Congratulations to Lydik on achieving his 1st dan black belt at the JKA England national karate course in Guildford at the weekend. Well done!
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JKA England National Course
Tag: JKA
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.
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Kata Course & Karate Association AGM
The Japan Karate Association in England held its first event of 2024 with a 3-hour kata course in Northampton. Training was split into three segments with junior grade students allocated an instructor for designated katas for each, while senior grade were able to choose a different kata each hour. Choices included Chinte, Unsu and Jitte.
It can be tough to get the body going in cold temperatures but hopefully this course helped some along the way.
The AGM that followed was an opportunity for the committee to make submissions on the recent developments in the association and for area representatives to bring club instructors up to date with regional news.
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JKA England Winter 2023 Gasshuku
December saw a great, long-weekend’s, training in West Sussex at JKA England’s international karate course. Instructors Shimizu Ryosuke 6th Dan and Kurihara Kazuaki 6th Dan from the Tokyo Sohonbu joined England’s chief instructor Ohta Sensei 7th Dan.
These gasshukus are a fantastic opportunity to learn advanced katas and their applications while practising alongside similarly-graded students from across the UK and further afield. A pre-requisite for 1st Kyu looking to attempt a dan grading within the next 12-month period.
Great training session with Ohta Sensei this month. Challenging partner combinations kept everybody on their toes and, in some cases, on those of others… all building up to the kata, Gankaku.
Congratulations to all who graded!
JKA England’s Chief Instructor is the cover feature on June’s Shotokan Karate Magazine along with an interview in which he opens up about his initial selection, assisting the late Enoeda Sensei and the formation of JKA England in what is now more than 40 years of his teaching karate in the UK.
Shiranamikai members participated in the JKA England National Karate Championship at the weekend. Well done to everyone who took part, especially those who competed in a karate competition for the first time, and thank you to parents for their support during the day (and photos!). Results as follows…
Ella: Bronze in Kumite 🥉
Ariana: Bronze in Kumite 🥉
Blanche: Gold in Kata, Gold in Kumite 🥇🥇
Lara: Bronze in Kumite 🥉
Jacqueline: Silver in Kumite 🥈
Alex: Silver in Kata 🥈
Austin: Gold in Kata 🥇
Congratulations!
This was a great result so it was nice to relax and catch up over dinner after our regular training session a few days afterwards!
Instructors, Hirayama Yuko 7th Dan and Igarashi Tatsuro 3rd Dan from the JKA Tokyo Sohonbu, joined Ohta Yoshinobu 7th Dan for this year’s JKAEngland Winter Gasshuku.
Hirayama Sensei created a buzz with her encouraging lesson delivery and positive, yet demanding, teaching style. She is now well known to students in the UK after several visits. Igarashi Sensei challenged participants with calisthenic exercises combined with karate technique, designed to increase speed and power in delivery.
A black belt dan grading was held the final day of the course. Congratulations to Chantelle on passing her 1st Dan. Well done!
After a 3-year hiatus, Shiranamikai members were once again able to participate in the JKA England National Championship alongside more than 300 other competitors.
Well done to everyone who put themselves forward – there were strong performances throughout the day in some highly competitive events. No doubt everyone has emerged as a stronger character and better karateka.
Shiranamikai results
Alistair: Silver Kumite 🥈
Louis: Bronze Kumite 🥉
Lennon: Gold Kata 🥇 Gold Kumite 🥇
Ariana: Silver Kata 🥈 Silver Kumite 🥈
Lara: 4th Kata, Bronze Kumite 🥉
Chantelle: Silver Kata 🥈
Austin: Silver Kata 🥈
Alex: 4th Kata
Shiranami M (Shohei, Dennis, Jacqueline): 4th Team Kata
Thanks to family members for taking the time to come and offer your support, and those who assisted on the day. Also to all the JKA officials for organising such a large scale event, and managing the matches so well on the day. We appreciate all your hard work.
If you missed it this time, keep 29th October free for the Shotokan Open Championship!
Spring 2022, and England is hosting the first JKA international training course in three years. Instructors, Sawada Kazuhiro 8th Dan from JKA Belgium, Imamura Tomio 8th Dan and Shimizu Ryosuke 6th Dan from the Tokyo Sohonbu, join Ohta Yoshinobu 7th Dan for this long overdue gasshuku weekend.
A respectable contingent of our karateka neighbours are present, including from Scotland, Norway, Portugal, and Germany, all keen to participate and absorb the experience that these instructors have to offer… Sawada Sensei gives detailed explanations underlined with profound historic references, and uses physical proxies to great effect throughout his partner drills. Imamura Sensei expands upon uchi uke in basic partner work with makiotoshi making for interesting, if challenging, techniques. Shimizu Sensei demonstrates speed, power, and flexibility, leaving no doubt as to why he made such a formidable kumite competitor in the past. But what may have surprised is his exeptional form throughout katas Gankaku and Gojushiho Sho, with dynamic movement and slick direction changes. But that’s what the JKA does best: apportion equal time to kihon, kata and kumite, and where one finds a deficit, they strive to make improvements.
There was a lot to get through. The first 90 minutes of each day would be given over to kihon and kumite, followed by another 90 minutes being reserved for kata, bunkai, and instructor training. A friendly kumite match took place on Saturday, alongside a kyu grading, instructor theory, and referee practical. Sunday saw a dan grading followed by instructor practical exams.
So, a busy weekend with little time for much else. But this was a fantastic course taught by some of the most respected instructors in the world. And it was so good to finally catch up with karate friends after so long.
Congratulations to Alex on passing his 4th Dan! It’s an incredible achievement, and the culmination of 20 years of dedicated training.
Update: It was announced late-May 2022 that Sawada Sensei has been awarded 8th Dan by the JKA Shihankai. A just recognition for a great instructor who has dedicated his life to karate. Read more about Sawada Sensei on his academy’s site…