Friendship Seminar 2026 in Berlin: Intensive training days for the Shinzen Dojo Berlin
On 27 and 28 June 2026, several karateka from the Shinzen Dojo Berlin am Friendship Lehrgang der Deutschen Kyokushinkai Organisation (DKO) in Berlin teil. Zwei intensive Trainingstage mit anspruchsvollem Kyokushin Karate, intensiver Prüfungsvorbereitung, starken Kämpfern und vielen neuen Impulsen für das eigene Training.
Even though the seminar was not organised by our own association, participating was a valuable opportunity for our karateka to look beyond the confines of their own dojo and get to know other training approaches.
Intensive exam preparation training
The seminar was much more than just preparation for a kyu exam. Over two days, there was intensive training, with great emphasis placed on correct technical execution, stable and deep stances as well as endurance and concentration.
For some participants, the training already felt like a real exam situation. Senpai Mazen describes the seminar as particularly intensive and emphasises that large parts of the training felt like a belt test up to 1st Dan.
Technical details were also repeatedly the focus. The Shihan specifically interrupted the training to demonstrate individual techniques, correct mistakes and explain important subtleties.
Senpai Julia took exactly these details with her as a particularly valuable component of the seminar:
“I personally took a lot away for myself – especially the small details in the execution of the techniques.”
In this way, the seminar not only offered the opportunity to check one's own performance level, but above all concrete approaches that can subsequently be incorporated into one's own training.
Discipline and Budo in training
In addition to technique and physical strain, our participants were particularly struck by the consistent focus on discipline and Budo auf.
Senpai Mazen describes various situations in which this traditional training approach was evident: during explanations, one stood consistently in Fudo Dachi, during the bowing in, consideration was shown for the higher-graded members, and unnecessary talking was avoided during training.
These details shaped the atmosphere of the entire seminar and conveyed a very traditional approach to Kyokushin Karate.
It was not just about executing techniques as correctly as possible. Behaviour within the dojo, mutual respect and the attitude towards the trainers and training partners were also an important component of the two days.
Strong fighters and challenging training
The level of the training was also evident in the area of Kumite. The participants met strong and experienced fighters and were thus able to gain new experiences and test themselves under demanding conditions.
This exchange with karateka outside one's own dojo is an important experience. Different movement sequences, distances, physical requirements and fighting styles bring new challenges and show what one needs to continue working on in one's own training.
The seminar thus combined technical exam preparation, physical strain and practical experience in Kumite.
Challenging yet welcoming
Despite the high requirements, the atmosphere was perceived by our participants as exceptionally pleasant.
Senpai Julia describes the Shihan as open, warm and down-to-earth – yet at the same time consistent and demanding. She was particularly impressed by the joy and passion with which the trainers passed on their knowledge.
“You could simply feel that they enjoy passing on their knowledge.”
Fun was not neglected during the intensive training either. Small games were incorporated into the training and provided a welcome change, especially in the summer temperatures.
The shared cooling down with water balls after training was something our participants remembered particularly well.
New impulses for one's own karate
For Khalid, the two days were above all an opportunity to learn many new things and take away valuable impressions for his own training:
“I learned many new things, gained valuable impressions and was able to take away a lot for my own training.”
That was precisely where the special value of this seminar lay for us.
A seminar outside one's own association and dojo offers the opportunity to view one's own karate from a different perspective. You take away new technical details, experience different training methods, meet new training partners and at the same time get the opportunity to question your own performance level.
For our karateka, the Friendship Seminar was therefore more than exam preparation. These were two intensive days full of training, discipline, budo, kumite, exchange and new experiences.
Ein großes OSU aus Berlin-Schöneberg nach Berlin-Kreuzberg
We would like to thank the organisers and the participating Shihan for the organisation and the intensive work in the sports hall.
A special thanks also goes to our karateka who faced this challenge and used the opportunity to gain experience beyond their own everyday training.
We will take the impressions and technical impulses back into the Shinzen Dojo Berlin Shinzen Dojo Berlin and thus directly into our next training session.
OSU!
Friendship Seminar 2026 – at a glance
Organiser: German Kyokushinkai Organisation e.V. (DKO)
Organizer: Seishin Dojo e.V.
Location: Berlin
Date: 27 and 28 June 2026
Focus areas: Kihon, Kata, Kumite, exam preparation and Budo
Participants: Karateka from the Shinzen Dojo Berlin and other dojos
