英国空手白浪会 Shiranamikai
We had a fantastic, 2-hour karate training session at the weekend with The Japan Karate Association in England’s Chief Instructor, Ohta Yoshinobu Sensei.
Masks were donned, windows opened, hands washed, distance observed, trained hard, gradings passed – congratulations to all!
When’s his next visit? Not soon enough!
All of our classes have been running live online since 24th March. We have a stable, interactive feed, with instructor-student interaction just as we would in our regular sessions.
Let’s not forget the importance of looking after one’s mental health in these challenging times. Enjoy the fresh air and sunshine of the beautiful spring weather to exercise, whilst maintaining a safe distance from others. And indoors, follow the sessions, watch the details, check the technique and practise safely.
Feel free to reach out via the contact form. Email is still the best method of contact for club members and I will send session weblinks and updates using this method so make sure the club email address is added to your email whitelist, and Follow our Twitter and Facebook accounts @Shiranamikai
Follow Gov.uk and NHS.uk advice.
Stay safe, stay in touch, and keep practising!
Austin
Shiranamikai instructor, Austin Biesty, talks with London-based TV correspondent Alexander Khabarov about the measures adopted by the karate club in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
With gyms, schools and halls closing because of concerns about virus transmission by touch and being in close proximity, we moved to hold a contactless class outside, thereby also ensuring good ventilation and distancing by remaining at least two meters apart.
One of the unique benefits of many Japanese martial arts is the ability to practise effectively without contact. Karate training comprises three core elements: Kihon (fundamentals), Kata (set patterns), and Kumite (partner work). Having already dropped the kumite aspect we were able to continue practise whilst adhering to official guidance.
In budo, the overwhelming aim is the development of oneself, and as such, by being able to continue practising alone but with direction, one places a much higher demand upon their own state of mind and physical form than they would do when facing an opponent directly.
Alexander, it was lovely to chat!
See part of our TV broadcast feature…
And how quickly things change! We had the pleasure of the next morning’s sun together which was to be our last lesson in person before moving all sessions online.
Shiranamikai Karate has been featured in The Sunday Telegraph’s ‘keeping active’ pictorial. Students were pictured practising two meters apart and completely in line with guidance at the time. The caption reads…
With cafés and attractions shut, in Primrose Hill, London…a martial arts class takes place – making sure they keep their distance from each other.
Top session with our Association’s Chief Instructor, Ohta Sensei, this week. Kyu grades received special guidance on their katas while brown & black belts were kept busy working through an exhaustive set of kicking and kumite drills!
Congratulations to everyone on passing their grading!
Our next karate sessions will be 4pm on Saturday 28th December 2019 at Swiss Cottage Leisure Centre, and 10am on Sunday 29th December 2019 at North London Collegiate School.
Come and join us – everybody is welcome!
We then start 2020 on Saturday 4th January when all our classes are back to normal.
Shiranamikai members performed a karate display at the 2019 Japan Matsuri in London’s Trafalgar Square, the largest outdoor Japan-UK cultural event bringing together the best of music, food, dance and of course, martial arts!
We did our best to illustrate core elements of JKA Shotokan karate, demonstrating Kihon (fundamentals), Kata (set pattern sequences) and Kumite (partner work). We also saw a lighthearted interaction between one of our most experienced members and one of our most junior, with a little help from her friends!
This year was an occasion where the best of Japanese culture met the test of UK weather so we’d like to thank everybody who braved the elements to stay and watch our performance – we really appreciated your warm welcome – and hope you enjoyed the whole festival as much as we did 🌂🥋🇯🇵🇬🇧
Japan Matsuri 2019 also marked the official launch of the Japan-UK Season of Culture, celebrating the unique bond between our two island nations as Japan plays host to the Rugby Work Cup and the 2020 Olympics.
See you next time!
There was a great atmosphere during Ohta Sensei’s karate class at Shiranamikai this September with everybody trying their best and pushing themselves throughout his demanding kumite drills. Not a single brow was dry!
Congratulations to everybody who graded on achieving their next level!
Shiranamikai participated at the 2019 Hyper Japan exhibition at the London Olympia in Kensington.
Our club members demonstrated the three pillars of Shotokan karate under the Japan Karate Association: kihon (basics/fundamentals), kumite (partner work) and kata (forms). Katas shown were Heians: Shodan, Nidan, Sandan, Yondan and Godan, followed by Bassai Dai and Sochin. We also incorporated some light-hearted bunkai (application of technique) from Heian Godan.
During our performance of ippon kumite we could hear something big going on at the J-Culture stage on the other side of Olympia: Kuni-Ken, a tsugaru shamisen duo, were performing their own version of ippon! Literally, their title track “Ippon”. What a coincidence!
Thanks to everyone at Hyper Japan. See you next time!
Music by KUNI-KEN
Available on Spotify, iTunes store etc. Check them out!
Ohta Yoshinobu, Chief Instructor of The Japan Karate Association in England, visited Shiranamikai to teach a special class followed by a Kyu grading this June. Karate instruction really doesn’t get any better than this!
It was a hot session and everybody did well with some strong performances by those grading; well done!
