Plymouth Karate-Do - Latest News
21st November 2009 - 39th Portsmouth Open Championships
It was a good day for almost everyone, with Sensei Paul and Senpai Chris helping with the refereeing and Jason and Shaun competing. Almost everyone, because Shaun was injured before the tournament and could not compete. This was obviously a blow for him and the club, but also for the tournament. Shaun is always one of the best all-round Karate-Ka at any tournament he enters, so it was a loss for everyone not to see him compete. This left the pressure on Jason, but he delivered the goods, winning Gold in the Brown Belt Kata.
One special mention is for the SEKU Squad Kumite team, who won the international Five Man Team Kumite event. They beat some excellent teams from Holland and Wales and some new squad members showed great ability and potential.
----------------------------------------------
4th October 2009 - AGM, Black & Brown Belt Course and Dan Grading - Portchester
Before the training was the SEKU Annual General Meeting. Sensei Paul will be feeding back all relevant information at the dojo, so please check the club noticeboard.
After the AGM, as Sensei Dewey put it, was getting on with what we are good at, Karate. Sensei took the class, after an extensive warm up by Sensei Smith. Today’s theme was Keri Waza, with Kihon first the class practiced Mae-geri, Kekomi, Mawashi-geri and Ushiro-geri, all on both sides of the both, with numerous repetitions. When the basics were complete every one was warm for the technique to be broken down. This was very useful revision for everyone involved.
After the first training session, those grading moved to another dojo, while Sensei Alan Lewis and Sensei Steve Hollister took the second session.
From Plymouth Karate-Do, Michelle was taking Shodan and Laura Sandan. Both Michelle and Laura had prepared extremely well for the grading over the last six months, but it was always going to be tough. Thankfully, they both excelled and did their absolute best. After the grading there was a long wait while all students were discussed by the senior Sensei. Then they were called back in for the results. Soon enough they both left the dojo pleased and relieved, they both passed, WELL DONE!
----------------------------------------------
23rd August 2009 - Plymouth Karate-Do Kyu Grading
Sensei Dewey was in attendance for the Kyu Grading and training, and a great day was had by all. Sensei’s pre-grading training got the whole class buzzing with some excellent exercises to push even the most senior grades in the class. We are very lucky to have regular visits from our Chief Instructor, his skills as a Karateka and a teacher always give great benefit to everyone.
Congratulations to all who passed their gradings, all clubs in the area showed excellent spirit, attitude and etiquette. The Plymouth members who took their grading are listed below:
Toby 9th Mon
Brandon 9th Mon
Caitlin 7th Kyu
Anjali 6th Kyu
Yvonne 6th Kyu
Gilly 3rd Kyu
Jason 1st Kyu
Well done, Osu!
----------------------------------------------
18th & 19th July 2009 – Sensei Hazard Course – Hosted by SKE in Essex
The 18th and 19th July was the annual Sensei Hazard course hosted by Sensei Rod Butler and Shotokan Karate England. Paul attended this course last year, which was a great weekend of training and this year he attended again with Shaun, Eden and Ros.
After the long drive to Essex (thanks to Shaun J) they arrived at the dojo and were made to feel very welcome by everyone involved with SKE. The first lesson was for the black and brown belts and Sensei focused on the Kata ‘Kanku Dai’. When Sensei teaches Kata, he makes the difficult task of learning the movement, timing and technique of the Kata simplified. He does this by breaking down the sections and demonstrating the application behind the technique. When explained in this manner, the reality of the technique and the intricate explanations ease the learning process substantially. Along with his pedagogical skill, he inspires the best from his students by his outstanding ability as a technical and real Karateka.
After this first two hour session was a break before the Kyu grade class. Many of the dan grades stayed on for this class, which was great to see and proved the importance of basic training within more senior grades.
The second day was equally as good, and although everyone was drained at the end, it was well worth it. Sensei also covered the timing of blocking in conjunction with hip, movement and stance, as well as numerous other drills for kicking and kumite.
All four club attendees had a great time and would like to thank Sensei Rod and his students for making them feel so welcome.
Plymouth B & B Course and Dan Grading - 7th June 2009
On Sunday 7th June, Plymouth Karate-Do hosted the annual South West Black and Brown Belt course at Woolwell Community College.
Many Karateka from around SEKU travelled a long way to attend, and with the usual local attendees it was a very well supported course.
After the warm up and some combinations with Sensei O’Donnell, Sensei Dewey led the class through revision of Jion. Just like the recent instructors class, the focus on standardisation was excellent for all grades. After working through the technical aspects of the Kata, Sensei demonstrated various bunkai for everyone to practice. As with many of Sensei Dewey’s Kata application, his focus on tai sabaki and deflection was very practical for all. This is something that takes years of attention to gain the ease and skill which Sensei shows when demonstrating, but the usability and effectiveness of it is definitely worth the work. Following the bunkai, the class performed the Kata again at full (or correct) speed before taking a well earned break.
After the break, the senior Sensei left to undertake the dan gradings. This left Sensei Crowe and Sensei Hollister to take the class through a taster of squad training for both Kata and Kumite. Sensei Crowe taught a senior Kata named Gojushiho Dai. There wasn’t a huge amount of time for him, but he managed to emphasise all of the important aspects of the Kata, which worked especially well for those who attended the October B & B course in Portchester last year as he taught the Kata then as well. One of Sensei Crowe’s main points was to encourage people to attend squad training and all SEKU courses, which would help them gain the knowledge to improve to the next level in both traditional and/or competition Karate. Sensei Crowe is a former SEKU Kata champion and has trained at the JKA in Japan. His technical knowledge of SEKU Karate is comprehensive and his ability to demonstrate at such high standards made it a very informative class. Sensei Hollister took the next part of the class through some Kumite exercises, with the focus on spirit in the delivery of technique, as well as total awareness throughout a fight, whether in competition or in a real situation. He also enthused on the relevance of squad training to improve everyone, not just those who compete, as he continued to explain that the senior squad are some of the elite in SEKU, and to train with them would certain improve anyone. To finish the class, Sensei Crowe asked the class to perform Kihon Kata backwards. Earlier he had mentioned that some Kata are very one sided, and to get more from your Kata, they could be practiced backwards or on the opposite side.
This was the end of a very tiring but rewarding day’s training. In attendance from the club were Jason, Michelle, Tony, Coirle, Ros, Chris, Sensei Shaun and Sensei Paul. Well done to all.
| |
Instructors Class - Portchester - 26th April 2009 |
Sunday 26th April saw the first SEKU instructor’s class of the year. Sensei Paul was the only club attendee due to illness, injury and work commitments with the other club seniors. The session held in Portchester was well attended and the lesson plans were intelligently tailored for this forum.
The first class was led by Sensei Dewey which covered Kanku Dai and selected bunkai. The kata revision was broken down and included numerous points to standardise the kata. This was excellent for the students and negated any ambiguity. Sensei Dewey taught a few sections of bunkai within some of the less obvious areas, and invited a few others to add their own personal variation. With Sensei's application and the added extras, this meant many good ideas could be taken back to the dojo and practiced. After numerous important repetitions of the kata at various speed and timing, the class finished and it was time for a well earned break.
Sensei Smith took the first part of the second class which went back to basics. The emphasis of correct hip movement can never be underestimated in Karate, and the in-depth, intricate analysis of this certainly got the class thinking. Amongst other points, the timing of utilising the hip to assist blocking was explained, before applying it within basics and kumite exercises. The stance movement, posture and attitude to blocking was also discussed and practiced by the class. One very important point was to check that the hip was assisting the block; it was shown how easy it can be to mis-time this (moving the hip too early or too late), which would leave the defender more vulnerable. Another aspect of hip movement described and shown to the class was the strong foundation of stance (specifically the front knee) while enabling maximum hip movement for gyaku-zuki. Sensei Crowe demonstrated for Sensei Smith and showed how effective this can be, and how many of us need to improve to gain his high-level of proficiency. Sensei Dewey also interjected with an exercise for hip movement, which encouraged reduced front knee movement by placing the knee of the zenkutsu-dachi against the wall when working the hip from hanmi to shomen. Sensei also explained that the point of rotation for the gyaku-zuki was at the hip of the forward leg i.e. if the left leg is forward in the stance, the point of rotation is the left hip. This is often misunderstood and when rotation is taken further back, it can pull back the front knee and will negate the striking power.
The second part of the second class was for Sensei O'Donnell to explain the relevance of flowing movements within kumite and how we all need to practice how to make combinations continuous and effective. This was implemented within various kumite scenarios using tai sabaki (body movement), stance transition and flowing block/front leg kick/strike combinations. This ended the class, which, as you can tell, will leave all students with much to practice and take back to their respective dojo.
| |
SEKU National Championships - Portsmouth - 4th April 2009 |
Another year, another successful tournament for Plymouth, read on……..
There was a real buzz at the SEKU nationals this year, new trophies, evening Finals, back to the good old days, and the standard was as high as ever.
Firstly we must mention the successful debut performances by Gilly and Jason. Both competing in their first tournament and both won Gold! Amazing! Gilly won Gold in the beginner to brown belt Kata while Jason won the Brown Belt Kata event. Jason also fought well to win the bronze in a tough group in the men’s brown belt kumite.
Scott started the day by retaining the Kata title he won last year, with a strong performance of Sochin in the final. He was a clear distance from some other good young finalists. Then Scott moved to his favoured event, the kumite. There was a lot of excitement around the mat with many spectators and competitors eager to see SEKU’s junior champion fighting, and they were not disappointed. Scott eased through the rounds winning with good timing and execution of technique, before winning the final in brilliant style scoring a perfect de-ai kizami-zuki jodan – IPPON! Scott was also presented with the junior fighting spirit trophy.
Laura, Becca and Ros put together a kumite team on the day, and narrowly missed out to Portsmouth losing 2-1 in a close final. Ros fought a former SEKU champion and was only just beaten in a tough fight. Ros also did well in the Kata before losing in the semi’s, this was a great achievement for her as she competed to the best of her ability. Laura and Becca also performed well in the Kata but were fairly beaten by some good competitors and former champions. Laura also fought excellently in the early rounds beating a former SEKU champion, but lost out at the semi final stage. Becca made up for losing in the individuals to fight brilliantly in the team to beat the individual silver medallist.
The rounds of the men’s kata brought a buzz to the whole arena, especially when Sensei Shaun was first up, he looked as sharp as ever and progressed to the second round. There were many strong performances, and Sensei Paul also progressed well. At the semi-final stage, Shaun performed Heian Yondan, it was another fantastic performance and Shaun went through. Paul was next up, against the SEKU Portsmouth Invitational Kata champion, Heian Nidan was the Kata, and Paul won this time to make his second final in a row. After the event the competitors, spectators and referees were all buzzing about the standard and talent in SEKU.
The Kata final was in the evening, and it was Sensei Paul’s first Gold in the event for five long years! He performed a new Kata, ‘Gankaku’ in the final which he’s been working hard at for many months now. Sensei Shaun was 0.2 behind in second and they were well clear of the other competitors. Paul also won the technical excellence trophy; this was his third individual SEKU Kata title and definitely his toughest.
Earlier in the day, Sensei Shaun fought brilliantly in the rounds to get to the semi finals in the Kumite. He beat a former SEKU champion and scored two Ippons in the process. Shaun won a one sided semi-final but lost out to a world-class performance in the final by SEKU squad captain Dave Galloway from Portsmouth. Dave was a worthy winner, which was his fourth SEKUI title in a row, Osu!
So a great day for Plymouth again, well done to all and thank to the supporters as ever :-)
| |
Review of the Year and Decade & Student of the Year 2008 |
This year has been a very special one in many ways. It was the 10th anniversary of the club as well as being another successful year.
During the last ten years Plymouth Karate-Do has produced over 25 champions and achieved over 25 dan gradings, with a 100% pass rate.
This year was another great one. With success at kyu gradings and the junior class growing it’s been a time for people of all ages and grades to improve and reach their goals. James passed Shodan at the first attempt while Scott and Ros passed Nidan at the same grading in June. The club won the most medals at the SEKU Nationals and the SEKU Portsmouth Invitational.
Sensei Paul also helped to lead the SEKU senior squad through another great year, which culminated in 3 Gold’s at the JSKA World Championships. Shaun won veteran Kata Gold as well as Team Kumite Gold at the JSKA’s and Scott won junior Kumite Gold at the same tournament. SEKU’s first two individual World Champions. Scott, Shaun and Tracy were the three most successful squad members during the year as well.
Sensei Paul has now retired from the squad, but a new team of excellent instructors from around SEKU will ensure the squad continue to improve. Paul’s time as senior squad coach was a fruitful one in which he learnt a great deal. Under the guidance of Sensei Dewey and with help from a very talented and commited squad, Paul helped to restructure the squad and it’s training methods and hopes any improvement and innovation he was involved in will lead to continued success for SEKU. During this period the squad won over 50 Gold medals and three World titles.
Student of the Year
Sensei Paul made this years choice, as it was the 10th year. Usually all of the dan grades vote for a winner.
This year’s winner has achieved a great deal over the last 10 years, and has let her journey through karate help her grow in many positive ways. There is no-one more committed to Plymouth Karate-Do and we are very proud to have Senpai Eden as our student of the year.
Eden has shown great personal improvement, club spirit and commitment over the last 10 years and is a worthy winner. She has gained a great deal from Karate, but has also given a lot back, well done Eden.
Senpai Eden - Nidan - Student of the Year:
| |
JSKA World Championships, Manchester - 23-24th August 2008 |
On 23/24th August the SEKU squad competed at the JSKA World Championships in Manchester.
Sensei Paul, Sensei Shaun, Senpai Tracy and Senpai Scott were all competing for the SEKU squad at this event.
The first event of the day was the veterans 45-54 Kata (I know Shaun doesn't look old enough). Shaun fought hard through the Heian eliminations into the last 8, then performed Jion to gain a place in the final. After a mistake by the judges, when they told Shaun to perform Enpi, when he should have been given a free choice, the referees worked out the error and asked Shaun to perform his choice kata. As usual he chose Unsu, and why not! His performance was by far the best of the category, we just had to wait for the scores. 19.4 was the score, and the title was his (beating a 7th dan into 2nd place!), Veterans Kata JSKA World Champion!!! Shaun's hard work had paid off and he truely deserved it. Well done!
Senpai Tracy did excellently to reach the semi finals in kata but just missed out on a final place. Sensei Paul competed in the mens 22-34 kata, but lost early on to the current World Champion from Mexico :-(
On the Sunday it was the kumite events and after Tracy lost out in a tough fight, we knew it wasn't going to be easy. But then it was Scott's turn!!
Scott had to wait til after 6pm for his event to start, but it was worth the wait. He fought brilliantly in the early rounds, picking off his opponents with great timing and accuracy, using amazing speed which they couldn't cope with. In the semi final his timing seemed to get better as he scored two very quick wazari's the second a jodan gyaku zuki thrown with speed and control which really deserved and ippon, but it didn't matter, he was in the final. Now full of confidence, Scott had to fight a very good opponent and it was nihon kumite, the first to four wazari. Scott waited for an opening and immediately saw one, and threw a scoring gyaku. Then straight off the line after being awarded the first point his opponent came straight for him, but Scott was too sharp and caught him with a perfectly timed de ai gyaku. It was 2-0 and his opponent was frustrated and Scott took advantage catching him cold with a kizami gyaku combination, 3-0, now he was ready to finish it and it didn't take long with another gyaku just like the first technique!! 4-0 in about a minute, 14-15 year old Junior Kumite JSKA World Champion!! Wow! And he didn't concede a single point in all his fights.
And lastly, the icing on the cake...
Earlier in the day, Shaun fought in the veterans kumite team with Graham Rowley (Portsmouth) and Lee Hollister (Saltash). They had made it to the final and it was scheduled just after Scott's win. The squad were buzzing after this, and Lee went out to fight first, he totally dominated his opponent and won 2-0, a perfect start, now it was Graham's turn, after a close fight it was 1-1 until graham scored in the dying seconds to secure the title, Shaun still fought though winning 2-1 against a tough opponent to win it 3-0 for the team. Mens Veterans Team Kumite, JSKA World Champions!!!
A great day for the squad and for Plymouth Karate-Do. Other squad results were MIke (Saltash) Silver Youths Kata, George (Lovedean) Silver Youths Kumite, Youths kumite team Bronze, Hannah (Saltash) 4th, female Kata.
Everyone at Plymouth Karate-Do is so proud of Shaun and Scott, SEKU's first individual World Champions, well done, Osu!.
Shaun, Lee and Graham, veterans kumite JSKA World Champions!
The SEKU squad before the tournament
Team Plymouth! Tracy, Scott, Shaun and Paul
The SEKU Squad, after the tournament
The newly formed SEKU Squad Coaching Team, (Left to right) Sensei Paul with, Sensei Steve, Sensei Stacey Crowe (Portsmouth) and Sensei Terry Oliver (Lovedean)
 |
