英国空手白浪会 Shiranamikai
Very sad news to hear of the passing of Ueki Masaaki Shuseki Shihan, 10th Dan, Chief Instructor of The Japan Karate Association.
Ueki Shihan had been undergoing treatment for an illness but passed away on July 14th 2024. He was 85 years old. His funeral was attended by members of his family while the JKA will look to organise a memorial event at a later date.
Our sincere condolences to his family, friends and students.
Sawada Kazuhiro 8th Dan from JKA Belgium, joined Sohonbu instructors Okuma Koichiro 7th Dan and Hirose Hikaru 3rd Dan from JKA Japan, as guests of Ohta Yoshinobu 7th Dan, chief instructor of JKA England, for the spring 2024 gasshuku.
Sawada Sensei’s drills inspired by Bassai Dai’s uke kaeshi sequences were demanding. Okuma Sensei was engaging, charismatic and encouraged everybody. Hirose Sensei’s kumite was based on the mechanics of body contraction and expansion to absorb, evade, and launch back in towards an opponent. Ohta Sensei broke down techniques effortlessly.
As well as offering a tremendous training environment, these brilliant karate courses with The Japan Karate Association are an opportunity to grade and take instructor exams, so congratulations to all who passed on this occasion.
JKA England’s Chief Instructor, Ohta Yoshinobu Sensei, visited Shiranamikai to teach a special karate class in March. Students were put through their paces with fundamentals and challenging ‘kaeshi’ partner exercises. Sensei taught the kata Heian Nidan in detail followed by a very technical Bassai Dai for seniors.
Congratulations to those who graded!
Classes continue during the festive season with time and venue changes as noted. We revert to our regular schedule from 2nd January, and children’s classes from 7th January. We also have some new training opportunities and more to follow for 2024!
| Wednesday 20th December | 7pm Harrow |
| Thursday 21st December | – |
| Friday 22nd December | – |
| Saturday 23rd December | 10.30am Primrose Hill |
| Sunday 24th December Christmas Eve | – |
| Monday 25th December Christmas Day | – |
| Tuesday 26th December Boxing Day | – |
| Wednesday 27th December | 10.30am Primrose Hill |
| Saturday 30th December | 10.30am Primrose Hill |
| Sunday 31st December New Year’s Eve | 10.30am Primrose Hill |
| Monday 1st January New Year’s Day | – |
| Tuesday 2nd January | 6.30pm O2 Centre |
Shiranamikai members participated among 500 competitors and 10 countries at the JKA England Shotokan Open Karate Championship. Well done to everybody for their efforts in what were some exciting and inspiring performances. Results as follows…
Evelyn: Bronze in Kata
Vivienne: Silver in Kata
Ella: Bronze in Kumite
Taiga: Gold in Kata, Bronze in Kumite
Austin: Bronze in Kata
Congratulations!
We celebrated Shiranamikai’s 14th anniversary at the beginning of the year with a morning training session swiftly followed by tea/coffee and homemade cake!
Sessions run as normal up to and including 21st December.
We make a full return to schedule from 3rd January 2023.
| Tuesday 20th December | 6.30pm O2 Centre |
| Wednesday 21st December | 7pm Harrow |
| Saturday 24th December | No training |
| Sunday 25th December | No training |
| Tuesday 27th December | 10.30am O2 Centre |
| Wednesday 28th December | 7pm Online |
| Saturday 31st December | No training |
| Sunday 1st January | No training |
| Tuesday 3rd January | 6.30pm O2 Centre |
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!
