The Washington Karate Academy held a sword seminar for the Black Belts of the academy on June 23. Hanshi LD Tomlinson — Hanshi meaning teacher or professor — was invited from the Wilson area to host the seminar.

The seminar’s purpose was to teach the instructors the proper posture, holding and the basics of sword cutting. The kata, or training exercise, was called Shinto Kaze No Katana.

Tomlinson originally learned the technique from Doc Stroud Hanshi of Kinston. Stroud passed away six years ago in July of 2013.

The sword kata, Shinto Kaze No Katana, came from a martial arts instructor from Japan that Stroud brought in to teach to him self and other instructors. Stroud educated Tomlinson on the technique.

Tomlinson learned sword from Baillargeon Soke, the founder of the International Karate and Jujitsu Union, as well as Ruiz Hanshi, the founder of the International Karate and Kobodu Union.

“(Stroud) was an awesome martial arts instructor,” Washington Karate Academy instructor David Warren said. “I trained with him quite a bit. He is very missed.”

Warren, as well as his associate instructor Josh Chandler, traveled to Kinston back in March to start learning kata. To continue learning the exercise and technique, they invited Tomlinson Hanshi to the Washington dojo for all of the staff to learn.

Many years ago, Warren learned the kata techniques from a different sensei. As time went on, different interpretations of the technique were displayed from different instructors that were not the traditional form.

Luckily for the academy, Warren found Tomlinson Hanshi and wanted his staff to be correctly informed on the traditional kata techniques.

Five Black Belts were in attendance of the seminar, and according to Warren, Tomlinson gave a fine lesson.

“(Tomlinson) Sensei is a superb instructor and very easy going,” Warren stated. “Everyone there had a good time and it was an exceptional seminar on the kata.”

Tomlinson is scheduled to come back to the Washington dojo in Sept. to see how all the Black Belts are doing with what they learned from the seminar.

“This very sword kata has been a long quest for me to have the form and structure back in its place,” Warren said. “ I don’t know how and why it was changed when it came to me, but now hopefully the integrity of kata will be back in its place to honor its author.”