Black Belt Grading

A four hour black belt grading was held yesterday (11th December 2010).

You are your own worst enemy!

It’s a fact that the chances of you being violently attacked is quite low and to be attacked by stranger even lower still. In the attached post is a link to a great article by Iain Abernethy who points to the governments statistics that prove that “Self Defence” really does begin with defence from yourself…..

Christmas and New Year Opening

The dates for this years training sessions and holidays over Christmas and New Year are enclosed.

Juniors Christmas Party: Sunday 12th December 2010

Please look at the attached letter (Juniors Xmas party 2010) and complete the slip at the  bottom and return it to Peter or Clive by the date specified in the letter. Only availiable to fully paid up club members.

Summer Holiday Training

Just to let you know we are open throughout the summer holiday and we will be training at the usual times.

Grading System

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

History: Is it a thing of the past?

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

Thorns School Fete – 19th June 2010

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 [...]

Social Events

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.

History of Wado

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.