~Review of the 1st GKJN Cup, and Preparation for Next Year~
On July 8th, the 5th GKJN Board Meeting took place via Zoom between Chicago and Japan. The following day, the Board Meeting of Tohkon Judo Academy took place where I participated as a Board Member.
The main topic of the Tohkon board Meeting was to discuss about the 25th Tohkon Cup (Individuals) and the 1st GKJN Cup (Team Event). Wrap up and identifying room for improvement was the core of the discussion.
I will refrain from details, but the major take away was an agreement to “Expand the scope of the event to All America and to invite international teams” “Include a kids play zone within the facility.”
We ended in a very positive note.
In the GKJN Board Meeting, same as Tohkon, we discussed the expansion of the 2nd GKJN Cup. In preparation for this, we discussed the structure of US-Japan Kids Exchange Program. The test case included sending 10 kids from the US to Japan for 1 week to experience the below.
- Experience practice at Kodokan (Tokyo) and a University (Kyoto)
- Participate in a Judo Event in Japan as Team USA.
- Boot Camp together with Kids in Japan (2 nights in Kumamoto) which includes practice and enjoying nature to nurture the culture exchange.
It is a program filled with events, but with the very high price air tickets due to the residual effect from COVID, we need support from various parties to cut our budgets, etc. It may seem tough, but we will spend time to prepare and as an end result, “I want to provide a lot of opportunities to Kids through JUDO and make their future shine.” The members all agree to this spirit and will work hard to accomplish this. I hope the you all can help too.
Tohkon Judo Academy Board Meeting
KJN Board Meeting (via Zoom)
