The following letter has been prepared by Sensei Steve Gouldson (IOGKF 5th Dan) of EGKA Shinzato Dojo regarding his new dojo premises:
"After virtually a year in preparation Shinzato Dojo (EGKA, IOGKF) is now open. Albeit unofficially the dojo is open for classes that are instructed by Sensei Steve Gouldson 5th Dan (EGKA, IOGKF). The Dojo will be opened officially by Sensei Ernie Molyneux 7th Dan (EGKA, IOGKF). This celebration will take place sometime in March 07. After instructing dojo classes in school gymnasiums and the like for many years it was always the intention to locate a building that could be called "a Dojo". Trying to find such a location & a suitable building had been vitually impossible. But we looked & looked & looked!
Having a wife & children who have & enjoy horses we found a building at the riding stables that was unused. It needed a lot of work but felt the location was perfect. As for the building, in February 2006 it did not have a roof! And the floor had to come out. To convert the building into a Dojo was to become a mammoth task. Throughout the Summer of 2006 students from Shinzato Dojo worked very hard as often as time would allow them to, to come to the Dojo and dig & dig & dig. All in all we excavated by hand approximately 10 tonne of uneven concrete floor which would eventually be replaced by a true, levelled concrete floor which would sit below a sprung loaded batons which would sit below ( what every good dojo should have ) a beautiful wooden floor.
Christmas Eve 2006 the wooden floor we had puchased which was a very seasoned grade 1 Canadian Maple oak reclaimed from an old Liverpool Ballroom was about to be laid. The floor was painstakingly laid over the Christmas period & the walls of the Dojo painted, we wanted to be open for 2007! And we were but as I said, unofficially, Shinzato Dojo will be proud to have the Chief Instructor of our Association open the Dojo with a small course inviting senior instructors to come and train in a small class.
The Dojo is set in acres & acres of beautiful rural woodland surrounded by nature. Very close to the Dojo is a huge lake were people can fish, but it is also a horse riding school too so horses are always close by. There is a large Japanese Koi pond close by too and a nice cafeteria were to have you can have a bite to eat. The style of the Dojo has been kept what we hope very traditional, having been fortunate to travel to Okinawa and see amongst others Higaonna Sensei,s Dojo the style is simple & relevant to the training we hope to enjoy there. The Dojo is small again very similiar to most Okinawa Dojo so our classes will be small and specific to varying levels of students. Karate classes are strucured during the week and a training timetable will be published.
The weekend days Saturday & Sunday are free training days, members of Shinzato Dojo can come and train with their Dojo partners & friends and use the Dojo as they wish. We are in a very lucky postion to be able to open the Dojo at any time to cater for everybody's needs. We courtiesly extend the invitation to all EGKA students and particularly senior instructors to come & train at our Dojo if they wish. We look forward to publishing photographs of the Dojo in the near future, but I don't think the location and the views and actually seeing the Dojo for real will do justice... so come and have a look."
