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Latest News
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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.
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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!
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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!
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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.
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Latest News
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Plymouth B & B Course and Dan Grading - 7th June 2009
Author :: Admin
Date :: Mon 06/08/2009 @ 01:14
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Please read below for course details........
read article
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.
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Kyu Grading - Plymouth - 24th May 2009
Author :: Admin
Date :: Tue 05/26/2009 @ 12:59
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Congratulation to everyone, a 100% pass rate, well done to all......
read article
Sunday 24th May was the joint Kyu grading for all SEKU clubs from Plymouth, Plympton, Saltash and Liskeard.
Sensei Steve (Saltash) and Sensei Paul took the enthusiastic class through training prior to the grading, and the theme of the day was hip movement. This was reiterating the important points from the instructor's class as well as practicing numerous drills to help hone hip movement within blocking, striking and kicking.
Sensei Steve took the first class through various kihon attacking and defensive combinations and then applied all of them in kumite scenarios. The over-emphasis of hip movement within the drills made everyone concentrate on maximising movement to gain the most from their hips, within the block and the attack. The combinations were well received and left many with lots to work on.
Sensei Paul took the second class which worked on timing of the hip and punch to reach maximum speed and power, as well as explaining the false feedback from incorrect technique and ensuring that the hip was still turning when the punch penetrates the target. The class worked on gyaku-zuki, kizami-zuki and mae-geri in pairs, before practicing basic kata, to test out all of the points made during the two sessions.
Before the grading, Sensei Dewey was in attendance to present Dan grading certificates to three seniors from other local clubs. Sensei explained the hard work entailed to achieve such gradings which was an inspiration to all. Sensei's attendance at our local grading said a lot for how the area is growing and improving, and was a great boost for all.
The grading was lead by Sensei Steve and Sensei Paul and students from all of the local clubs excelled. Well done to everyone!
Plymouth members that graded did themselves and the club proud, the results are below:
Jason - 2nd Kyu
Gilly - 4th Kyu
Tilly - 7th Kyu
Anjali - 7th Kyu
Caitlin - 7th Mon
Mark - 8th Kyu
Nancy - 8th Kyu
Joseph - 9th Kyu
Kellen - 9th Kyu
Caleisha - 9th Kyu
Demi-Leigh - 9th Mon
Sophie - 9th Mon
Caitlin - 9th Mon
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Instructors Class - Portchester - 26th April 2009
Author :: Admin
Date :: Mon 04/27/2009 @ 12:46
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Read on for more information........
read article
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.
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SEKU National Championships - Portsmouth - 4th April 2009
Author :: Admin
Date :: Mon 04/27/2009 @ 12:43
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Plymouth win 5 Golds, read more below.....................
read article
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 :-)
Photo to follow:
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Review of the Year and Decade & Student of the Year
Author :: Admin
Date :: Thu 04/23/2009 @ 09:44
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Read below for more information...........
read article
Review of the Year & Review of the Decade
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:
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38th SEKU Open - Portsmouth - 15 November 2008
Author :: Admin
Date :: Wed 11/19/2008 @ 12:35
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Plymouth members take home ten medals at the Championships...
read article
Sensei Paul, Sensei Shaun, Tracy, Scott, Michelle and Beth all attended the championships, and everyone came away with a medal!!
Tracy retained the Kumite title she won last year with some impressive performances, as well as winning Silver in the Ladies black belt Kata. Tracy remained unbeaten in the tournament by leading Plymouth to Bronze in the team Kumite with Michelle.
JSKA Junior World Champion Scott showed he was worthy of this title by dominating the junior Kumite and winning Gold. As well as this, Scott won Silver in Kata after narrowly missing out in a final play-off against a very high standard competitor from SSKI. This win means Scott has remained unbeaten at Kumite throughout the whole year, an amazing achievement.
Shaun fought brilliant to gain Silver in the Men’s Black Belt Kumite and helped two members of the Plympton team to a Bronze in the team Kumite.
Other winners were Beth (Kata Gold and Kumite Bronze) and Michelle (team Kumite Bronze).
Sensei Paul took Silver in the Men’s Black Belt Kata and was very proud of the team’s performance.
Everyone performed with the true spirit of Karate and did the club proud.
Thanks also to Eden, Ros, Roger, Lindsey and Dawn for supporting all of the competitors, it really makes a difference.
Final Medal Tally: 3 Gold, 4 Silver, 3 Bronze!!!!! :-)
Team Plymouth back in the Dojo with their medals:
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Sensei Hazard Course (Guilford) - 18/19th October 2008
Author :: Admin
Date :: Thu 10/23/2008 @ 12:37
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Details of the course attended by Sensei Shaun and Ros..
read article
Sensei Shaun and Senpai Ros were still buzzing about the Sensei Hazard course on Monday night at the dojo.
The topics covered over the two days included basic to senior grade preset kumite, keri waza with partners, stance movement and on the Sunday Sensei taught Gojushiho Sho and Bunkai.
As ever, all students left with great inspiration and lots to work on. Shaun and Ros had a great time and enjoyed some high standard pair-ups.
When's the next course?!!
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Portchester B & B Course & Dan Grading - 5th October 2008
Author :: Admin
Date :: Thu 10/23/2008 @ 12:22
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Sensei Paul, Shaun and Eden all attended.............
read article
After an early start and a long drive through the fog, Sensei Paul, Shaun and Eden arrived at Portchester Community School for the Brown and Black Belt course.
Before the training was the AGM, which Sensei Paul attended with the other club instructors.
More importantly, after the AGM was the training session!! Sensei Dewey took the class through Jiyu Ippon-Ni, Kaeshi Ippon and Jiyu Kumite (Randori). All of these were expertly demostrated by Stacey Crowe and Dave Galloway from Portsmouth Karate Club.
In the second session Sensei Crowe took the class through Gojushiho Dai. It was a difficult task to teach this senior Kata to a large class of brown and black belts, but he did an excellent job. The attention to detail of Sensei Crowe's instruction was inspiring and everyone learnt a great deal.
After the training, many students took their dan gradings, congratulations to all. (Full results can be found here: http://www.seku.co.uk/blackbrown.htm)
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New SEKU Club - August 2008
Author :: Admin
Date :: Sat 09/13/2008 @ 10:31
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SEKU have a new club in the south west, read on for more details.....
read article
Sensei Steve Hollister and his dojo in Saltash have officially joined SEKU. Many of the Saltash club have trained with SEKU for years now and have been affiliated to SEKU through Plymouth Karate-Do. But now they have left Swanda and have joined SEKU as a fully affiliated club.
This is great news for SEKU, especially in the south west, as this brings another strong dojo to the area.
All at Plymouth Karate-Do welcome Sensei Steve and all his members! Osu!
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JSKA World Championships, Manchester - 23-24th August 2008
Author :: Paul Uren
Date :: Fri 09/05/2008 @ 09:56
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Shaun and Scott win JSKA World Titles.....Read on..
read article
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)
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Plymouth B & B Course & Dan Grading - 8th June 2008
Author :: Paul Uren
Date :: Wed 08/27/2008 @ 12:47
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Ros, Scott and James all pass Dan gradings!!!
read article
Congratulations to Ros and Scott for passing their Nidan grading and to James for passing Shodan. They all trained extremely hard for this and were outstanding in their exam led by Sensei Dewey and Sensei O'Donnell.
Well done !!! :-)
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Shobu Ippon Shotokan Open 2008 - 10th May 2008
Author :: Paul Uren
Date :: Thu 06/26/2008 @ 12:35
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Success for Plymouth students at the championships....
read article
The SEKU squad were again the dominant force at this championships topping the medal table for the second year running.
Plymouth members were an integral part of this winning numerous medals:
Shaun retained the Kata title he won last year with beating another tough field. His consistent high standards are an inspiration to all. Shaun won bronze in the veterans kumite (I know, he doesn't look old enough!) and he also helped the SEKU Men's team to bronze in the international team kumite.
Riccardo did excellently also winning Gold in the brown belt Kata, this is the second year he's won gold at this tournament.
Tracy was on form again, coming second in the individual kata, only losing out to a brilliant karateka from Belgium. Tracy then teamed up with two other excellent karateka from other associations and helped them win Gold in the ladies team kumite. Then she finished off a fantastic day by winning the individual kumite, her third individual title already this year and her 7th Gold in total for the year.
Sensei Paul was squad coach for the tournament and was very pleased with the performances of the whole squad, in particular the Plymouth members.
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SEKU Championships 2008 - 15th March 2008
Author :: Admin
Date :: Thu 06/26/2008 @ 12:35
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More Gold!!!!.....
read article
Plymouth members were on form again winning numerous medals at the tournament.
Scott was the competitor of the day becoming Junior Grand Champion. He won Kata gold with a brilliant performance of Sochin and later beat numerous squad members including the defending champion to win the Kumite Gold. To win both events is an amazing acheivement, but to do it at 13 years of age, beating competitors over two years older than him makes the acheivement even more impressive.
Sensei Shaun won the individual Kata for the third year in a row, he was on form again, beating some tough opponents in the final.
Tracy had another great day, winning the ladies kumite title for the third year in a row, and she also came second in the Kata performing Sochin in the final.
Tracy also teamed up with Laura and Sensei Paul to win gold in the adult team kata. Their performance of Sochin was a clear points winner.
After some time out of competing Maff fought really well to retain the youths kumite title he won last year, beating another squad member in a difficult final.
Other results were: Riccardo - Bronze junior kata and junior 3 step, Coirle - Silver junior kumite and junior 3 step. Michelle - Bronze brown belt kumite.
Well done to all! :-)
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Legend Open 2008 - 23rd Feb 2008
Author :: Paul Uren
Date :: Thu 03/27/2008 @ 12:52
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Plymouth Students Strike Gold Again!!....
read article
The SEKU squad were very successful at the Legend Open again this year, and although only three Plymouth members were competing for the squad this time, they certainly helped the medal tally, all winning Gold!!!
Scott retained the kumite title he won last year and Riccardo also won Gold in a very tough (older junior) kumite category as well.
Tracy was the pick of the competitors again (most sucessful competitor in the whole tournament), becoming Grand Champion for the second year running. This is an amazing acheivement! She was also part of the mixed team that won gold!
Well done to all!
The results of the Plymouth members are below:
Scott - Gold - Over 5ft Kumite (11-13 year Olds)
Riccardo - Gold - Over 5ft Kumite (14-15 year Olds)
Tracy - Gold - Ladies Individual Kata
Tracy - Gold - Ladies Individual Kumite
Tracy - Gold - Mixed Team Kumite (With Dave Galloway, Portsmouth and Matt Powell, Portchester)
Some of the SEKU Squad are pictured below, with Sensei Stacey Crowe (SEKU Referee) and Sensei Paul (SEKU Squad Coach)
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Plymouth Karate-Do - Student of the Year 2007
Author :: Admin
Date :: Thu 03/27/2008 @ 12:13
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Who was Student of the Year 2007? Read below.......
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This year was the closest ever in the voting, so close that the title was shared between James and Riccardo.
Congratulations to both of them, they have shown excellent commitment and attitude over the last year.
Student's of the Year Below:
 
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Plymouth Karate-Do - Review of 2007
Author :: Admin
Date :: Thu 03/27/2008 @ 12:13
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Read below for the review of the year.
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Review of 2007
2007 has been a very successful year for the club, the highlights are below:
Beginner's Class
This year saw the introduction of the new beginners class, starting at 6pm every Monday. All the new students are progressing very well and thanks must go to Eden, Scott, Tracy and Clive for helping out with the instruction of the new group.
Kyu Gradings
This year saw excellent development of the kyu grades in the club, with quite a few gaining senior kyu grades and Beth Simmons double grading straight to 8th Kyu, a very rare event in SEKU.
Dan Gradings
In June at the Plymouth B&B course, Dave, Corile and Maff all passed their Shodan grading, since then they have developed well and are all a credit to the club.
Competitions
Plymouth Karate-Do continued to be the dominant club in SEKU. We were the most successful club at the SEKU championships in March and again at the SEKU Open in November.
The star performers were:
Tracy - She won an amazing 8 gold medals this year, and was grand champion (winning kata and kumite) at the Legend Open. She also beat the current JSKA World champion in the final of the SEKU Open and won individual gold at the SEKU championships for the second year running and for the first time won the JKS(GB) Open kumite gold. Tracy was the most dominant SEKU competitor in 2007.
Sensei Shaun: Shaun retained his SEKU kata title in March and followed that up with gold at the massive Shobu Ippon Shotokan Open in May and then capped off another fantastic year by winning the SEKU Open title in November.
Scott, Maff ,Coirle and James all won kumite titles in the senior grade category for their age groups and Riccardo won the below brown belt kumite at the Shobu Ippon championships. Scott was our most consistent junior winning medals numerous medals in kata and kumite.
SEKU Squad
The following people from Plymouth Karate-DO represented the SEKU squad during 2007.
Sensei Shaun
Tracy
Scott
Maff
Riccardo
And next year James will be competing for the squad after winning gold at the SEKU Open.
Student of the Year
Dave has proved to be a great choice for the 2006 student of the year, he has carried the title well and has been a fine ambassador for the dojo.
The 2007 winner will be presented the trophy on Monday 17th December, so don't miss it!
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SEKU Open Shobu Ippon Championships - 17th November 2007
Author :: Admin
Date :: Tue 11/20/2007 @ 10:35
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Another successful championships for Plymouth!....
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Plymouth members brought home 10 medals from the SEKU Open Shobu Ippon Championships on Saturday 17th November.
There are too many fantastic performances this time to single anyone out, so we’ll go through them in chronological order (as they happened on the day).
The first medal was won by Scott in the junior brown and black belt Kata, he was excellent in the Heian eliminations and performed Jion in the final to gain the bronze medal.
Next was the men’s senior Kata event. After some very difficult eliminations Shaun and Steve made it through to the final, which was the best quality final line up this year. Only 0.5 separated all four finalists but Shaun’s performance of Unsu took the title, winning by 0.1 from the Dutch JKA exponent in second. His performance had to be his best of the year, with all the pressure on, and he didn’t fail to deliver! Steve came third with Gojushiho Sho.
Before the Shobu Ippon Kumite events was the sanbon Kumite in which Riccardo took the Gold in the over 5ft event.
The first Kumite event was the ladies beginner to 1st kyu, in which Beth was entered in her first competition. She fought brilliantly, listening to the simple instructions and executed her techniques with perfect timing. She won the final against an experienced brown and white belt in less than thirty seconds. Beth did her first competition Kumite lesson less than one month ago!
Tracy continued her unbelievable year by winning Gold in the ladies black belt Kumite. This is Tracy’s fourth Kumite title of the year after winning the Legend Open, SEKU Championships and JKS(GB) Open. As ever she fought with great distancing, accuracy, timing and reactions. In the final she fought the ladies JSKA world kumite champion, Jana Gee, and like last year Tracy beat her 2 wazari’s to 1. To beat a fighter of this quality twice, shows that last year was no fluke and that Tracy really has made her mark in the Shotokan alliance and the dominant female competitor. She recorded over 20 wins this year, including team fights and only lost once!
In the over 5ft boys kumite Scott was really on form again, and lost in an extra time final to squad team mate George Oliver of Lovedean club. George also defeated Riccardo in the semi finals, so he really had to work hard for this title. Coirle followed up her spirited performance in March at the SEKU championships to win the Bronze in the girls kumite. She showed real courage to fight on when she was hit with contact far beyond what the rules should allow.
Dave was competing in the men’s black belt kumite for the first time and his tactics were superb. He only lost in extra time to the fighter that went on to win the Silver medal. Maff was unable to fight this time, but performed well in kata in his first event as a dan grade.
In the 3 man team event, Shaun teamed up to fight for our friends Steve and Jason from the Saltash club. They fought through some very tough rounds, when Shaun sustained and injured to his leg. He couldn’t continue, but the team called on their reserve, Matt Powell and carried on the gain the Silver medal.
There must also be a special mention to Hannah from the Saltash club, who won Gold in the ladies kata, she defeated last years winner and won her third Kata title of the year after performing Gojushiho Dai in the final.
In the 5 man international team event, unfortunately Shaun was still injured, but Steve fought for the squad select team coached by Sensei Paul. They beat a Shobu select team in the semi’s and the Dutch JKA team 4-1 in a one sided final. The SEKU five man team have won all their events this year!
The one event I’ve left out of order is the boys under 5ft kumite. James won the Gold in this event after beating some previous champions after keeping his fighting simple and competing with excellent timing and spirit. James also won Bronze in the under 5ft sanbon kumite. Now James is a Kumite champion, he can look forward to competing for the squad next year!
As ever there are a few people to thank. Firstly thanks to all the supporters who came to cheer on the club, it’s great to have you all there and it makes a big difference for the competitors. And a big thank you to Eden for coaching the juniors as Sensei Paul couldn’t be with everyone when they were competing. She coached Coirle and James by herself through all of the rounds of their kumite and should take great credit for this.
Well done to all!
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JKS(GB) Open Championships 2007 - 10th November 2007
Author :: Admin
Date :: Tue 11/13/2007 @ 09:55
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Success for the SEKU squad and Plymouth members competing for the SEKU squad at the JKS(GB) Open
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Congratulations to Tracy, Scott and Riccardo for winning Gold at the championships!!
Very early on Saturday 10th November, members from Plymouth Karate-Do, led by SEKU squad coach Sensei Paul, travelled to Nottingham to compete for the SEKU squad at the JKS(GB) Open championships. The squad had never competed at this competition before, but knowing the excellent reputation of the JKS we were expecting a tough day.
The day started with the Kata events, with Sensei Steve battling through a very tough draw to gain an excellent 4th place in the mens senior event. In the ladies event, Sensei Hannah Day (Saltash Karate Club) won an excellent Silver in the highest standard Kata event of the year. Scott was very unlucky to lose out in the quarter finals after performing well all day in the Kata.
After a short lunch break, the matts were laid for the Kumite events. The SEKU squad really shone through in the Kumite dominating the adult events. Tracy kept her fantastic record going by winning the Gold in ladies senior Kumite. This was without doubt the toughest event she has competed in this year, with many top class fighters entered. After receiving a tough draw, she fought through to the final, gaining revenge on the girl she lost against in the Kata and then fought back from one wazari down to clinch the title against an excellent fighter in the final.
Sensei Matt Powell (Portchester) made a major step up in class today to capture the Gold in the mens senior Kumite event. Matt deservedly won his first title for four years by beating fellow squad member Sensei Dave Galloway (Portsmouth) in an all SEKU final.
For the juniors, Jack Johnsey (Paulsgrove) fought through numerous rounds to capture Gold in the boys under 5 foot Kumite event. This is the second title Jack has won for the squad, in his first year competing at this level! In the over 5ft Kumite, Riccardo performed best in the individuals gaining 4th place. This is his first time in the over brown belt section and he fought brilliantly. In the junior team Kumite, Riccardo joined teammates Scott and George Oliver (Lovedean) to win their second team title of the year, gaining the Gold after some tough rounds and a very close final, which they won by count back.
Overall squad results: 4 gold, 2 Silver and 2 fourth places
Well done to all of the SEKU squad, especially the Plymouth members, who should take great confidence from this going in to next weeks SEKU Portsmouth Open event.
Lastly a massive thanks must go to Roger and Lindsay Clements, and Phil Stagg for providing lifts to Nottingham for the competitors and for their great support during the day.
Osu!
Picture below: Scott and Riccardo in the third round of Kata.
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Kyu Grading - 14th October 2007
Author :: Paul Uren
Date :: Sun 11/11/2007 @ 04:58
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Kyu Grading success!
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Congratulations Riccardo, Gilly, Neil and Beth, who all did excellently to pass their gradings. Especially to Beth who double graded straight to 8th Kyu.
The course and grading was taken by Sensei Dewey (7th Dan). It was an excellent class and was well supported by all the senior grades, as well as Sensei Steve and members of his club.
Thanks to all.
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Kyu Grading - 8th July 2007
Author :: Paul Uren
Date :: Sun 11/11/2007 @ 04:58
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Kyu Grading success!
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Congratulations Riccardo, Michelle, Gilly and Neil, who all did excellently to pass their gradings. The course and grading was taken by Sensei O'Donnell (7th Dan), and was enjoyed by all.
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