Toledo Summer Camp- An Article By Mr Russell Suthern, Chief Instructor WCMA

This year’s week long training camp was in Toledo, Spain.
There were a few reasons for picking this location:

Firstly, having been to China & the Far East so many times, it made a nice change of destination.
Secondly, Spain has such warm weather & such a relaxed pace of life, we were really able to make our visit a relaxing holiday as well as a training trip.
Thirdly: Swords!!!

The trip over went without hitch & we found our apartment with ease. It was very homely & authentic & right in the heart of the city.

We next found the perfect spot for training, a lovely grassy area next to a beautiful river, by some trees. Perfect for soaking up all that morning chi!

The city itself is like stepping back into the past. It is a UNESCO site of historical interest, so is virtually unchanged since it was built. Cobbled streets & beautiful architecture, carved out of the pinky yellow sandstone of the hill itself. Those thin, narrow streets were never meant for cars, but that does not stop the locals driving around the most harrowing of areas. No wonder all their cars have dents & scrapes on them!

Each day was more or less the same:
We got up early & had breakfast bought from the local supermarket, then we headed to our little spot for our first four hours of training. Then we had our lunch out, surrounded by the beauty of nature, enjoying the sun, the wind, the river, the local wildlife such as birds, ducks & jumping fish. Very idyllic!
After a quick freshen up back at base, the afternoon (too hot to train…) would be spent either sightseeing or shopping, in groups or individually.
Then it was back to the training ground for another couple of hours training as the afternoon stretched into evening & things cooled down, (well, a little bit…)
The evening was spent checking out the various tapas bars & sharing a few ice cold beers, & talking about this & that (mostly Martial Arts!) Then off to bed, not too late, after all, we are no spring chickens any more, & there’s training to be done in the morning…
By the way, Tapas is such a great way of eating, very cultural & if you all contribute a couple of dishes & share, it ends up dirt cheap too!

Back to the training.
One of the reasons camps are so valuable is that they give your training a massive boost forward.
The guys did about 20 hours training over the course of the whole week. If you are only doing an hour a week, this is the equivalent of 5 months training! Even if you are doing 2 hours a week, it’s still an impressive leap forward of 2.5 months. That’s a lot of training!
No wonder the guys movements had really improved by the end of the week!
It is also a fantastic opportunity to get away from the pressures & strains of everyday life & really focus, eat, sleep, talk & practice Kung Fu. All of this is also instrumental to improvement.
The guys practiced the Shuang Yang form & the two person Shuang Yang form in the mornings & their hard style forms in the evening.
Training really did not seem to be a chore in such beautiful surroundings!

Toledo is well known for the quality of its steel & has a long standing reputation for producing high quality swords. I have to say, this was one of the reasons we chose the place, as all who know me know my obsession with all thing sharp & pointy!

Words cannot describe how many swords there are in Toledo, it seems that almost every shops is crammed to the gills with every kind of sword imaginable, from cheap stainless steel “wall hangers” to beautifully crafted live-bladed practical swords & everything in between. Kirsty bought a beautiful straight sword, based on an ancient traditional design. Josh bought a pair of cutlasses, beautifully engraved, which are just the right length & shape for him to practice his double dagger pattern with.
I myself bought a beautiful Katana set, complete with two spare Tsubas, a cleaning kit & sporting a beautiful Damasced steel blade. This means hard & soft steel has been folded together to create a very strong blade. Once seen, that incredible wavy pattern ingrained in the blade is never forgotten!

Photos of all our acquisitions are in the gallery section.
All too soon it was time to go home. It was sad to leave, but the trip back, like the outward journey (& everything about our stay) went without a hitch, so thanks go to Shaf who once again proved her tremendous organisational skills.
If this article has got you thinking this might be for you, then start saving, as we will be going back next year!

Mr Russell Suthern, Chief Instructor WCMA