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.

Sensei Bob Poynton came to the Bath/Bristol area on November the 9th to instruct at an all grades course and to take a kyu grading.  Over 60 karateka from the local clubs came to train. Sensei took us through a number of basics using forward and backwards combinations – as usual this exercised our minds as well as our bodies! This theme continued through training Kihon Kata using different blocks instead of the usual ones. All in all a very enjoyable session.

Over 40 people attempted their next kyu gradings. From the Bath club we are pleased to announce the following successful passes:

Jack Frith 9^th Kyu

Berwyn Varney 7^th Kyu

Josh Sanson 7^th Kyu

Alvaro Gonzalez 4^th Kyu

Jozefa Glapiak 1^st Kyu

Malgorzata Glapiak 1^st Kyu

Congratulations to all of you from the club instructors.

Bill’s Day Competition

As is normal at this time of the year, the annual Bill Winfield Memorial Competition was held after the grading. This is a competition primarily for our younger competitors. As usual the standard of competition was high, and this year’s winners were

6^th Kyu and above winner of Kata and Kumite – Sam Henley

7^TH Kyu and Below winner of Kata and Kumite – Holly Wiltshire

Bill’s day competitor of 2014 – Holly Wiltshire of Mushin

A special mention goes to Theo Issac from the Bath club who was the runner up in the 6^th Kyu and above kata competition.

Special thanks to the Nailsea and Backwell clubs for sponsoring the senior events.

So, it looks like the summer is over as the nights draw in and the weather turns a bit chilly. There may not have been much activity on the website for a little while, but there has been plenty going on with Bath Shotokan Karate Club over the last few months. We have been visited by a senior instructor, held our own seminar and there have been grading successes!

In June, thanks to the KUGB’s Southern Region, Sensei Billy Higgins, 8th Dan, visited the south-west to hold a two hour training session at the University of the West of England’s new sports hall. About 30 karateka attended and experienced one of Sensei Higgins’s unique pairwork sessions, coupled with kata bunkai from Heian Nidan and Sandan.

Bath Karate club held another of its club seminars. These are special training sessions held at the weekend at the University of Bath’s dojo, and allow for sessions to be run around a theme, which we don’t have time for in the normal club sessions. In July, Senseis Kieran Shore and Rob Davis ran another course. The focus of this course was around kata bunkai, with a focus on sweeps and take downs within katas.

 

The Bath club took a large squad to the KUGB Southern Region Championships, held in Slough this weekend. The squad was a mixture of those who were competing for the first time and those who have continued to compete throughout their karate career. And of course Sensei Ron Hicks, our chief instructor, competed in the kata competition and refereed during the day.

Most of the club competed in the individual or team kata competition and did themselves and the club proud. It takes a lot of commitment just to walk onto the area and compete in any form of karate competition.

But, the icing on the cake, was the Bronze medal won by Dave Forde in the Men’s Kumite competition. In his youth Dave was a fearless fighter who always did well in kumite competitions. Dave has come out of ‘retirement’ this year and has shown us all that karate is for life – I am sure he is already looking forward to next year’s competition!

Many congratulations to Dave for his medal winning performance and well done to all of you
 who competed this year.

The 48th KUGB National Championships were held in Birmingham at the National Indoor Arena on May 3rd. This showcase event brings together KUGB kareteka of all grades and ages in high quality kata and kumite competitions.  This year the Bath club were represented in the kata competition by Kieran, Rob and Nigel. Furthermore, the Club’s chief instructor, Sensei Ron Hicks, carried out his duties as an official referee. It’s great to see the club instructors keeping their hand in at competition karate and participating at the highest level. Maybe next year, some of the ‘younger’ club members can have a go. The full report of the Nationals can be found on the KUGB website.

Tonight, Bath Shotokan karate club were privileged to have two very exciting guest instructors. Sensei John James Bruce and Sensei Holly Sterling had travelled from Sendai and Kushiro Karate club from the other end of the UK to take our club session, as part of their tour of Southern England clubs. Both JJ Bruce and Holly Sterling have extensive karate CVs with equally large trophy cabinets from their competition successes. The class was split into two – with both instructors working with black belts and kyu grades separately. The sessions focused on precise and fast movements, improving kicking through being relaxed and breathing properly, and kumite drills based around agile movements off line from the direction of attack. Kata instruction also focused on precision, speed and finally martial spirit! Everyone enjoyed the evening which seemed to fly by, and all left having found something new to work on to improve their karate. We’re hoping that JJ and Holly will return to instruct again soon.

A training course and grading were held today with Sensei Bob Poynton. Around 60 people attended the training course with 40 people grading. A number of Bath Shotokan karateka successfully graded, and our congratulations go to: 

Alvero Gonzalez

Dave Acheson

Ashley Cole

Steve Whittaker

Jozefa Glapiak

Ania Glapiak

Laura Wilson

James Langley

Well done to all of you from the Bath instructors!