October Grading Success

The October grading always seems to sneak up on us. One minute its the summer holidays, the next its frantic preparation for grading! This grading course was always going to be a good one. Paul Sensei had managed to secure the instruction of Alan Campbell Sensei, Head of JKS England, and Matt Price Sensei, JKS National Squad Coach.

The training started early (well for a Sunday!) and the junior Karate-ka were soon being put through their paces by both instructors – they did seem to be enjoying it a little too much to judge by some of the photos and videos posted on the clubs Facebook page!

Lilly was first to brave the grading panel from the club (and the youngest karate-ka at the course!). She is obviously keen to follow in her big brothers footsteps and came away with her Orange belt (12^th Kyu). Joshua, Zach and Daniel were up next and all put in strong performances. Daniel was awarded a double graded by the examiners and achieved his 10^th Kyu, with Joshua and Zach moving up to 11^th Kyu.

Double gradings are something that are occasionally awarded. As instructors we cannot recommend student to double grade, so they only happen if the examiners see a particularly strong performance on the day. They are much more common for the early kyu grades, as with the higher grades the requirement to know the appropriate Kata for you grade excludes this award.

That said Thomas also put in a very strong Kihon and Kumite performance and was awarded his 9^th Kyu.  Thomas trains the main class and always demonstrates maximum concentrate and dedication, this was a well deserved result. Stanish and Nixon joined Thomas at 9^th kyu following their grading, both making the steady progress that we like to see in our young Karate-ka.

Poppy was next in front of the grading panel. She has impressed her instructors lately with her attitude and commitment, and this showed in her grading, successfully reaching 8^th Kyu and the last Red Belt grade.  Yellow belt beckons, but this will require learning a whole new Kata – Heian Nidan. It is worth mentioning here that the grades from 9^th Kyu onwards are full, adult grades. After 9^th Kyu there are no allowances for age – so it is a big achievement for a young Karate-ka to be awarded one of these grades. Similarly it is a big challenge to move up to the next grade. Karate-ka should not expect to grade at every course, they may need more time between gradings to make sure that they are fully prepared.

Irena was next to grade. She is the only original member of ‘the parents’ class and has been making good progress from day one. Despite claiming to be a little poorly in the morning (which brought back memories of her grading last time with a ranging temperature!), and showing some signs of nerves, she put in a good performance and achieved her Yellow Belt (7^th Kyu) – no longer can you claim to be a ‘beginner’!

Next up were our trio of Yellow Belts, all hoping to trade their tired old belts in for a nice shiny Green one! And that is exactly what they did – William, Evie and Aiden, all put in confident performances to attain 6^th Kyu. Evie in particular has been putting in a lot of extra training and I think it really shows in the big step forward that her karate has taken.

Alice was taking her first grading with us, after joining us from another club. I know she was quite nervous before, but I have felt at firsthand how strong her Kumite has become! She has made great improvements in her karate since joining us and it showed in her grading, a strong performance got her 5^th Kyu and her Purple Belt. Olivia followed Alice in front of the grading panel, she again has seemed to blossom after joining the club, again she seemed quiet nervous before the training started, but these nervous must have dissipated soon enough as her she came away with 4^th Kyu – Brown belt next!

And Brown Belt was exactly what Holly (C) was aiming form. Holly was the last of our trio of nervous girls (and the last member of the club) up for grading. Holly is one of quiet members of the club that warrants watching carefully, her natural flexibility, aptitude, and attitude have resulted in her making steady and consistent progress. She successfully graded to 3^rd Kyu Brown Belt, and is now on the road to Shodan. I am confident that she will get there in her own, quiet way – definitely not one to underestimate!

Whilst all this was going on the training continued unabated. Although I was busy helping out and was not able to observe the training of the Junior Grades. I was lucky enough to join the Senior Grades to train under both Alan and Matt Sensei. Alan Sensei started the senior session by going right back to basics by focusing on Gyaku Tzuki and Mae Geri – two techniques that in his words can tell all about the quality of your karate! This moved on to higher level combinations including Neko Ashi Dachi and then onto more Kumite style techniques such as triple Kazami Tzuki (in one Yori Ash) followed by Gyaku Tzuki. It was great to see members of the club come along for the training regardless of whether they were grading or not. At the club we are very lucky to have instructors of this calibre at our courses and you should be taking advantage of it at every opportunity. Special mention has to go to William, who not only came straight to the course from another sports event (still in his kit!), but also lost one of his teeth during the training (naturally, not as a result f the training I must add!), then calmly put it down on his seat and resumed training as if nothing had happened!

Matt Sensei followed this session by focusing on Kata – Heian Godan. He utilised several very effective drills to improve both hand and leg techniques in Kata that he freely admits to ‘stealing’ from other top level instructors – I am sure that these same drills will find their way in to our Dojos, ‘stolen’ in turn by the senior grades that were training. Again this highlights one of benefits of having instructors of this ability at our courses, your karate not only benefits from the training itself, but your instruction will also benefit by picking up on the techniques and drills that they use. Unfortunately, we did not have time Tobi Ushiro Mawashi Geri (jumping spinning roundhouse kick!), but finished off with a ‘conditioning exercise’ (punching your partner in the stomach!) Matt Sensei emphasised that it is important to karate-ka to get used to being hit (in a controlled environment) so that they know that they can respond to it properly in real life.

It was great to see many friends (old and new) from Bradford, Leeds and Kiazen coming along to train with us. It is great to make new friends at these courses. Finally, as always I would like to thank Paul Sensei for all the hard work he puts in behind the scenes to ensure that these courses run so smoothly.

visit www.haxbykarate.co.uk to find out more about our Club. For more information email info@haxbykarate.co.uk