The club session tonight was taken by our guest instructors, John Bruce, 5th Dan and Holly Sterling, 4th Dan from  Sendai Kushiro Karate in Sunderland. Having been guest instructors at the club in the past, we were expecting an inspirational and technical session for all grades. 

John took the Dan grades for the first half, going through kata Tekki Nidan (a club favourite!). The session was based around the principle of developing the ‘small’ movements (hip and slight body rotation) rather than the large, obvious movements. Meanwhile, Holly was instructing the Kyu grades in basics, focusing on posture and timing in punching, and also the kata Heian Nidan.

The instructors then swapped and John took the Kyu grades through aspects of kihon ippon kumite focusing on defences using spinning uraken uchi strikes. Holly took the Dan grades through some kumite techniques linking kicks, sweeps and punches. This was very technical, but most were able to make the combination ‘flow’ by the end of the session – which came all too quickly. 

Overall, the session was enjoyed by all the students, each of whom took something to work on from the expert instruction of two of the best ambassadors for the KUGB. We are already planning the next session with them … 

Just to prove that the Bath Karate club trains hard and plays hard! The club had its summer barbecue and party today. A chance to relax, enjoy each others’ company and even talk about subjects other than karate!!

Many thanks to Kieran and Paula for hosting the party and opening their house to the club.

Many congratulations to Adam, Jack, Sam and Paul for passing their latest kyu gradings today. All four performed very well under the watchful eye of Sensei Bob Poynton, 8th Dan, the grading examiner.

Last night, Bath Karate club members rounded out 2015 with the annual Christmas dinner in Bath. A good number of members eat and drank their way through the evening. This has been a very good year for the club with a number of successful gradings (including new black belts), competition successes, but above all, consistent and regular training.

At the dinner, Nigel Davies was presented with the award for Student of the Year, selected by the club’s senior instructors – well done Nigel!

Training starts again on Monday, January 4th 2016.

Happy Christmas and Best Wishes for the New Year to all our members, friends and families.

Today, the club instructors have awarded the Bath Karate Competitor of the Year for 2015 to Gosia Glapiak. Gosia has dedicated herself to training hard this year, being awarded her 1st Dan grade and has competed really well obtaining medals in both the Southern Areas and the South West Areas Championships.

On the same day as the Kyu grading, the annual Bill Winfield Memorial Children’s competion was held.  17 children from the local clubs competed; the results were:

Kumite 7^th Kyu and below
1^st – Alfie Teague – Backwell Karate
2^nd – Adam House – Backwell Karate

Kata 7^th Kyu and below
1^st – Alistair Hanlon – Backwell Karate
2^nd – Quaid Bennett – Backwell Karate

Kumite 6^th Kyu and above
1^st – Theo Isaac – Bath SKC
2^nd – Brandon Cole – Backwell Karate

Kata 6^th Kyu and above
1^st – Archie Newbury – Backwell Karate
2^nd – Josh Mashford – Backwell Karate

Competitor of the day 
Alfie Teague –  Backwell Karate

Bath SKC hosted the final Kyu grading for 2015 in the Bath-Bristol area, presided over by Sensei Bob Poynton, 8th Dan. The afternoon started with a training session for all, and about 70 karateka trained ranging from novices to 5th Dan. Following the training, about 40 students from local clubs took their grading examined by Sensei Poynton.

The students from the Bath club performed very well and the club’s grading results are given below:

Sam Daly – 8^th Kyu
Adam Mutlow – 8^TH Ku
Nancy Richardson – 8^th Kyu
Leeza  Matteius – 5^th Kyu
Paul Gamble – 5^TH Kyu
Joshua Sanson – 4^th Kyu
Adam Winchester – 3^rd Kyu
Theo Isaac – 2^nd Kyu
Alvaro Gonzalez – 2^nd Kyu
Edvardo Gatia – 1^st Kyu
Ania Glapiak – 1^st Kyu

Congratulations to all of you from the Bath instructors!

The club recently competed in the recent SW Championships held in Exeter. The photographs below show some of the action and success from the day. Well done to everyone who took part.

At a special course at the University of Bath on Saturday, five members of the Bath Karate club took, and passed, their Black belt grading to become the club’s newest First Dans.  At the same grading Nigel Davies was awarded his Second Dan. The successful candidates are pictured above (Front row, left to right, Jozefa Glapiak, Nigel Davies, Gosia Glapiak, Back row, Tom Wilson (a ‘guest’ student from Mushin Karate club), Jake Bradley-Smith and James Langley).

The pass rate for First Dan is usually about 1 in very three candidates, which is why the rank of Black belt in karate has such a well-deserved mystique. It takes years of dedication to perfect the techniques, timing and precision necessary to achieve this rank. However, the most difficult challenge is not physical – it is to attain the correct state of mind. For the past few months, the instructors at the Bath club have been polishing the already honed skills of these six, along with the other members of the club. All six produced outstanding performances on the day and thoroughly deserve the recognition they have received.

The club trains at the Bath Sports and Leisure Centre on Monday and Thursday, from 7:30 until 9:30 and caters for men and women of all ages; the youngest member is 9 years old, while the oldest is in his 70s – and still going strong. Beginners are always welcome, as are students from other styles and associations – details can be found on the website.

We are at a time in the year when people are winding down, thinking of holidays, and schools are breaking up for the summer. Well, Bath Karate is gearing up for a busy July. Firstly, next Thursday, we are again delighted to be welcoming guest instructors, JJ Bruce and Holly Stirling to our club night. JJ and Holly instructed in the club last year and it was a fantastic evening. On Saturday 11th July there is an all grades and kata squad session with Sensei Frank Brennan, 8th Dan, to be held in the Central Region. Even if you are not a member of the squad, the all grades session is worth attending, especially if you are aiming to take a dan grading in Bath on July 18th. On July 18th Sensei Andy Sherry, 9th Dan, Chief Instructor of the KUGB and Sensei Billy Higgins, 8th Dan will be instructing at a free black and brown belt course (and grading) at the University of Bath. Having these two senseis on our doorstep does not happen often – please make every effort to come and train with our chief instructor. On the following day, the club is hosting training and a kyu grading with Sensei Bob Poynton, 8th Dan. Sensei Poynton is our club grading instructor, and it is important to have a good turn out to train with Sensei and to support the club. All details are on the events page and you can find out more from the instructors on Mondays or Thursdays.