Category: Special Club Sessions & Kyu Gradings

It was in September 2010 that teammates Roisin Campbell, Rachel O’Halloran and Jana Sersnova first visited Shiranamikai. Over the past two and a half years, they have sustained an excellent record in JKA international competition. Among their achievements are 2012 JKA European Ladies Team Kumite Champions, Silver Medallists for Ladies Team Kumite in the 12th Funakoshi Gichin World Cup and Bronze Medallists for Team Kata in the same event. And in her debut appearance at the most recent All Japan JKA Championship, Roisin performed superbly, achieving a hotly contested place in the kata final and an impressive 5th place overall.

We were also pleased to have Mama Jeni back (herself a former gold medalist in team kata as well as a qualified JKA referee) to give everybody a thorough warm-up and stretch.

We had an hour of basics, ippon kumite and a little bunkai from Kanku Sho (a dynamic kata featuring timing changes, escapes and evasive techniques) before running through the kata twice slowly. Then the Ladies Team showed us how it should be done!

By now, the lesson had run into extended time but with everybody keen to stay for more, we split the class for more kata. Starting from the top, Roisin looked after the Brown belts, Jana: Purple stripe; Rachel: Green & Purple; Jeni: Yellow; Sasha: Red; Me: Orange belts & Beginners. For many, this was the first opportunity to learn the kata for their next grade after the kyu grading we had held two weeks previously.

Each of the six groups had 15 minutes tuition from a black belt before being called up by section in front of the class. Roisin, Rachel and Jana were on hand to show each of Heian 1-4 and Tekki Shodan individually, and Bassai Dai as a team. This was a great way for everyone to experience how dynamic the Heian and Tekki kata can be, and how they really can be polished to another level by hard work and consistent effort.

Everybody worked very hard in this session – well done! And many thanks to our guests for taking the time to come to our club!

Austin

Well done to everybody who graded this time – it was one of the smoothest we’ve had at the club and meant we could wrap up half an hour ahead of schedule. This left us enough time at the end for a nice group photo!

During the grading, one couldn’t help but notice our two youngest who have been “trying [their] very best” recently. It was clear to see that they had been practising at home, appearing confident during proceedings, even under pressure from Ohta Sensei!

The following day saw continuing sub-zero temperatures and snow. So it was good to see the majority of people back in the dojo in spite of this. Now with spring finally on the horizon, Saturday morning classes should seem even more appealing!

Lessons will continue throughout the Easter holiday and we have some eggciting things in store!

Austin

What better way to celebrate the end of the training year than by opting for the Great British favourite Chicken Tekki Masala! After training, around twenty of us piled into a local(ish) curry restaurant to the delight of the other customers.

Very quickly, two factions established themselves: the young who jostled for position at one end of a long table and got straight into cracker pulling, while the not-so-young tentatively occupied the other end (along with a satellite table) and got straight into poking fun at the names of some of the more exotic menu items.

Great fun!

Austin

A hard and technical session that combined kihon kata’s embusen and changes of direction with more demanding combinations. Sensei drew attention to the importance of preparing quickly for the next technique whilst maintaining balance to ensure smooth delivery of power to the target.

We had a welcomed break just over an hour into training, after which Sensei moved on to more advanced kata for senior grades while he sent everybody else off to the side to practise their own kata just a few more times!

The grading itself went well and the overall standard was very good. Well done to all!

Austin

It’s nice to get your hands on a new belt after a grading. But in karatedo, the correct attitude toward training should take precedence over merely wishing to get the next grade’s colour belt.

It was good to see then, that it wasn’t just those grading who attended the special lesson with Ohta Sensei. There is also the benefit that staying to watch the exam provides an opportunity to understand what will be expected when it’s your turn to grade.

Ohta Sensei’s lesson itself was engaging and creative, inevitably causing a few people to get caught up in their own limbs! We worked through variations of gohon kumite and key movements from the Heian katas.

The next grading will take place on 18th December. Training regularly now – twice per week,  and practising at home every day, will give you a chance of being ready in time. But if you don’t grade then, there will still be a superb lesson for you to attend!

Austin

Saturday 7th January saw the first Shiranamikai lesson of 2012. I for one had taken the opportunity to completely rest over the Christmas period so the prospect of shifting two or three mince pies worth of indulgence was very appealing…

We started the training year with a thorough stretch, some challenging basics and new katas for each of the grades present. Not much different to usual but maybe a bit more uptempo.

At the end of this class, and after the next few lessons, we presented certificates to students who participated in the December grading. Those aiming to do the next club grading on 23rd March should plan their training schedule now. Brown belts will need to regularly attend national events in preparation for forthcoming dan gradings.

It’s good to see everybody back. When you’ve had a break from training due to holiday, work or other commitments, it can take time to regain your usual levels of fitness and form. A swift return to regular training in the dojo (where there are a few of us in the same boat!) should soon have things back on track.

Austin

For Shiranamikai’s second special lesson and grading this year Ohta Sensei delivered a challenging training session with plenty of emphasis on footwork and distancing. The tramline markings on the floor of the studio were put to good use as guides to help us understand the range and width of our own steps.

A bout of nerves crept in here and there during the grading but there were no dramas. Overall, the extra practice that everybody had been putting in for the National Championship seemed to have helped boost confidence, and it was a clear pass for all.

The next grading will take place on Friday 21st September and as ever the best time to start working on addressing your feedback is while Sensei’s comments remain fresh in your mind! The forthcoming kata course (taking place this Sunday 22nd July) could be a great way to get ahead.

Well done to all.

It was nice to welcome Ohta Sensei for his first visit to Harrow-on-the-Hill.

We had a one and a half hour training session before the grading which left us all satisfyingly red-faced and sweaty. Sensei kept us together for the basics and kumite portions of the class. As the session progressed Sasha and I ran two separate mini classes to allow the junior grades to focus on their kata.

The grading itself featured quite a spread of grades. From Sensei’s feedback, we have picked out the key areas for students to focus on. We have already begun to work on some of these pointers in our spring classes.

Congratulations to all who passed. The next club grading will take place on 28th June for those who are eligible. Shortly after this comes the National Championship on 7th July, followed by an all grades kata course on 22nd July. For all those who are interested in taking part in these events, we’ll be offering extra training on Saturday afternoons and Wednesday evenings.

There’s also the JKA Spring International Course to look forward to from 4th-7th May at the K2 Centre in Crawley, Sussex, where the training will be led by special guest instructors from Japan. Tsuyama Sensei 8th Dan, Osaka Sensei 8th Dan and Hirayama Sensei 6th Dan will join Ohta Sensei 7th Dan in what promises to be a fantastic long weekend.

Austin

Many thanks to Mihono for the photos!

From time to time we like to invite guest instructors to the club. Experiencing the different teaching styles and body dynamics of other instructors helps to broaden your karate horizons. And to have a fresh pair of eyes scrutinising your karate can serve as an incentive to make you work that little bit harder.

Sensei Sue Waughman 4th Dan JKA is an instructor at London’s Budokai dojo and trained at Takushoku University under Tsuyama Sensei in Japan during the 1980s. As such she is no stranger to pressurised training environments in which students are pushed to give their best.
Sensei delivered the lesson with lots of passion. She demanded complete concentration and encouraged us to start our movements explosively. “Usain Bolt!” she cried out, requiring us to emulate one of the greatest 100 metre sprinters of all time.

As we stood balanced on one leg during practise for mae-geri, Sensei encouraged the juniors to challenge themselves. “Anybody…” she said, dropping the knee of the kicking leg lower than the ideal preparation position and letting her ankle loosen. Then in contrast, keeping the leg tightly tucked and the ankle flexed correctly, “…A world champion!”. Sensei also directed a lot of pressure towards our seniors, driving them to perform kumite over and over again until she was satisfied.

One thing that you cannot help but have noticed is Sensei Sue’s all or nothing approach – for her, training comes first and anything less than 100% will not do. We train to develop truly powerful and focused techniques, such that one decisive technique is all that would be required if a physical confrontation became unavoidable.
The somewhat intimidating expression ‘ikken hissatsu’ – meaning to ‘annihalate with one blow’ is a reference to this concept and you will hear karate practitioners refer to it from time to time. But take care to understand what it really means, and how it can be applied without contradicting our commitment to self-control and development of character. The concept of ‘technique for maximum effectiveness’ is secondary to the benefits that karate brings to the whole person.

Each of us would hope never, ever to be put in a position in which we would be seeking to achieve a literal ‘ikken hissatsu’. But the philosophical equivalent of the same concept is to make every single action count, delivering each one with focus and to the best of your ability. It is this idea that we wanted you to experience for yourselves.

Thanks to all those who supported this event – we hope it served as something a little different from the usual scented candles and rose petals on Valentines night!