The next day it is time to hit the mats for the seminar, and I work on Arm Bars, Hook Punch Defence and Dan Bong to the delight of the local students. I also get the chance to tick off my first country for CGN Fabian’s challenge. Hello to the Hapki Combat Lederhosen, something I am not sure will catch on.
HAPKI COMBAT LEDERHOSEN
Day 2 on the mats in Austria and Kick Defence is the focus, then onto defence from attacks from behind and as a special extra I wrap up the day with an introduction to Turbo Topics which is very well received. It was a good couple of days and plans are already underway to return next trip. I have told GM Perry that if he ever finds his way down under he is welcome to spend some time with us. Monday is a free day and we enjoy a leisurely morning catching up with e-mails, then heading into town for another schnitzel. For a snack afterwards we visit an original bakery established in the 1500’s. A good coffee, lots of laughs and the Austrian snack round up the sight seeing. After that we head back to the Dojang where I spend a couple of hours working with GM Perry on some of our Advanced Dan Bong, Sword and Reversal Techniques. On our driving around I notice a logo becoming more familiar in Aus, Aldi is a German chain that bought out Hofer, but the change in names didn’t work here, so they have the Aldi logo with the Hofer name to keep the locals happy…
Established in 1569
Familiar logo, strange name
*Side Note* Austrians are a pleasant group, for example when one leaves a restaurant or café, they say goodbye to the entire place, with most inside responding politely. They also switch to English when it is apparent you don’t understand German and are in general helpful. Overall you get the idea that most are happy to live here.