Huge thank you to all the Brown and Black Belts who attended our September Course. Over 80 students and Instructors came together for advanced training at Kearsley Academy in Bolton.

We were able to cover so much in two hours and the time seemed to fly by. Sam Jackson Sensei began the session with a light warm up with Rob Head Sensei taking over to teach some compound exercises to elevate the heart rate and increase strength and flexibility.

We then split into two groups - Brown Belts, 2nd Kyu’s and 1st Kyu’s and Black Belts.

Black Belts spent 40 minutes on improving their Kumite with Rachael Sensei; covering gyzamizuki - gyakuzuki, a mitt exercise in groups of 5 and using feints. Paul Sensei then took the group through Kata Kanku Sho.

The brown belts went through Bassai Dai and Heian Katas with Mike Beckwith Sensei. They then covered Kihon Ippon, Jiyu Ippon and gyzamizuki with Rachael Sensei.

We then finished off with giving the brown belts the opportunity to spar with the black belts. If you are a brown belt and missed out on the Course, please try to get to the next one. They offer a great opportunity to work with others of an intermediate to high level at a much higher speed than you would in class. We are able to cover so much more than in a regular class and can go into great detail to help you to improve. You take it at your own pace, if you cannot keep up, there is no problem. We are happy for you to do what you can. Your gradings take place at these courses from now on.

Everyone worked hard and hopefully came away having learned something new, or with plenty to work on. If you didn’t learn anything or have anything to work on, at least Rob Sensei will have given you sore legs haha! Thank you for your effort and attendance. The next Brown and Black Belt Course is Sunday 13th November at Kearsley Academy in Bolton. Try and get that date in your diary if you can. It is going to be a great one and the grading following will be a full one. Book your place as early as possible.

Thank you to Paul Towler for kindly taking the photographs on the day. Your time and patience is much appreciated. The images are fab as always.

Here is a link to the images:

https://kickandflick.smugmug.com/Brown-and-Black-Belt-Course-Sept-22/n-PpZnqs

Password: green3

The students pictured below attempted their gradings and did brilliantly. We are delighted to say that everyone passed! Congratulations to you all. Thank you to the panel - Paul Wolstencroft Sensei, Mike Beckwith Sensei, Rob Head Sensei and Leesa Beckwith Sensei for doing the admin.

Grading candidates all looking happy with their new belts

James Rigby - Brown Belt

James is a dedicated and talented karateka who has shown great promise from the very beginning. His kihon was excellent and he always gives 100% effort every time he trains. He has made great progress between 4th Kyu and 3rd Kyu and did brilliantly on the kumite section. There was a uncharacteristic wobble during the Kata section, he was able to quickly compose himself and performed brilliantly when given chance to put it right. We are pleased for you James and proud of your standard. Move past your little mistake because we know you are awesome. Keep up the great work.

McKenzie Lamont - Brown Belt

What grading, what a talent. McKenzie and James train together week in, week out and are both absolutely fantastic. McKenzie much prefers his kumite as we could see, fearlessly sparring both Jaime Pratley - a highly decorated Nidan and Charlie Eyre a long time shodan, and also a very good fighter. His Kihon and Kata could benefit from a little more work, but he knows this. His sparring was outstanding as always and we were all very impressed. Keep up the excellent work McKenzie, you are such an exciting talent and we are pleased to have you training with us. Well done, keep it up fella.

Phil Barooah - 2nd Kyu Brown Belt with 1 white stripe

Phil put in a very determined and solid performance at his grading and has made plenty of improvement since his last grading. We were impressed with his kihon and the physical effort he put in. He scored highly for his kihon and kata sections. In order to improve for 1st Kyu, he needs to work on his stances and Jiyu Ippon Kumite to gain a greater understanding of distance and getting those counter attacks on target. Overall a great grading Phil and we look forward to seeing you make further progress for the next one, well done.

Helen Cowley - 2nd Kyu Brown Belt with 1 white stripe

Helen was the stand out performer of the grading to me. She was so sharp, laser-focused and is the perfect example of what we want to see as students approach black belt. When her group was called up - she was the first one to shout Oss and to get in line quick sharp. She is very physically fit, so able to perform at a consistently high standard from the beginning of the grading to the very end. Her kihon was excellent. Her Katas were even better. So well practised, great timing, excellent stances and strong. The kumite was a little wild but her control was good. All round - outstanding grading. Looking forward to seeing you progress to the next one!

Dave Thomas - 1st Kyu Brown Belt with 2 white stripes

Dave - what an RTK legend. He has been training with us on and off for over 16 years. Throughout that time he has always been an avid supporter of the club and a much loved member of the Handforth class. You can’t not love Dave. He is such a positive person. He is the first to admit Karate doesn’t come easy to him, yet he remains determined and positive that he reach his goal of black belt. He has improved so much between 2nd Kyu and 1st Kyu and should have more confidence in his abilities. I particularly enjoyed watching him spar and we are so pleased to have awarded him his 1st Kyu. Keep doing what you are doing Dave and you will get there!

Charlie Eyre - Nidan Black Belt

Bless Charlie he was in the unenviable position of doing his Nidan Grading alone. There was nowhere to hide, nobody else to compare him to and nobody to copy off if there was a momentary lapse of focus. Thankfully he didn’t need anyone else and are pleased to say that Charlie absolutely nailed it. He didn’t put a foot wrong in the kihon. He was so sharp and strong and has great kicks. His choice Kata of Jion suited his karate perfectly and her performed it with confidence and class. His Empi was solid and his Junro Kata was perhaps the weakest of the three but was still very good!

Charlie has been plugging away at his karate for many years. He was one of the first students who joined when we opened up in the Stockton Heath area and has remained dedicated ever since. He is our first Nidan Black Belt from the Warrington area and will hopefully be the first of many. The support he gets from his parents is tremendous, he is very lucky they are willing to sacrifice their time so that he can continue to achieve great things with us. Charlie is a shy and mild mannered lad who is absolutely lovely. We are proud of his standard as a Nidan and know there is more to come. His great potential is there for all to see. He isn’t afraid to put himself out of his comfort zone and makes effort to attend everything he can. He takes advantage of every opportunity available to him in order to improve. He entered the last Tournament knowing he would be up against some top level competitors and definitely held his own. This is how he has reached the level he has. Getting comfortable with being uncomfortable.

He showed courage and bravery in his kumite and fought hard to the end. I hope this will give you a little more confidence not only in your karate but in every day life. You can do anything you put your mind to and to achieve a Nidan in our club at such a young age is outstanding work young man. We hope that you will keep training with us, keep your mind and body strong and hopefully one day do your Sandan. You have what it takes. Congratulations.