Apologies for the delay in posting this report to the website, unfortunately things outside karate have delayed things a bit.
The grading last month turned out to be a bit of mammoth event, there were over 100 karateka training, 50 or so Kyu level gradings and nearly 25 black belt gradings. Sometimes you may not realise the scale of these gradings (in particular the February one) especially as most people only attend for part of the day.
The grading last month turned out to be a bit of mammoth event, there were over 100 karateka training, 50 or so Kyu level gradings and nearly 25 black belt gradings. Sometimes you may not realise the scale of these gradings (in particular the February one) especially as most people only attend for part of the day.
 |
| The Senior Class |
Training was organised in the usual way to make sure that everyone got some input from Alan Campbell Sensei (Head of JKS England) and our guest instructor Shinji Nagaki Sensei (former WKF and JKS World Champion). Everyone I spoke to thoroughly enjoyed the training and the enthusiasm displayed by the instructors.
 |
| Nagaki Sensei leading one of the junior classes |
Grading at these big courses can be intimidating even for adults. Jeon, Alexander (S), and Alexander (C) were the first members of the club to go before the grading panel and they showed very little of any nerves that they might be feeling, all successfully grading to 12th Kyu.
Ben, Harry, Edwin, Liam, Jack, and Evan were next up and again all were successful to grade to 10th Kyu. A special mention has to be made for Ben, who managed to double grade – something that is very rare in the JKS.
 |
| Some of our Successful Karate Kids with a very proud Lorraine Sensei |
I know that all the club instructors were impressed with all our Karate Kids, not just with the results of their gradings, but the spirit, technique and possibly more importantly, their behaviour was exemplary!
Aiwin was the first of the Senior Class to grade, and continued his steady progress and put in another solid grading to achieve his 8th Kyu.
Tom and Holly (C) were obviously inspired by Aiwin’s example and walked away with their 7th Kyu. Tom again managing to double grade, a feat which is even rarer for the adult grade categories.
Joe was the last of our club to attempt a kyu grading. He put in a accomplished performance to take home a purple belt (5th Kyu). Joe now has a brown belt firmly in his sights (only 2 gradings away). The standard required raises sharply between Purple belt and Brown Belt, but Joe is making excellent progress and his dedication will stand him in good stead during the tough training ahead.
Tom and Holly (C) were obviously inspired by Aiwin’s example and walked away with their 7th Kyu. Tom again managing to double grade, a feat which is even rarer for the adult grade categories.
Joe was the last of our club to attempt a kyu grading. He put in a accomplished performance to take home a purple belt (5th Kyu). Joe now has a brown belt firmly in his sights (only 2 gradings away). The standard required raises sharply between Purple belt and Brown Belt, but Joe is making excellent progress and his dedication will stand him in good stead during the tough training ahead.
 |
| Joe Training with Nagaki Sensei |
With the Kyu gradings complete we skipped the Shodan grading (as there were over 20 on them) and first took care of the Nidan (2nd Dan) gradings. Jim and Holly (B) were joined by Matt Sensei (from Selby) and Lacie Stembridge (From Kaizen No-Michi). There was some excellent Kata and gruelling Kumite and I think all four of us were feeling the pressure and were not told the results until after the Shodan Gradings. Congratulations go to Matt and Lacie for successfully gaining their Nidan. Whilst disappointed not to have been successful at the first attempt Jim and Holly are determined to get it next time. Holly did very well, passing two out of the three elements of her grading and only needs to complete the Kata potion at her next attempt.
The final trio from the club to go before the grading panel were Adam, Dael, and Jonathan, all attempting their Shodan. All three showed signs of nerves during the training, and with the number of other Shodan hopefuls the grading seemed to take a long, long time. However all three put in assured, confident and powerful performances and ended the day as newly graded Black Belts!
 |
| Our successful Shodans – Jonathan, Dael and Adam |
Congratulations to all three of them. This achievement is a reflection of their hard work, sweat and extra training in preparation for their grading. However, it does not end here – gaining your Black Belt is the first step to becoming a well rounded Karate-ka. I hope to see you down at the dojo for a long time to come to consolidate your skills.
As ever, our thanks go to our instructors for making the training so enjoyable, and to Paul Sensei for all his efforts behind the scenes to make these gradings run so smoothly.
visit www.haxbykarate.co.uk to find out more about our Club. For more information email info@haxbykarate.co.uk
