We were very proud to award eight grade promotions yesterday evening following assessment at our Cleator dojo. As usual, everyone worked exceptionally hard to prepare for the event and it was a pleasure to see that work paying off.

A special mention goes to 6-year old Reggie McGrady who was unsuccessful at his last grading, but has been single-minded every week since to improve. And what an improvement it was - he should be very proud of himself, as I'm sure his parents are!

Also, special congratulations goes out to Christine Coleman, who I'm sure won't mind us mentioning that even at 69-years young, she is still pushing boundaries and taking on new challenges - what an inspiration!

Both Reggie and Christine clearly show that the benefits of traditional karate training can be enjoyed by pretty much everyone and exemplify perfectly the strong ethos we share at our dojo.

Congratulations to you all and see you back in class again soon :-)    

We are blessed in our dojo to have so many hard working members who give it their all during every training session. They help inspire and encourage others so that everyone grows together. Our grading today showed not only high levels of spirit and determination, but also examples of the close family bond that makes what we do so very special.

There were some sterling performances, some inner demons battled, some results celebrated and as is inevitable at these events, a small number of disappointments too. However, these were accepted with heads held high and a sense of determination to fight again another day. The grading panel members couldn't be prouder!

Congratulations to everyone who challenged their rank today - you have our utmost respect.

Big thanks also to panel members and assistants who gave up their day to support the grading and helped to make sure that the schedule could run as smooth as possible. Your efforts were much appreciated.

Official results below :-)   

As our curriculum is based on a progressive rotating framework, we normally hold a 'catch up' grading around one month after our three main annual gradings. These catch up gradings are for members who either (1) were working hard towards the main grading, but unable to attend due to extenuating circumstances or (2) were unsuccessful at the main grading and invited to re-sit after a period of focused training and mentor-ship.

This week, we held two 'catch up' gradings. The first was on Sunday 10th December at our Cleator dojo and we also held a special 'double grading' on 13th December at our relatively new Great Clifton dojo, specifically for members who had transferred to us from the previous Shotokan dojo that used to practice there.

The prospect of transferring styles is not easy and proved a little too daunting for many. But for those who took on the challenge to continue their martial arts journey with us at Great Clifton made us very proud yesterday and we welcome you all into our intermediate ranks.

Big congratulations to everyone who graded this week and we hope that the experience will inspire further development along your karate path in 2018!    

Congratulations to almost 60 of our karate members who stepped up to challenge their next rank at our grade examination yesterday. Gradings in our dojo are never easy, but nothing worthwhile ever is and so it was fantastic to see plenty of determination, along with some spectacular performances!

We make no apologies for our standards being high and whether successful or unsuccessful, the reward is always the same...more training! So regardless of personal outcome, so long as you honestly gave it your all then you will always earn our utmost respect.

Official results are as below - see you back in the dojo again soon to continue your karate journey,
​
Chris.

Last weekend, 25 senior members, assistants and instructors from our 7 dojo locations came together at the wonderful Crown Hotel in Wetheral for three days of intensive martial arts and fitness training.

This was our 13th Annual Training Camp and as in all previous years, there was no shortage of effort, enthusiasm and camaraderie.  Sessions were numerous, frequent and demanding, and by Sunday afternoon, despite being completely exhausted, everyone travelled home with both a sense of real achievement and a beaming smile on their face. 

Topics over the weekend included advanced kata, bunkai, ground fighting techniques, pad work and attribute development, Naihanchi combatives, kettlebell training, two-person flow drills and tactile based 'sticky hands' training. fitness and conditioning, self-protection principles and counter weapons training.

Rather than post up a bunch of pictures, here's a quick video montage showing just some of the stuff we covered throughout the event...

As always, it was a pleasure to have shared the weekend with such an enthusiastic group of members and I'm looking forward to putting plans in place for next year's event already!

​As well as participants, a big thank you also goes out to instructors and assistants for their excellent contributions to the weekend schedule, plus the Crown Hotel staff for making us feel so welcome. As always, the venue, facilities and food were amazing.

​Chris

Yesterday evening we were once again honoured to have spent the evening with Aikido teacher Ishizaki Yoshiyuki from Fukushima, Japan. He was on business here in West Cumbria and had personally requested that we meet up again to mutually share our martial arts. We were only to pleased to host him and his colleagues on behalf of Sellafield Ltd.

Ishizaki Sensei took to the tatami first and gave everyone a skillful demonstration and accompanying lecture on the fundamentals of Aikido. He talked about basic techniques, manipulation of the receivers energy through subtle body movements and focused heavily on breathing and relaxation to help develop the seika tanden (body core). He emphasised that Aikido was an art of peace and aimed to cause only the minimum of discomfort to the opponent necessary to make good your escape in self-defence.

Our Chief Instructor, Chris Denwood, followed Ishizaki Sensei and along with fellow Toku Sei Kan members, presented a similar demonstration and lecture on the underlying principles of Koryu Karate.  In particular, he aimed to emphasise a relationship and what he felt were key similarities between Aikido and karate - two arts that are often considered very different. He and his team performed basic techniques, kata and bunkai, power generation, hojo undo and finished with a demonstration of karate's joint attacks, throws and take-downs from a tactile-based muchimi-di (sticky hands) framework.

The key message conveyed through both demonstrations was that although on the surface these look like diverse arts, Aikido and Karate still share a number of common principles and methodologies central to the way in which they are expressed and utilised.               

Like our first experience with Ishizaki Sensei last year, we were once again able to see his wonderful and graceful art of Aikido and also showcase some key aspects of Toku Sei Kan (the derivative of Okinawan traditional karate we practice at our dojo).

Ishizaki Sensei seemed very pleased with how it went and needless to say, so were we!

The exchange of gifts and photo session afterwards brought out huge smiles on all sides and Ishizaki Sensei’s parting words eloquently reflected how we all felt.  He said:
 
“We may be geographically separated by thousands of miles, but we are nevertheless joined in spirit through our mutual passion and devotion to martial arts”  
 
We all agreed with his further sentiment that "Martial arts reflect and impact every aspect of our lives, not just what we do in the dojo, and that our martial arts journeys are a life-long endeavour."  

We have, without any doubt, strengthened the bond of friendship we forged when we first hosted Ishizaki Sensei last year.  And whilst it remained very formal and within the expected etiquette, there was still a very palpable warmth to the visit this year and Ishizaki Sensei's sense of humour also shone through.  Smiles do not need a translator for us to understand!
 
Special thanks go to David Forsythe, Peter Hinde, Claire James, Bernie Coombe and David Glaister for helping to organise the event, ensure a suitable venue and making sure that tatami mats were collected and delivered in good time.  Thanks also to E.S.K.K members for taking time out to support the event, being part of our demo team and representing our dojo with the high standards we've come to expect.

We hope that Ishizaki will once again leave the country with a positive impression of our approach to traditional karate here in West Cumbria, we wish him and his colleagues a safe flight back to Japan and we are all looking forward to seeing them again in the near future!

In the four years that the 100-Kata Challenge has taken place, we've always completed it with pride and have even made it part of our official list of annual events.

This year was no different, where 25 keen dojo members came together to work hard in homage to Karate Day and in respect to the pioneering karate masters of our past, who paved the way for us to benefit from the art today. The 100 Kata Challenge also connects karate practitioners from all over the globe through a mutual goal and to remind us all that we are but one family. As always, we were honoured to take part.

The challenge is normally performed on Karate Day, which remembers the Meeting of the Masters, which took place on October 25th 1936. Our event began at 6:30pm on Tuesday 24th October at the Reformed Chruch Hall in Whitehaven. This year, we decided to up the intensity a little by performing 10 full burpees after each set of 10 Naihanchi Kata. This gave us a grand total of 100-Kata and 100-Burpees.  This added physical challenge forced us to dig deep and with the associated muscular fatigue, rely more on efficient body mechanics during the kata performance.  An added bonus to the challenge and a valuable lesson to take away.

Last month we held our very first junior summer school, where we took a range of children of all ages and experiences from our various karate clubs to spend a week covering a whole variety of topics including technique-based lessons, fitness sessions, pad-work & sparring, weapons, fight scene choreography, karate history and much more!

We also incorporated elements on self-defence, anti-bullying, leadership and teamwork, inspiring both confidence and self-esteem for holistic life-skill development.

The week concluded on Friday evening with a special demonstration for parents and family, where children showcased some of the key skills and lessons they learned throughout the week.

We were incredibly amazed at how hard the children worked, the challenges they all undertook and some of the personal barriers broken down in only a matter of hours. To say that we're proud of them is bit of an understatement!

As well as all the excellent comments we received from the kids, we also had parents send us some nice messages too...

Check out the short video below that shows some clips from the final day demonstration that was presented to parents and family members...

A massive thank you to all participants for their hard work and enthusiasm, parents and family for supporting the event, Moresby School for kindly allowing us to use their venue and not forgetting E.S.K.K member David Woodburn for his invaluable assistance during the week.

​Watch this space in 2018 :-)

Samuel Bailey is 11 years old and has been practising karate with us since last summer. He regularly attends at our Gosforth club and has reached the rank of Orange Stripe. Respectful, hard working and committed, it is a pleasure to have Samuel in the dojo and share some of his thoughts here in his members spotlight! 

On Sunday evening we held a catch up grading for those who either missed the main grading due to extenuating circumstances or were unsuccessful and required some extra training or mentor-ship.

As our catch up gradings are held alongside normal classes, it requires extra focus and effort. But of course, distraction and wavering attention is a normal part of life, so it is worthwhile for our members to experience such challenges.

Congratulations to everyone who stepped up to be tested and of course to the ten members listed below, who were successful in achieving their next rank.

If you were unsuccessful then remember that this outcome only becomes a 'failure' if you choose to make it so. Instead, get back on the dojo floor, learn from the feedback given by the grading panel and work extra hard towards your next attempt...  

...See you back in class again soon!