Karate v21i04

T H E O N LY M A G A Z I N E D E D I C A T E D T O A L L K A R A T E K A

TRADITIONAL

KARATE online

Vol. Vol. 21 21 No. No. 4 4 January January 2008 2008

William Coats World Traditional Karate Champion

The World Karate Association A Potted History

Wado Ryu Where Today’s Master’s Came From Visit the Traditional Karate magazine website at www.karatemag.co.uk

Welcome to...

WAKO WORLD ASSOCIATION OF KICKBOXING ORGANISATIONS Founded in 1970 WAKO is the largest unified kickboxing organisation in the World with over 100 nations currently in membership. WAKO World H.Q. is based in Milan. ★ WAKO History ★ WAKO started its activity in Europe in 1976. The founder was Mr Georg Bruckner from Berlin, who promoted the first ever World Championships in semi and full contact karate (as it was called in those days) back in 1978 with 110 competitors representing 18 countries. WAKO immediately created the rules and regulations for the new fighting sports and acted, since the very beginning, as the authentic Kickboxing Federation of the world. In our Championships, only national teams are accepted. Each member country can present only 1 competitor in each weight class. The WAKO World Championships are NOT open competitions therefore each representative is the premier competitor in that category, from their country.

World Governing Body for Kickboxing World and European Amateur Championships Title Fights held continually both Amateur & Professional Regional Competitions are held throughout the year British Amateur Championships to choose British Teams Full-Contact, Light Continuous-Contact, Semi-Contact, Musical Forms Licence, Membership and Insurance available to all of U.K., Southern Ireland and Republic of Ireland Coaching courses, Referee Training, Seminars and Training Dan Gradings and WAKO certificates for all Members For upto the minute details of all forthcoming W.A.K.O events visit our website To see national ama/wako listings of over 13,000 instructors/clubs on the web, type: www.bt.com/thephonebook then in ‘business’ type: martial arts and town

Contact: WAKO, 66 Chaddesden Lane, Chaddesden, Derby, DE21 6LP Tel: 07973 507716 / 01332 663086 / 01628 784254 or Fax: 01332 280286 WAK001/11

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TRADITIONAL

online

contents

06 WADO RYU KARATE IN BRITAIN The Definitive History Part 2

11 WILLIAM COATS World Traditional Karate Champion

13 A JOURNEY TO THE HOME OF MY ART!

By Chris Dawson

pg.16

16 THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD KARATE ASSOCIATION 24 STANDARD APPLICATIONS Part 5 - Yoi!

28 WADO RYU Thrives in Jersey!

32 YOU CAN ALWAYS COUNT ON KARATE Part 2 - An Interview with Sensei Vince Morris 8th Dan

38 CARLOW KARATE CLUB National & International Competition

41 IAIN ABERNETHY INSPIRES LOCAL KARATE STARS 42 SUNDERLAND KARATE ACADEMY Karate Club Tournament 2007

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ating incorpor IONAL TRADIT

for th tradit ese great ional Karate articl es...

WADO R YU KAR ATE IN BRITAIN - PART 2 TAIRA MASAJI SENSEI TERRY CONNEL L

The best his at the tim tory is written by e p we are fo . British Wado R eople who were yu th rt duction a unate to have am karate - like Ok ere are the time, ina nd develo a o pment in ngst us those who wan karate, is n nd by people wit ha ot Britain. were pre sent and blessed with goo ccess to good re co d active du ring the e and accurate wri rds available a tt rl ie st st Mark We ages of th en records but a at style’s ordinator therill of the Jund introok fo you for y r overseas stude an UK conducted our time nts, who th e interv and patie resides a nd trains iew, and the tran nce. in Okina sl wa. With ator was Glenn M out Glen n this cou cilvride of the S o ld not ha I started ve taken Honbu, co tr place, th might be aining in 1973 a ank ft a UK) then better way of lo er getting into a . Up unti g o k a in n g g fi after ght l th es with a friend as en I was playing yourself, you kn in Glasgow whe re it got ow a mo a means fo pa re of rehab otball a lot and ilitation. injured m structured way. rticularly nasty. I Ka th y ankle q uite bad rate was just in ought there it ly and b egan att s infancy (in the ending k arate cla ss17 yearold kara te star Ja Sports Pe me rs ber of th on Awards. The s Steadman was e Englan d team. Romford-based a named South Ea with a b st A roken ha th nd, Jame t the 2006 Euro lete won all the Regional Winne p s took fo m r urth plac ean Cadet Cham ajor cadet com of the prestigiou p e at the 2007 Ch pionships he wo etitions in the UK s 2007 OCS You n a bron ampionsh ze meda last year and is ng ips.

Along wit l and, de a h a lot of spite com memHowever, o peting once aga ur symbols, pract that, we ices, and in, I think all p nity as th share in creating our detractors are rinciples, the poo ey are ou r old wron th o se miscon tside of it ceptions g, and their view karate Gi has com . and it se ems as if s are based on a e on for a lot of st se these mis understa ries of misunders ick in recent yea ndings a rs re as rife tandings. Havin .

This is th g sa within the e excerpts third of several a Karate co id rticles inve of mmucles is to various sections stigating from the illustrate Sanchin Ka bo so ingful for modern k me of the method ok The Way of S ta, its origin and a s of train a arateka. ing Sanch nchin Kata: The A pplication to tra dit in Kata a p nd makin plication of Powe ional karate. This r g the kno m wledge o by Kris Wilder. T aterial consists o he goal o f the past f The follow f th masters re ing demo levant an ese articare sho d meanuld you p nstrates some po ssib ract sible mart ial artists ise the techniqu le alternative ap es in this p . article as lications of some of injury ma y occur th the stances foun d in rough mis s-use. Th karate. Caution a is article One elem is aimed ry note: - Please e ta at seriou to prioriti nt of karate train s and resp ke in ze ontechnique your skills in term g is the developm ent or form. s of effect Without iveness, p of power. It has su b o fficient p to rea ower, no wer in technique een noted that fr om the st s matter ho an w fast or is of primary imp copy o d these arti ortance fo dpoint of comba well app f c t reality li llowe l e d C e , ombat technique s i W H Sm n s will be d by speed and la and if you had full g magazi i in stly by re e t ff h e ct e ne ava ive. t your & all fined also i g

TEENAG E SCOOPS KARATE CHAM P TOP SP ORTS A ION WARD IN DEF ENCE O F THE GI

THE WA Y OF S ANCHIN

TOOLS OF THE TRADE KARATE & WEIG HT TRA INING l availa ble vi ood news ageable from a subs cripti nts on

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SHOTOKAN Practitioners/followers HISTORY IN THE MAKING

To mark the 50th Anniversary of the founding of the first karate organisation in Great Britain COMBAT is proud to announce the reprinting of Dr. Clive Layton’s classic work, SHOTOKAN DAWN. SHOTOKAN DAWN charts how Vernon Bell introduced karate to Great Britain in 1957, with the founding of the British Karate Federation, through training with the infamous Tetsuji Murakami and the arrival of JKA Shotokan instructors, to the formation of the KUGB nine years later. SHOTOKAN DAWN comes in two, high quality paperback volumes and contains 225 historical photographs. The text is astonishingly detailed with many good stories. is also delighted to announce the publication of two BRAND NEW titles by Dr Clive Layton

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SHOTOKAN DAWN SUPPLEMENT is a true companion book to Shotokan Dawn and adds highly significant information that was previously thought lost. This book, which should be read in conjunction with, or after Shotokan Dawn, is an absolute MUST for all those who have enjoyed the original work. Newly discovered photo’s are also published for the first time. £19.95

SHOTOKAN HORIZON In a series of interviews shortly before his death, Vernon Bell, the founder of the British karate movement, described, in some detail, what he taught his earliest students, before his encounter with Master Tetsuji Murakami, in Paris, in August 1958. Shotokan Horizon, therefore, is concerned with the karate that Bell learned from Henri Plee and Hiroo Mochizuki, whilst under the auspices of the Yoseikan dojo, in Japan. The book thus concentrates on the period 1956-1958 and makes for a truly fascinating read.

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Wado Ryu K

in Britain

A Definitive History of Wado Ryu Karate Part 2 The best history is written by people who were there are the time, and by people with access to good records available at the time.

British Wado Ryu karate - like Okinawan karate, is not blessed with good and accurate written records but we are fortunate to have amongst us those who were present and active during the earliest stages of that style’s introduction and development in Britain. This article does not attempt to chronicle the history of the style after the split between the then British Karate Association and the then United Kingdom Karatedo Federation (later, United Kingdom Karate-do Wado-kai).

This article attempts to mention those who were instrumental in the setting up of Wado Ryu karate in Britain - the first and to a lesser extent, the second generation students. There may be omissions and if so, you are invited to write in and let us know, so your data can be evaluated and the record up-dated. As it is, this article was written through a collaboration

of those who were there in the mid-Sixties, when the style first came to our shores.

Firstly we asked one of our former editors Mike Haig, who was there right at the beginning, to tell us his account of events.

“One of my mentors Pat Butler, who was the doyen of British judo, told me about a karate demo that was being put on at the Judo Championships, at Crystal Palace. I asked along two other friends, wrestler and body builder, Lou Ravelle and Max Filtz his business partner at Ravelle’s gym in Kings Cross, London to the event. Like most of the other spectators there we were blown away by Mr. Suzuki and his team. I suggested to Lou that we should try to get Mr. Suzuki to come to London to teach karate at Lou’s gym. We met Mr Suzuki and his interpreter, after the event, and through much sign language we left leaving him with the address and phone number of the gym, expecting little to come of it.

Hinori Ohtsuka explains the finer points, whilst (left) Mr. Suzuki looks on 6 TRADITIONAL KARATE WWW.KARATEMAG.CO.UK

Some months later I received a phone call, one morning, from Lou who said that “A little Japanese man with a battered suitcase had a arrived from Japan at the gym” I immediately travelled down from Birmingham. Lou agreed to put Mr. Suzuki up for the night and I was sent off in search of a local bed-sit for him, which I duly found.

As he had arrived unannounced and out of the blue it took a little time to fix up some classes for him to teach. Lou in the meantime contacted Len Palmer, at the Clapham Honbu and the Judokan, in West London, both of whom were very keen to offer him classes there, as were several other clubs. The very first class that he held was at Ravelle’s gym, Clare Court, off Judd Street and had about six students in it, one of whom was me. It was a really tough session, I had previously trained with both Vernon Bell and Mr. Harada but this was something else again, quite brutal in fact when I look back.

Through the very hard work of Len Palmer and Jim Self, Mr. Suzuki got a lot of work up and down the country, spreading WadoRyu. His main club however was always Clare Court. Later when it became impossible to accommodate the many students he attracted additional space was taken at the Boy’s club near by, which would eventually become the big dojo of Meji Suzuki and Tom Hibbert. Those I remember from those early days were Bob Wignall and Sid Wermling.

About a year later I decided to ask Mr Suzuki to come to Birmingham to teach at my gym in Temple Passage. This was the beginning of what was to become the famous Temple Karate Centre (still in existence today), from where Wado really spread its wings across the Midlands. Mr. Suzuki brought over a steady stream of new instructors from Japan. In fact most of them stayed at my house, on a full or part time basis, and it was quite common for me to have up to five instructors at a time there! I opened up numerous clubs for them to teach at, some of which I am glad to say are still in existence.

During this period I did a lot of training with

FEATURE / WADO RYU KARATE IN BRITAIN - PART 2

arate

Masafumi Shiomitsu Came to England in 1965

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Walter Seaton

the various instructors, nearly every morning we would go to the local park. It was really interesting to see how they trained. I also witnessed Mr. Suzuki develop ‘Oyo Kumite’ which he said suited Europeans. A really great memory from those days was when Mr. Suzuki introduced me to Wado founder Mr. Otsuka and his son, at the famous Royal Albert Hall show and subsequently sitting with him at the banquet afterwards.

I eventually asked Toru Takamizawa to become my partner at the Temple, which became the biggest and most successful dojo in Britain. We were later joined there, from Ireland, by the hugely likable Peter Suzuki. As the Competitions Coach for the club I developed a formidable team of fighters, many of whom are still active today, including Clayton Murrain, Eddie Cox, Eugene Codrington, Josh Johnson and Fred Rose. All still Wado men through and through, despite being in different organisations these days.

Another person with a great overview of the early days is David Mitchell, the former Chairman of the Martial Arts Commission, who is now resident in the USA. Karate in England dates back to 1957, and the founding of the British Karate Federation

by Vernon Bell, the first British black belt in Yoseikan. Hiroo Mochizuki (Wado Ryu) and Tetsugi Murakami (Shotokan) visited Britain during the early 1960’s and Mitusuke Harada’s Shotokai was seen for the first time in Britain at The Albert Hall on November 1963. That event was the National Judo Championships and Harada-sensei followed his demonstration with an article published in Judo News entitled “The Essence of Karate”.

Harada-sensei gave a number of courses in Britain, his first being at the Abbe School of Judo on November 7 and 8, 1963. However, Harada-sensei did not receive the press coverage necessary to expose his art to a wider audience and his Shotokai did not generate

The Late, Toru Takamizawa

the publicity necessary to begin the British karate explosion of the mid-Sixties.

It was another year before Suzuki, Takashima and Arakawa came to London to demonstrate at the Shinto-ryu Kendo Club in London. They were on a tour of Europe and the USA, which had been arranged by the Danish Government. ‘Judo’ magazine covered the demonstration, noting that present at the demo were representatives from the BBC, British Judo Association and the Ministry of Education. The demo was described as “ a fascinating exhibition of lightening like moves of hands and feet that mesmerised the audience....The accuracy of their blows was a frightening experience for the spectators”.

Students there were so impressed that they asked the Japanese Karate Federation to send an instructor to the UK. Nihon University Instructor Mr. Tanabe (5th dan) was sent as the official representative of the Zen Nihon Karate-do Renmei and together with kendoka Geoff Somers, Jim Self and Len Palmer, founded the All-Britain Karate Association.

This was the first Wado-Ryu Karate organisation to be established in Europe.

The first resident Wado-Ryu instructor sent to Britain was Tatsuo Suzuki. He moved to London during 1965 and a short time afterwards, he was joined by Teruo Kono, who came to Britain during May of that year - but shortly afterwards left Britain for the Netherlands.

For many years students wondered at a picture of Kono-sensei in which he appeared to be demonstrating yokogeri-jodan. Only problem was - the kick was being delivered with the sole of the foot rather than the footedge! It was much later that people recognised this technique as the first appearance within the style of reverse-roundhouse kick.

To read the Wado Ryu article in full pick up a copy of Combat magazine available from W.H.Smith and all good newsagents

8 TRADITIONAL KARATE WWW.KARATEMAG.CO.UK

Mr. Tatsuo Suzuki, pictured during a photo shoot for the July 1977 Combat Cover

FEATURE / WADO RYU KARATE IN BRITAIN - PART 2

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FEATURE / WILLIAM COATS

William Coats World Traditional Karate Champion This years World Championships were held at the “Carrarafiere” sports complex, Marina di Carrara, Italy from 18th October to 21st October. The competition included a variety of martial arts from karate, kickboxing as well as free style. The event was huge with more than 2500 competitors coming from over 70 countries from all 5 continents.

It started with an opening ceremony where all the many teams from all over the world paraded in front of the complex. The Italian Air Force parachuted in as a finale before the gates were opened.

Twelve-year-old William Coates from Ilkley Karate Club was representing club and country. William’s Championships started on Thursday after the opening ceremony. His first event was supposed to be the Kata event. Unfortunately this clashed with the semi-contact kickboxing as the opening ceremony had overrun and taken most of the morning.

William had only tried the kick boxing that week during training sessions however Sensei Mark Outterside felt that this was an event William should enter.

William was unable to compete in the Kata due to the clash in times. He went on to lose to the eventual winner but

came a very creditable 3rd in his first kickboxing competition.

Friday saw William compete in the Point Karate. William was in the last eight after earlier victories and now hungry for a place in the final stages. William lead 3-1 with 20 seconds to go his Irish opponent landed an excellent head kick, scoring 3 points. The points were incorrectly awarded to William and in the confusion the clock continued to run down. Once this was rectified it only left William 3 seconds to get the point he needed to force extra time. A good head punch on the bell was disallowed and William was knocked out at the Quarter Final stage.

Saturday started very much as the previous two days. An early 6.30am alarm clock, breakfast and travel to the venue.

Today was William’s main event, the traditional karate kumite. William was entered into the 10-12 year old, Blue to Black belt, under 160cm. The fights commenced at 4pm that afternoon and William got through to the Final with a 6-0 win over his fellow Macedonian competitor in the Semi Finals.

Sunday was Finals Day. A very proud father was very nervous and tense, none of which was noticeable in William. The category Final was called at 2pm.

William concentrating on all that his Sensei had taught him. William took the fight to his Belgium opponent with several excellently timed body punches for 1 point each. Frustration caught up with his opponent who landed a punch to the face. Warned for improper and dangerous contact William was awarded a point. William scored again and the clock ran down to see William win 5-1.

The relief was obvious as he leaped across the mat into his dad’s arms. A fantastic moment.

All the long hard work had come through…William Coates was now a “World Champion”. On his way to pick up his gold he was presented with an engraved samurai sword. The defining moment was when William took the number one place on the podium and the national anthem started to play, this was very emotional for all concerned.

William’s achievement this year alone has been outstanding. Earlier this year he won the SKU Kumite (free fighting) title again for the second year in succession as well as gaining the highest black belt grading pass mark for the male cadets. In the five years since starting karate at the Ilkley club William has won a total of fourteen firsts, five seconds and eight third place trophies from tournaments up and down the country. These results could have been doubled or even tripled, however as a keen sportsman William is equally dedicated to his ruby and cricket.

William would like to thank Sensei Mark Outterside of Ilkley Karate Club for his excellent tuition and mentoring, Bison for their sponsorship of Ilkley Karate Club, Kachi-do for the equipment and suits and everyone for their best wishes and kind donations prior to the tournament.

William now hopes to defend his title next year as well as add a couple more.

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NAK001/05

FEATURE / A JOURNEY TO THE HOME OF MY ART!

A Journey to the

home of my art!

by Chris Dawson

It was in the early days of 2006 that I decided I would make the trip to Japan and this would be in the October of 2007. As I had began my Judo career in 1961 I thought it would be better now rather than later, as I was now approaching the age of 60. I had envisaged making the trip alone but while talking about it to members at my club, Mick Clark 1st Dan asked if he could join me. Mick who had been a pupil of mine since I first founded the Bushido Judo Kwai in 1976.

Next to show an interest in coming was Barry McSherry 4th Dan, Barry had also

joined my club, then aged 5 years old.

Malcolm Young 3rd Dan and Brian Batey 1st Dan asked if they could join us, this was the final five.

Now we needed to find a dojo to train at.

Malcolm Young who has a work colleague that travels to Japan on a regular basis, he in turn made contact with Takao Kizuki, who found us Yamasaki Sensei, a professor of Judo at Konan University, Kobe. Coincidentaly Yamasaki Sensei had studied English at Newcastle University sixteen years ago, and is also

friendly with several well known judoka from the North East and he happily invited us to train with him.

We departed from Newcastle Airport on an Emirates flight to Dubai, after a short break there we continued on to Osaka, Japan and found our way to the Holiday Inn Express in Shin-Kobe. On 17th October we were met by Mr Kizuki who took us, after several train changes, to Konan University where we were introduced to Yamasaki Sensei. We got straight into the training with Yamasaki

WWW.KARATEMAG.CO.UK TRADITIONAL KARATE 13

Sensei teaching a number of combination techniques. Most of the evening was spent in Randori and this was our first experience against Japanese judoka, it was very hot in the dojo and also extremely hard training. It had been a good first day with the Japanese students showing us great friendship. After the session Yamasaki Sensei, Mr Kizuki and Akitoshi Sogabe 5th Dan, took us all out for what was meant to be one beer, but developed into several and our first taste of Japanese cuisine.

We were invited to attend a session the

next day at 10.30am and invited to assist Yamasaki Sensei with a novice class, which we enjoyed and I think the students did too. We were back at the dojo for an evening session, which proved to be just as hard as the previous day’s.

On Friday 19th October Sogabe Sensei picked us up in his car and took us to the Japan Judo Masters Kata Competition at the Budokan, Himeji, which was something we were really pleased we got the opportunity to see, it was a tremendous

experience to watch Nage-no-Kata, Katame-no-Kata, Ju-no-Kata, Kime-noKata, Itsutsu-no-Kata and Koshiki-noKata. We were introduced to Hiromi Noguchi 7th Dan, President of the Japan Masters Judo Association, they said that we were more than welcome to submit a team next year if we so wished.

Sunday saw us back at Konan University, this time under the direction of Sogabe Sensei, who is also the Japan Ladies Olympic Team Coach, this was three hours of hard Judo. We were now feeling the effects of the training and the heat, even thought this was the beginning of the winter, it was still very hot. We also managed quite a bit of sightseeing such as Nara - the old capital.

On Monday 22nd at 09.30am we caught the Bullet Train for Kyoto and visited the Butokukai, this was probably the highlight of my visit to Japan. Barry and I had trained with Michigami Sensei 9th Dan, from 1978 to 1986, at his summer schools in Bordeaux, France. The Butokukai was founded in April 1895 and this was where the famous Kenshiro Abbe and Haku Michigami were both students and graduates of the Busen. After World War Two the Butokukai was closed down.

We also visited the Golden Temple, Nijo Castle, this was an extremely long but interesting day.

14 TRADITIONAL KARATE WWW.KARATEMAG.CO.UK

FEATURE / A JOURNEY TO THE HOME OF MY ART! Tuesday 23rd October at 09.30am we left Shin-Kobe for Tokyo, passing Mount Fuji.

We had a superb view of this great mountain and that was only thanks to an old Japanese lady, who couldn’t speak any English, but woke me up to see it.

We were on our way to The Kodokan, arriving at about 1.30pm. Yamasaki Sensei had booked us five single rooms, which proved to be very basic. Training form 6.00 - 8.00pm in the main dojo, with no structured class we were just left to do our own thing. While I was walking round the mat I heard a voice saying ‘Hello Chris’, as I turned around, to my absolute astonishment it was Steve Blower, whom I had not seen for twent five years.

Steve, originally from Essex, and I used to compete regularly in British Judo Council (MAC) Championships. He had ledt England some fourteen years ago and had made his home just outside Tokyo.

Along with his Canadian pal James Barringer he took us to a restaurant in the Roppongi District in Western Tokyo, where we had a tremendous night.

On the Wednesday I went off to see the Budokan which is situated close to the Royal Palace and was built in 1964 for Judo’s entry into the Olympic Games of that year. We were all back at the Kodokan at 6.00pm that evening with around one hundred and sixty judoka taking part.

In the morning we travelled back to ShinKobe and were back at Konan for training from 6.00 - 8.00pm.

The next day we were free from training and took the train to Hiroshima, where we visited the Peace Memorial Museum and the A Bomb Dome, which we all found to be a very emotional

experience and I certainly left with very mixed feelings.

Saturday morning and we were back at Konan for training, as usual it was a hard session but today was our last day and we were going to put every last effort into our training. Yamasaki Sensei informed us that he and his students were going to put on a B-B-Q for us and as the weather was poor outside, it was going to be held on the tatarmi. As Mick is a butcher, he was detailed by Yamasaki Sensei to prepare and cook the food, which he did a great job of, we brought the beer. During the B-B-Q we were each presented with a kimono, which the students had bought themselves and we thoroughly appreciated. It was now 2.00pm and time to say

goodbye and what a send off we got, we presented gifts to the students that we had practised with throughout our time there, in turn they lined both sides of the corridor from our changing rooms to the stairs, then they followed us outside to the steps until they were just dots in the distance.

I will never forget the friendship, humour and fighting spirit of these young people and their teacher Yamasaki Sensei, who welcomed us into his dojo, I felt as if I had known him for years and years.

Chris Dawson, Senior Club Coach, Bushido Judo Kwai, Wallsend Boys Club, Station Road, Wallsend, Tyne & Wear Visit us at www.bajudo.co.uk

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The History of the

World Karate

Association The first constituted organization was the European Karate Union (UEK). To understand the World Karate general organisation, it is necessary to start with this Union.

unification, which differed significantly from one country to another, was approached and put on the agenda for the next meeting.

Karate was introduced in many countries, as early as 1950, by Japanese masters from mainly the JKA (Japan Karate Association). A Frenchman , Mr. Henry Plee, was one of the most important instructors training hundreds of black belts.

They also carried out a census to establish the number of Karate practitioners in each attending country: 1 Germany 5 to 7000 2 Belgium, 1200 to 1500 3 Great Britain 5000 4 France 4000 No records are available that show how many were in Italy, Switzerland or France.

In 1961, in France, a pupil of Mr. Plee, working as a Jurist, also 4th Dan black belt and Karate Instructor, (he used to teach after work at the famous Club Francais) ; named Jacques Delcourt, was elected President of French Karate, then associated member of the Judo Association.

Having organised Karate in France from 1961 to 1963, Mr Delcourt invited the seven existing Associations in Europe to come to France for the first ever International Karate Event On the 15th of December 1963, in Paris the seven representatives attended the first Karate European Congress. Attendees were; 1 Italy - Mr. Augusto Basile 2 Belgium - Mr. Leo Arts and Mr Stas 3 Switzerland - Mr. Cherix Bernard 4 Germany - Mr. Karl Heinz Kiltz 5 Great Britain - Mr. Bell 6 France - Mr Delcourt and Mr Sebban The representative for Spain, Mr. P. Garcia was unable to attend.

At the meeting, an inventory of the established Karate organisations, which were at that time very disorganised, was carried out. It was decided to contact the different Judo Associations, as at that time they often headed up the Karate organisations.

The question of different styles and techniques was approached and the delegates decided that the unification of techniques was impossible. The question of refereeing

On May the 24th 1964, the 2nd Karate European Congress was held in Paris. The attendees were, Germany - Mr. Brief Belgium - Mr. Goetz and Mr Fannoy Switzerland - Mr. Cherix France - Mr. Delcourt and Mr Sebban.

Apologies: Mr. Bell (England), Mr. Paanen (Netherlands), and the representatives for Italy and Spain (their names do not appear on the minutes).

After a general overview on karate in each country, the delegates decided that they had to elect an executive body and so a Directing Board was elected. Appointments were as follows: President - Jacques Delcourt (France), was to remain President until 1997 Vice-presidents - Mr. Brief (Germany), Cherix (Switzerland), Fannoy (Belgium) General Secretary - Mr. Sebban (France), Assistant General-Secretary - Mr. Goetz (Belgium).

These directors, of whom Mr. Delcourt is the only one remaining on duty, are the ones who started the organisation of World Karate.

The 1964 Congress studied others issues such as the implementation of an international referee course, the issue of a newsletter, international matches, courses given by Japanese experts and for the first

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time, the delegates discussed the organisation of a European Championships.

The 3rd European Congress took place on the 21st of November 1965, in Paris. Ten nations were members then with 3 new members, Austria, whose President, Mr Karl Neveceral remained on duty until 1998 (and retired only due to health problems) and Yugoslavia and Portugal.

The Technical adviser, Mr. Henry Plee attended the Congress alongside four Japanese experts, Sensei Kono, Sensei Yamashima, Sensei Toyama and Sensei Suzuki.

The most important issue on the agenda was the adoption of statutes which would achieve the formation of the European Karate Union. They were agreed unanimously and Mr. Delcourt announced to the assembly that the European Union was now created. Applying the statutes which had just been agreed, elections for the Directing Committee took place.

Unanimously, Mr. Delcourt was elected EKU President, Mr. Fannoy (Belgium), was elected to Vice-President; Mr. Cherix (Switzerland) was made 2nd VicePresident, Mr. Sebban (France) was appointed as General Secretary and Treasurer, and Mr. Goetz (Belgium) was appointed as Assistant General Secretary.

There was, in fact, no change compared to the 1964 committee (except for Mr. Brief).

The Congress then went on to decide budget, refereeing rules, the establishment of an International Cup in Cannes and the 1st European Championships to be held May 7th, 1966 in Paris. The categories were five man team (with one reserve), and individuals. There were only four competitors per nation, and no weight categories and only on pools (female competitors started to compete 10 years later). It was also decided that the Directing Committee will meet one month before the Championships to settle all the details.

FEATURE / THE HISTORY OF THE WKA In 1963 the fourth European Congress took place in and the 1st European Championships in 1966.

On May 7th, 1966, the first European Championships were held in Paris and were a surprising success. There were 300 spectators, and live television. The Italian team came with a famous movie star of the time, Elsa Martinelli.

The team competition was entered by five nations consisting of Germany, Switzerland, Great Britain, ltaly, and France, with six countries entering the individual competition (with Austria being the additional country). In the finals, France beat Switzerland. It is interesting to note that the members of the Swiss team had never competed at any level, including club, before this.

The matches were very hard, and there were many face injuries. Because of the number of injuries it was decided that this should be addressed by the Congress. As with any martial art, opinions differed. Mr. Brand (Germany) thought that the contact was too hard, Mr. Cherix (Switzerland) thought that the rules were violated several times, Mr. Basile (Italy) insisted on control and good technique for scoring. In contrast to Mr Brand, Mr. Sommers (Great Britain) did not agree regarding the toughness of

the fights, stating that Karate was not dancing and that fighting spirit was important.

One theory put forward by Mr. Delcourt was that the fights were too hard only because the referees allowed them to be.

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There was also confusion as to why there were so many injuries. Mr. Cherix (Switzerland) put the question to Sensei Suzuki as to why competitors who struck the face of their opponent, were declared the winner of the match. Sensei Suzuki answered that many competitors injured themselves moving towards their opponent and walking onto the punches. It was his view that they were therefore responsible for their injuries.

3

Sensei Suzuki was also of the opinion that many of the competitors weren’t fit to fight and fell to the floor after being hit lightly.

He also felt that other fighters did not know how to block or dodge the attacks in order to remain safe. Considering that these fighters were supposedly the crème de la crème of Europe this is a damming indictment as to the standard of competition Karate at that time.

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It was at this time that another census was taken with the results as below; 1 Great Britain (President Mr. Sommers) had 69 clubs, 1000 licensed students,

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and 3 Japanese experts teaching full time: Sensei Suzuki, Sensei Shiomitsu and Sensei Takamizawa. Great Britain also applied for the organization of the 2nd European Championships.

Austria (President Mr. Karl Neveceral) had 4 clubs and 800 licensed.

Germany (President Mr. Brand) had 27 clubs and 1300 licensed. The first German Championships took place in Schweinfurt, and were refereed entirely

by Mr. Delcourt and Mr. Sauvin.

Switzerland (Mr. Cherix) had 12 clubs and 500 members. Because of a lack of finance, they were not able to hire a Japanese expert and so Mr. Cherix taught all of their courses.

France (Mr. Delcourt) had 200 clubs and 3000 licenses.

Italy (Mr. Basile) actually had two Associations that wanted to enter the EKU. These were the KIAI and the FIK. The KIAI had 23 clubs and 950 students and the FIK (under Mr. Porzio Di Borgo) had 23 clubs and 700 licensees. Fortunately, both Associations agreed to unify.

Netherlands (Mr. Bladt) had several existing organizations who were trying to unify, the NKA (1000 practitioners), the NKF (300 members), the FNJB (1500 members) which had Sensei Kono teaching, and Sensei Kase’s group (300 members).

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Japanese instructors with Sensei Kono, Sensei Toyama, Sensei Kanazawa, Sensei Mochizuki, Sensei Sagimura, and Sensei Suzuki all being present.

The Netherlands were represented by their new President, Mr. Bontje and Italy by Mr. Ceracchini.

It was at this Congress that the rules for the Treasury were set in stone. The Congress decided to nominate two controllers to verify the accounts before each Congress (the day before or on the morning if the Congress is set on the afternoon), with the Congress will only approving the accounts after the report of the controllers had been agreed.

Fortunately, Mr. Leo Arts (Belgium) was an accountant and was therefore appointed to the position of Treasurer. This did require some quick re-writing of the statues however, as article 19 needed to be changed to allow a Directing Committee Member to be treasurer. The financial year was then set to run from 1st January to 31st December. It was agreed that the two controllers would be Mr. Paanen (Netherlands) and Mr. Plee (France).

To give you an idea of how things have changed, in 1998 another census was taken in France which showed that they had 3600 clubs and 204,000 students.

The Congress moved on to other issues, the first being the creation of the Referee Committee whilst Mr. Sommers (GB) was elected to the position of Assistant General Secretary and it was agreed that the 2nd European Championships would be held in London, May 1967. Italy and Germany applied for 1968 and 1969 respectively. It was also agreed to hold the Cannes International Cup on July 16th, 1966.

Two technical advisers were also appointed, Sensei Suzuki and Sensei Mochizuki.

Among the competitors of the 1st European Championships were some fighters who would go on to become well-known. T. Morris who would become Chairman of the WKF and EKF Referee Councils, P. Spanton who was later in charge of the WKF and EKF computer system and Guy Sauvin who became the WKF (WUKO) and EKF Technical Director. The final notable name to attend this Championship was Dominique Valera, France’s worldfamous Full Contact Karate and Kickboxing pioneer.

In 1967, the first referee’s course was held in Rome. It was certainly a course that the attendees would never forget. The accom-

modation and the course was situated inside a sports centre that was surrounded by a double barrier and patrolled by ferocious dogs that made Pitbulls look like sheep. During the whole 8 days of the course, no one was allowed out of the complex. Using the JKA rules as a basis, the main objective was to create a uniform set of refereeing rules.

May 1967 saw the 2nd European Championships being held at Crystal Palace, London. The organisers were Mr. Sommers and Mr. Palmer, the Chairs of British Association.

The 5th Congress was also held at Crystal Palace. By this time, eight countries were members of the EKU. 1 Great-Britain 2 Belgium 3 Federal Republic of Germany 4 Austria 5 Netherlands 6 France 7 Italy 8 Switzerland.

Two countries also approached the Congress at this time, asking to be considered for affiliation. The first was Yugoslavia under Mr. Bilbija and Mr. Jorga and Ireland under Mr. Conway.

The list of attendees for this Congress shows a good turnout on behalf of the

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As with the 1st European Championships, the Congress analysed the 2nd European Championships in order to see what could be improved.

The rules at that time said that teams have to have five fighters plus one reserve. This means that when one country had two injured competitors and had to fight on with only four fighters it was put at a serious disadvantage. The proposal to have five competitors and three reserves was rejected as it would give too great an advantage to the organising country, which would always be able to get as many reserves it wanted.

Mr. Sommers (GB) proposed that the decision to change a fighter should be made by the official doctor. This was rejected in favour of the proposal to have teams of five competitors and two reserves. This system has never been changed and remains today.

It was also noted that the individual fights were the hardest and were so hard that the fighters were often exhausted at the end of that category. The issue with this was that the Team competition was viewed to be much more prestigious. With exhausted fighters, the Team category was somewhat lacklustre and was not as crowd pleasing as it should have been. President Delcourt proposed that any following Championship should start with the Teams. As a result the competitors would be less tired upon the start the Individual category and it would give each attending nation the possibility of choosing fighters for the Individual category according to the Team results.

Both proposals were unanimously accepted.

FEATURE / THE HISTORY OF THE WKA The Congress then moved on to discuss the applications for affiliation from Ireland and Yugoslavia. Yugoslavia stated that they had 15 clubs and 2000 members and their affiliation was approved. In the case of Ireland, Mr. Sommers was charged to investigate the real standing of the Association claiming to represent Ireland.

Scotland was also causing issues as it wanted to have its own affiliation rather than be included in Great Britain.

More elections are held to fill the positions that were still free. This resulted in Mr. Plee (France) being appointed to the position of General Secretary and Mr. Ceracchini (Italy), was appointed to the position of Vice-President.

Italy then informed the Congress that it could not organize the 1968 European Championships. This meant that France had to step into the gap with the date being set for May 4th 196, with the 6th Congress being held on May 5th 1968.

Both events would be held in Paris.

It was also decided to hold the 2nd referee course in Split, Yugoslavia, and the International Cup in Cannes was confirmed for July 15th 1967. Strangely, it was also decided that the Teams would be Club teams and not National teams. A Technical Committee was also created, charged with overseeing technical issues and refereeing.

3 Mr. Steve Arneil (GB) 4 Mr. Baroux (France) 5 Mr. Basile (Italy) 6 Mr. Luiten (Netherlands) 7 Mr.Jordan (Switzerland) 8 Mr. Plee (representing Yugoslavia) 9 Mr. Morris (Scotland).

Mr. Feucht (Germany) was the only absentee.

The main objective of the meeting was the organisation of the refereeing. The decision to draft an exam programme in order to appoint international referees was finally taken. The exam was to take place once a year during an concurrent international course.

The programme was composed of certain criteria that had to be fulfilled.

1. Be a National referee in their own country 2. Be nominated by their own Association 3. Be a fully paid up member of the EKU 4. Be at least 1st dan 5. Be at least 21 years old Attendees were also required to pass the theory exam before the practical, with an average mark of 5 points out of 10; the general average mark cannot be less than 11 out of 20.

Further elections were held for positions on the EKU Technical Committee and Mr. Basile was elected to the position of Secretary of the EKU Technical Committee by 5 voices for against 2 for Mr. Aarts.

It was also decided that the existing EKU refereeing rules were to be kept although a study of the various rules around at that time would also be made. The use of 4 corner judges with 1 central referee was also kept.

On May 5, 1968, The 6th EKU Congress was held in Paris. The seven countries attending were; 1 Austria 2 Belgium 3 Germany 4 Great Britain 5 Netherlands 6 Yugoslavia 7 France 8 Spain Switzerland was absent.

The 3rd European Championships proved to be somewhat contentious. Mr. Collyn (Belgium) protested against the fact that prior to their match, France and

The Technical Committee was made up of one member from each member Association. This meant that sensei Suzuki was nominated as Technical Adviser for Wado-Ryu. Sensei Kanazawa was proposed to be the Shotokan representative but he asked to consult his association before confirming.

The EKU founder members were also given the title “Founder member of European Karate Union”. This award gave them the life-long right to attend EKU Meetings, Congresses and to act as consultants. The holders of the title were; 1 Mr. Delcourt (France) 2 Mr. Aarts (Belgium) 3 Mr. Cherix (Switzerland) 4 Mr. Basile (Italy) No mention is made of Germany or Great Britain in their official history.

Mr. Paanen (Netherlands) then asked for the organization of European Kata Championships. It was agreed that this proposal would be studied and the Japanese experts consulted.

On January 28, 1968, EKU’s first-ever technical meeting was held in Paris.

Attendees consisted of; 1 Mr. Delcourt (France) 2 Mr. Aarts (Belgium) WWW.KARATEMAG.CO.UK TRADITIONAL KARATE 19

Yugoslavia agreed on the name of the referee. This wasn’t actually against the rules however but obviously went against the spirit of the rules.

After long talks, the Congress decided that no country would have a veto right and but would have the right to object to a referee. Furthermore, no country was to have the right to agree on a referee’s name and the list of the referees was to be drafted every year and conveyed to the Director of the competition who, with the help of the Technical Committee Secretary would appoint the referees for each competition. Lastly, it was decided that the central and corner referees would consist of 2 neutrals and one from each of the competing countries.

The Congress, then ratified the results of the refereeing exams. The results were good an 18 international referees and 14 trainee international referees were appointed. The Congress also stated to discuss women and whether they would be

able to attend the exam and it was decided that the Technical Committee would deal with this.

Mr. Cherix was then re-elected unanimously to a seat in the Directing Committee.

With all of the committees that were currently in place it was decided that the Technical Committee would meet in January 1969 at an International event with the meeting of the Directing Committee being held in February 1969, in Brussels.

Yugoslavia then requested to organise and host the 2nd refereeing course in Opatija from 3rd to 6th April 1969. Mr. Collyn then proposed that the 3rd course in 1970 be held in Ostende which was agreed in principle.

It was also agreed that the the 7th European Championships would take place in London on May 10, 1969, and that the 7th EKU Congress would be held the following day, May 11.

20 TRADITIONAL KARATE WWW.KARATEMAG.CO.UK

Sensei Kase and Sensei Mochizuki were unanimously re-elected as technical counsellors. Mr. Delcourt announced that he was in talks with Africa and that an African Union was in the process of being created. He also announced and that the General Secretary was in talks with Australia. Considering that correspondence in those days was made in the form of either telephone calls or hard copy letters this was a big step forward for the association and President Delcourt believed that this would well lead to an International Karate Union being created.

The prominent of the EKU was also growing as they now had another four Associations requesting information on how to enter EKU, Spain, Finland and Ireland were the European countries but interestingly enough, Israel was also attempting to join at that time. This meant that there were now at least three nonEuropean countries attempting to join the EKU. A badge (drawn by Mrs Delcourt) was studied and then adopted and Mr. Sommers was put in charge of production.

FEATURE / THE HISTORY OF THE WKA It was also agreed that International referees would wear an identical suit which was defined as being a dark navy blue blazer (straight with 3 silver buttons), light grey trousers, white shirt, dark tie (black or navy blue), and black shoes with supple soles.

This seems to have become the uniform of all referees and officials in martial arts organisations around the world.

It was at this time that Mr. Plee was also be added to the list of the EKU founding members due to his work in launching Karate in Europe. The proposal was unanimously accepted.

The seventh EKU Congress opened in London in May, 11th 1969. The results of the Fourth European Championships were ratified.

There were now 10 participating countries.

The Technical Counsellor, Sensei Kase was of the opinion that although the skill level of the competitors had increased, the referees had not made much of progress. President Delcourt was of the opinion that this was because only two referee courses had taken place. He went on to say that the basis was good but that holding an international referee course every year meant it was not truly possible to unify refereeing.

The EFU continued to grow with four new countries being accepted: Spain, Ireland, Sweden and Luxembourg.

The fifth European Championships were held in Hamburg (Germany) in May 1970.

This year was particularly important for Karate, as the WKF statutes were established and the first World Championships were held.

On 30th May 1970, the eighth EKU Congress was held in Hamburg. Again the emphasis was on competition with Mr. Buth (Netherlands) proposing to establish a repercharge system. It was agreed that all further Championships would use this system.

As with the previous competitions, there was concern about the number of injuries sustained during the competition. The only agreement that they came to was that the Technical Committee would meet before the next Championship.

Further elections took place and Mr. Delcourt was re-elected as President. The election for Vice President was more contentious with three voting rounds showing the same results: 5 votes for Mr. Brandt (Germany), and 5 votes for Mr. Buth (Netherlands). According to the statutes, the President was asked for his vote to break the tie. Based on his experience and work, Mr. Delcourt then cast his vote in favour of Mr. Brandt, who is elected. Mr. Jouys (France) was elected to the position of General Secretary.

It was at this time that Israel was accepted as a member with 9 votes for, and one abstention by Yugoslavia.

will work together for the development of Karate worldwide�. The new organization was called WUKO.

It was at this Congress that Mr. Delcourt stated the need for Karate to be organised on a world level. With this in mind he then created the International Karate Union (IKU), and announced that Paris was a candidate to host the first World Championship in November, 14th 1970.

The Congress gave their approval and the meeting closed.

Sensei Sasakawa proposed that Mr. Delcourt be appointed as President and with himself being an Honorary President.

Mr. Delcourt did not agree, and felt that for prestige reasons, the President should be Sensei Sasakawa, with Delcourt acting as Chairman. Sensei Sasakawa returned to Paris in August, 9th 1970, accompanied

by Sensei Eriguchi, Sensei Nakayama and Sensei Kagawa and organised an International Karate Conference at the Intercontinental Hotel, to which every Karate association from around the world was invited. The Japanese Embassy was represented by Mr.Hatori. After listening to all different points of view, Sensei Sasakawa tried to make everybody agree and at the end of the meeting informed everyone present that the agreements signed with Mr Delcourt were definitive.

Things started to move fast from this point on. Sensei Ryoichi Sasakawa, President of the Japanese Association, travelled to Paris to meet Mr. Delcourt and stated his interest in taking part in build up Karate at world level. Politics meant however that it would not be possible for him to become part of a world organization already existing and so, he proposed to dissolve the IKU and to found a new organization consisting of Japan and EKU. On 16th June 1970, an historic agreement was signed between Mr. Delcourt and Sensei Sasakawa in Paris, which stated that “from this moment on FAJKO and EKU

Finally, after two other dates being proposed, it was decided that the first World Championships would be hosted in Tokyo on October 10th, 1970 and that the first WUKO congress would also take place then.

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Applicatons Part 5 - Yoi! In this series of articles we are looking at the application principles that are found in traditional Karate techniques and kata in particular. These are the close-in, self defence ideas rather than kumite based applications. We have already looked at the ideas of different physiologies governing our applications, different mindsets and levels of experience, the basic techniques that are found throughout our art, and the simple turns found in simple kata.

Here, we will check our understanding of the ‘ready positions’ that are often found at the beginning of kata.

Now, the ready position could be just that, a position that signifies that we are going to begin the performance of our kata. We all need our mental ‘keys’ - the signs and postures that switch us from relaxed to primed for action and the command ‘yoi’ in the dojo should do just that for us.

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If we are to believe that kata contain the short-hand means to remember self defence techniques, then why not the ‘ready positions’?

Evidence that the moves might not be ‘ready’ positions is that the options for moving from those positions are limited they are not ready for anything that may come. No-one really stands like that, do they? They are certainly not indicative of the oriental origins of the arts (‘this was a greeting in old Japan’ ‘No Japanese person greets another that way!’) or the like.

No, we’ll have to believe that there are techniques involved in the ready positions.

Real ready positions are the moments where you switch on to fight or flight (hopefully avoiding freeze). Real ready positions are fairly guarded or deliberately open (to lure) but always deliberate.

Why would the real ready positions not be in the kata, then?

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Because the kata is shorthand. The kata assumes you come to it knowing about avoidance, knowing about talking down the attacker, knowing about distraction techniques (both physical and mental). The kata has a hard-written law that you already understand how to enter the combat and that you understand timing, distances, and tools. The kata’s job then is to remind you of the template postures that you will make, and to allow you to practice them with speed and power in a way that you cannot do with a partner.

Now, I know that some people believe that you should be able to train everything you do to it’s fullest with a partner, so we’ll be looking for volunteers for the ‘neck-cranks’ section when we get there.

Some examples: The intial yoi to Kihon and the Heian kata.

This may not be the greatest application.

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FEATURE / STANDARD APPLICATIONS - Part 5 Pic 5

We can all get wrist releases from yoi, and I just thought you might appreciate the striking version from a different angle. The fact is that my favourite application to the basic yoi is one that I’m not willing to share in a magazine or book, but instead it gets taught to my brown and black belt students once a year, and when they see it they tend to get ‘lightbulb moments’.

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The attacker feeds us a punch which we intercept and allow to roll over us and produces a position where we are at the ‘outside line’. These moves are not in the kata.

The attacker’s approach could just as simply have been a push, a lapel grab, a jab, or an attempt at strangulation. What’s important is that we reach the outside line the ‘blind spot’. In this case we do it by allowing the attacker’s punch to roll across our deflecting arm from the flinch reaction.

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As he has taken the trouble to give us his arm we endeavour to keep it and use our body as a fulcrum to move him around - or in this case, bar against. Our other arm is brought down across the attacker, heading for his opposite hip, thus affecting balance points (see Russell Stutely) at near optimum distance from each other.

What’s not obvious from photo’s is the hollow between the attacker and the defender at the small of his back which keeps him thinking about his balance and not about fighting you. It’s easily maintained by walking backwards. Instead we’ve shown it slightly ‘exploded’ so that the defender’s posture can be seen (normally he’d be behind the attacker).

The yoi from Bassai Dai Pics 5-8 The aggressor is about to get physical, the finger wagging is about to give way to his ‘big momma coming in from Chicago’ as Pat McCarthy would put it. The defender seizes the initiative by taking hold of the attacker’s nearest limb - approaching it though the shadow of the hand, where it is harder to see it coming.

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Redirecting the attacker’s left elbow across his body, the defender is then able to make two hands contact that nearest limb and buckle the wrist in a circular fashion both back towards the attacker and then towards himself and the floor.

The continued motion brings the attacker to the floor and looks very similar to the yoi of Bassai Dai! Obviously, the number of places that you could go to from here are infinite and will depend hugely upon your proclivities.

The yoi from Tekki Shodan The attacker comes in with that big right hook. Redirecting it across us we slip behind him and slap both hands down at the top of the sternum.

Pics 9-12 Any backward movement on our part will drop the attacker even further and may enable our strike to slip into a choke. The important thing about covering one hand with the other is that the hand that is on the opponent is the one that does most of the work. The opponent will, if he is

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awake, try to claw the hands off of him and/or hang on to you to maintain his balance. In this way he will only be able to remove the outermost hand as the one that does the work is protected.

outside line again. If the attack were a straight cross then the effect would be the same. Slipping to the rear of the attacker brings us to a position where we can seize their throat.

This is one of many variations for the Tekki yoi that I cover in the forthcoming book ‘Iron Horseman’.

The use of both hands is a huge advantage, not just to compress the throat that much quicker and give you the option of affecting the airway or blood passages (or both), but also because the instinctive reaction to this is for the attacker to try to remove the grab be reaching up to your hands. He can only get to the one on the surface, thus demonstrating why it is the right (usually stronger) hand which is on the inside, protected from the prising hands of the would-be attacker.

Taking the older Naihanchi type of yoi, we see the hands brought up to chest height and then dropped down to something approximating the same position as we use in Tekki.

Pics 13-15 Receiving the hook punch with a soft block or suppressing the attack, we move in and may well implement BAR (see part 2 in this series of articles). Slipping our hands behind the attacker’s head we then proceed with the yoi movement that feeds their spine both downwards and back on itself, opening up a world of possibilities for the rest of the kata.

The yoi from Jion/Jitte/Jiin Pics 16-18 Intercepting that famous hook we get to the

Pic 16

26 TRADITIONAL KARATE WWW.KARATEMAG.CO.UK

Pic 17

Remember that the windpipe can take a certain amount of compression but is hugely susceptible to lateral movement. The advice is take care when practising any of these applications with a partner.

The yoi from Empi pics 19-22 Taking the initial threat from the attacker as a

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FEATURE / STANDARD APPLICATIONS - Part 5 wagging finger, and anticipating the imminent threat, we vary the technique used in Bassai Dai by wiping down the attacker’s arm as we pull it back to the hip. This motion can destabilise the attacker all on its own.

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As well as potentially striking, the fist can be seen as a formalised version of your hand position if you have grabbed someone’s wrist (as here). This makes good sense of every hikite movement that you have ever learned and explains this variation of koshi gamae as it shows that the one found through the Heian kata etc works by turning the attackers wrist to bend vertically while this one turns it on a horizontal axis enabling the follow-up move from the kata to have a better effect.

The yoi from Chinte pics 23-25 Taking the same system of evading and ensnaring the attacker’s hand, the variation of the hand position for Chinte could reflect a different teacher’s interpretation of exactly the same principles.

Bringing the hand into the abdomen area brings with it a physical strength that is perhaps lacking at the hip, but requires turning and specific placement of the elbows against the attacker to prevent him from rising again. This fits with the idea that kata performances for Empi should show speed and whippiness, while Chinte is thought to reflect the technique of someone smaller (some would say ‘more feminine’).

Yoi, then is made up of two kanji. The ? yÙ - use, employ, apply, operate. The ? i thought, idea, opinion; think. Thus, we make up think of using, or ready for action. As a command in the dojo it tells us to be ready, but the physical movement can also have an application.

dvd, and the Tekki Shodan yoi is featured heavily in the forthcoming Iron Horseman book and the Kata & Applications vol7 dvd.

Of course, I go into more detail about the yoi from Bassai Dai in the book Fortress Storming and the Kata & Applications vol8

Many thanks to Paul Wilson for taking part in the photos. John Burke’s dvds and books are available at www.thebunkaiguy

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.com, and www.karateacademy.co.uk Seminars can be booked at your dojo by calling 01626 360999. They can be tailored to your requirements on subjects such as kata bunkai, oyo, pressure points, and teaching principles.

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WWW.KARATEMAG.CO.UK TRADITIONAL KARATE 27

Wado Ryu

Thrives in Jersey!

Jersey Wado Ryu Karate Club aims to teach karate in a friendly but disciplined way. Club members encourage students to achieve their goal without prejudice to race or creed. People with disability are accepted so that the dub can help them in their quest for improvement.

Every student is different and Wado Ryu will try to develop each student’s Individual skills to the highest standard to find fulfilment in their own achievements.

Wado Ryu means ‘way of peace’ and was founded by Ohtsuka Hironori, whose philosophy in karate was to teach integrity respect, loyalty and justice to all his students.

In medieval Japan the war lords banned all weapons accept to the Samurai, which left its people with no way to defend themselves They developed defense techniques using their hands and feet - hence the term ‘karate’, or ‘open hand’. They also used the tools of their trades to their advantage, making weapons such as ‘bo’ (a large walking stick), ‘nunchaku’ (rice flails) and

‘tonfa’ (made from a household utensil).

‘Sai’ (pronounced sigh) was developed for planting rice or vegetable seeds

comed and are invited to visit the club on any training night to have a look at what takes place

Jersey Wado Ryu Karate club is a nonprofit making organization. All money raised by the club is used to further the knowledge of members by bringing top instructors and students from the UK to assist in the progression of the art.

An annual fee is paid by members to the Western Karate Union, to which Jersey Wado Ryu is affiliated, after which local sessions are taken on a payas-you-go basis.

All instructors and assistants are fully insured, are qualified in first aid by St John Ambulance and have attended child protection courses as required by Education, Sport and Culture.

Jersey Wado Ryu trains at Bel Royal School and has done so since its conception and prior to that under its previous name since 1962. The club has gained many junior karateka over the years who have bean students at Bel Royal.

The club is open to juniors from the age of six, who then progress to gain senior status and join the adult sessions from the age of 12. Beginners of all ages are wel-

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The western Karate Union started with six founder member clubs in the west of England and was a member of the English Karate Governing Body although Wado based, the union is open to all styles of karate Chief Instructor Liam Ahearne began karate training in 1973. He needed a sport that had a discipline, and karate offered that.

For three years he trained with different associations before choosing Kenyukai, which taught the style Shito Ryu. He worked up to instructor and received his 1st dan black belt in 1986, followed by 2nd dan in 1988.

FEATURE / WADO RYU THRIVES IN JERSEY After a four year break he missed the discipline and camaraderie, so in 1962 he formed a club at Bel Royal School and applied for membership of the Higashi Association, which taught the style of Wado Ryu and offered a whole new challenge, which paid off in 2000 when he was awarded 2nd dan in the Wado Ryu style. In 2005 he felt he needed another challenge and started his own independent club under the name Jersey Wado Ryu. Black belt Instructor Ryan Lambotte started karate in 1961 at the age of five when he joined Ken Yu Kal (Shukokai/Shito-Ryu). He trained hard and two weeks past his 12th birthday gained his first black belt, having bean graded by Sansei Terry Pottage (7th Dan) to become the youngest black belt in Jersey At this point he was taken under the wing of martial arts mentor Liam Ahearne, and at the age of 15 he made the decision to concentrate on his studies, so left Ken Yu Kai. Three years later he took up the discipline again and joined Liam’s club at Bel Royal. This was the start of his career as an instructor.

At this point the club agreed to join the Higashi family (Wado Ryu). Some time later, after having been assessed by Sensei Spanton and a panel of high grades over a grueling weekend in Jersey his black belt was ratified.

Six years later, in April 2000, he was awarded his Nidan (2nd dan), l2yearsafter first being graded.

Instructor Steven Ahearne started karate at eight years of age, He trained with Senseis Andy Bree and Doug Joseph with the Kenyukai Karate Association and achieved his yellow belt before havmg to give up for a time because of ill health.

A few years later he returned to karate as part of his rehabilitation process.

Again he trained with Kenyukai as his father, Liam Ahearne, was teaching the junior class.

On a visit to the Ireland, Sensei Terry Pottage, chief instructor of Kenyukai, recognised the progress he was making and awarded him an honorary 3rd kyu brown belt, and six months later he was awarded the official 3rd kyu grade.

He continued training with Kenyukai to 1st kyu brown belt, but other commitments meant once again having to give up karate.

On his father’s return to karate, Steven became an assistant in the club. He

trained for a short while at Bel Royal Karate but soon joined the Higashi association, and fortunately his grades were honored under the EKGB rules.

The move to Higashi meant having to learn a whole new style. After training under Sensei Peter Span-ton for seven years he achieved his 1st dan black belt in March 2000.

The club continued to train with Higashi for five years, but after his father’s decision to leave the association he resigned from Higashi to follow a new path under Jersey Wado Ryu. Also helping out in the club are Graeme Le Feuvre and Mandy Fuller. Graeme trained for many years with Liam and achieved his black belt in 2003. Since then he has taught students to prepare for grading and competition. He also sits on the grading panel and is the club’s health and safety officer.

Mandy gained her black belt in 2005 alongside her son, Sam. She started training after watching from the sidelines and showed great aptitude for the art. She is the club’s child protection officer.

As a non-profit making organization, all funds from mat fees and club memberships are returned to the students in the form of courses. Also, money raised through sponsorship has gone to provide some of the best karate equipment available today.

Currently Martin Gurren and the Freelance Motor Group have offered their support and sponsorship, along with Tony Le Tiec of PBS.

Many donations have been made and previous sponsors of the club and major contributors have been Bio-SignaI Corporation, whose support enabled the club to host the largest karate course in Jersey with over 70 students visiting from the UK and almost 100 training. Evolution Systems Ltd have also supported the club.

Thanks are also due to Derek de Ia Haye and Sport, Education and Culture for their assistance and the staff at Springfieid, where the club holds a course each October.

As a non practicing karateka, David Louis has done more for karate in Jersey than most established karateka. He helped to found the Jersey Karate Federation and was chairman for a number of years.

While he was in office, Jersey hosted some of the best karate championships in the UK. Top associations came to Jersey year after year to compete in these champions thanks to David’s leadership.

When he stepped down as chairman of the karate fed the new committee made him an honorary life president. Jersey Wado Ryu is very grateful for his knowledge and assistance and his dedication to the club.

Over the years of training the club has had some very good people in the background, helping out by arranging all kinds of events to raise funds, including bingo nights, scavenger hunts and many sponsored events. This tradition is carried on by supporters of the club today.

Proceeds from these events have helped to send the students away to competitions and bring over instructors from the UK. You can contact them on 07797 853353

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Federation of English Karate Organisations International In direct membership to the World Karate Confederation and English Traditional Karate Body

Federation of English Karate Organisations In direct membership to the English Karate Governing Body

Federation of Martial Arts In direct membership to the F.E.K.O Int’l Criminal Records Bureau registered for Disclosure including outside groups. NSPCC endorsed Child Protection policy document A Federation of over 70 Karate Associations plus other Martial Arts Groups (16,000 members)

If you are a 3rd dan or above with a group of at least 100 members then join a truly democratic long established organisation but still retain your independence. Each Association has a representative on the Federation Council to form the Federation policy. You decide on the future direction of Karate within the Federation. You elect annually the Executive Committee for the day to day running of the Federation. Smaller groups also catered for.

No interference in running your own group - Freedom to conduct your own gradings - All grades recognised - Dan grades registered, recognised and certificated - All your training premises covered for £5,000,000 public liability - Full insurance cover for all registered members - Instructor/Coaching/Assessor qualifications - To be able to work within the law we have CRB Disclosure - NSPCC endorsed Child Protection policy document - National/International Refereeing courses and qualifications Junior & Senior National/International - National Children’s Championships - National Senior Championships - Plus local championships with member groups etc

Federation of Martial Arts. Many karate groups also train in other Martial Arts including Kick boxing, the FMA offers the above benefits to those members with membership to FEKO Int’l or direct membership to the FMA for non Karate groups

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For further information contact Alan Carruthers FEKO Secretary 198 Meadow Road, Beeston, Nottingham, NG9 1JR Tel/Fax 0115 9250167 E-mail mail@feko.co.uk Web site www.feko.co.uk

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Stephen Thompson Proudly Presents...

THE ULTIMATE MARTIAL ART BUSINESS SEMINAR Is it possible for a single school to gross over £30,000.00 in one month every month? One man does, and has done it for years.

For the first time Stephen Thompson, owner of a chain of schools in the UK is sharing his PROVEN strategies and reasons why his schools are one of the highest grossing in the UK.

What can S-M-A-R-T do for you?

There is no better job out there than being a Martial Arts Professional. Teaching martial arts has always been a passion for me.

As a younger man competing was everything. I could not wait for the next tournament to come around. In my tournament career I have travelled all over the world, but I do not want to bore you with that, I just want to assure you, I am a real martial artist. I Love Martial Arts and what is had done for me and my family. I always wanted to teach full time, and tried. My first clubs went well, apart form, of course summer, when things would slow up, and I was back doing my trade, being a poor carpenter.

I have had a decade of building systems!

You see there is not one system out there that tells you what to do from the start, well, there is now.

Over one weekend, I am going to tell you how I run my schools and how I have been so successful.

What will you learn?

If you are thinking of opening a school, or if you have one already, it does not matter. The systems that you will learn on the seminar are the same ones that my staff use every day to generate £30,000 a month from one location. In actual fact you will be able to see the schools in action if you wish to visit one of my locations as a V.I.P. I will even share with you the running school numbers!

“Martial Arts should not be about making money” I have heard this so many times, and you know what, I was once like that! But the gift that God gave me was the ability to do martial arts. It just made sense to me. But I can tell you, having to put my hand in my pocket to pay for hall rent because I did not have enough students to pay it, hurt more than any punch or kick I took on the mat. If you have been in Martial Arts for any length of time you will probably have seen some great martial artist. But all to often, these people had to stop teaching because they could not afford to carry on. I believe martial arts is a wonderful sport and has so much to offer everyone, so this is why my martial art schools must run at a profit. This way I can make sure they stay open, and I am giving a great career to my instructors. Whether your goal is to build a massive organisation, or just to make sure your school is paying for itself, do the S.M.A.R.T thing, and ask for more information.

Instructors = £45K a year?

My Instructors wages, that’s right not the owner - the instructor running one school Listen. I know you can go along as you are, hey, who says I have something better than the next guy. BUT, you have to wonder, if you had my systems; systems that work; that have enabled me to grow from 1 school that was out of a church hall twice a week, to now running 4 full time locations with hundreds of students.

WHAT COULD YOU DO? S.M.A.R.T SMA001/02

Martial Art Business Systems

START-MARKET-ATTAIN-RETAIN-TEACH

Phone and request an information pack and CD

Call 0800 011 2223 www.smart-martial-arts.co.uk

If you do decide that the information is not for you then you have lost nothing, I am even paying for the call! What have you got you lose?

You can always count on Karate!

Part 2 - An Interview with Sensei Vince Morris 8th Dan In April 2007, Shaun Banfield of The Shotokan Way was lucky enough to conduct an interview with one of the foremost authorities in British Karate. Now living in the US, Sensei Morris continues to be a leading figure in his field, running his own organization Kissaki Kai and taking Traditional Karate to new heights. He also has been busy teaching in Police Academies in a number of countries and heads the Law Enforcement Training Services International organization.

I have read that there are 5 fundamental principles of combat. Could you please talk us through this?

VINCE MORRIS: These are not principles as you call them, but aspects of training: 1. Ne-waza - Groundwork, grappling In Kissaki-kai we do not uphold the principle of taking someone to the ground in order to fight them. Our groundwork is posited on the understanding that sometimes - like it or not - you end up on the ground and we teach the fastest possible ways of getting back on your feet again. In order to do this, naturally, it is necessary to understand groundwork locks and holds in order to be able to escape from them.

Much of what we teach in Kissaki-kai is related to real life. We teach various law-enforcement agencies, police academies and special forces, where reality governs everything. For example after more than 12 years of experience and a parliamentary investigation the country of Belgium has incorporated many of our methods and techniques into their Police Training Manual. We have had to field-test what works and what does not. It is very difficult for an officer encumbered with holstered pistol handcuffs, spare ammunition clips, radio, baton, etc. to move effectively in a prone position. Therefore it is vital that a downed officer regained his or her feet as quickly as possible.

In terms of civilian self-defence, you may well be the best MMA fighter on the block, but you may never see the boot that kicks you or the knife stuck into you by the attacker’s friends as you are subduing him on the ground. As a final thought - you have to get up sometime.

What’s your attacker going to do then? Two weeks ago a young man stopped an assault on two elderly ladies in New York. He thought it was all over & turned away to return to his car when the attacker ran up behind him & stabbed him in the back, killing him instantly!

2. Nage-waza - Throwing techniques These are absolutely vital providing one follows the rules of combat, the most important of which is: Don’t try to throw anyone before you have hit them.

There are countless examples in the kata and in real life when the ability to throw hard and fast is called for. In fact, in an early edition of his published work, Master Funakoshi included a number of throwing techniques, interestingly different from the usual type of Ju-Jutsu or Judo throw. However, I was always told by my instructors not to throw as I was supposed to be practicing karate.

In WUKO competition karate the rules have been changed to actually now award points for good throwing techniques, which is a great step forward.

3. Atemi-waza - Vital point striking Atemi-waza means simply the art of striking, but in Kissaki-kai we are very discerning of the choices of strikes we make and the areas in which we strike. In other words, just snapping out chudan gyaku zuki to the mid-section is not good enough. In fact it will frequently have no effect whatsoever, whereas a judicial strike - with say ippon ken - to a vulnerable area would be much more effective.

4. Shime-waza - Choking techniques Many examples of these can be found in the kata and in real-life situations many officers have confirmed the effectiveness of these techniques in ending situations without causing injury. Knowing how to apply them and how to escape from them is vital to a full understanding of a complete martial art.

5. Kansetsu-waza - Joint Locking Techniques All kissaki-students have to have a rudimentary knowledge of joint locking and manipulating techniques, especially when dealing with attacks of lower levels of violence on the one hand, and against weapon attacks on the other. Invariably higher level defenses can include atemi-waza followed by kansetsu-waza and ending in nage-waza or shime-waza with various atemi-waza being applied throughout.

Not having any of these elements in your defensive armory necessarily weakens your response.

You mention Shime-Waza, is there much attention paid to this in kata, and can you please give us an example?

VINCE MORRIS: Well for an example, Heian Godan includes a classic version of Ippon Seo-nage (shoulder throw) into Juji-jime (cross strangle) with your knee on uke’s abdomen. You can’t get much clearer than that. There are also a number of other kata, which include a crossed arm push-pull movement, which is often signifying Okuri-eri-jime (sliding collar choke) and there are many others.

32 TRADITIONAL KARATE WWW.KARATEMAG.CO.UK

FEATURE / VINCE MORRIS - Part 2

VINCE MORRIS: I think they are shameful! Pseudo-martial artists attempting pseudo martial arts, wearing belts awarded by mirrors, living in a land of dreams. I don’t think any one of them has actually been in a real fight in their lives.

Anyone at one of my seminars, or in one of my Dojo knows full well that we train against full-power attacks. Anything less (except in the learning stage) is just stupid. It is ‘hands-on’ training practically all the time.

One of my gimmicks - if you like - is to give out a baseball bat and invite anyone to hit me with it as hard as they can, or, to throw their best and hardest punch at my head.

I’m still here!

This isn’t self-aggrandizement, but to show that if an old guy like me can do it, then so can anyone!

There will always be those who need to believe in magic. The first good punch to the head usually clears this up.

Most martial artists, however, are not stupid, and when they come to a seminar I make it clear to them that they must judge for themselves.

What I teach is based upon science - anatomy and physiology, plus psychology. Then add the rules of combat, plus the distilled knowledge of centuries of combat contained within the Kata, and finally add sweat, perseverance and stress to develop fighting spirit.

Out come good martial arts.

One of the five is the understanding of Atemi Waza (Vital Point Striking). Are there many examples of attention paid to this within kata, if so would you care to share some examples please?

VINCE MORRIS: First you must understand that the martial arts were not originally open and available to everybody as they are today. There is a long and well-understood history of secrecy and of the secret parts of the martial art only being handed over to the senior student after many years of training. It is not surprising therefore, that kata don’t simply point to a vital point and say ‘kick here’. However, each student that trained consistently with the master would always be taught at the highest level to target vulnerable areas. Evidence of the point charts is easily found in many martial scrolls.

Every kata and every defensive technique within the kata increases its effectiveness by utilizing vulnerable areas of the human body. How could it be otherwise?

Take for example the opening moves of Nijushiho. The attacker seizes your right wrist with his left hand and goes to punch you in the face with the right. One application for the opening move is that you stab the attacker in the throat with the left spear hand, invoking the withdrawal reflex whilst at the same time raising the right hand, which brings his LU5 forearm point into the right place to be struck with the pull-back of the spear hand, thus releasing your right fist to punch into his torso, bringing his head forward into your left elbow strike. Knowing that CV22 is a vulnerable point on the throat and that LU5 will not only release your fist, but jerk his head into your elbow, would make it nonsense not to use it. And this is only one example.

Interested readers could check out some of my books and DVDs for more information.

You are committed to spending much time researching Pressure Points. What are your reactions to martial artists who claim to be able to knock out others without actually touching them, and other such wonders?

34 TRADITIONAL KARATE WWW.KARATEMAG.CO.UK

As well as understanding the dangerous effects of delivering blows to these acu-points are you also interested in them for their healing properties?

VINCE MORRIS: I do not subscribe to the acu-point theory of Ki or Qi as being important in Kyusho Jutsu as my forthcoming book (The Truth about Pressure Point Fighting) will make clear.

In essence, there are perfectly understandable physiological and anatomical reasons why manipulating the vital points is of fundamental importance to getting the most effect from any given waza.

There are many, who seek to surround themselves with an air of mystery and knowledge by claiming an understanding of mysterious forces traveling through invisible meridians; the truth is, the human body reacts in predictable ways to sensory input and understanding these ways can be used in a martial sense.

The only evidence available of the beneficial effect of acupuncture lies in the relatively narrow field of the alleviation of pain and this can be attributed to the release of endorphins in the body and to the pain-gate theory, where a little pain can mask out a greater pain.

In saying this, I fully realize I contradict some of what I was teaching 15 years ago. In my defense, I have never stopped researching and studying and testing, and the fruits of my experience are there. I have learned more since then and it would be dishonest of me to continue to propound beliefs which I no longer adhere to. I try to tell it the way it is - at least the way it is for me.

Have your opinions changed on many other things would you say?

VINCE MORRIS: Yes. When I began my post-graduate course, I taught Anglo-Saxon for a year whilst the professor took a sabbatical. Before he left, he warned me to look out for those students getting ready to graduate who still held the same opinions as when they began their 3 year course: “They’re the ones who have wasted their bloody time!”

FEATURE / VINCE MORRIS - Part 2 The search for what is true remains constant, but opinions should change as knowledge increases.

How can Shotokan clubs develop their karate to be more effective on the street do you think?

VINCE MORRIS: Join Kissaki-kai. (That’s another joke by the way).

In essence, it doesn’t matter whether your style is Shotokan, Shukokai, Wado-Ryu or add your own name here. What needs to be addressed is the concept of reality in training. There are some things you must do. For example when training, always start from touching distance.

This also mean less emphasis on sparring, even though sparring should not be done away with completely, because it does give practice in dealing with fear, getting hit and the general turmoil of combat. As an aside, there are karateka that say ‘we do not do kumite’, but that is not the same as saying ‘we train correctly for real combat’.

It is always possible to make what you do more effective, if you keep an open mind.

Look critically at whatever bunkai you are currently doing to see if it follows the rules of combat and does not rely on dojo compliance. If you are one of the groups that rely mainly on Kyusho Jutsu, assess whether your skill levels are good enough to even deliver these Kyusho techniques in the face of a really hard attack.

I just got back from a seminar in Canada, where one of the responses from a veteran of some 30 years training was, that it is good to see that it is possible to still learn something new. So, without wishing to be a salesman, I would ask anyone interested to simply look at the later DVDs and books and better yet, attend

a Kissaki seminar so they can make up their own minds as what to take from it to make their own art more effective. I can say no more than come and try for yourself.

What is your favorite kata and why?

VINCE MORRIS: My favorite kata is Tekki, because like me, it’s short but powerful. (Another joke).

Tekki/Naihanshi is full of wonderful, fast, explosive and efficient defensive waza and an understanding of this kata is critical in terms of real self-defense.

Can we just say a huge thank you for this opportunity to interview you, and we wish you every success for the future!

VINCE MORRIS: It is my pleasure. Just let me add that I have only touched on the points you have raised, there is much more that that I could add, but essentially I would encourage all who are interested to make up their own minds and not to be distracted by wishful thinking!

My own favourite phrase is: “Do it to me!”

Finally, good luck to you and the web site, which I think, serves a very important function.

Anyone wanting to contact me or get the regular free kissaki email newsletters can do so by emailing or through the website at www.kissakikarate.com For further information on The Shotokan Way - the Online Shotokan Resource Centre please visit www.theshotokanway.com. Many thanks to readers of the project for submitting suggested questions.

WWW.KARATEMAG.CO.UK TRADITIONAL KARATE 35

FIGHTING ARTS ORGANISATION OF GREAT BRITAIN Britain’s Premier All Styles Martial Arts Group The FAOGB is a Multi-Style Group with clubs throughout the UK teaching various styles of Karate, Kempo, Aikido, Judo, Jijitsu, Kempo Jujitsu, Goshin Jutsu, Atemi Jitsu and Kung Fu. We accept all clubs who teach self defence regardless of which Martial Arts or Style you practice, we have access to the Worlds leading self defence masters and offer: Insurance and Licensing, National and International Grade recognition from the relevant governing bodies, National and International Seminars, Newsletters and Non Interference but help of any kind is available. Why not share your knowledge and work with other like minded people.

The Kempo Jujitsu system as taught by Hanshi P Browne 8th Dan is practical realistic and effective street self defence and has no sporting applications.

Kempo Jujitsu self defence classes are held in London at the following locations: Wanstead leisure Centre

Waterfront Leisure Centre

Redbridge Lane West E11 High Street Woolwich SE18 Tuesday & Thursday 8pm-1Opm Sun 8pm-1Opm Wed 8pm-1Opm

Colombo Centre

Queen Mother Sports Centre

Colombo St Blackfriars SE1 Mon 8pm-1Opm Sat 12pm-2pm

223 Vauxhall Bridge Rd SW1 Frid 8pm-1Opm Sun 12pm-2pm

BEGINNERS ARE ALWAYS WELCOME FOR OUR SELF DEFENCE CLASSES FOR INFORMATION ON JOINING THE FAOGB OR THE KEMPO JUJITSU SELF DEFENCE CLASSES PLEASE CALL: 020 7511 3410 Mobile: 07767 207227 Fax: 020 7511 3420 Email: Kenpojitsu@aol.com Web Site: faogb.co.uk or Write to: The Fighting Arts Organisation GB, 406 Hale End Road, Highams Park, London E4 9PB KEM001/04

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Carlow Karate Club National & International Competition arlow Karate club really outdid themselves with this years national and international competition held recently in the Dolmen hotel in Carlow town, Ireland.

competitors and the crowd in attendance.

This event, while very big in Brazil, is proved to be a big hit in Ireland. Each team comprises of 7 members, made up of 3 girls and 4 boys.

Clubs came from as far away as Hungry, Austria, Wales, United Kingdom, Northern Ireland and Ireland including Askea, Naas, Cork, Enniscorthy, Ardee, Shankill, Kells, Bawnogue, Waterford, Knockmitten, Bayside, Wicklow and Collon.

Another event which was popular was the parent and child Kata. The standard was very high in this category and more entrants than usual took part.

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The competitions began on Saturday morning the 6th of October for all junior grades and finished on Sunday with the cadets and seniors. Many styles took part in the weekends events including Wado Ryu, Kempo, Shotokan Shito Ryu and Shukokai.

A large attendance on both days were greatly entertained by the high standards on both days.

The special event of the weekend was the under 12 yrs, 7-a-side tag team kumite which proved to be a huge success with the

Two international events that were appreciated by the attending crowd were the junior and senior team kumite events.

Junior International event was between Ireland and the rest of the world, which saw Ireland pipped a the post. Fighting for Ireland were; Greg Murphy, Mark Frey, Mark Kennedy and Ellen Hennessy. They fought against a strong opposing team but each competitor really enjoyed their event.

The Irish senior team consisting of James Duffy, Gordan Smith, Jamie Byrne, Patrick Bradley and Holly Fennelly won against a strong rest of the world team.

38 TRADITIONAL KARATE WWW.KARATEMAG.CO.UK

Both these international events were very popular with all of the other competitors at the competition.

Speaking at the after event ceremony, Sensei Patsy Whelan voiced his admiration and thanks to both the competitors, all the referees and the parents committee for their assistance during the weekends events.

A special word of thanks to the referees that travelled with their respective clubs and assisted with the competitions.

A lot of work goes into organising an event of this magnitude and special thanks to the fundraising committee for their efforts throughout the past year in preparing for this competition. Funding for this event and indeed other competitions held in Carlow are funded only by the generosity of local business’s in the area and without their assistance these events could not take place.

The Carlow club managed to host a magnificent event this year and it is hoped that next years competition will be even better.

TOURNAMENT’S & COURSES / CARLOW KARATE CLUB

WWW.KARATEMAG.CO.UK TRADITIONAL KARATE 39

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TOURNAMENT’S & COURSES / IAIN ABERNETHY INSPIRES

Iain Abernethy inspires

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ne of the leading exponents of combat applications within karate kata (patterns) visited Northern Ireland last Saturday 15th September. He was invited by former British karate champion Sensei Danny Corr, to the famous Scout Hut dojo in Newtownabbey.

Local Carnalea Karate coach David Brashaw explained. “I have been practising karate for almost twenty five years and the detail and practical applications that Sensei Abernethy taught at this course have never been shown to me before. It was very obvious to all, including the lucky five of us from Carnalea, that understanding the ‘real meaning of traditional kata’ is his passion. At the same time

he has nothing to prove, is very down to earth and open to ideas from others. In this day and age his approach is a very welcome breath of fresh air which encourages cooperation from all.”

The course itself started of with a gentle warm up, then moved into some basic grappling and blocking techniques. Then came the more serious side of bunkai-jutsu (analysis of kata) specifically Naihanchi and Passai were combinations of blocks and strikes became locks, breaks and take downs.

Certainly the ‘hidden’ combative strategies and explanations got us all not only thinking, but also created quite a lot of fun for some to inflict discomfort on others.

The four hours of training absolutely flew in.

Sensei Abernethy was a true ambassador of the martial arts who was keen to share his knowledge with the many senior students who had travelled to train with him from across Northern Ireland. It was a great experience for all of us. Carnalea world cup stars Glen & Neil Bailie and Claire McPeake were inspired. “As for Kevin and I, we could have kept training and learning like this for a lot longer. We have always encouraged students to look at the best in all styles of martial arts and learn how they interlink and overlap.

Following this course we will certainly be pursuing these open ideas in the future.”

For more info about what we do in Carnalea Karate Club see www.carnaleawadokai.com

WWW.KARATEMAG.CO.UK TRADITIONAL KARATE 41

Sunderland Karate Academy

karate club tournament 2007 O n Sunday30th September 2007 The Lambton Street Fellowship centre in Sunderland was the venue for the S.K.A. Karate Club Tournament 2007.

The event was organised by Derek Laing Chief Instructor of the S.K.A and was sanctioned by British National Martial Arts Association (BNMAA). The event proved to be an enormous success with around 200 people attending from clubs around the Northeast and Yorkshire. The event started and finished on time and using 2 areas the elimination’s were able to move quickly, thanks to the tremendous effort of the officials and referees. The competition was run using the W.K.F. Rules with some changes. The main change was to only allow controlled techniques to the head stopping 2-5cm from the target in the Kumite sections and thankfully the first aid people had very little to do apart from watching some fine displays from the competitors. The standard for the day was very high, especially as some of the competitors were competing for the first time.

Sunderland Karate Academy would like to thank Sensei Jim Reece and Sensei Dave McNalus for heading the referee team. We would also like to thank Sensei(s) M. Raistrick, K. Parker, S. Colvin, D. Barber, P. Littlewood, K. Moir, K. Mitchinson, K. Parkin and D. Leach for marshalling the areas and all the volunteers for making it such an enjoyable day.

KATA Juniors Under 10 years: Novice to 4th Kyu 1st: Kayleigh Wheeler- Redhouse (SKA) 2nd: Josh Conroy- Thornaby (TASK) 3rd: Owen McPartlin- Redhouse (SKA) & Kelsey McPartlin- Redhouse (SKA) Juniors Under 10 years: 3rd Kyu and above 1st: Connor Burnley- Nakama Do 2nd: Chetan Kang- Lambton St.(SKA) 3rd: Vinny Dawson- Thornaby (TASK) & Jack Potts- Redhouse (SKA) Juniors 11 ˆ 13 years: Novice to 4th Kyu 1st: Tommy Dunn- Middlesbrough AMA 2nd: Sam Lillie- Redhouse (SKA) 3rd: Chelsea Robson- Gudo Nishijma & Jamie Lister- Gudo Nishijma Juniors 11 ˆ 13 years: 3rd Kyu and above 1st: Harvey Whitely- Thornaby (TASK) 2nd: Kirsten Nicholson- Redhouse (SKA) 3rd: Sean England-Kaizen MAA & Tori Leachman- Redhouse (SKA) Juniors 14 ˆ 16 years: 3rd Kyu and above 1st: Paul Goldsmith- Gudo Nishijma 2nd: Stephen Hall- Gudo Nishijma 3rd: Ashleigh Wilson- Gudo Nishijma & Becky Capitano- Nakama Do

42 TRADITIONAL KARATE WWW.KARATEMAG.CO.UK

17 years and over: Novice to 4th Kyu 1st: Danny Rogers- Redhouse (SKA) 2nd: Kaiser Rashid- Middlesbrough AMA 3rd: Colin Murray- Redhouse (SKA) & Abdul Rashid- Middlesbrough AMA 17 years and over 3rd Kyu and above 1st: Jaga Singh- Middlesbrough AMA 2nd: David Barber- Thornaby (TASK) 3rd: Harry Pinder- Whitby (TASK) & Karen Parkin- Whitby (TASK)

Junior Team Under 16 years: Open Grade 1st: Kaizen MMA-A 2nd: Redhouse (SKA)-1 3rd: Redhouse (SKA)-2 & Redhouse (SKA)-3 Senior Team Over 17 years 1st: Lambton St.(SKA)-1 2nd: Lambton St.(SKA)-2 3rd: Thornaby (TASK)-A & Middlesbrough AMA-1 KUMITE Juniors 6 ˆ 8 years: Open Grade 1st: Harvey Spaxman- Thornaby (TASK) 2nd: Kayleigh Wheeler- Redhouse (SKA) 3rd: Owen McPartlin- Redhouse (SKA) & James Naden- Thornaby (TASK) Juniors 9 ˆ 10 years: Open Grade 1st: Vinny Dawson- Thornaby (TASK) 2nd: Joanna Lee- Thornaby (TASK) 3rd: Mike Beeforth- Whitby (TASK) & Connor Mallon- Thornaby (TASK)

TOURNAMENT’S & COURSES / SUNDERLAND KARATE ACADEMY

Juniors 11-12 years: Open Grade 1st: Sam Lillie- Redhouse (SKA) 2nd: Ruby Dawson- Thornaby (TASK) 3rd: Tori Leachman- Redhouse (SKA) & Jess Beeforth- Whitby (TASK) Juniors (Male) 13 ˆ 14 years: Open Grade 1st: Mustafa Hanif- Middlesbrough AMA 2nd: Jordan Phillips- Nakama Do 3rd: Harvey Whitely- Thornaby (TASK) & Sam Leeman- Whitby (TASK) Juniors (Female) 13 ˆ 14 years: Open Grade 1st: Hanna Asquith- Nakama Do 2nd: Kirsten Nicholson- Redhouse (SKA)

Juniors (Male) 15 ˆ 17 years: Open Grade 1st: Harry Pinder- Whitby (TASK) 2nd: Allix Nichols- Lambton St.(SKA) 3rd: Mark Moir- Seishin-Do Juniors (Female) 15 ˆ 17 years: Open Grade 1st: Becky Capitano- Nakama Do 2nd: Nicolle Leach- Redhouse (SKA) 3rd: Ashleigh Wilson- Gudo Nishijma & Jodie Richie- Kaizen MMA Seniors (Male) 18+: Novice to 4th Kyu 1st: Adam Bottom- Kaizen MMA 2nd: Danny Rogers- Redhouse (SKA) 3rd: Darren Brack- Thornaby (TASK) & Abdul Rashid- Middlesbrough AMA

Senior (Male) 18+ 3rd Kyu and above 1st: David Barber- Thornaby (TASK) 2nd: Jaga Singh- Middlesbrough AMA 3rd: Pete Beeforth- Whitby (TASK) & Steve Colvin- St. Andrews (SKA) Seniors (Female) 18+: Novice to 4th Kyu 1st: Mel Hutchinson- Whitby (TASK) 2nd: Susan Leachman- Redhouse (SKA) Senior (Female) 18+ 3rd Kyu and above 1st: Kaylee Leach- Redhouse (SKA) 2nd: Shellie Nichols- Lambton St. (SKA) 3rd: T. Orchard- Thornaby (TASK)

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AMA Amateur Martial Associations

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