Grades and belts are the reflection of the internal testing and ranking of students ability and skill  level within a club. They are not necessarily comparable to other clubs i.e. not all black belts are equal. Clubs have differing standards, syllabus’ and approaches i.e. sport karate, traditional karate or practical karate. The pursuit of belts in themselves is meaningless unless you acquire and master the appropriate skills that go with that belt colour.

 Our clubs philosophy is that a students progress should be based on their effectiveness in martial skills and not on aesthetics (i.e. their techniques work rather than just look good) and the award of belts isn’t based purely on attendance alone. This goes for the instructors too. We expect all instructors (including ourselves) to be proficient in the skills we teach, to practice those skills regularly and to have the capacity to undertake and excel at all of the training that we expect our students to undertake. We expect to lead by example.

Clive Lange – Senior Instructor

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Below is a link to a great article from Iain Abernethy regarding whether, as martial artists, we should stick to traditional training methods or adapt to new methods.

http://www.iainabernethy.com/articles/History_a_thing_of_the_past.asp

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We are putting on a display for the Thorns School fete on Saturday 19th June 2010. All students are welcome to take part whatever their grade. Please let Peter or Clive know whether you are able to attend or not. We are meeting at 12:00pm to practice and should be undertaking the display at about 12:40pm.

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There are a lot of preconceived ideas about karate and our members and the Club are not stereotypical – our members come from all walks of life and are a very friendly bunch.

The adults enjoy training together and also socialising together, whether this is simply going for a drink or something that requires a little more organisation.

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Wado Ryu karate was developed by Hironori Ohtsuka in the 1930’s and is a tremendously fast and efficient martial art, which draws upon Shindo Yoshinryu Ju-jitsu and Okinawan te (the original karate). Today, particularly in Japan, it is one of the most popular karate styles practised. It is suitable for children, men and women alike.

Wado is translatable as ,”Way Of Peace” or “Japanese Way” since the kanji can be read both ways.

Grand Master Ohtsuka Hironori

Grand Master Ohtsuka Hironori, pictured below, was the founder of Wado-Ryu karate. He was born in Shimodate City, Ibaragi, Japan on June 1, 1892 as the first son of Ohtsuka Tokujiro, a doctor of medicine. In April of 1897 Ohtsuka Sensei started ju jitsu under the supervision of his mother’s uncle, Ebashi Chojiro.

In 1921, Ohtsuka graduated in Shindo Yoshin Ryu ju jitsu under Nakayama Sensei. In 1922, he began to learn Okinawa Tode (original karate) under Gichin Funakoshi Sensei. In May of 1924, Ohtsuka Sensei and Funakoshi Sensei demonstrated Yakusoko Kumite (pre-arranged fighting with a partner) in public for the first time.

The birth of Wado

In 1928 Ohtsuka Sensei resigned from his position at the bank to become a full-time martial arts instructor. At this time he was a Chief Instructor of Shindo Yoshin Ryu as well as an assistant instructor for Funakoshi Sensei. Ohtsuka Sensei and Funoakoshi Sensei eventually began to disagree over certain aspects of training, in particular jiyu kumite. Ohtsuka Sensei gradually began to go his own way and by May of 1934 Wado-Ryu karate was recognized as an independent style although at that time it was called Dai Nippon Karate Do Shinko Club. In 1935 Kano Jigoro, founder of Kodokan Judo and who was recognized as the best martial artist in Japan at that time, recommended to the Dai Nippon Butoku Kai Federation that karate jitsu be accepted as a martial art, as an extension of Judo.

In 1938 the Dai Nippon Butoku Kai awarded Ohtsuka Sensei the rank of Renshi-Go. He demonstrated technique for the All-Japan Traditional Martial Arts Festival and his style was registered as Shin Shu Wado Ryu. In March of 1939, the Dai Nippon Butoku Kai asked all karate styles to register their names officially. Ohtsuka Sensei registered the name Wado-Ryu.

In 1942 the Dai Nippon Butoku Kai awarded Ohtsuka Sensei the rank of Kyoshi-Go and in 1944 he was asked by the same organization to become the Chief Instructor of karate in Japan. After the end of the Second World War, the Dai Nippon Butoku Kai was ordered disbanded and the practice of martial arts in Japan was forbidden. The Japanese Martial Arts were not reinstated until 1951.

Wado in the West

In 1964 three instructors from Nihon University visited in Europe and the United States to demonstrate Wado-Ryu karate. They were Suzuki Tatsuo, Awakawa Toru, and Takashima Hajime. In this same year the All Japan Karate-Do Federation was established.

In 1966 Ohtsuka Sensei was awarded Kun Goto Soukuo Kyokujujitsu (comparable to a knighthood) by Emperor Hirohito, for his dedication to the introduction and teaching of karate. In 1972 the President of Kokusai Budo Renmei, a member of the Royal Family, awarded Ohtsuka Sensei the title of Meijin, the highest possible title.

On January 29, 1982, Saiko Shihan Ohtsuka Hironori died at the age of 90. He had practiced martial arts for 84 years.

More historical information:

• Ohtsuka Sensei page at Wado Ryu Karate-Do Association
• Wado Kai/Wado Ryu at Wado Ryu Karate-Do Association
• A comprehensive page at Bournemouth Wado Ryu Karate Club

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Training

Phoenix Wado Ryu is a successful friendly traditional karate club based in Kenilworth, Warwickshire, England.

Senior Instructors Clive Lange and Peter Rixon established Phoenix Wado Ryu on 3rd March 2003. Clive and Peter’s aim is not to re-invent Wado Ryu but to re-discover its true meaning, hence the name Phoenix Wado Ryu symbolising the rebirth of the original philosophy of the style.

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Independence

Phoenix Wado Ryu is an independent karate club. When we established the Club, we decided we would not join a federation or affiliate to a large association, as we believe that it would restrict the way we operate as a club. Invariably being a member of a large association can lead to interference and the necessity to increase prices and in our experience does not guarantee the quality of either the instructors or the club. We believed and continue to believe that this is not in the interests of our members.

What does independence mean? It means we can run our club the way we want to, ensuring that costs are kept low and that students meet the exacting standards we set and are graded by examiners who know the students and know the style practised. We do not seek accolade or status within the martial arts world but simply strive to achieve Phoenix Wado Ryu’s aims and objectives.

Does independence come at a cost? We do not believe so. In fact we believe that being independent gives us an advantage. We source our own insurance direct from the market and negotiate our own rates to ensure we get the best deal. This also enables us to control the issuing of licences and means we are not reliant upon any intermediary so our students are insured as soon as they walk into our dojo.

We operate a child protection policy drafted in accordance with the NSPCC Child Protection in Sports Unit and the Warwickshire Area Child Protection Committee guidelines, which we can ensure covers all aspects specific to our Club and the way we train. In addition, all instructors are criminal records bureau (CRB) checked.

We attend outside courses which ensures a level of balance with our own ideas and practices and the Instructors have received training in First Aid.

Not for profit

What makes us stand out from the rest, apart from our training and independence is that Phoenix Wado Ryu is a genuine “not for profit” Club. This means we strive to keep costs to a minimum – we offer discounts for members of the same family, students, and for attending more than one lesson per week. Despite increases in hall rent and insurance we have not increased the lesson fees or membership charges since we established the Club.

The money we make is channelled back into the Club and used for the benefit of its members, this includes for the juniors:

• bowling and a meal
• pizza parties at local restaurants
• gift vouchers, prizes and certificates
• selection boxes at Christmas and
• Easter Eggs at Easter

For the adults it includes:

• a Christmas party
• evening drinks
• bowling and
• meals out at a local pub

In addition to using the money for its members we also use money for sponsorship towards good causes and to benefit charities, for example we sponsored two members who ran the London Marathon, we attended an event to raise money for the Tsunami appeal, the Club also made a donation to the Tsunami appeal and members take part in the Two Castles run and raise sponsorship.

In addition to events funded by the club, other social events regularly take place (see Social Page).

Why “not for profit”? Easy, we both enjoy training and do not see the necessity to try and make money from it; after all we both have full time careers and it is very gratifying to give something back to your members. It is our opinion that some martial arts clubs are more interested in rushing people through gradings, putting pressure on students to attend more than one lesson per week and compulsory courses and using gimmicks to extract money from you. The end result is generally a reduction in the quality of student. Our main aim is to produce students who are of good quality for their grade.

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