Irish Karate Kyokushinkai 1978 - 2008
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Irish Karate Kyokushinkai 30th Anniversary 1978 -2008
Irish Karate Kyokushinkai 1978 - 2008
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Organising Committee: Shihan Kevin Callan Shane Lalor Stephen Quaile Jon Maher Maria Moran Michelle Giltrap Gillian Maher Jenny Lalor
The Irish Karate Kyokushinkai would like to thank the following people for their help in putting together this 30th anniversary celebration and magazine: Hanshi Steve Arneil, Shihan Liam Keaveney, Shihan Alex Kerrigan, Shihan Graham Warden, Sensei Andrew Turner, Sensei Shane Lalor, Sensei Jon Maher, Sensei Patrick English, Sensei Stephen Quaile, Sensei Ken Fitzpatrick, Sensei James O’Malley, Senpai Nigel Prendergast, Senpai David King, Senpai Maria Moran, Senpai Sam McGarry, Gillian Maher, Steven Farrell, Pierce Farrell, Patsy Moran, Jack Callan, Senpai Lorraine Callan, Senpai Michelle Giltrap, Martin English, Rob Corwell, Janine Bunnetta, Beamy Sheehan, Sarah Grassick, Peter Grassick, Jennifer Lalor. Photographs reproduced by kind permission: Lorna Fitzsimons, Kevin Callan, Shane Lalor, Liam Keaveney, Elaine Coyne. Apologies to anyone we may have forgotten to mention here, you still have our heartfelt thanks.
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Published by: Irish Karate Kyokushinkai Web: http://www.kyokushinireland.com Email: shane@kyokushinireland.com Phone: +353 (0)86 8298518
Printed by: Colorman The Kanku and the Calligraphy are registered trademarks. The editor has reserved the right to edit or alter any submissions for publication.
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Table of Contents Interview with Shihan Kevin Callan ............................................................................... 5 Knockdown Pictures .................................................................................................... 8 Galway Dojo - by Dave King. ..................................................................................... 10 Mullingar Dojo - by Ken Fitzpatrick ............................................................................. 11 Westport Dojo - by James O’Malley ............................................................................ 11 Clicker Pictures ........................................................................................................ 13 Letterfrack Dojo - by Nigel Prendergast ....................................................................... 15 Swords Dojo - by Jon Maher ...................................................................................... 16 Killester Dojo - by Steven Quaile ................................................................................ 16 Finglas Dojo - by Patrick English ................................................................................ 18 Summer Camp Pictures ............................................................................................. 20 Meaning of a Black Belt –by Liam Keaveney ................................................................ 22 General Pictures ....................................................................................................... 24 IKK 30th Anniversary - by Shane Lalor ....................................................................... 26 General Pictures ....................................................................................................... 28 Summer Camps – by Shane Lalor............................................................................... 29 Autographs.............................................................................................................. 30 IKK Yudansha List .................................................................................................... 31
Editorial Osu Welcome to this magazine published to celebrate the IKKs 30th Anniversary. 30 years is a milestone in any organisation and certainly one worth celebrating. Together with the issue of this magazine we are holding a small knockdown tournament and a party. We welcome Hanshi Steve Arneil 9th Dan, head of the IFK. We are also happy to welcome Shihan Alex Kerrigan 6th Dan, Shihan Liam Keaveney 6th Dan, Shihan Graham Warden 5th Dan and Sensei Andrew Turner 4th Dan as well as all of our IKK high grades and officials. The most important part of any organisation is the people and that is why we present the profiles of all of our clubs here. We also present an interview with our Chief Instructor Shihan Kevin Callan 5th Dan. We welcome you to this celebration and would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone involved in the IKK over the past 30 years for all their help, input and perseverance. To the members of the BKK we thank you for coming here today and hope that you enjoy your time with us and that you have a safe journey home. To all the fighters here today we wish you the best of luck. Many people deserve thanks for getting us here tonight and they are listed on the previous page but I would like to single out three people in particular for thanks on both a professional and personal level. First I’d like to thank Shihan Kevin Callan for all his hard work and commitment over the last thirty years and we look forward to many more years of his guidance. Second is Shihan Liam Keaveney for his continued work with the IKK and for his words of encouragement and support. Lastly I would take this opportunity to thank Jenny Lalor whose administrative work behind the scenes and incredible support of the IKK goes largely without thanks until now. We look forward to the next 30 years and all that the future holds. Osu Shane Lalor Editor
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Welcome Hanshi Steve Arneil 9th Dan – President of the IFK
It gives me immense pleasure to be here today to help celebrate the IKKs 30th Anniversary. It has been many years since I was last here in an official capacity but I have fond memories of training in Dublin and the beautiful west of Ireland. The relationship between the BKK and the IKK is a strong one and has always been so. This is evident in the number of events that you come to and help to support. As a founding member of the IFK I also greatly appreciate the support you give to our international events. The Irish juniors have greatly impressed me and it is good to see them competing regularly at the highest levels. I congratulate them on their most recent success at the 2nd IFK World Junior Tournament. I look forward to another 30 years of the IKK and wish you all continued success.
Shihan Liam Keaveney 6th Dan – President of the IKK
It is a great honour to be here this evening and share with you all, our thirtieth anniversary celebrations. It would be true to say that my time with Kyokushin has given me much satisfaction and none more so than my involvement with the Irish Karate Kyokushinkai – some of the most memorable moments of my karate life have been shared with the IKK. I have been proud to be some small part in the IKK’s development and growth over the past years and in its turn it has steered me within my Kyokushin to what I have achieved thus far. Each day I am staggered to think that I have now spent thirty five years training and I continue to enjoy every minute and I am encouraged by the commitment and loyalty of the IKK instructors and students. There are too many people to thank over the past thirty years - but an unpayable debt is owed to Kevin and Lorraine Callan, Jenny and Shane Lalor and Noel and Adrienne Kelly for many things immeasurable in my life. To all of you here tonight – thank you for your passion, enthusiasm, support and friendship and I look forward to many more years serving you.
Shihan Kevin Callan 5th Dan – Chief Instructor of the IKK
I am very pleased to welcome everyone here tonight to help us celebrate 30 years of Kyokushin in Ireland. It is hard to believe so much time has passed since the first dojo opened. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Hanshi and all the guests here from the BKK for coming over to celebrate with us. I would also like to thank the organising committee for their hard work and dedication. Finally my thanks to all of our students past and present for making the IKK what it is today.
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occupation as it was in a very rough part of town; the dojo being surrounded by derelict or condemned buildings.
Square. One is that the weather was such an integral part of our training. The Winter Freeze and the Summer Swelter; and if it rained the floor played host to myriad lakes, as the ceiling leaked. You always tried to pick a spot for yourself in the line so you'd miss the pools of water, but if a higher grade arrived late, the whole line shifted and then you could end up snookered; sliding forward in Zenkutsu Dachi pulling along a trail of lukewarm water, and trying desperately not to fall on your ear.
Interview with Shihan Kevin Callan Shihan – as ever the best place to start is at the beginning. How did you come to start training?
Kyokushin in Ireland began in 1978, when Gerry O'Sullivan, then a 1st kyu, opened two clubs simultaneously, in Mallow Co. Cork and Finglas in north Dublin.
There were two classes a week in Dublin with Dave Kelly, a 4th kyu, taking one class and Gerry commuting from his native Cork once a week to take the other. Noel Kelly, Dave's brother, told me about the new Karate club that had just opened and was I interested in going? I replied that I had a football match and we left it at that, but there was no football match that day because the pitch was waterlogged, so I went along for something to do. Although I found the training very hard going, I enjoyed it so much that I gave up one of my three weekly football matches. I started training once a week but soon found that this wasn't enough so I dropped another one of my football matches. I was finding the karate more of a challenge than the soccer and eventually I gave up the football altogether and concentrated on the karate" In 1978, while I was still a 4th kyu, the club moved to Mountjoy Square in the heart of the inner city. For anyone who trained there, indelible memories were imprinted on them. Getting to Mountjoy Square was a hazardous enough
The second, and most important thing I remember, is the spirit. It didn't matter whether there were three or thirty, the training was always hard and the spirit was always strong; regardless of the splinters in the floor or the lights constantly flickering or the small pieces of plaster occasionally falling from the ceiling, the spirit was immovable, powerful.
Can you tell us a little of your knockdown experiences?
The dojo itself was a low ceilinged structure with no windows and no insulation under its flat roof, so that in winter it was virtually the same temperature inside as outside; (although some would argue strongly that it was in fact, colder inside than out!). In the summer time it was hot and stuffy and clammy; oxygen being a much sought after commodity. The changing rooms were wooden chairs, (the kind you would use at a church fete), lined haphazardly against the wall and the toilets were a 50 meter dash from the dojo to the main building. There are two things I remember most about Mountjoy
Gerry O'Sullivan did say to me that I would never fight knockdown because I was too small and too light. Shihan Liam encouraged me to take part and worked quite a lot with me, taking me to the top clubs in the BKK. I entered my first Knockdown Tournament in 1984, and in those days there were no Novice Sections, so, greenhorns and experienced were pitched against one another. My thoughts before the fight were twofold; (i) let's get out there and see what it’s all about, and (ii), when this is all over, I'll be able to relax and have a pint. After the fight, I thought; I'm going to do better next time! I fought in two tournaments yearly until 1986.
Irish Karate Kyokushinkai 1978 - 2008 I fought in the BKK regional tournaments and entered the BKK national in Crystal Palace on a number of occasions. I was lucky to fight at a time what I consider to be the "Golden period" of knockdown, Fighters like Michael Thompson, Any Hug, Nick De Costa all fought around the same time. There were knockdown tournaments held in Ireland in the early 1980s. Is this something that you would like to revive and make a regular part of the calendar in some form or other? Yes, this is something we are planning to put back on the calendar, either as a yearly event or bi-yearly. How did you come to be Chief Instructor? It was a gradual process. Gerry O'Sullivan who started Kyokushin in Ireland requested more assistance. Shihan Liam Keaveney got involved, and I volunteered to give some assistance with teaching and the administration. Gerry was no longer able to continue so a committee was immediately formed and I was selected to run the show because I was the highest grade.I took over as a 2nd kyu.
I didn't realise how much I'd signed on for. I thought it would just mean teaching the various clubs in Dublin, but, it gradually began to
take up all my time. Also, besides running the Dublin clubs, and all that that entails, there were meetings with the other styles to keep abreast of what was happening within the Martial Arts clubs in Ireland.
It was also around this time that we began bringing high grades over from England, as I was still only a 1st kyu and the clubs needed to advance. I also started making trips over to England, learning as much as possible over a week-end; taking notes after the classes , and bringing it all back to Ireland, letting it slowly sink in. Sensei Liam Keaveney was the first of the high grades to come over, becoming a frequent visitor to these shores. We began to form a special relationship with him, and I think I can safely say, without fear of contradiction from any member of the I.K.K., that he has been a constant source of inspiration to all of us. You were the first person in Ireland to attain Shodan grade. Can you tell us about the grading and how you felt?
In 1987 I attempted my Black Belt at the British Summer Camp in Wales. The grading itself was four hours long but was held at the end of the Camp so a lot of hard training had been done even before the grading started. At the end of the Camp the names of those who had been successful in their grading were called out. When they were finished, I wasn't unduly worried. I thought they were going to make a special announcement, seeing as I was the only student from Ireland attempting the grading. However, the crowds dispersed, and I was left standing alone, with only a deflated ego as company.
In September, 1987, I attempted it again and this time I passed. If I had originally
Page |6 thought that the pressure was going to ease off after getting my Shodan grade, I was very much mistaken. I was much more aware of my grade as I realised people were now looking at me in a different light. I had attained a high standard and people were expecting me not only to maintain it, but to raise it, and to keep raising it.
Continuing the discussion about tournaments can you tell us about the preparation for the Womens European Clicker Championships? We had entered a clicker tournament with the BKK the previous year, so we knew what the standard was like. Most of our ladies team were yellow/green belts and hadn’t reached their full potential. We devised a plan which entailed a high work rate, upsetting the opponent’s rhythm, keeping our own limited techniques simple but good. In essence, we put them under pressure! Training was very hard given our game plan; there was even the odd death threat from the team members!! What were your hopes at this tournament? Definitely to win. We had bought seven bottles of champagne the day before the tournament. There was one each for the team members,
Irish Karate Kyokushinkai 1978 - 2008 and one each for myself and Liam Keaveney. It wasn’t arrogance; it was just the hunger to win at the highest level.
After the Tournament, it was decided to concentrate on expanding Kyokushin in Ireland, opening more clubs in Dublin and throughout the west of Ireland. As the years progressed, more high grades joined the Shodan ranks and the dilemma of being in ten places at one time diminished.
I was able to get around all the clubs now and had a little more time to concentrate on myself. After all, it had taken me ten years to get to Shodan and now only four years later I hope to attempt my Nidan grade.
At first the only dojo was in Dublin. How did the west of Ireland come onboard? I got a phone call from John Brawn in Westport, making enquires about Kyokushin. The students in Westport were doing a quasi between Shotokan/Kyokushin at that time. I agreed with John to travel to Westport and give a class. They joined up, and I did a weekend course at the end of every month for about a two year period. I have a lot of fond memories of the "early days" in Westport and the many friends I have made from that part of the country. I worked out recently that we have participated in at least one Knockdown tournament a year since 1992 and only once did we fail to take home a trophy. That's a very good record for such a small organisation. To what do you attribute this success? Yes, it's not a bad record. It is really down to team work. The more the organisation pulls
together, the more successful we are. The BKK resigned their membership of the IKO in 1991 and we joined them in forming the IFK. Was this a difficult decision to make?
No not at all. Our closest links were at the time and are with the BKK. Hanshi was a natural leader to follow with his experience. In recent years we have been focussing a lot on our junior’s. We have been to three Severn Challenges and two World Tournaments. Are you happy with the progress we are making in this area?
Yes, we are making what I consider steady progress. The juniors are the future of the organisation. They have achieved, 3rd place in the team even for the last two world tournaments. That’s not bad but I do think that we are not too far from championship level. Last year you were promoted to Godan. What does this mean to the IKK and to you personally?
I think it means a great deal to the IKK, as it demonstrates how far we have progressed as an organisation. For me personally, perhaps it simply just means I'm getting that bit older!! At certain points in the last thirty years when memberships dipped and running the organisation on your own was a struggle what made you keep going?
To put it simply Osu, by this I mean to persevere and keep going no matter what we are up against. We have always done this and will continue to do so in the future.
Page |7 What have been the highlights of the last thirty years for you?
Winning the Ladies European tournament in 1988, completing my 20 man kumite for my second dan, the many weekend/summer camps with Shihan Liam Keaveney. The many great friends that I have made throughout the years both in the IKK and BKK. What are your plans for the future of the IKK?
To take a more active role in the IFK, to move the organisation to the next level, it's onwards and upwards. As I mentioned earlier I would like to see knockdown again in Ireland on a more regular basis and perhaps the event we are staging for our anniversary is a first step in that direction.
Any final thoughts you would like to share with us here today? When I started to teach, my philosophy was to give them hell; the harder the class the better; now, the classes are still hard, but, I try to emphasise technique; so, as the style has developed, I also have, in many respects. As chief instructor of the IKK I have my responsibilities and challenges, but it’s the challenges I always enjoy. I enjoy Kyokushin because it is difficult and demanding and always requires 100%. For the future, I want to promote Kyokushin in Ireland. We will never be the biggest style of Karate in this country, but we will be the strongest and our standards will always be the highest.
Irish Karate Kyokushinkai 1978 - 2008
Knockdown Pictures
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Irish Karate Kyokushinkai 1978 - 2008
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Irish Karate Kyokushinkai 1978 - 2008
Galway Dojo by Dave King.
I myself was not the founding member of Galway Kyokushin. That particular honour belonged to a different man, one James Cafferkey, in October of 1997. Galway dojo’s first grading was also in that first month, and out of that inaugural class of ten Senpai James managed to reap a harvest of one 1st kyu (John Costello) and one 1st Dan (Senpai Ian Farrell, aka ‘the fist’ in some circles!). Looking back now at that statistic with an instructor’s eye that seems to me to be no mean achievement. Particularly with James ‘only’ being a 1st kyu at the time!
From talking to James and John Costello some memories do stand out for them in those early years of Galway Kyokushin. Training hard in the College and the Presentation, before moving to a larger home in the Arus in Salthill was mentioned along with the Westport summer camp in ’98. Ian Farrell winning the Novice Knockdown tournament in 2001 was also a highlight, even though Ian at that stage had returned home to Dublin and was training in other clubs, the guys still considered him property of Galway!
I joined the club a little after that time returning to Kyokushin after a long hiatus, having trained under Senpai John
Brawn up to 5th kyu. Needless to say I was pretty rusty, but James took me under his wing, being a previous student of Senpai John himself. Not that I had it easy, I remember vividly one night James after watching for the umpteenth time my failure to finish Pinan Sono San to his liking, took my treasured yellow belt off me, sending me down the line to stand with the white belts. While not an enjoyable experience, it certainly got me to work on my kata more! James was keen for Galway to be very much the ‘fighting dojo’ so along with other students (namely John Mullen and Sean Cooney) I decided to go for the knockdown in Crystal Palace. We met some success, Galway students scoring two thirds in the novice, with Ian Farrell, now a 1st kyu, achieving second. Galway continued to send fighters under James to British knockdown competitions and that tradition of fighting is also one I have fostered. I don’t think there is a senior student in Galway Dojo that has reached the grade required that hasn’t fought knockdown at least once. This is the legacy of Senpai James Cafferkey.
But all things come to an end and James, due to work and home commitments, had to leave Kyokushin in early 2004. Hesitantly, and with the greatest reluctance, I took over the club at (the then) Sensei Kevin Callan and Sensei Shane Lalor’s insistence. I say reluctantly because while I honestly felt that there were others better able to run the dojo I also simply didn’t like teaching, feeling that time spent teaching was time lost learning. I felt that I was a fighter, rather than a teacher. An incredibly selfish view but fighters to a certain extent must be, in order to sacrifice so much time and effort in the training regime leading up to a tournament. That balance between sacrificing time to teach while still working on your own personal
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advancement, as a martial artist is one I still find difficult today. Running a club takes a prolonged and consistent effort.
Since I was the only instructor, making two evenings a week throughout the year, while seeming easy enough, is no mean task. The club does not care if you are ill, or tired. Or simply do not have the time to go due to other commitments. The club will always require an instructor, and the students who turn up show by their dedication that they deserve to be taught. I also struggled with lesson plans in an attempt to teach in a fair all rounded manner all aspects of the Kyokushin syllabus, resisting my natural inclination to simply teach knockdown all the time! That first year was difficult for the dojo as a whole; a lot of students missed Senpai James’ input to the club and attendance slipped, particularly in the senior class. The junior class at the time was also small, with only three members. As a result for the first two years the club was losing money, and had to be subsidised.
However by 2005 Galway once more had a 1st Dan instructor and from there the dojo has gone on from strength to strength, with knockdown glory for some and with some of the juniors showing real promise in this years national clicker tournament, in spite of their Senpai’s rather limited ability in that area. A real case of the students surpassing the master! Numbers have also improved, and Galway can now boast of three 4th kyus and two 2nd kyus, an achievement I would never have thought possible when I first took over. Special mention must go to Galway's own 2nd kyu Aaron Keating, whose ability to consistently turn up to an adults class as a junior over and over again, come rain hail or shine never fails to impress me, his instructor. Osu.
Irish Karate Kyokushinkai 1978 - 2008 What lies in store for Galway Dojo? More black belts on the roster I hope! The national grading approaches in December, along with two knockdown tournaments shortly before that so for the short term all in Galway Kyokushin Karate club are plenty busy, training at this point up to three time a week in our hall. As for the long term, only the strength and commitment of all its members can really tell. Osu.
“Running a club takes a prolonged and consistent effort. Since I was the only instructor making even the two evenings throughout the year while seeming easy enough, is no mean task” – Dave King
Mullingar Dojo by Ken Fitzpatrick
Mullingar Dojo was opened in October 2001 by Sensei Ken Fitzpatrick on his return to Ireland having spent 16 years in the UK. Over the last 7 years the club has gone from strength to strength. The club has a strong spirit and a never give up attitude.
Within the 7 years the club has not rushed its grading process and Alan McCoy was the first to get to Shodan in December 2007.
Our juniors and seniors have represented club and country over the past few years and we have had champions at knockdown and clicker not to mention Sensei Ken representing Ireland at the World Kata Championship in Poland (2003) where he reached the last 16 in the world. At the 2006 Junior World Clicker tournament in Switzerland the Irish team coached by Sensei Ken came 3rd in the team event. In the individual section Shannen McGuinness from our dojo came 3rd. This was a great achievement as the team was the youngest and most inexperienced at the tournament.
This year 4 of our juniors represented Ireland in Berlin at the World Championships. Shannen McGuinness and Meghan Daly came joint 3rd in the girls individuals and the team placed 3rd in the world again.
Our adult section has trained at summer camps in Norway and Switzerland and we attend the British Summer Camp every year gaining experience and knowledge and building friendships. We have had many visitors to our club over the years including Shihan Liam Keaveney and Shihan Graham Warden as well as all the IKK people who have been a great support to Sensei Ken and the Mullingar Dojo.
“It’s the teaching that I had that made me the teacher I have become today” says Sensei Ken and they know who they are. The Mullingar Dojo is proud to be part of the IKK and to be here to celebrate this special 30th anniversary. A big thank you to all. Osu! “It’s the teaching that I had that made me the teacher I have become today” says Sensei Ken
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Westport Dojo by James O’Malley
Westport Kyokushin Karate club was founded in 1987. I was training with my friend John Brawn in another style prior to this. John made the initial contact with the IKK in Dublin, where the person in charge was a guy called Kevin Callan.
At this time the IKK did not have any clubs outside of Dublin city. Kevin Callan who was a Senpai at this time came down to Westport with other members of the organisation and put us through our paces in the vicinity of our local secondary school. We had a full days training which was, by far, the hardest both physically and mentally I had endured up to this.
We were very interested in the training and also in the fact that we could train for and fight full contact karate. Senpai Kevin put us on a years’ probationary membership. In that year, we proceeded to travel to Dublin on average every six weeks to train in the IKK syllabus. We were accepted in the grade we held in our previous style and then at the end of the first year John and I graded for our 2nd kyu. This I found to be the toughest grading I had ever done.
Irish Karate Kyokushinkai 1978 - 2008 As brown belts we went on to open a club in the next town (Castlebar) which ran for 8 years. Another friend of ours Ger Dawson joined us and also opened a club in Louisburgh while also training in Westport. John opened clubs in Achill, and also opened 2 clubs in Co Galway, in Clifden and Letterfrack. The club in Letterfrack is now run by Senpai Nigel Prendergast. One of the students in the Achill club, James Cafferkey, opened a new club in Galway city while attending college there. John Brawn and Ger Dawson have now pursued other interests.
Mullingar Karate Kyokushinkai Instructor Sensei Ken Fitzpatrick 4th Dan Tuesday 5.30pm - 6.00pm (Junior/Beginners 6-10) Tuesday 6.00pm - 6.45pm (Juniors 6-10) Tuesday 6.45pm - 7.30pm (Juniors 11-15) Tuesday 7.30pm - 8.00pm (Beginners) Tuesday 8.00pm - 9.15pm (Adults) Saturday 9.15am - 10.00am (Juniors 6-10) Saturday 10.00am - 11.00am (Juniors 11-15) Saturday 11.00am - 12.15pm (Adults) Parish Community Centre, Bishops Gate Street. Mullingar, Co.Westmeath
Phone: 086-1676358 I continue to teach in Westport with the support of Senpai Andy Walsh and Kohai Victor Burke. Some of the most memorable summer camps we have had were held in Lecanvey Community Centre in the late 80’s, early 90’s. “We had a full days training which was by far the hardest both physically and mentally I had endured up to this” – James O’Malley
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Email: kensancon@eircom.net
Westport Karate Kyokushinkai Instructor Sensei James O’Malley 3rd Dan Saturday 10.00am -11.00am Juniors Saturday 11.00am -12.00am Seniors Rice College, Westport, Co.Mayo. Phone: 098 27908
Fingallians GAA Club would like to take this Opportunity to congratulate the IKK on thirty very successful years and wish them many more.
Galway Karate Kyokushinkai Instructor Senpai Dave King 1st Dan Tuesday 8.00pm - 9.00pm Seniors Friday 7.00pm - 8.00pm Juniors Friday 8.00pm - 9.00pm Seniors Scoil Eire National School Hall, Dr. Mannix Road, Salthill, Co.Galway. Phone: 085 7801873 Email: grey_space@yahoo.co.uk
Irish Karate Kyokushinkai 1978 - 2008
Clicker Pictures
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Irish Karate Kyokushinkai 1978 - 2008
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Irish Karate Kyokushinkai 1978 - 2008
Letterfrack Dojo - by Nigel Prendergast
beginners there was generally only one that continued to Shodan level, but he said that we seemed like a tough bunch and thought that we might get two. This turned out to be the first “Shihan Kevin’s prophesy” that I have witnessed.
In 1994 Letterfrack hosted a summer camp this brought new depths of exhaustion and new sense of achievements and knowledge in those of us who took part. I have a vivid memory of Senpai Anthony Walsh wrapped in a mile of inch and a half rope trying to eat three bananas without swallowing. Letterfrack Karate club was first opened in 1992 by Senpai John Brawn. Senpai John had just recently received his black belt. On the first night he brought along two brown belts from Westport dojo, Anthony Walsh and Victor Burke. In terms of physical difficulty the session was immeasurably more difficult than anything I had ever experienced up to that point in my life, and most of us loved it. I recall waiting outside the dojo that day for the junior class to finish when a more senior beginner told the youngsters that they would probably find it hard for the first few weeks, but that they should keep at it. He trained for sports all his life so he would of course be fine. Sage advice indeed, he left at the end of the session red faced and panting and never came back.
Some of us though did persevere, as later that year we had our first grading with 83 students packed into the small dojo in Letterfrack. This was similarly physical though we were considerably better prepared. It was the first time that we met with the National Chief instructor Kevin Callan. After the grading there was much discussion in the local bar about a comment that he had made at the end of the grading Shihan Kevin had told us that out of every one hundred
In 1995 Senpai John Brawn left to work on his security business. It was a crucial time for the club as the most senior members were green belts. Several of the students continued to study making trips to Dublin and Westport to glean knowledge and skills. At some point in the late nineties Jack and I found ourselves in control of the day to day running of the Dojo. In 1998 we had two students fight in the British open at Crystal palace. These were Gerard Coyne who took 2nd place and Joe McGrath. The following year, 1999, Shihan Kevin’s prediction came true with the promotion of Jack Lydon and myself to Shodan.
The year of the millennium was perhaps our busiest year, with Gerard Coyne being successful in his Shodan grading and the two of us fighting in Harlow in England. Gerard was knocked out early on in the heavy weight novices. I got through to the final of the middle weight novices but lost the final to take home silver. It was also during this year that Letterfrack Dojo ran the national clicker tournament. Little did I realise at the time what this event would grow into.
P a g e | 15 In 2001 we again hosted the national clicker tournament and it was even then becoming obvious that the competition would out grow the tiny venue. During the intermission there was a very memorable demonstration, involving water melons and chopsticks, I still haven’t gotten the stains out of that suit.
In 2005 Ireland accepted a challenge to cross the water and take part in the Severn challenge. It was in Hastings we were very proud of the three members of our dojo who represented us in this competition. They were Steven Prendergast, Jenny Heanue and Ian Heanue. Jenny and Steven both took 3rd in the individuals.
The following year Wales hosted the Severn challenge in Llangollen. Steven, Jenny and Ian were selected once again to represent their country and were joined by Oisin Prendergast. Oisin also had the honour of travelling to Chur to take parting the first junior clicker world championship. The team met Switzerland in the semi-finals and after a nail bitingly close contest were rewarded with 3rd place. Last year Oisin once again earned a place on the Irish team for the Severn challenge which this time reverted back to England in the town of Cheshunt.
And so with our 16 years of training, grading, training, competing and did I mention training behind us in Letterfrack Dojo, we look forward to whatever the future may hold in the knowledge that it will involve training hard. This after all, is the lesson I for one have learned from Karate, that the secret to success in martial arts as in life is to be better prepared than the opposition. “...we look forward to whatever the future may hold in the knowledge that it will involve training hard....” –Nigel Prendergast
Irish Karate Kyokushinkai 1978 - 2008
Swords Dojo by Jon Maher
Swords dojo was an idea brought about by 2 people’s addiction to Kyokushinkai Karate. I wanted to open a dojo in Duleek where I live but was extremely conscious that there may be times when I couldn’t make it back there on time to take a class due to work commitments and there was no one local who could fill in for me. With this in mind I had a conversation with Sensei Shane Lalor and he also agreed that he would love to have a club of his own but was conscious that there would come a time when he couldn’t make the class either due to his busy work life. Sensei Shane had recently moved into the Swords area with his now wife Jenny. So the solution was brought about when I approached Sensei Shane in an undisclosed refreshment house and said to him “Before we get into a condition of unsound mind, what do you think of opening a dojo in Swords?” He was surprised and happy of the idea that he said “Ok let’s do it so” and we did.
It took roughly a year from the time the idea was first aired to the day we established Swords dojo. Many conversations were held between Sensei Shane, Jenny and I as to the plan of action, possible outcomes, advertisement and venue. It was a lot easier for Sensei and Jenny to source dojo venue because they lived in the area. Sensei Shane rang me one Saturday and told me he picked
a location and could I take a look at it to see if I was in agreement with him. He picked Fingallians G.A.A club just off the Estuary roundabout in Swords and I went to view it. It was in our opinion perfect for what we hoped to achieve in our teaching of Kyokushinkai Karate. Sensei Shane contacted the club and inquired about renting the hall for two hours on a Thursday night. This was the start of what hopefully will be the legacy of Swords dojo.
We planned Swords on the principles of Finglas Dojo, when Sensei Shane was the instructor there and that Sensei Patrick English holds to this day. Back then he was just 1st kyu Shane to all his students. Tough but fair. We don’t accept anything less than 100% because that’s exactly what we put into our training and our teaching and we expect our students to do exactly the same. Months of meetings and drafts were set up with pages upon pages of ideas from the smallest detail to the biggest problem. We advertised all over Swords in pubs, shops and every building that would take a flyer or poster. We couldn’t off done it without the help of Jenny and Ruth Ryan who put a lot of their spare time into making Swords dojo work.
On the 11th of January 2007 Swords dojo was officially opened by Shihan Kevin Callan. We staged a demonstration of kihon, kata, knockdown fighting and finished off with a tameshiwari demonstration. We received help from Sensei Stephen Quaile, Sensei Patrick English, Senpai Maria Moran and Senpai Sam McGarry to carry out the demonstrations. Unfortunately we didn’t get a large turnout after all the advertising we carried out and meticulous planning. This was a concern for both of us and we knew we had to work a lot harder than we were to get students in and make Swords successful. With a lot of luck and hard work we have today a
P a g e | 16 dojo which supports the I.K.K and the fundamental principles of Kyokushinkai Karate that Sosai Oyama set out. Let’s just hope that we have many happy and successful years in Swords dojo and that we can keep expanding the I.K.K.
“...We don’t accept anything less than 100% because that’s exactly what we put into our training and our teaching and we expect our students to do exactly the same.....” –Jon Maher
Killester Dojo by Steven Quaile
When I was asked to write this piece about Killester Dojo, which I have been proudly part of for nearly 20 years I was glad to do so, but first I thought I would write a short history of my first experience with Kyokushinkai Karate just to put things into perspective.
My first experience with Kyokushin was in 1978-1979 and the person who introduced me to it was a guy called David Kelly, who was a green belt at the time and used to stand in for Senpai Gerry O’Sullivan when he could not take the class, which was more often than not due to the fact that he used to travel from Cork, where he lived and worked, just to take the class on Friday night
Irish Karate Kyokushinkai 1978 - 2008 and Saturday morning. David Kelly emigrated to Australia years before but used to travel back to Ireland for six months at a time, which was when he recruited me. I was trying my hand at Shotokan, but after just two or three weeks changed to Kyokushin. Both these guys made huge sacrifices to try and get Kyokushin off the ground and as time went on and people left for one reason or another one person oversaw the survival and progression of Kyokushin to the present day and of course that’s Shihan Kevin Callan.
When I was there at that time I can recall people like Colm Daly, Ken Fitzpatrick and Kevin Callan. I was very young at the time and due to circumstances beyond my control I had to leave just after I had just gotten my blue belt. But I always promised myself I would go back at some stage in the future and I am very happy I did, in May 1989 to be exact. I went to Killester dojo and was to find a now Senpai Kevin Callan running the dojo on Mondays and Diggs Lane on Wednesday. Over those years in Killester dojo I went from white belt to third dan and the dojo holds many memories for me, not least of all the pain filled gradings that I did there. Looking back now I realize that even though the gradings were tough and got tougher as the grades went on, it was the toughness of the grades that make the memories special. I think everybody would agree that the grading you remember most will be the toughest one you’ve had to do.
I had the pleasure of becoming an instructor in Killester Dojo about 10 years ago. In all the years in Killester Dojo we’ve had some great experiences; we had the women’s clicker team become European Champions in 1988. We’ve had a succession of successful knockdown fighters all trained in Killester Dojo and also Kev’s Gym. I have always thought of Kev’s Gym as an extension of Killester
dojo. Tough squad training sessions were held there, first you did the run and then you did the bag work.
A lot of friendships have been formed over the years and a few of them have lasted to this day. I cannot remember exactly when but Diggs Lane Dojo closed a few years ago so Wednesday night training was moved to Killester, which was nice because Wednesday night was when all the clubs came together, so that was a very positive experience from which I personally learned a lot. Killester Dojo has had a good history over the years for producing Senpais and Senseis and a lot of them are still training today and are involved in trying to further the cause of Kyokushin.
Killester now regularly holds the National Clicker Tournaments of which we have had our fair share of trophies. Over the years we have also enjoyed the company of Kyokushin students from literally the four corners of the globe. Some of them were just on holidays but most were working in Ireland for short or long periods of time.
I remember when I took over from Senpai Vincent, after months of taking classes every other week. I remember well the club was handed over to me with all of its students – all three of them! Diggs Lane was still going at the time so Killester was only training on Mondays. So we had a choice to make, fold the club up or make a fight of it for its survival. I am glad to say that with the help of my wife, Michelle, and one or two others from the organization we managed to turn it around and less than a year later we could boast numbers of 25-30 students. Yes I am proud we turned it around but more importantly it shows that if you are willing to
P a g e | 17 put in the work you can get the results. I don’t know for sure whether Killester would have folded had we not put the work into it, but I had too many memories of it to just leave it there and not try.
What I have discovered is that taking on a dojo is a great privilege, but you soon realize that there is more to it than you think. I realized that as the organization grew and we put on and entered more tournaments, we had to try and produce good fighters and kata performers for these competitions, but that what being an instructor is all about. The other side of the coin is that these competitions cost money to put on and to send teams away. That’s why we must all become fundraisers, we have to come up with ideas and ways to raise the funds, so that in the future all our dojos will benefit. “...What I have discovered is that taking on a dojo is a great privilege, but you soon realize that there is more to it than you think......” –Steve Quaille
eSpatial Solutions Ltd would Like to congratulate the IKK on their 30th Anniversary and wish continued success for the future.
Irish Karate Kyokushinkai 1978 - 2008
Finglas Dojo by Patrick English
The doors to Finglas were first opened in October of Dublin’s Millennium year, 1988 by Colm Daly and Shane Lalor, then an enthusiastic third kyu. The original location of Benevin College was soon to be changed as was the dojos instructor as 12 weeks later and as a now even more enthusiastic second kyu, the reigns of Finglas were handed over to Shane Lalor and the dojo moved to the Mother of Divine Grace school in 1989. It was here that the dojo would prosper and flourish with idealistic young boys and girls who would grow into yudansha, knockdown fighters, clicker fighters, referees, dojo instructors and eventually karateka.
With Shane Lalor at the helm, his somewhat uncharacteristic accent notwithstanding, Finglas dojo earned a reputation for dedication and commitment to hard training and high standards, two ideals that seen more than their fair share of students decide that the Kyokushin way was not for them. This has resulted in smaller class sizes but in the production of stronger more focused and spirited students who are regular features of squad training sessions,
tournaments and all manner of extracurricular activities. To date Finglas dojo has produced; 3 Shodans, 2 Nidans, 2 Sandans, and an incalcuble number of kyu grades.
Finglas students both past and present have represented their country at national and international level in knockdown and kata tournaments and produced fighters that have competed in the IFK world knockdown tournaments. With regards to tournaments Finglas dojo also holds the honour of having Irelands only unbeaten knockdown fighter – see if you can figure out who it is.
However, tournaments and competitions aside I think perhaps Finglas dojos greatest achievement is its continuing commitment to the spread of Kyokushin by producing a great many dojo instructors. To date, in Ireland, three dojos are being run by former and current Finglas students. The current Finglas dojo is run by Patrick English who has been a student in Finglas since starting Kyokushin back in 1989 and in charge since taking over from Shane Lalor in 1998, Swords dojo is run by the aforementioned Shane Lalor with another Finglas student, Jonathan Maher and finally Mullingar Dojo is run by Ken Fitzpatrick, and while Finglas dojo can’t take all the credit for Kens outstanding Kyokushin career, it was in the original Benevin College incarnation of Finglas Dojo that he took his first Zenkutsu Dachi steps. Shane Lalor was also responsible for the running of the now closed dojos in Howth and Baldoyle as well as the one in Wexford, later taken over by Patrick English, which closed after 2 years due to the rather difficult commute but did give us a Shodan student in Michelle Giltrap.
The commitment to expansion does not stop there as in 2009
P a g e | 18 two new dojos will be opened by Finglas students, one in Rathcoole by Martin English and the other in Dublin west to be run by Michelle Giltrap (probably the most cosmopolitan student having trained in Wexford, Galway, Finglas, Killester and Swords dojos).
Finglas dojo’s current home is the Griffith Area Community Centre on Griffith Road and has been since 2001. While this is the smallest dojo in area the enthusiasm and spirit that is produced there could fill an Olympic stadium. This is in no small part due to the influx of foreign nationals to our country and while some are total novices who bring only their eagerness to learn others come to train with experience and knowledge which they are only too willing to share in the form of previously unknown applications for techniques or indeed with the ever welcome reminder to keep your hands up that a well placed and controlled Jodan Mawashi always gives.
This September will herald a new venture for Finglas dojo as it will be running its first Beginners Course aimed solely at people who have never trained in Kyokushin before. This is both and exciting and nervous time as all ventures in to the unknown are but it is hoped that, by the IKKs 40th anniversary celebrations, these new students will become fighters, instructors, stalwart practitioners of Kyokushinkai, and like the rest of Finglas’ students, friends.
“...I think perhaps Finglas dojos greatest achievement is its continuing commitment to the spread of Kyokushin by producing a great many dojo instructors.......” –Patrick English
Irish Karate Kyokushinkai 1978 - 2008
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Letterfrack Karate Kyokushinkai
Swords Karate Kyokushinkai
Instructor Senpai Nigel Prendergast 1st Dan
Instructor Sensei Shane Lalor 4th Dan Sensei Jon Maher 3rd Dan
Tuesday 8.00pm - 9.00pm Seniors Friday 7.00pm - 8.00pm Juniors Friday 8.00pm - 9.00pm Seniors
Thursday Nights: 7.00 - 8.30
Ellis Hall, Letterfrack, Galway.
Phone: 086-8298518
Phone: 095 41611
Fingallians GAA Club, Swords, Co.Dublin
Email: shane@kyokushinireland.com
Email: nigelprender@eircom.net Web: http://swords.kyokushinireland.com
Killester Karate Kyokushinkai
Finglas Karate Kyokushinkai
Instructor Shihan Kevin Callan 5th Dan Sensei Shane Lalor 4th Dan Sensei Steve Quaille 3rd Dan
Instructor Sensei Patrick English 3rd Dan
Monday and Wednesday Juniors: 7.00 – 8.15 Seniors 7.00 – 9.15
Monday Juniors 7.30 – 9.00 Seniors 9.00 – 10.30
St.Brigids BNS, Howth Road, Killester, Dublin 3
Griffith Area Community Centre, Griffith Road, Glasnevin, Dublin 11.
Phone: 086-8298518
Phone: 086-1576710
Email: Shane@kyokushinireland.com
Email: Patrick.English@maild.hse.ie
Irish Karate Kyokushinkai 1978 - 2008
Summer Camp Pictures
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Irish Karate Kyokushinkai 1978 - 2008
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Irish Karate Kyokushinkai 1978 - 2008
Meaning of a Black Belt –by Liam Keaveney (Editor’s note: This article was first published in 1978 and won an award from Honbu in Japan and was reprinted in the BKKs Kyokushin Magazine issue 31 in 1989 and is reproduced here by kind permission of Shihan Liam. A new generation of Kyokushin Karateka are growing up in Ireland and I felt it that they should read this article as it as relevant today as it was 30 years ago)
A Black belt can have many values, Liam Keaveney gives his own views.
People begin their karate training for an assortment of reasons, ranging from "keeping fit" to being able "to defend oneself'. One "goal" in karate training, although not the immediate perhaps, is to obtain your Shodan (first dan - black belt). Why do people strive and battle for this symbolic reward? There are many arguments in the martial arts world which disagree with the traditional grading system. Why should a person submit themselves to such a system? Is it worth it, and in effect does it mean anything? These questions can be answered differently by every individual karateka. I offer here, some of the initial and obvious meanings of obtaining a
black belt in the Kyokushinkaikan.
Initially it is the "ultimate" symbolic reward for many years of persistent physical and spiritual development gained through hard training, whereupon a grasp and basic understanding of the techniques and basic principles of karate, will have been learnt and understood. Throughout this process of learning, a gradual strengthening of the body, spirit and positive mental attitude may perhaps be discovered. But to say that Shodan is the "ultimate reward" is, upon reflection, a falsehood both physically and spiritually. Since, upon gaining this grade, the threshold of a long and endless struggle of ambitions and achievement has been reached.
Indeed, it may not be until this point has been reached that the difficulty and actual depth of karate training may transpire. Since, in the formative years of training, the aim of Shodan was, perhaps considered the end of a long and difficult path and not its beginning. Each student can with hindsight see that the way and means of achievement is only in its infancy and the student must continuously bring something from deep inside him of herself into their daily training and must always expect to put more into training than will ever be taken out.
It is true to say that Shodan, to some degree, is an actual measurement of an individual's skills and proficiency to a required level; but it is by no means correct to assume that all the hard training has finished and everything will now become easier, as perhaps unfortunately one could easily assume. Those who seek Shodan for exhibitionism have failed to grasp the actual depth and meaning of Kyokushin karate. One must look beyond the colour of a belt to discover the
P a g e | 22
true meaning and significance of the grade. This critical examination of the newly acquired grade will give an actual meaning to the reward and it will be seen that Shodan will be the foundation upon which each individual's advancement both in karate and in life itself, can be built upon and will also be one step further in pursuing the "true meaning of the way". The karateka should be aware that the spirit of self perfection must always be kept in view and it must be this ambition of self perfection that will be the ending point of training.
One of Sosai Oyama's Kyokushin training mottos deals with introspection - the examination of one’s own thoughts and teachings - he states:
"In the martial arts. introspection begets wisdom. Always see contemplation on your actions as an opportunity to improve".
Through such training up to and beyond Shodan the aim of every student (Shodan or not) must be to unify knowledge and action by the means of self discipline and to arrive eventually at a level of understanding that would be unattainable by any other means. This, I feel, attempts in some way to outline briefly what the passing of Shodan grade means to me - it illustrates clearly the fact that one perhaps will never reach the peak of knowledge and perfection. However, the discovery and awareness of this fact must not detract a person from attempting to achieve total perfection. It will be seen that learning is accomplished by constant practice and training indeed making training part of one's daily life.
Irish Karate Kyokushinkai 1978 - 2008 Although Shodan, in the final analysis, carries greatest meaning to the individual it cannot be viewed totally in isolation, as other people will have been involved directly and indirectly in the student's daily karate training. Throughout the many years of preparation for Shodan each student's instructor. will have instilled: encouragement, teaching and given understanding of Kyokushin karate, all of which assists the individual's personal effort. I cannot but believe that upon each student passing the Shodan grading his /her Sensei will also feel rewarded, be it perhaps only in a sense of satisfaction and pride.
The students within the dojo will also be affected by the event whereby one of their fellow karateka has gained Shodan. Once again a sense of pride may be felt, but above all it is the element of encouragement given to each student and the example set, which will be stimulated into every kyu grade, as a result of this achievement.
Finally, if not stating the obvious, I believe that the Intemational Karate Organisation Kyokushinkaikan will be directly affected by each individual who passes their Dan grading. It is, by the individual effort of each person, who raises up the kyu grades to Dan
P a g e | 23 grade, that expands and strengthens even further our Organisation. Indeed, it is this reason (together with the teaching example set by Sosai Oyama, Shihans, Senseis and Senpais) which propagates the very existence of budo karate in the world today.
In conclusion and for the brief reasons I have stated: Shodan can therefore be seen as one step by which greater meaning is given to - "all our lives through the discipline of karate we will seek to fulfil the true meaning of the way".
J&J Maher congratulates the IKK on all your achievements. Congratulations on
Best wishes to the
thirty years of the
Enjoy your night of
Irish Karate
Irish Karate
celebration.
Kyokushinkai on this
Kyokushinkai from
historic milestone
everybody in the
Have a good time
from all the members
British Karate
tonight from Barking
of the International
Kyokushinkai.
Mouse.
Federation of Karate.
We look forward to
Best wishes for the
many more years
future to all in the
working together.
IKK.
Irish Karate Kyokushinkai 1978 - 2008
General Pictures
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Irish Karate Kyokushinkai 1978 - 2008
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Irish Karate Kyokushinkai 1978 - 2008
IKK 30th Anniversary - by Shane Lalor
To sum up the history of an organisation within the confines of a magazine such as this is practically an impossible task. By the time this article is printed I will have started it many times over and rejected many drafts and approaches. At best we can give momentary clarity to long forgotten training sessions and at worst merely a list of events and people of the past thirty years. I hope that what is presented here falls somewhere between these two poles.
time to travelling from County Cork where he lived to Dublin once a week to teach (this is a ten hour round trip). The decision was made for Kevin Callan to take over as a Brown belt as he had been with the IKK from the start. It is difficult enough to assist at teaching in an established dojo but to take over an entire organization at brown belt would be a daunting task. Undeterred Kevin persevered in the role of Chief Instructor and three decades later he is now Shihan Kevin with a successful organization behind him. Back in the early 1980s several Dan grades from the BKK came to Ireland for a tournament. Amongst these was (then) Sensei Liam Keaveney who is originally from Ireland. He began to make regular trips over taking gradings and courses. At this stage there were no Dan grades training in Ireland so to have a Sandan coming over was a big deal for us. Over time Sensei Liam became Shihan Liam and he took on the role of Life President of the IKK.
Dojos As in any other organization ours is a collection of dojos across the country. Each dojo has its own story and characters and it is these that make up the foundation of the IKK. Sadly some clubs have come and gone as have their instructors. But we have many good clubs from our oldest established club in the suburb of Killester in Dublin which has been running for almost twenty five years through to Mullingar which is rapidly approaching its tenth birthday in the centre of the country and our newest club in Swords in north County Dublin which was only set up in 2007. People The first dojo was opened by Gerry O’Sullivan back in 1978. After a few years Gerry’s situation changed and he was no longer able to devote his
The number of Dan grades is not necessarily the measure of an organization but looking back on the Dan grades roll of the last thirty years reveals that we have 29 Shodans, 11 Nidans, 5
P a g e | 26 Sandans, 2 Yondans, a Godan and a Rokudan.
Achievements The IKK is not and never has been a large organization but has had success on many levels nonetheless. In 1988 we sent a team to the Women’s European clicker tournament in Stuttgart, Germany. Despite perhaps not being as technical as some other countries our fighting spirit and work ethic was unmatched and we returned as European Champions beating far more established countries in the process. An annual clicker tournament is held at alternating venues around the country each year. Many of our older members will have fond memories of our summer camps from the 1990s. We regularly send fighters to knockdown tournaments in Britain and since 1992 we have only once returned from a tournament without a trophy and that’s a pretty good record. We have had fighters represent us in World Tournaments from our time with the IKO through to the IFK in both Knockdown and Kata Juniors As I already mentioned we hold and annual clicker tournament. This has served as good preparation for our Junior fighters for their international
Irish Karate Kyokushinkai 1978 - 2008 careers. In 2005 we were invited to participate in the Severn Challenge in England. Since then we have sent a team and individuals to the event in each of the following years. In 2006 we sent a team to the First Junior World Tournament in Switzerland. We took 3rd place in the girls’ individuals and 3rd place in the team event. This year we sent another team to the 2nd Junior World Tournament in Berlin. This time we took two 3rd places in the girls individuals and again took third place in the team event cementing our place in the top three of the Clicker world.
National tournaments with varying success.
We have had many BKK Dan grades take courses over here. Hanshi, Shihan Liam Keaveney, Shihan Roy Banton, Shihan Graham Warden, Shihan Jeff Whybrow, Shihan David Pickthal, Sensei Reg Winkworth, Sensei Andrew Turner have all visited us.
P a g e | 27 We are proud of our membership of the IFK and yet despite our size and financial limitations we have attended many international events in the last number of years including the Black belt courses in Switzerland as well as Junior and Senior tournaments in England, Wales, Switzerland, Belgium, Poland and Germany The Future In the short term future we will hold an event to celebrate our anniversary and follow this with entering fighters at the British open at K2 in October.
The IKK, the BKK and the IFK
And what about the longer term future? Hopefully we will continue to grow while maintaining the standards that have already been set in the last thirty years. We look forward to the World Kata Tournament in Switzerland in 2010 and any other events on the IFK calendar. Come what may we will face it as we have faced each event and obstacle of the past, with a fighting spirit for which the Irish are famous worldwide.
The IKK has always had a close relationship with the BKK over the course of our history. When the BKK resigned its membership of the IKO in 1991 there was no hesitation on our part. We left too and helped found the IFK in 1992. Due to our small membership we haven’t held many knockdown tournaments here so we have always travelled to Britain to compete in the Regional and
Congratulations to all in the IKK and best wishes on celebrating
Well done on 30
Heiton Buckley would
your 30th Anniversary
great years and
like to wish all the
from TLN Builders
wishing you all the
best to the IKK on 30
Providers.
best for the future.
years of Kyokushin Karate in Ireland.
Irish Karate Kyokushinkai 1978 - 2008
General Pictures
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Irish Karate Kyokushinkai 1978 - 2008
Summer Camps – by Shane Lalor The IKK held its first summer camp in 1986 and while they were not a regular feature on our calendar they did occur occasionally. They have become the stuff of legend.
First Camp The first camp was held in County Wicklow in 1986. The decision was made beforehand to use the word camp literally. This meant that all the participants would be sleeping in tents. Or at least that was the plan. As it turned out levels of rainfall that would not be bested for another 22 years fell that summer and alternate arrangements had to be made. But not before everyone had attempted to sleep in their tents and were washed out.
Indoor accommodation was found by the camp instructors (then) Sensei Liam Keaveney and (then 1st kyu) Kevin Callan. This meant sharing a large hall with a school group. Many stories have been told of this camp but all with good spirit despite the weather.
Lecanvey The sleepy village of Lecanvey was to become the home for the next few camps. This time we slept in the local parish hall. But this did not mean we were going to get it easy – no beds for us. Just a nice hard wooden floor to sleep on. Sensei Andrew Turner assisted Sensei Liam and Senpai Kevin on these camps and brought over many students of his own. To say these were hard camps would be a massive understatement and the food didn’t help. Not that we should complain as we cooked it ourselves. This quite often meant that last night’s left over Beef casserole became tonight’s Beef madras thanks to the magic of Curry powder.
People who went on these camps will remember the long runs to Bearta Tra beach, the magic of night training. Seasoned veterans drew energy from confused first timers wandering around bleary eyed and a little belligerent at one in the morning. It was here that the Irish version of the famed feather of the BKK camps was born. The “Bata” was a small stick selected by the instructors and given to an individual to hold onto for a training session or two. Should they lose it by means of trickery or deceit then a forfeit must be paid. Over the years the Bata was replaced by a small leprechaun doll but still called Bata. Many times the person with the Bata would lose it and not always by fair means. The shortest length of time anyway had it before losing it was 3 seconds – a record which still stands to this day. One particular forfeit ended in marriage!!!
P a g e | 29 steep hill. So we ran up and down it – a lot!!! We were also quite close to a local forest with a small waterfall so we trained there and did some waterfall training.
It was on this camp that I attempted unsuccessfully to do my 20 man kumite. For many people, not least myself, this was the highlight of the camp. Other highlights included the “Consider yourself” kata and the “Pterodactyl” kata both performed to perfection by Jez and Ian from Kokoro.
Westport We had one camp in Westport and as usual Shihan and Sensei found a hill for us to run up – a lot. By now the food was a lot better as we were having the camp catered. This enabled us to train harder and longer. But we still slept on the floor.
Letterfrack After a while the camp moved to Letterfrack where we even tried sleeping in beds once. Not that we got much sleep with Sean Dillon of Dunmow dojo running around shouting Good Morning Vietnam!!!
These were good hard camps with many memories. Mark Lynskey taking his shodan grading on a sweltering hot day, Several members of Westport dojo being led into a small weir for Seiza and one particular kicking session with Sensei Liam shouting “start again” every three minutes are just a few that spring to mind.
Tourmakeady In 1996 we held the camp in the small village of Tourmakeady. This camp was also attended by many members of Shihan Liams Kokoro dojo. The weather was glorious – even at 5.00am. Next door to the dojo was a field which Shihan Liam and Sensei Kevin took a liking too and procured its use form the owner for the course of the camp. But this was no ordinary field. It was a nice
Aftermath Once the camps were over we would all go our separate ways but most people had the same tales to tell in the days after the camp.
Many times people have told me of standing at bus stops in Fudo Dachi. The more common one was replying to everything said to you with a loud Osu!!! It is quite inevitable when you immerse yourself in something so much for such a condensed period of time.
One other unusual thing about summer camps is that no matter how hard it was the memory of that hardship dimmed rapidly and soon all talk would be of going back.
The Future The golden years of IKK summer camps were in the early 1990s. As we celebrate 30 years I like to think that another golden era is only around the corner. Together as an organization we can make that happen.
Irish Karate Kyokushinkai 1978 - 2008
Autographs
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Irish Karate Kyokushinkai 1978 - 2008
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IKK Yudansha List
Rokudan
Sandan
Shodan
Liam Keaveney
Stephen Stewart Steven Quaille James O’Malley Patrick English Jon Maher
James Cafferkey Alison Hourihan Richard Flynn Richard McCarney Mark Lynskey Sean McFadden Nigel Prendergast Jack Lydon Tom Kilcoyne John Hegarty Ger Coyne Donal McPartlin Ian Farrell Mark Ridgeway David King Sam McGarry Michelle Giltrap Alan McCoy Jane Charman Steve Kitchener Mila Van Dulmen Dimma Van Dulmen Gerard English Aidan Keogh Anthony Walsh Matthew Lawless Liam Cosgrave Dermot Gannon Shane McDermott
Godan Kevin Callan
Yondan Ken Fitzpatrick Shane Lalor
Nidan Lorraine Callan Vincent Callan John Brawn Ger Dawson Jason Fox Wayne Staunton Barry Cosgrave Chris Walsh Shane Mulhall Maria Moran Alan Martin
Irish Karate Kyokushinkai 1978 - 2008
www.kyokushinireland.com
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