BIKO VISITS THE LAND OF THE PHAROS
24-30th OCTOBER 2005

DAY 1 Monday
Some of the executives of the British Institute of Karate Organisation (BIKO) visited Alexandria in Egypt on Monday 24th October 2005. Mr. Peter Ashby Treasurer, Mr. Gerry Coulter Public Relations Officer and Kaicho Garth Waldropt Chief Instructor, made this momentous journey. When the invitation was sent to BIKO, the offer was too good to refuse. We left Heathrow on the first leg of the journey at 5.30pm which took us to Milan in order to get a connecting flight too Cairo. When we finally arrived in Cairo we were met by an Egyptian delegation, which comprised of Mr. Mohamed El-Husseiny who was the head of delegation and President of the Egyptian Karate Federation in Alexandria. Mr. Mousheer Edres and Mr. Hazim Attia who were both instrumental in organizing the trip to Egypt

DAY 2 Tuesday
After arriving in the early hours of the morning, 2.00am Tuesday, we then had to make a 3-hour drive by mini bus to Alexandria. Although it was a long and arduous trip, it was informative and as we approached our final destination, the sunrise was breathtaking. What we had noticed from this journey, it was going to be very hectic, in the early mornings and evenings, because this trip was organized in the month of Ramadan, which is a holy time, which included fasting for the Egyptians. Everything came alive in the nighttime, when (he people ended their fasting known as 'break fast'. Mr. Ashby and Kaicho Waldropt abided by this tradition and were able to fast during their stay. Our first training session began on Tuesday evening at 9.oopm with a packed dojo of 80 enthusiastic students. There were boys 10 years to under 21 years training before hand. Competition techniques were taught along with kumite and how to use the tatarni effectively. The session finished just after mid night giving us time to take pictures with the students and instructors. The session was well received and we were asked to do another seminar at another dojo the following night. When the session was finished we were again treated to late night eating and site seeing till the early hours of the morning.

DAY 3 Wednesday
On Wednesday eveiyone had a lie in until loam and then it was up for a stroll along Alexandria's beautiful coastline. We visited the famous library, a site that must be seen and a guided tour, which was organized for us explained about the artifacts with all the old manuscripts of the Bible and the Qu'ran. After the tour we took a trip to the wellknown yacht club and fishing town. Later that after noon we met the Head of the Egyptian Karate Federation, Mr. Mansour Zaher and his executives and after the 'break fast', Kaicho Garth Waldropt presented a gift from BIKO, which was well received. After the presentation, we departed in order to get ready for the nights training session. The session started at an earlier time of 8.33pm. Again, it was along the same lines as the previous lesson. However, this time the girls were present Once more, the dojo was fall with over fifty students who took part. The enthusiasm was electrifying. There were fewer students this time because only students who were picked for a karate team match were present. It would seem that we had arrived at a time when the students were training for a karate match, which was the Egyptian Karate Federation team versus the Alexandria Karate Federation team. This would be a very heated contest where everyone wants to win. Unfortunately the BIKO executives were unable to attend because they were in a different district and it was too far to be there. The final result was that the Egyptian Karate Federation Team proved too strong for Alexandria.

DAY 4 Thursday
We rested until 8.arn, got ready and were on the road to Cairo. This time to visit the Great Museum and the Pyramids. The visit to the museum could have taken 3 days; there were so much to see. We did it in 2hours. We actually had a sense of excitement to know that we were approaching the pyramids, the resting place ofthe great Pharaohs. And just wandering how were those ever built. Unfortunately because it was Ramadan, the site was closed early, because everyone wanted to get home to 'break fast'. All we could do was to take some pictures outside of the area with the great pyramids in the background. Well this means we will have to go again and make sure that we are on time. We made our long journey back somewhat disappointed. That night we had to visit a competition which was organized by Alexandria It was the kata section, but unfortunately we missed the kata, but got the early stages of the kumite. The competition was of a high standard and it was held on a five a side football pitch on two tatarni in the open air, under the stars. Yes under the stars. It was for boys and girls lO years to 15 years. They were all competing for a place in the final on the following day.

DAY 5 Friday
We once again rested until 10 o'clock and then it was off to see what the town had to offer. The main mode of transport was the yellow and black taxis, which was a hair raising experience. In the early afternoon we went to the yacht club to coach some junior members in kata and kumite. The students showed excellent etiquette and attitude. Later that afternoon the BIKO exec had a dip in the sea, which for the time of year was very cold. But they managed to stay in there for 25 minutes. After a chilling experience, it was time to 'break fast', then back to the hotel to get ready for the competition later on that evening. We arrived at the competition to find Mohamed and the rest of the organizers with the final preparations. The competition started at 8.00pm with the kumite and during the event at various intervals there was different type of demonstrations. Once again, many pictures were taken with the competitors. There were other dignitaries at the competition, for example the President of the karate federation for Alexandria and the British Consul for Alexandria All the competitors received a certificate and the dignitaries had a memorable gift presented to them. When the competition had finished we were taken to a local eating place where we ate and reminisce on the earlier proceedings. After a long night we returned to our hotel for a well-earned rest.

DAY 6 Saturday
Saturday was a free day In the afternoon we visited the sporting club complex and saw the fantastic facilities they had.

DAY 7 Sunday
It was time to start packing for our homeward drive. The transportation was once again the minibus for our last 3-hour voyage back to Cairo. However the journey didn't seem that long. We said our farewells to all we had met and left Alexandria at 5.00pm. Before we headed to the airport Mr. Mansour Zaher invited us to his office at the Egyptian Karate Federation. It was filled with many trophies their competitors have won in the past. Mr. Zaher talked about a protocol between BIKO and the Egyptian Karate Federation. This will include training camps in England and Egypt. BIKO will continue to forge links with Egypt and have further events in the future. Before leaving Mr. Zaher presented us with a set of commemorative stamps each depicting the World Karate Championships, which was held in Cairo in 1983. The BIKO executive would like to take this opportunity to thank the Egyptians for their hospitality and making the trip a memorable one. Any one interested in BIKO's events do visit our website at www.bik.org.uk otherwise ring our Secretary Alan Beale on 01227 369 212 or 07778 169 212.

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