Tuesday, 29 January 2013

The Adventures of Dojo Chapter 3

It's taken me long enough , but at last here is the next chapter of Dojo's story.

Dojo has had the most amazing Christmas everrrrrrrrr !

In fact I am having to remind him constantly that he has to return in time for the next award ceremony. ( don't worry he did reverse charges on all phone calls and kept them to a minimum)

Oliver has kept him very busy over the festive period trying to keep him out of trouble.  I do wonder though, if anyone checked the presents on Christmas day, to make sure no corners were ripped by a certain bear, in the hope of seeing what was inside.




They both had a wonderful time at Fountains Abbey joining in with the candlelit carol service. Oli was in fine voice, however everyone knows that bears cannot sing! I'm sure that more than one person wondered where the growling was coming from.










As you can see from this picture he does like to be the centre of attention!
Looks like you had your hands full there Oli.

Hang on did he just blow out that candle?










The highlight though for Dojo was the personal visit to Father Christmas.  Oli had arranged the surprise for him and of course we all know that Santa knows all languages around the world.  What was whispered in his ear we can only guess!











visit www.haxbykarate.co.uk to receive a free training session. For more information email info@haxbykarate.co.uk

Saturday, 26 January 2013

Grimsby Telegraph


The Club was mentioned in an article on Saturday 26th January 2013 in the Grimsby Telegraph http://www.thisisgrimsby.co.uk/Students-dedication-6am-beach-blasts/story-17971175-detail/story.html

visit www.haxbykarate.co.uk to receive a free training session. For more information email info@haxbykarate.co.uk

Monday, 21 January 2013

JKS Course and Grading 24th February 2013

On Sunday 24th February there is a JKS Course and Grading being held at Joseph Rowntree School. The course is with Sensei Alan Campbell - 6th Dan JKS England Chief Instructor and Sensei Scott Langley - 5th Dan JKS GB and Ireland Technical Director. For further details click on the flyer below.


Beginners Class

Running a beginners class at the beginning of January was always going to be a risk, and true to form the weather was terrible! Despite this 5 brave souls turned up to see what karate is all about. For some it was a chance to have a go at what they have been watching their children do twice a week, for others it was a step towards keeping a New Years Resolution to keep fit and loose weight.

Sensei Mike showed them the basics and explained the meaning behind both the techniques and some of the etiquette that can seem bewildering. Although one of the most challenging things seemed to be balancing on one leg whilst trying to kick!

It was great to see some of them come back for more the following training session, but for the club that is not the purpose of these beginners classes, it is to make people aware of the opportunity that exists within Haxby to take up a sport like karate and encourage people to try something new!

If you missed our Beginners Class and want to try karate out for yourself then come down to Wigginton Recreation Hall any Monday or Thursday at 7pm to give it a try - first session is free. For more information check out our website www.haxbykarate.co.uk or email info@haxbykarate.co.uk

Sunday, 13 January 2013

Kangeiko on the Beach


Waking up before 5am on a Sunday morning is certainly not my idea of fun, so why do you ask did I subject myself to it this morning?

Today was the last session of ‘Kangeiko on the Beach’ at Cleethorpes and hosted by our friends form Kiazen No-Michi. Each year they run a week long programme of Kangeiko (cold weather training) at Cleethorpes beach, and today was their last session, they had invited Sensei Paul along, and he had extended the invitation to anyone else who was interested.



So why on earth did I subject myself to this? Well it allowed me to tick three things from my karate wish list
  • 1.    Train with the guys from Kiazen No-Michi at one of their events. They always attend our courses, and as well as being very talented karateka have always been very friendly and welcoming. Unfortunately until today their courses have always clashed with something going on in the non-karate world.
  • 2.    Train on a beach. I don’t really understand why but ever since hearing stories and seeing pictures of people training on one of Ireland’s beaches with Sensei Kato I’ve wanted to give this a go.
  • 3.    Take part in Kangeiko. Again I’m not really sure where this came from but since hearing about it I’ve always wanted to give it a go.

So with a groan (and some mutterings about my mental state from my lovely wife!) I forced myself out of bed, into the car and through blizzards of snow to the beach! I arrived just in front of the Selby contingent (Sensei Paul, Sensei Ian, Phoebe, Kelvin, Sam, Dave and Abi), and shortly afterwards Sensei Andy and Sensei Jackie arrived and gave a very warm welcome on a very cold morning!

All in all there were 16 of us who were brave (or mad!) enough to take part. We started with a bit of a jog to the pier and back to loosen up – of course with karate nothing is ever that simple so we had to carry and pass between us the large punch bag Sensei Andy had brought for the occasion. But we were certainly not going to let this put us off so with the chant of “Washoi” (be brave) ringing out we quickly completed the run and the warm ups.

Training consisted of some basic combinations which were then built up to attack and defence patterns that were repeated up and down the beach, and could easily be translated into one step techniques. We finished off with some partnered races and then a warm down. The hour had absolutely flown by! Kangeiko was not over yet though. We quickly relocated for the reward that had helped get us through the morning – a fry up of mammoth proportions!

I’d like to thanks Sensei Andy and Sensei Jackie and all at Kiazen No-Michi for letting me take part in their Kangeiko, Sensei Paul for treating me to the fry up at the end! Abi for being my running partner, and Lewis for being my partner in the races (and managing to not drop me during the piggy back race!).

I had a fantastic time, great training with a great bunch of people, and the chance to socialise over a full English afterwards. Was it worth getting up so early and driving so far? Definitely. Will I be back next year? You bet.

If you are interested in joining me let me know – who knows maybe we could do our own Kangeiko in Haxby, then join them on the beach for the final training session and fry up!

Jim Bamford



visit www.haxbykarate.co.uk to receive a free training session. For more information email info@haxbykarate.co.uk

Wednesday, 9 January 2013

Lorraine's Black Belt


An article appeared in The Press on the 8th January 2013 about Club member Lorraine being awarded her black belt.

with kind permission of The Press - http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/sport/other/indoor/martialarts/10146646.Karate_club_boasts_seventh_black_belt/


visit www.haxbykarate.co.uk to receive a free training session. For more information email info@haxbykarate.co.uk

Monday, 7 January 2013

Newsletter

Issue 3 of our newsletter is now available, photos of which are below. If you would like to receive a pdf copy please email us at info@haxbykarate.co.uk







visit www.haxbykarate.co.uk to receive a free training session. For more information email info@haxbykarate.co.uk

Sunday, 6 January 2013

2012 - What a year!

Haxby Shotokan Karate Club have had an amazing 2012. Some of our highlights are shown in our new video on YouTube  - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVlOCLS6cT0




visit www.haxbykarate.co.uk to receive a free training session. For more information email info@haxbykarate.co.uk