, Eugene Oosthuizen, Visitors

Solis Ortus Specialist Training and GKF Training Session

Solis Ortus is privileged to not only have wonderful students, but also great parents. Robbie Brazelle, former Cheetah Rugby Team conditioning coach and dad of one of our young Yellow belt karateka. Robbie offered his time and skills during a training session at the Menlyn dojo for all our All Styles karateka and parents on Saturday 9 March from 07h00 to 08h30, hosted by Sensei Eugene.

The training session focused on strengthening the feet and ankles to improve agility and direction changes. If Robbie’s advice is applied and our athletes use the exercises shown to warm up, strengthen and condition the ankles before competitions their performance can improve from 2% to 5%.

Thank you Robbie, from everyone who attended!

Later the same day, Sensei Eugene presented a GKF Coaching Seminar in Boksburg. He also coaches the GKF Team that will compete on Saturday 16 and Sunday 17 March in Cape Town. This team includes several of Solis Ortus karateka.

Sensei Eugene’s aim with the seminar was aimed at building team spirit amongst the GKF Squad, preparing the athletes and getting them to know each other and their Coaches before the weekend’s event. As he said: good preparation is the key to unlock your true potential!

This session was a great success. With proper training, great spirit, excellent focus and good discipline, you cannot loose. Keep it up, Solis Ortus!

Oss!

Articles, Club, Events, Visitors

Sensei Bernard Buys (JKA 5th Dan Instructor)

Solis Ortus has an invited instructor evening, 3 to 4 times a year, in our senior class.  This time around we were invited Sensei Bernard Buys on 7 November 2018.

Just to give a short introduction to this 44 year old sensei, who briefly pursued a lawyer career and soon realized that karate was his true passion, who swapped his suit and tie for his karate gi. Today, he is a full time JKA karate instructor to almost 200 students in the northern suburbs of Johannesburg, and declared: “I love what I do and wouldn’t change it for anything. I find it incredibly rewarding to teach JKA karate to students, see them grow and love to pass on my knowledge.”

His motto in life is to maintain a disciplined and focused outlook on life; and his quest is: to become fitter, faster, better, stronger and leaner each year.

Sensei Bernard presented a very traditional, down to the point basic class to teach us how to improve our kicks. Although basic….basics are the foundation of traditional karate….he broke it down into building blocks and then combined it to execute with speed, control and precision.

Sensei Bernard also concentrated how to loosen up the hips and stated that hips play an enormous roll in executing an effective kick. Traditional JKA karate depends on hip movement and that makes our karate more effective and different from other styles.

Hip movement, contraction and expansion was of the basics he concentrated on and made us realized how important it is to grade to higher gradings. In line with sensei Bernard’s training session, Solis Ortus is currently preparing for Shodan and up gradings in 2019.

After a hard session, Solis Ortus stood proud to know that our training in the dojo is on par with our current Veteran South African grand champion in both Kata and Kumite, sensei Bernard Buys. Thank you sensei for a great informative session you have presented. We wish you all the best for all your future endeavours and cannot wait to train with you again.

Thank you to Sensei Eugene who always go the extra mile to help us improve our karate. Thank you to the late class who always absorbs every little bit of extra information to excel and improve themselves. Also no one can make someone feel more welcome than a Solis Ortus Welcome….one way JKA, JKA one way….Solis Ortus!

Written by: Heilethe Calitz

Articles, Events, Kata, Visitors

Sensei Marina Valassopoulos

She is an elite athlete, 6th Dan, a Podiatrist, devoted about helping and healing people, a perfectionist and passionate about her karate.

She also had the honour and privilege to grade in Japan.

Solis Ortus had the pleasure to train with Sensei Marina in the beginning of August.

Her focus was plyometric drills, strength, endurance, muscle fatigue, legs and speed. Muscle fatigue is mostly our enemy. She focused on low stances and how to overcome weaknesses and replace it with endurance. Her philosophy is not to give up when your legs are tired but to overcome it with endurance and built strength into your legs. She cleverly combined plyometric and kata training to build strength and speed. Most of her techniques were built around Empi.

Because her passion resides more to kata, she especially helped the older generation to improve their way of applying their kata with more meaning. She indicated that if you are not fast, at least do your kata with feeling….fast is fast and slow is slow…do not rush.

Her patient, methodical, helpful way of teaching was an inspiration to improve ourselves in our karate journey. Class was hard and we definitely received a full body workout. Our senior class really appreciated and enjoyed a well-planned, hard class with Sensei Marina and we look forward to inviting her for another training session.

She admired Sensei Eugene as a top athlete and as an enthusiastic instructor; and complemented Solis Ortus as a well-organised dojo with good vibes.

We, as Solis Ortus karatekas, want to thank Sensei Marina for her dedication and contagious love for karate, and the honour to have trained with her. Thank you to Sensei Eugene for the opportunity to train with such incredible senseis.

Written by: Heilethe Calitz

Events, Visitors

WSKF – Sensei Stephan visits Solis Ortus

It is always a privilege and honour when people from other Dojo’s visit our Dojo. Last night was no exception on the rule.

Sensei Stephan and two of his students from Steyn Dojo in
Potchefstroom did us the honour to come and train with the best kumite Sensei in South Africa; Sensei Eugene Oosthuizen.

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The Solis Ortus students welcomed them with great expectation and trained hard with them. Sensei Eugene presented an incredible kumite class with lots of defending and attacking techniques. The class was vibrant, enthusiastic and energetic.

After a great class full of new knowledge and hard work, we can just say thank you to Sensei Eugene and wish our guests a save trip back home and an open invitation to visit again.

Written by: Heilethe Calitz