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

Mike Sensei at the World Championships

Last month saw Mike Sensei Travel up to the World Championships with Paul Sensei from Selby, not to take part, but as one of the small but growing group of JKS Qualified England Referees.

This is one of the reasons that we had invited Geoff Dixon Sensei to visit (as well as to develop the other club members, and to train under him) and we have been having ‘mat nights’ once a month, and Mike Sensei said that this preparation was invaluable

JKS England Team, Coaches and Officials, 2016 JKS World Championships

Before the competition started they took the opportunity to attend the pre competition seminar, and not only trained under the top instructors in the JKS, but also to train with some very talented karate-ka from around the world (in Mike Sensei’s case South Africa!).

Mike and Paul Sensei also took the opportunity to take refereeing qualifications before the competitions started. Congratulations to Mike Sensei on attaining his ‘D’ licence and Paul Sensei for attaining his ‘C’ licence.

There followed two days of incredible karate, with Mike Sensei literally having the best seat in the house! That is not to say that it was not hard work – anyone who has refereed will tell you that it takes constant and intense concentration to make sure that you do not miss anything.

Following the close of the competition there was the opportunity to unwind with friends old and new, before the drive home.

If you are interested in officiating at competitions please contact Geoff Dixon Sensei, JKS England Chief Referee at jksreferees@btinternet.com

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

Geoff Dixon Sensei visits us again

Geoff Sensei

It was one of the hottest nights of the year that Geoff Dixon Sensei 5^th Dan and Chief Referee for JKS England and Head of the Referee Development visited us once again. This is part of the ongoing Referee development that Mike and Paul Sensei have arranged for us, and preparation for Mike and Paul Sensei refereeing at the World Championships in Edinburgh in September.

This time Geoff Sensei packed his Gi so as well as running the refereeing session he took through some kumite exercises as a warm up (not that one was needed as we were all soon covered in sweat!) with a focus on what will score at competitions and working up to combinations and techniques that we could consider.

After a quick break to rehydrate Geoff rotated the senior members of the club (and our friends from Selby) through the judging and refereeing positions (corner judges, main referee, and shadow referee) with our club members providing the competition.

Geoff Sensei was impressed with the keenness and enthusiasm of our students to take part in the kumite, and recognised that our students were more relaxed and moving better then at his last visit. I must admit that I was very impressed with everyone who fought – there was good spirit throughout. Special mentions have to be made of our Yellow Belts – Evie, Oliver and Aiden all did brilliantly against older and higher graded opponents.

 

Geoff Sensei Supervising Ian's refereeing whilst Oliver battles Brenda!

Once again Geoff Sensei provided us with a wealth of advice and was only too happy to answer any questions that might we had. And everyone that I spoke to afterwards came away with something useful.

 

Adam and Alice provide the action whilst Paul sensei looks on

Geoff Sensei seemed to enjoy his visit to our dojo as much as we enjoyed training under him, and expressed a desired to be asked back, we need to make sure that we remind Mike Sensei periodically to invite Geoff Sensei to visit us again to strengthen our link with him and his club. This is one of the strengths of the JKS we are making connections with other karate-ka and other clubs to expand our ‘karate family’.

 

The two sides of Holly (C) - Don't make her angry!

I’d like to thank Geoff Sensei for visiting us again and giving so freely of his time and advice.  We will continue to run referee development sessions once a month which are open to all, and if you are interested in the formal JKS referee development programme please contact Geoff Sensei directly at jksreferees@btinternet.com

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

Demonstration and Mini Competition

Informal Club photo

Due to the rather wet weather we had on Saturday we had to cancel the demonstration and mini competition that we had planned for the Haxby Carnival. However, as everyone had worked so hard to put it together we felt that we needed to give the club members the chance to perform and compete as soon as possible.

 

Brenda leading the Kihon part of the demonstration

There was the added complication that we had to change the venue for training at the last minute, but we managed to get everyone together on Monday night. After some last minute practice, Brenda led the Karate Kids through their Kihon. Everyone performed brilliantly, and I was particularly impressed with their performance to the new Karate Kids Motto “Karate Kids punch – HARDER, Kick – HIGHER, Shout – LOUDER!”

 

Eive and Aiwin, and Edwin and William perform Gohon Kumite

Evie, William (V), Aiwin, and Edwin then stepped out to the front to perform Gohon (five step) Kumite with good technique and spirit. Olivia was up next, but as William (M) had not arrived yet she had to partner me (Jim) which she did with her usual spirit, not minding when I proceeded to sweep her with most of my counters!

 

Olivia seems to enjoy being swept far too much!

Evie, William (V), Aiwin, and Edwin stepped up again and put in a very strong performance of Heian Shodan. Olivia followed them, this time accompanied by William (M) who had literally just walked through the door. Despite this they did a very good team performance of Heian Sandan.

William and Evie at the end of Heian Shodan

After one final round of applause the Demonstration was over. Everyone who took part performed brilliantly and should be very proud of themselves. I would like to thank Brenda and Dael for all the hard work they put in getting everyone ready for the demonstration. They did an excellent job.

 ****

With a short break to brief the judges (Ian (T), Jim, Brenda and Helen) we were ready for the Mini Competition. We had never done one of these before so it was the first time for everyone. We had decided to focus on Kihon as the vast majority of the competitors were Orange Belts. There was a round of punching and kicking to check for targeting and correct technique, followed by punching and kicking to focus mitts to check targeting (again) and effectiveness. The final element of Kihon was moving in Zenkutsu Dachi – punching Oi Tzuki going forwards and blocking Gedan Bari going backwards, again checking for correct technique.

 

Helen and Ian put Stanish and Nixon through their paces!

We finished off (for almost everyone) with a kumite exercise – ‘grab the tags’ which is a favourite game of the Karate Kids. Each tag was worth one point, and you had to sit down if you lost your tag. To make it more interesting the higher grades (Evie, William (V), Aiwin, Edwin, Olivia and William (M)) were given a different coloured tag worth 2 points. I recruited some extra help to ensure that there were no injuries during the game and we were off! In a very short period of time there were very few Karate-ka left with a tag on their belt. The points for the tags were quickly added to the running totals.

 

Targeting was one of the key things that the judges were looking for

For the higher grades there was one final event – Kata. They all performed Heian Shodan together and then the judges convened for a brief conference to ensure that we had winners.

 

It was this level of focus that helped Aiwn secure a Silver Medal

Medals were going to be awarded in two categories – up to 8^th Kyu and above 8^th Kyu to make it a fairer competition for all. Luckily (for the judges!) the total scores provided us with a first, second and third in each category with no ties.

The results were as follows:

Up to 9^th Kyu.

8^th Kyu and above.

I would like to congratulate not only the winners, but everyone who took part, you all performed extremely well, were very well behaved and seemed to enjoy the competition. I would also like to thank my fellow judges – Ian, Brenda and Helen, who did an excellent job. Finally thank you to Lara for providing the photographs for this report – there are lots more on the group facebook page.

I hope everyone enjoyed the demonstration and Mini Competition, if we receive positive feedback we will aim to repeat this next year – who knows, weather permitting, we might even be able to do them at the Haxby Carnival!

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

Bears on the Beach 2016

Bears on the Beach 2016

It was a much more reasonable hour that I got out of bed to begin my journey to Cleethorpes beach on Sunday. The sun was shining as Holly, Bethany and I picked up Helen from outside the dojo, and with a short detour to collect Olivia, it seemed to follow us all the way to the Seaside!

The Haxby crowd!

 In short order fellow karate-ka started to arrive. Nixon and Mary arrived shortly after we did (along with several other family members), and despite her protests Mary was soon convinced to join in.

 

Nixon demonstrating with Paul Sensei

Andrew Sensei welcomed us and then turned the training over to Paul Sensei for the first session. The focus was on Kihon, and Nixon did a brilliant job of demonstrating the techniques with Paul Sensei. The first session flew by and before we knew it was time for a group photograph and a quick break. We had brought the few left over cakes and chocolates from the Carnival and these went down very well with everyone.

 

Group photo after the first session - just before cake!

Andrew Sensei led the second session with a focus on Kumite, and as traditional we took full advantage of the soft(ish!) sand to focus on take downs. This is part of the training on the beach that everyone enjoys, and this session was no expectation. My partner, despite being a complete beginner did brilliantly, and I spent most the session face down in the Sand (again as is traditional!). At the end of the session we dusted ourselves off and took another group photo as people seemed to keep arriving all the time! Another quick break and we were ready for the last session.

 

Andrew Sensei demonstrating the art of putting my face in the sand!

Jackie Sensei took the training for last session and used Bunkai for Kihon Kata to get us to focus on who we might move when doing Kumite.  We then did some running games and competitions to warm down before splitting into two teams for a game of Rounders (something I had not played in years!) – great fun for all!

 

Everyone enjoyed the day (especially when Lynne Sensei is thrown into the sand!)

It was great to train with our friends at Kaizen and Selby again, and it was fantastic to see Nixon and Mary (who have only recently joined the club) enjoying themselves so much. There was a slight tinge of sadness to the day for me, as the last time I trained at Cleethorpes (during Kangeiko) Joe was with us, but I know how much he enjoyed his last visit and I know he would have wanted us to enjoy the day.

Holly successfully sweeping her opponent

I would like to say how impressed I was with Mary. She threw herself into everything with a huge smile on her face, and seemed to enjoy every single minute of the day. There is something for us all to learn here, karate training is about the journey, not the destination (Black Belt?). Training cannot always be fun and games, but you must enjoy the journey. If you do not you will never reach your goal. Judging by how much Mary enjoyed herself – she will outlast us all!

Jackie Sensei demonstrating one of the take downs on Olivia

As ever I would like to thank Andrew and Jackie Senseis for their kind invitation, and their very warm welcome. I cannot recommend Bears on the Beach enough – I strongly encourage everyone to join us next year – it is something not to be missed!

Bethany and Helen get ready to sweep their opponents

 

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