Well done to all those who participated in the training and grading
Author: admin
There was a great turnout at the Swiss Cottage dojo for Shiranamikai’s 5-year anniversary. As well as our own club members, we were pleased to welcome two of our friends from JKA Scotland, Senseis Bert and Martin, who were down South for the weekend and with Ohta Sensei taking the class, it all made for a great atmosphere!
After an enthusiastic warm-up from Darius, it was down to basics and partner combinations which formed a precursor to the kata Gankaku (meaning crane on a rock). This kata shows well, the long stances particular to Shotokan karate but the complexity lies in maintaining one’s composure while changing height and direction.
Time really flew by in this session and as we neared the end, the dojo floor cleared and Ohta Sensei demonstrated Gankaku in its entirety, which was superb to observe. Finally, brown and black belts performed the kata one last time before the class was over.
Alaa was primed with two of his delicious handmade cakes and Delia had also prepared crates of bite-sized (read: mouth-filling) cupcakes – all washed down with a soft drink courtesy of Sheila! We spent the next couple of hours in a local Italian restaurant. Unsurprisingly, nobody ordered dessert.
Five years after the club’s inception, it is incredibly rewarding to see how Shiranamikai students and the club as a whole have developed. This is down to everybody who comes to train at our dojos and contributes to the great atmosphere.
Oss!
Austin
Shiranamikai’s first lesson was 6th January 2009
Despite landing on a day viewed with superstition (again), it was a great session to (nearly) round-off the training year. Ohta Sensei’s class was challenging and included some great exercises and a lighthearted critique that hit a chord with the younger club members especially!
The grading itself was a serious matter as always and came with a visible change in spirit. Everybody performed well and passed. There were even some unexpectedly strong performances too – well done! (I’m looking forward to seeing more of it during the lessons!)
Austin
Well done to everybody from the club who participated in the JKA England 10th Anniversary Championship! Congratulations to our medalists in their respective categories:
Tara: Kata Gold, Kumite Bronze; Ryan: Kata Gold, Kumite Bronze; Peter: Kata Silver; Alaa: Kumite Bronze; Purita: Kata Gold, Kumite Gold; Itsuko: Kata Bronze, Kumite Silver; Fabiola: Kumite Bronze; Sonoko: Kata Gold, Kumite Gold and Anju: Kata Gold, Kumite Gold!
Special guests in attendance on the day were a representative each from The Japanese Embassy and The House of St Barnabus, and Mrs Enoeda who presented medals to the winners.
This was a very good day for Shiranamikai – a fantastic result for the club!
If this has inspired you to participate at the next championship, the time to start working hard is now, during regular training and by practising at home every day. Then, when the event comes around, it might be you who wins a medal!
Austin
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JKA England Autumn 2013 Gasshuku
This autumn JKA England’s guest instructors were Ueki Masaaki 9th Dan and World Chief Instructor; Sawada Kazuhiro 7th Dan and Chief Instructor of the Sawada Academy in Belgium; Shimizu Ryosuke 5th Dan, Tokyo Headquarters Instructor and former All Japan Kumite Champion all alongside Ohta Yoshinobu 7th Dan and Head of JKA England.
Ueki Shihan started off the first day’s basics with somewhere in the region of 500 gyaku tsukis and mae geris to warm us up. “Ten more!” shouted Ohta Sensei enthusiastically just as everyone thought they were finished. With everybody clearly showing the strain, Ueki Shihan explained that this was typical practise for Honbu instructors: 25 would each count ten of a technique. The message behind his warm smile was clear – in budo, even when things get difficult, one should never give up. He kept a keen eye on everybody as he worked us through core Shotokan stances and basic partner work. An hour and a half seemed to pass quickly. Time for a five minute break.
Senior grades spent the second half of the day in the company of Sawada Sensei studying Nijushiho with lots of bunkai work. He had so much positive energy and showed a genuine enjoyment of karate that it was impossible not to be drawn in by his lesson.
On Saturday curtains were drawn straight after the warm up and 2nd Dan+ ushered back toward Sawada Sensei. He’d already told us the previous day we’d be practising Sochin but there was lots of preparation work including bunkai to get through beforehand. He focused on techniques suitable for use at three different distances – close, regular and far away. Hands first with ura zuki and hineri uke simultaneously; oi zuki with york ashi and uchi uke and stepping punch. Kicks followed: mikazuki geri from standing; mae geri off the back leg and keage geri delivered after spinning backwards and finishing with empi. When it finally came to moving through the kata at its regular count, it was with a much deeper, practical-led understanding.
After a five-minute break and quick catch-up with ‘Team Shiranami’, it was back into line. This time Shimizu Sensei was poised ready to deliver a multitude of drills. One example was defending using soto uke then countering with a barrage of empi techniques: sideways, around and rising. But for me his most memorable exercise was undertaken domino style within a group of three, turning inwards and punching gyaku tsuki while the next person blocked soto uke and so on. It was challenging and great fun! We wrapped up the session with Hangetsu.
On Sunday, the World Chief Instructor had a further test in mind for us. Given that many Nidan-graded karateka and above are instructors, he had decided to check our knowledge and technical ability. He called people out individually and asked them to explain or demonstrate various techniques. I was last to be called up. “Neko ashi dachi.” said Shuseki Shihan. In my own mind it seemed to be going ok, Sensei nodding occasionally as I explained and set my form. “The book says one foot length…” Shihan began, introducing a moment of unease, “…but I also do one and a half” he concurred to my relief. “What’s the most important point?” he asked. “Keeping the weight over the back leg.” was my reply. The cloth at the front of my dogi instantly became the target of an impeccably controlled mae geri. “Protect the groin!” he said grinning and we were surrounded by laughter. So, a little more inner tension then – in more ways than one!
Finally, well done to Will, Peter, Jeremy and Sheila who themselves underwent a gruelling test under Sensei Roy Tomlin and Gary Stewart of the JKA England Technical Committee. All four were successful in gaining their Coaching Licence!
Austin
Well done to everybody who graded on Friday 13th September!
We had a very good pre-grading training session with Ohta Sensei – things getting quite energetic, certainly towards the window end of the hall with the extra combinations and sliding kumite drills.
If you didn’t grade this time don’t worry because there will be another opportunity on the next Friday 13th, just three months away!
Until then we have the international training camp coming up at the end of this month and then at the beginning of November it’s the JKA England 10th Anniversary Championship. So after this you should feel confident enough to tackle anything that the next Friday the 13th may bring!
It was apparent upon arrival at the Triangle Leisure Centre in West Sussex, that it was the same as the K2, just 20 minutes further south and just a bit smaller. It wasn’t long from once the course started until Ohta Sensei had us practising attacks and escapes linearly – stepping and sliding in a progressive gohon kumite. Kicks were delivered as non-linear ippon kumite with front, side and roundhouse; the defender blocking on escape, pulling back the front foot then using this shift energy to quickly switch legs and counter with the back foot. All exercises were driven by Sensei’s commanding shouts of “get out; get in; get away!”.
Angelo Sanna, JKA England Chief Referee gathered the 100-or-so attendees around as he demonstrated common referee motions and phrases of the type heard during competition. The idea was for everyone to listen, repeat and hopefully understanding what it all meant. Then it was mitts and gumshields ready for match practise.
Admittedly, it can be tricky to remember all the physical actions and words required for the different scenarios. Knowing what you want to say but having to remember the Japanese equivalent was just as difficult as spotting a score or deciding who, out of an exchange, was the first with an effective technique.
Finally, the people taking their dan grading later this month or in December, were asked to nominate a kata to focus on. This resulted in four groups for each of Bassai Dai, Kanku Dai, Jion and Sochin for half an hour of practise.
This was a very good course teaching distance and methods of attack, defence and counter attack. Crucially, it also served to provide all those present with an appreciation of judging and refereeing by observing scenarios from different perspectives whilst allowing some time for discussion.
Course (and AGM) over, it was time to join the heavy traffic on the M25. I stopped off at Cobham Services for a snack but after observing some people tucking in to their fast food, decided to just visit the conveniences instead.
We’re back here at the end of the month for JKA England’s Autumn Course.
The long school summer holiday period offers the perfect opportunity for extra karate practise. Cue our five day training camp!
The two hour morning sessions have different themes with various exercise drills in basics and kumite. Having more time also gives us plenty of scope to break down kata and practise applications. Over the five days we studied; Heians 2-5 and their related brown belt level katas Jion and Kanku Dai, finishing with Kihon kata and Empi.
Midweek, to help beat the two-day aches (and introduce more in muscles you never knew existed), we were joined by Kei Asanuma. Kei is a qualified PE instructor but her unique skill set lies in her being a contemporary dancer and Japan Rhythmic Gymnastics Champion. Top-level dancers and gymnasts have excellent posture with long, strong and supple muscles. They are able to demonstrate smooth body control contrasted with dynamic, explosive movements. All of these things are necessary for karate kata, with its emphasis on form, timing changes and flow of energy. So with this in mind, Kei Sensei led us through a brilliant 45 minutes stretch and conditioning class. Everybody was so quiet… then came the groaning!
Toward the end of the last day, we split everyone into teams of four to choose a kata from those practised during the camp. Everyone then had time to rehearse before performing their kata and demonstrating a bunkai sequence in front of the class. There were some good performances and each group clearly showed their understanding of their chosen kata. Well done!
At the end of the session, we presented certificates to those who had attended the whole week. After a quick change, it was off for some well-deserved sushi!
Next year’s summer camp will be 4th-8th August.
Karate competitions tend to have an early start and a late finish. This one was no exception, but arriving at 8.15am, we found the draw sheets had already been posted and the areas were all ready to go. Right through to the finals, things seemed to run smoothly – no mean feat given there were over 800 category entries from more than 400 competitors.
Shiranamikai had 17 members take part. We came away with a total of 7 gold medals, 2 bronze and a team kata silver – a fantastic result for our club!
In their particular categories, Anju, Ryan and Sonoko picked up double gold – each of them winning in both kata and kumite. Alaa won gold in individual kata, Peter bronze in ippon kumite and Avan bronze in sanbon kumite. Our adult kata team of Sonoko, Peter and Alaa came 2nd place, bagging silver medals!
All of our competitors showed strong spirit and did a great job of representing Shiranamikai. Whether you win a medal or not, competitions are a great way to test yourself and learn something about how to develop your karate. And it can be fun to spend time with your teammates! We saw some superb performances of kata and kumite from various competitors throughout the day, showing the high level that can be achieved through hard work in the dojo.
Our squad: Yuji, Will, Shivani, Dharvi, Anju, Iman, Sara, Peter, Ryan, Avan, Sonoko, Lisa, Megan, Alaa and Tara. Our helper on the day: Sheila.
The next competition will be the JKA England 10th Anniversary Championship on 2nd November. It’s only 4 months away, so the time to start practising is now!
Austin
Midsummer. Summer solstice. Gradings often feel like the longest days and it was certainly the case on this occasion (though thankfully, there wasn’t any strange dancing or chanting!).
Overall, the standard was good and everybody passed. Ohta Sensei gave some quite detailed feedback and points to improve upon, and in some cases commented on what you were doing well!
As the overall grade level of the club increases, the lesson content of some classes is becoming more advanced. We will give you as much information as we can to help you continue to improve.
The next gradings will take place on Friday 13th September and Friday 13th December but there should be no need for lucky charms, just lots of practise!
Austin