November has been an extremely busy month with gradings on both sides of the Club, a Black belt Grading and a big competition to get ready for!

We would like to congratulate all the fantastic students who passed their grades at our Bolton and Stretford Gradings.

Your grades have now been updated on the APP and photos should be out in classes very soon.

We have been impressed with the standard of the students we have seen on both sides of the Club and there have been some exceptional performances.

Thank you to all the students who’ve taken part and the parents and supporters for giving their time up to watch them.

There are so many future superstars coming through, its exciting to see.

Plenty of students have graded to brown belts and above so we will mention each one by name and say a few words about how they did:

Alex McLean - 2nd Kyu

Alex was the only student attempting a high grade at the Bolton grading on Sunday 19th November. This meant that Alex had to perform his Katas, combinations and kumite drills alone (but in front of about 70 other students and their parents). This did not faze Alex at all, he has quality karate and a great attitude. He is mature beyond his years and has trained from a young age. He is so strong and talented. I think Alex is finally starting to believe in himself, and so he should. He is an excellent karateka and will make a great black belt very soon!

3rd, 2nd and 1st kyu’s from Stretford Grading - 26th November

Michael Simcoe - 3rd kyu

Great performance from Michael from the Stockton Heath Dojo who has reached a high level with his karate in his teens. He is proof that you never lose it. What an excellent karateka, with solid kihon, well presented kata and strong kumite. Keep up the great work Michael.

Caitlin Lowe - 3rd Kyu

Caitlin is just going from strength to strength with her karate. We always expect that she is going to be impressive and she never disappoints us. Another outstanding perfromance from this talented young lady. There are no weaknesses in her karate and we are excited to see her continue to t make this great progress. Keep pushing!

Finnegan Brookes - 2nd Kyu

Finnegans last grading was a real challenge for him so we were so pleased to see him do so well this time around. He has made excellent progress between 3rd Kyu and 2nd Kyu and needs to keep up this great work as he approaches his black belt. Well done young man. You are a star!

Lois Cowley - 2nd Kyu

It’s been quite a while since we last saw Lois but the transformation in her karate was definitely worth the wait. She was so determined to succeed, she looked sharper and had more focus and we were so impressed. I hope you will take a much needed confidence boost from this because once you start believing in yourself, you will be exceptional.

Ali Gencer - 2nd Kyu

Ali has taken his time to work through the grades and has been consistently impressive. He is such a hard worker and has really started to improve in all areas - particularly his Katas. Ali is making great progress towards his black belt and we look forward to seeing him make further improvement next time around. Well done.

Isaac Shakos - 1st Kyu

What an exceptional student Isaac is, always working hard and an absolute natural at karate. He can pick new katas/combinations up easily and demonstrates everything to such a high standard. Trying to get him to believe how well he is doing is always a problem because for some reason he lacks confidence. You are nearly at that Black belt now Isaac so start having more confidence and you will be unstoppable. And Mum and Dad will have a trio of Shakos Black Belts in the house - amazing!

Harmani Solanki - 1st Kyu

Harmani has the most beautiful karate. She has enormous talent, focus, concentration, work ethic - harmani has it all. And the determination to match. What a pleasure she is to teach. One of the very best especially when it comes to Kata. She was outstanding at the grading and I know will somehow be even better when she goes for her black belt in the near future.

Giacomo Tognarelli - 1st Kyu

Giacomo is another student who’s karate journey has been a pleasure to be a part of. He works SO hard. He concentrates and tries his very best at everything we ask him to do. His attitude and hunger to learn is spot on. He is competitive and has excellent kumite. I cannot fault Giacomo at all, he always gives us 100% and we can’t ask for more. i am excited to watch him do his black belt very soon because he will be awesome.

Samantha Lawrie - 1st Kyu

Wow, Samantha has made so much improvement since she last graded. I cannot beleive how nervous she gets because she must have no idea how good she has become. We do not give grades away here, they are hard earned and only given to those who deserve them. Samantha thoroughly deserves to be a 1st Kyu and has such excellent karate. She is graceful but also really strong. If she can keep control of those nerves next time around, she will smash that Black belt grading. Well done!

That concludes our grading schedule of 2023. Our fist grading back will be in earky Feb. So get setting those goals and keep working hard everyone!

Thanks to all the Sensei’s who helped out at these events to make sure that they ran as smoothly as possible. We cannot do it without your help.