BIKO India - Training Camp and Competition
(April 2007)

During the past two or three years the International Membership Section of BIKO has grown significantly. BIKO India is now fully established, with Ganesh Chandra Saha – 4th Dan as their Chief Instructor. BIKO India is now in the process of  developing its network of clubs and appointing its first  officials.

Ganesh Saha, Chief Instructor for BIKO India has made a number of visits to England in order to take part in BIKO Competitions during the last three years.  As BIKO India has become fully established during that time, it was time for an Executive Member of BIKO to visit India.

Ganesh Saha invited Gerry Coulter 5h Dan, Executive Member and Charge D’Affaires for the International Section to visit  India over Easter 2007 to instruct in training sessions and to be their Chief Referee and Judge in the first ever BIKO India Open Championship.

DAY ONE/ TWO: Tuesday/ Wednesday, 3rd / 4th April 2007

Gerry Coulter flew out of Heathrow Airport at 15.00 hours on British Airways direct flight to Kolkata (Calcutta). The direct flight took approximately 9 hours. Gerry‘s flight touchdown at about 4.30am on the morning of Wednesday, 4th April 2007.
As there was no problems at customs with the array of Japanese weapons he had packed, Gerry was able to exit the airport quickly. Ganesh Saha met him at the airport and took him back to his home for breakfast.

Ganesh’s home is on the outskirts of this vast city and is located in a lush green plantation, which is a stark contrast to the highly populated and vibrant hub of the city life of Kolkata. After breakfast and an exchange of gifts, Ganesh drove Gerry back to a downtown hotel for to catch up on his sleep.  The heat and pollution in Kolkata is too great to make training during the daytime feasible. Ganesh met up with Gerry about 18.00 hours for dinner. This meal included locally caught fresh fish cooked with chillies and fried rice. The local cuisine is very light, with light sauces; in contrast to the Bangladeshi cuisine, over the border, which tends to be much heavier.
Needless to say, the meal was accompanied by a quantity of the local beer!

After dinner Ganesh took Gerry on his first sightseeing of the city, which included the biggest Hindu Temple in Kolkata. The surrounding region is the centre of Hinduism in India. The visit included the Avenue of the Untouchables, Ganesh and other grades from his club dealt with the handing out of money and so forth while Gerry was lead through to the temple. Due to the high terrorist threat and the presence of British and American tourists to the temple, there was a very high presence of armed police. This temple being one of the holy places for millions of Hindus the authorities had no alternative but to put high security presence there.

Ganesh pointed out to Gerry that Kolkata is infact a very multi- religious city with significant numbers of Muslims, Christians and Sikhs as well as Hindus.

DAY THREE: Thursday, 5th April 2007

Word had got around that a BIKO 5th Dan was visiting Ganesh’s club and of the first BIKO India Competition. Ganesh was inundated with requests for details and accommodation information.

Ganesh and Gerry had a late lunch, finishing around 15.00hrs. This was Gerry’s first real chicken biryani. As there was no training that day Gerry took the opportunity to take a look round the local bazaar, which was full of hand made saris, leather goods and so forth. Ganesh joined Gerry in the hotel for dinner, which was accompanied by more local beer and followed by local entertainment including local musicians and girl singers.

DAY FOUR: Friday, 6th April 2007

Gerry was collected early in the morning so that he could be transported across town before the city got into full swing and the pollution rose along with the heat. Ganesh found Gerry another hotel on the eastern side of the city which would be nearer the training venue and where the competition would be take place.

This was the first full session of training with about 25 attendees. The number for the following day was expected to increase. There was a lot of interest from individuals wishing to take up membership of BIKO. During this training session Gerry received an invitation from a JKA Instructor, a 4th Dan to train at his dojo (also located in Kolkata) before returning to the UK. This invitation Gerry was happy to accept. The training covered basic techniques and their application in fighting.

After training Ganesh drove Gerry back for dinner in his air – conditioned 4X4 using his own driver who was an expert in the driving conditions and practices of Kolkata.
Gerry found himself eating mainly vegetables, rice, bottled water and bottled fruit juices throughout his visit. The heat and pollution making him shower frequently throughout the day and night. Gerry also found himself inundated with floral tributes in his room, at the dojo and elsewhere, this is an Indian custom.

DAY FIVE: Saturday, 7th April 2007

Saturday was the final day for training prior to the competition on the Sunday. Throughout the day interest continues to grow in the competition. There are many new faces at the Saturday training session. This covered basic techniques and kata with applications. Also weapons training and Kobudo kata.

In discussion with some of the senior grades present at the training session a view emerges that next time they would like to find a venue for the competition in the centre of Kolkata; thereby making it perhaps more accessible to people, given the high level of interest in this, the first BIKO India Competition.

After the training session Gerry went to Ganesh’s house for dinner. This was a traditional West Bengali Dinner all prepared by Ganesh’s wife. It included lamb, curried vegetables, chutney, dal, side salads and potatoes. While Ganesh’s wife did not join them to eat, she did join them for wine after the meal, dressed in a formal sari.

Ganesh told Gerry that he was planning to put action from the training, the competition and from the banquet, due to be held after the competition on a CD, thereby making the whole event available to more people.

DAY SIX: Sunday, 8th April 2007

The entrants began arriving for registration just after 8am, the competition commenced at 9am. The competition categories were the same as in England; including ladies and children. Numerous clubs were represented.

Master Susuki sensei, who lives nowadays in Cyprus, had a number of his Wado-Ryu Clubs from Kolkata in attendance. They provided high quality judges and referees who greatly assisted in the smooth running and high standard of the competition. Also in attendance was a JKA Shotokan trained judge.

Gerry Coulter presented trophies on behalf of BIKO in the UK, and Ganesh Saha presented many trophies and certificates from BIKO India. Ganesh, at the time of writing this report, is in the process correlating all the results, which he will forward to put on the BIKO website in due course.

During the day Gerry Coulter was invited to attend more clubs before he returned to the UK.

It was clear there was great support for more BIKO supported competitions and visits by senior BIKO Instructors.

DAY SEVEN: Monday, 9th April 2007

Monday was spent sight seeing with Tuesday allocated to visiting three dojos before Gerry returned to England on Wednesday. Monday was spent visiting a number of places including Queen Victoria’ s Palace, built almost entirely of white marble, a rectory associated with Mother Teresa of Kolkata and St. Paul’s Cathedral, built in 1814 by a British  Major General of the West Bengal engineers, who also built many of the other public buildings in the city. This was when Kolkata, renamed Calcutta by the British was the centre of government in India, before it transferred to Delhi.

DAY EIGHT: Tuesday, 10th April 2007

Ganesh came to collect Gerry in the afternoon and drove to visit three dojos, the first a Shotokan club run by a local businessman who trained and graded with the JKA. They demonstrated a good standard of kata and fighting for Gerry as the guest Instructor.

They then drove to the outskirts of Kolkata to visit a dojo at a sports club, set in a local park at the side of a river. The surrounding park grounds were laid out with gardens and outdoor sports pitches. In the main building Gerry met the Club Instructor and was again presented with flowers.
Gerry gave the class instruction in basic karate techniques and how they are applied in free fighting. They then drove to a Community Centre at another suburb of Kolkata, where Gerry was introduced to Community Leaders and Councillors who have established the karate club at the Community Centre.

The Club Instructor had arranged for juniors to demonstrate kata for Gerry as the visiting British Instructor. One young member of the dojo performed an excellent San - Chin kata, with such poise and focus, that he should be competing in open competition in the UK.

Following this they drove to another dojo with a large membership. They were all training in a converted warehouse building. They had the side shuttering doors rolled up, giving a cool air flow through the training area. Gerry exchanged gifts with the Chief Instructor Mr. Purna Chandra Sarkar, a well respected karate instructor in Kolkata. Gerry then took the class with various pair work, attacks and defences, and competition techniques. Gerry then demonstrated karate and sai kata before leaving for a specially prepared dinner with the senior instructors, and plenty of local beer!

It was then back to the hotel for a shower and final packing before Ganesh arrived with his wife and driver at 4.30 am to take Gerry back to the airport.

In conclusion, the standard of karate in Kolkata is generally good. However, some clubs need assistance and help from senior instructors, so they can develop to their full potential. This trip has paved the way for further exchanges and training between Britain and India.