Kyokushin training camp · Tbilisi, Georgia
Not a sports holiday. A real kyokushin camp in Tbilisi.
Seven or fourteen days in Tbilisi under Tariel Nikoleishvili — 2011 Absolute World Champion, 100-man kumite in 2014. Two sessions a day in a purpose-built dojo. Sixteen places, so every one of them gets corrected.
Next module · 4 Aug 2026
- 2
- sessions a day
- 16
- athletes, maximum
- 7 / 14
- day modules
- 16+
- age minimum
Who you train under
Every session on this camp is led personally by the head coach, from the first warm-up to the last round.
Tariel Nikoleishvili
Head coach
4 dan · Member of the Board, KWU SENSHI Europe
A Georgian karateka, 4th dan, and one of the few fighters to hold an absolute world title and complete the 100-man kumite. He teaches every session on this camp himself, and he still instructs internationally — most recently at the XX International Martial Arts Summer Camp in Varna in July 2026, one of the instructors in front of 1,600-plus participants from 49 countries.
Competition record
- 2011Absolute World Champion
- 2014Completed the 100-man kumite
- 2010Absolute Champion of Japan
- 2010Japan Championship, weight category — 1st
- 2010European Championship — 1st
- 2008World Championship — 1st
Every line above is checkable
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/100-man_kumite
- kwusenshi.com/profile/sensei-tariel-nikoleishvili/
- www.kwunion.com/kwu-senshi/20th-international-martial-arts-summer-camp-2026/
- www.instagram.com/kwusenshi.georgia/p/DaQEyFRjRS3/
The 100-man kumite
One hundred consecutive full-contact fights in a single day. It is the oldest and bluntest test in kyokushin, and most people who attempt it do not finish. He finished it on 26 April 2014 — number 27 on a list of about thirty people, entered there under the Russian flag he was competing for at the time.
Goderdzi Tsigriashvili
Coach
Coaches kyokushin and kickboxing at Gymnasia year-round, including the club's junior groups. He assists on the camp; the head coach leads every session.
Inside the camp
Photographs from the kyokushin camp that ran in this room: the athletes who travelled for it, the sparring day, the morning hill runs above the city.
Athletes who travel for it
The last group came in International Martial Arts Summer Camp and SENSHI kit, from clubs outside Georgia. They came for the training.
Sparring is on the timetable
Kumite is a scheduled session, twice a week, in shin and instep guards. If you do not want to spar, this is the wrong camp.
Conditioning outdoors
Morning hill runs. The engine work does not happen on a treadmill.
A room built for kyokushin
Gymnasia has a dedicated kyokushin dojo — shoji screens, hanging scrolls, a kamiza. The club's own karate groups train in it every week of the year, which is why it exists.
Purpose-built
A 70 m² room with a sprung floor under the mats, sized for kumite rounds rather than as general mat space.
Inside a full sports club
Weights, conditioning floor, sauna and recovery are in the same building. Nothing needs a taxi.
The same coaches all year
Gymnasia is a club first. The coaches who take your sessions teach in this room every week, and they are here the week after you leave.
The training week
Two sessions a day, a light Wednesday, Sunday off — the load the head coach published for his own camp. The times and the session content are ours.
| Day | 11:00Morning | 18:00Evening |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | Kihon, kata and technique | Strength & conditioning |
| Tuesday | Kihon, kata and technique | Kumite — bag work, pads, sparring |
| Wednesday | Recovery / light session | No session |
| Thursday | Kihon, kata and technique | Strength & conditioning |
| Friday | Kihon, kata and technique | Kumite — bag work, pads, sparring |
| Saturday | Strength & conditioning | No session |
| Sunday | Rest | No session |
Schedule is subject to change at the head coach's discretion.
What the load actually feels like
Ten sessions a week, one of them a light recovery day, with technique placed under fatigue by design — the second session of the day is deliberately harder than the first. Come conditioned enough to train twice a day for a week. If you are not there yet, take the 7-day module rather than the 14.
Kyokushin rules, in plain terms
Kyokushin is knockdown karate: bare-knuckle punches to the body, kicks to the body and head, no punches to the head, and a fight decided by knockdown rather than points. If you have come from another style, this is the part to read twice.
- 01
Bare-knuckle to the body
Punches to the chest and midsection land with no gloves. Body conditioning is not optional in this style; it is the style.
- 02
Kicks to the body and the head
Kicks are legal everywhere, head included. Shin and instep guards are worn; the hands are bare.
- 03
No punches to the head
The single rule that surprises visitors from kickboxing and K-1 most. Hand strikes to the head are a foul.
- 04
Won by knockdown
There are no points for touches. A fight is decided by knockdown, by referee decision on damage and forward pressure, or by extension rounds.
Rounds on this camp are controlled and matched by size and experience. Nobody is fed to anybody.
What you work on
Kyokushin is decided in the last thirty seconds of a round. The camp is built backwards from that.
- 01
Technique under fatigue
Technical work comes after conditioning, not before it. Clean technique when fresh is not the skill being tested.
- 02
Strength that transfers
Posterior chain, hip drive, grip. Enough capacity left to hold a stance in the third round.
- 03
Bag work and pads
Volume on the bag, then pads with a coach reading and correcting the shot in real time.
- 04
Kumite
Controlled full-contact rounds, matched by size and experience. Twice a week, on the timetable.
- 05
Kihon and kata
The basics that hold up when you are tired, and the grading syllabus if you are working toward one.
- 06
Mindset
Osu no seishin — the habit of continuing. Not a slogan here; it is what the second session of the day is for.
Who this camp is for
Come if you
- train regularly and are past the beginner stage
- are preparing for a competition or a grading
- can handle one to two sessions a day for a week
- want correction from someone who has been at the top of this sport
Don't come if you
- are looking for a holiday with a class attached
- have never trained a striking art
- are under 16 — train with Gymnasia's junior groups instead
- would rather not spar
Minimum age 16. Knockdown kumite — bare-knuckle punches to the body, kicks to the body and head — is not a children's format, and the head coach set that limit himself.
Sixteen places a module.
Tell us what you train and what you are training for. We will tell you honestly whether this is the right camp.
Why Tbilisi
A serious camp costs what it costs. The trip around it does not have to.
Cheap to reach, cheap to stay
Direct flights from most of Europe, the Gulf and Central Asia. A week here costs a fraction of the same week in Western Europe or Japan.
Visa-free for many
Citizens of many countries enter Georgia visa-free. Check the current rules for your own passport with an official source before you book.
A combat sports country
Georgia — the country on the Black Sea, not the American state — produces judo and wrestling medallists at a rate its population does not explain. Full-contact sport is taken seriously here.
Somewhere worth the rest day
Mountains an hour out, sulphur baths in the old town, and food that makes a training week considerably easier.
Where you stay
Two ways to do this, depending on how much you want handled.
Training only
You take the training and arrange your own bed. Cheapest way in, and the right choice if you have friends here or want to pick your own place. We will point you at the neighbourhoods near the dojo.
Full board
Hotel, meals and training in one price. Shared room as standard, private room for a supplement. You land, you train, you eat, you sleep — nothing else to organise.
What it costs
The same rates as every other Gymnasia camp. The price is per week, straight through — fourteen days is exactly twice seven.
| 7 days | 14 days | |
|---|---|---|
| Training onlyAll training. Accommodation and meals arranged by you. | €500 | €1,000 |
| Full boardHotel, meals and all training. Shared room. | €990 | €1,980 |
| Private roomSupplement on top of full board, EUR 200 per week. | €200 | €400 |
per person
Included in every package
- All scheduled sessions, taught by the head coach
- Full access to the gym, conditioning floor and sauna
- Airport pickup on arrival
- A written training plan to take home
Not included
- Flights
- Travel insurance — required, and your responsibility
- Gi and protective equipment
- Anything outside the timetable
Sixteen places per module. When they are gone we will say so rather than squeeze you in.
No payment on this page. We reply with availability and a written quote first.
Dates
A new module starts the first Tuesday of every month, on the same calendar as the other Gymnasia camps.
| Starts | 7-day ends | 14-day ends |
|---|---|---|
| 4 Aug 2026Next module | 10 Aug 2026 | 17 Aug 2026 |
| 1 Sept 2026 | 7 Sept 2026 | 14 Sept 2026 |
| 6 Oct 2026 | 12 Oct 2026 | 19 Oct 2026 |
| 3 Nov 2026 | 9 Nov 2026 | 16 Nov 2026 |
| 1 Dec 2026 | 7 Dec 2026 | 14 Dec 2026 |
| 5 Jan 2027 | 11 Jan 2027 | 18 Jan 2027 |
| 2 Feb 2027 | 8 Feb 2027 | 15 Feb 2027 |
| 2 Mar 2027 | 8 Mar 2027 | 15 Mar 2027 |
Arrive the day before. The first session is on the Tuesday morning.
Other dates are possible for groups of four or more. Ask.
Questions
- Which Georgia?
- The country. Tbilisi, in the Caucasus between the Black Sea and Russia — not the American state. Direct flights from most of Europe, the Gulf and Central Asia, and citizens of many countries enter visa-free.
- What grade do I need to be?
- Any grade above absolute beginner. The camp is mixed-grade and pairing is done by size and experience, not by belt. What matters is that you already train and can handle two sessions a day.
- Do I have to spar?
- Kumite is on the timetable twice a week and it is the reason most people come. If an injury means you should not spar, tell us in advance and the coach will adapt your rounds — but if you would rather never spar, this is not the right camp.
- Is this kyokushin only?
- The camp is kyokushin, taught by a kyokushin champion. Fighters from other full-contact styles — kickboxing, K-1, karate styles with a contact ruleset — train here productively and are welcome.
- What do I need to bring?
- Gi, belt, groin guard, shin and instep guards, plus running shoes for the morning conditioning. Tell us in advance if you need to buy anything here and we will point you at Krivi, Gymnasia's own gear shop.
- Can I grade — kyu or dan — at the camp?
- Ask when you apply. Kyu and dan gradings are at the head coach's discretion and depend on your federation and your current grade. This is not a federation event, so we will not promise you an exam to get you on a plane — we tell you before you book rather than after.
- What language is the camp in?
- Sessions run in English and Russian, and Georgian when everyone in the room speaks it. Kyokushin terminology is Japanese everywhere, which does most of the work.
- I want to bring my club.
- Good — four or more and we can set dates around you and quote the group as a whole. Say so in the form and we will come back with options.
Apply for a place
Tell us where you are in the sport. We reply within 24 hours with availability, the full cost, and an honest answer about whether the camp suits you — no payment at this step.