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Selby Shotokan Karate Club

Friday, May 30, 2008

Jion- Kata and Bunkai

Here is a mpeg of Taiji Kase Sensei performing Jion kata and Bunkai, for Sensei Andy and Simon.

Sensei Andy trained under Kase Sensei and Simon does not care much for Jion, but I am sure that will change.
Enjoy.

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FA Update

Many thanks to Paul Grimes for his donation and efforts in the Sheffield 1/2 marathon, the total is now £569 inc gift aid.

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Interview with Alan Campbell


Alan very kindly invites us to his dojo for both seminars and black and brown belt courses. He has recently been interviewed by the "Shotokan Way". Follow the link below to read the interview including his time training / living with Sensei Kato.


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Thursday, May 29, 2008

FA Update

Many thanks to Andy and Charlotte for your contributions and your efforts on the Sheffield half Marathon. Our total to date with gift aid is now £415.13.

I will be taking part in a 10K run in 2 weeks time so expect to see a sponsor form shortly!

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Monday, May 26, 2008

SSKC Club Competition 2008

Well done to everyone that took part in this years club competition.
The competition for the younger members is run in a fairly informal manner and is treated as a teaching and experience exercise for younger Karateka.
This year we had three separate age groups U9, U12 and U17.


The group photo, well done everyone!


Match 1 - U9 Kata

1st Lewis Coward, 2nd Jake Taylor, 3rd Nathan Dye

The U9's are 9th Kyus to Beginners, they all had to perform Heian Shodan, in a proper competition environment 1 Referee (Shihan Keith Gullen - 7th Dan) and 4 corner judges ( Sensei Andy Denby - 5th Dan, Sensei Bernard Schilke - 3rd Dan, Sensei Ian Culpan - 1st Dan, Sensei Helen Milner - 1st Dan).

As a slight twist to the normal Kata rules for these youngsters we had a mid Kyu grade standing slightly in front of them performing the kata as well. It is obvious to the judges who requires a little bit of assistance and who can perform the kata on their own. This leads to a far better experience of competition for the less proficient Karateka.

A special well done to Jake who has only been training a few weeks but surprised us all by his performance.

Match 2 - U12 Kata

1st Sam Dennis, 2nd Holly Bamford, 3rd Jamie Bellerby

In the under 12's a few of our karateka were missing, competitors were all 12th kyu or beginners except Sam who is a 3rd Kyu.

An excellent performance from Holly from Haxby, keep up the good work Holly and look forward to your grading in June.

Jamie, you are progressing well, you have potential to do really well if you want to apply yourself, keep up the practising.

Match 3 - U17 Kata

1st Dominic Schilke, 2nd Rebecca Brant, 3rd Georgia Denby

Well done Dominic, 1st place and the TSB Cup, but a very hard slog to get there. Dom met Georgia in the Semi Final and the judges awarded a draw on the first two katas, and Dom only got through to the final on the third attempt. Georgia, one more flag in the semi final and you could have easily been the winner, a very respectable 3rd place. Dom and Rebecca will not be competing next year as they will both be too old!

Dom also put himself through some pain in the final, why is one kata never enough? More split decisions and more kata. When you start with Bassai Dai you don't have much breath left for the next kata. When Shihan announced Heian Godan I saw a horrified look on Rebecca's face. I could see that the "frozen kata" had struck again.... Rebecca limped through most of the Kata before it came to a grinding halt. This was not a win by default at all, Dom's kata has got stronger and stronger over the last 6 months and 1st place was well deserved.

Match 4 - u9 Kumite


1st Braden Poskitt, 2nd Lewis Coward, 3rd Nathan Dye

We obviously don't start U9's with freestyle sparing, but what we did was a knee boxing competition. A point is scored when the opponents knee is touched in the form of an attack. Competitors have to move and react as in sparring, with a good stance, looking for an opportunity. This is an excellent drill for developing kumite movement.

Braden who has only been training for a few weeks came away with a surprising win, beating the far more experienced Lewis and Nathan. Not bad for a lad that was adamant that karate was not for him, Braden, quite the tactician.

Match 5 - U12 Kumite


1st Holly Bamford, 2nd Sam Dennis, 3rd Jamie Bellerby

The U12's progressed to the next level, Gohon kumite, the judges making a decision on which karteka performance was more proficient.

A win for Haxby dojo, well done Holly. A reflection on Sensei Mike's Kihon training and an excellent student as well. Your form is far ahead of your grade. Sam attacked hard and a little faster than perhaps Holly is used to as a 12th Kyu. A clash of legs now and again lead to a slight limp as Holly came to collect her certificate for 1st place. It was like a re-run of David and Goliath, Holly had just beaten Sam who is 9 grades her senior!

Match 6 - U17 Kumite


1st Dominic Schilke, 2nd Rebecca Brant, 3rd Daniel Kozelko

U17's Kumite is run as a mixed event mainly due to numbers for a club competition. However don't think our young ladies are at a disadvantage. Lucy put up a very strong fight against Sam and was unlucky not to progress to the Semi finals. Rebecca "the psycho" Brant just doesn't seem to know what sidewards or backwards means, just forwards. A very good competition for all, Sam competed in the U17's as well as the U12's because of his grade. Both Sam and Daniel had strong matches and displayed good skills.

I think the parents were a little surprised to see the massive step up in a Shobu-Ippon competition, Dominic and Daniel had a very strong match, but with good control.

The final was fought as Shobu-Sanpon (3 points or 6 half points as it was). Dom was not daunted by Rebecca's style and scored some lovely gyaku-zukis. He did have a couple of Jogai (foot faults) where the area never seemed to be big enough to stop Rebecca advancing. Dom appeared to be on the back foot most of the time but still managed to win Sanpon to Ippon (3 to 1) and was awarded the Kumite Cup.
Many thanks to Shihan Keith for being our Referee, Sensei Andy, Sensei Ian Culpan, Sensei Bernard ( currently retired but not thrown his gi away yet), Sensei Helen (don't drop any more wardrobes on yourself) for judging and Jim and Lorraine from Haxby for gereral assistance which is always needed on the day.

We will try and put a plan in place for another competition in the Autumn, all being well.


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Wednesday, May 14, 2008

FA Update

Many thanks to Janice and Ian from Mears Construction for their contribution to Facing Africa following the Sheffield 1/2 marathon, another £125 to the pot.
You both looked far too comfortable at the half way point, you must have sneaked some serious training in, well done both of you!

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Monday, May 05, 2008

Ten No Kata

Last Night Sensei Andy taught the begineers, while the rest of us were sent off to practise Heian Shodan.

We were asked to practise in drill formation, The first nine moves going forward then turning and the rest of the moves coming back.

The all moves going forward and progressing to all moves stepping back.

We than performed Heian Shodan, Heian Shodan Ura, Heian Shodan Go and Heian Shodan Go Ura.

It gave us quite a bit to think about, on our return into the main dojo we went through Heian Shodan, Ura, Go and Go Ura, then Heian Nidan Ura, Go and Go Ura and then Heian Sandan.

A few times through Heian Sandan (normal) for a few karateka working towards gradings and then Sensei taught Ten No Kata.

TEN NO KATA

1. MIDDLE LEVEL THRUST PUNCH Chudan Oi-zuki
From Yoi, left hand Tate Shuto, step forward into right front stance with right front punch. Return to Yoi by withdrawing right foot. Repeat on other side.

2. UPPER LEVEL THRUST PUNCH Jodan Oi-zuki
From Yoi, left hand Tate Shuto, step forward into right front stance with right upper level front punch. Return to Yoi. Repeat on other side.

3. MIDDLE LEVEL REVERSE PUNCH Chudan Gyaku-zuki
From Yoi, left hand Tate Shuto step forward with left leg into front stance, with right reverse punch. Return to Yoi. Repeat on other side.

4. UPPER LEVEL REVERSE PUNCH Jodan Gyaku-zuki
From Yoi, left hand Tate Shuto step forward with left leg into front stance with right upper level reverse punch. Return to Yoi. Repeat on other side.

5. DOWNWARD BLOCK, MIDDLE LEVEL REVERSE PUNCH Gedan-barai, Chudan Gyaku-zuki
From Yoi, step back with right leg into front stance, with left downward block. Strike with right middle level reverse punch. Return to Yoi by bringing right foot forward. Repeat on other side.

6. MIDDLE LEVEL INSIDE FOREARM BLOCK, MIDDLE LEVEL REVERSE PUNCH Chudan Uchi-Uke, Chudan Gyaku-zuki
From Yoi, step back with right leg into front stance, with left inside to outside block. Strike with right middle level reverse punch. Return to Yoi by bringing right foot forward. Repeat on other side.

7. MIDDLE LEVEL SWORD HAND BLOCK, MIDDLE LEVEL SPEAR HAND ATTACK Chudan Shuto -Uke, Chudan Nukite
From Yoi, step back with right leg into the back stance, with left sword hand block. Shift from back stance to front stance and strike with right middle level spear hand attack. Return to Yoi by bringing right foot forward. Repeat on other side.

8. UPPER LEVEL RISING BLOCK, MIDDLE LEVEL REVERSE PUNCH Jodan Age-uke, Chudan Gyaku-zuki
From Yoi, step back with right leg into the front stance, while raising left arm in an upper level rising block. Strike with right middle level reverse punch. Return to Yoi by bringing right foot forward. Repeat on other side.

9. UPPER LEVEL SWORD HAND SWEEP, UPPER LEVEL REVERSE PUNCH Jodan Shuto-barai, Jodan Gyaku-zuki
From Yoi, step back with right leg into front stance, while swinging the left hand upward in an arc to block with a sword hand at eye level. Strike with right upper level reverse punch. Return to Yoi by bringing right foot forward. Repeat on other side.

10. UPPER LEVEL IRON HAMMER BLOCK, MIDDLE LEVEL REVERSE PUNCH Jodan Soto-uke(Uchikomi),Chudan Gyaku-zuki
From Yoi, step back with right leg into the front stance, while performing outside to inside block with left hand. Strike with right middle level reverse punch. Return to Yoi by bringing right foot forward. Repeat on other side.

Sensei explained how ten no kata was used prior to Gohon, Sanbon and Ippon kumite as a stepping stone to free style. How Ten No Kata is expanded on as a training kata for beginners , intermediate and advanced karateka.

I like this sort of training and am looking forward to it development over the next few weeks.

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Sunday, May 04, 2008

21st/22nd June Course and Grading

Our next course and grading is only seven weeks away, unfortunately I am away in June and my last training night will be 1st June.
Over the next few weeks I will need to sort out licences and fees etc so we are all ready.

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25th May - Club Competition

The Club Competition will be held on the 25th May, there will be categories for the lower grades this year, the competition is designed as a learning teaching experience, prior to the IJKA Europeans in August and the JKS open in November.

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AGM - date change

The AGM will be held on the 11th May not the 5th May, please attend if you can.

Italy in August

I need to finalise our plans in the next couple of weeks, accommodation at village Ge-Tur just down the road from Venice needs to be booked and the closing date is only a few weeks away.
Total budget costings are £500 for Karateka and £450 for non Karateka, please let me know asap, thanks Paul

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27th April - IJKA Irish Open

I was hoping to be in Gibraltar training and then was committed to Facing Africa and the Sheffield 1/2 Marathon so I didn't go to Ireland.
Rebecca went on her own, she flew from Newcastle to Cork where Claire picked her up and kept an eye on her until Monday when she flew back.
She was a little apprehensive about competing in the 16 to 18 age group as she is only 16 and 1 month.
Rebecca WILL be posting further details but she was very pleased to come away with a third place in Kata and a second in Kumite.
Well done Becks.

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Facing Africa Update

19th April 2008 - I did a quick 10 minute presentation to my Squadron at Halton in Lancaster, the power point show is quite moving and really only suitable for Adults. The lads now have a bit more of an idea of what we are raising money for.
20th April 2008 - Over the weekend we had a reporter from the Star in Sheffield with us, he wanted to know more about Noma and the Facing Africa charity, a 20 min chat and a spot in the paper.
27th April - Sheffield 1/2 Marathon

106 Fd Sqn RE (v) provide an essential water stop

Approx 5000 runners passed our water stop, most of the elite runners didn't bother to stop but the service was greatly appreciated by many.


Charlotte - sporting the 106 facing Africa t shirt
Finishing 1st of the female 106 runners (the only female runner) but in a very respectful time, well done


"Pricey" water on the go
One of our best runners and part of our team that came a very respectful 2nd with an average time of around 1hr 35mins, beating around 60 other teams many from athletic clubs. Not bad from a unit that tries to match hard work with hard drinking.


"Chads" digs in deep
Chads - not the fastest on the course but what an effort, you don't have to be an athlete to put yourself through a bit of pain to raise a few quid for Facing Africa.
About 15 members of the Squadron ran, Facing Africa was a bit of an after thought, the main fund raising effort will be at camp in June when I hope to organise a 10k run run.
I will up date what we have raised when I get some details.

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5/6th April B&B belt course - Whitchurch

Helen, Rebecca, Simon (from Haxby), Sensei Keith and myself travelled to Whitchurch.
I was very much under the weather but Helen, Simon and Rebecca managed to stay up to 5.30 in the morning drinking with those infamous Irish Karateka who always seem to lead us sobrietious English astray.
What Rebecca didn't know was Sensei Kato had decided to grade her for Shodan first thing Sunday morning.
Rebecca WILL be posting her experiences of grading, watch this space.....
The course had a focus on brown belts preparing for grading and on the 3rd and 4th Dans who were also tested with there knowledge of Kata and instruction.
Sensei had some encouraging words for Simon, a reflection of his efforts over the last 6 months, well done.

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Sensei Helen plays away

Sensei Helen our own little "pocket Soco"(Scene of crime officer) is back after 3 months of working in the south of the country.
Helen WILL be posting her experiences of training away with both the IJKA and the JKS, watch this space.
Helen's bit...
As many of our regular club members will be aware I have not long since returned from a 3 month contract down in Suffolk, working with their Bury scenes of crime team. (Finally 3 years in Middleborough has paid off).
However this did mean that I had to leave the club for what was an uncertain amount of time. Regular readers of the blog may have read a short note on the Christmas meeting about my leaving for Suffolk.
Luckily for me I didn’t have to take a 3 month break from training. I found a JKS club in Cambridge run by Sensei Bill Rogers. Sensei Bill used to train with Sensei Kato many years ago and knows Sensei Ash quite well also.
Whilst in Suffolk I got to train twice a week with Sensei Bill’s lessons on a Tuesday and Sensei Pete’s lesson on a Thursday. This gave the students the opportunity to get different types of training and allowed the instructors to take a break from teaching and concentrate on their own karate.
The club consisted mainly of black belts with a couple of brown and purple belts, so training was quite hard which was very nice. There were no children in the club only adults which helped to keep the level of the train quite high. Each session was either physically or mentally challenging, but well worth the effort that everyone put in.
Training at the new club gave me a kick big of enthusiasm. Each Session I felt I had to prove my worth, like I deserved to train at this club with other black belts, especially as I had been so openly accepted into the club and I was in essence representing my club and instructor. I would like to thank everyone at the Cambridge club for welcoming me to their club, even for such a short time. A big thank you to Sensei Bill and Sensei Pete for giving me that burst of enthusiasm that we all need every once in a while. Thank you and I hope that I get the chance to train with you all again some time as I enjoyed every session and every bruise I gained.


Thanks Helen for sharing your training experience.

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What happened to April?

Not one post in April, Sorry...
I have had a few phone calls and a couple of e mails to check to see if I was still alive. I would like to have a decent excuse but no...just not enough hours in a day or days in a week.
I will put a few short posts with headlines to bring everyone up to speed and pad out with some further detail over the next few days.
I will go and do some lines....
I must post something every week...
I must post something every week...
I must post something every week...
I must post something every week...
I must post something every week...