HARTLEPOOL WADOKAI 2009 News

North East Karate Championships, Sunderland

2009-11-15T11:40:00.001-08:00

Amy was flying the flag for the club at the North East Karate Championships, held at the Crowtree Leisure Centre in Sunderland.

Amy ended up taking 3rd place in Kata with some fantastic performances that had some of the officials commenting on how good her Kushanku was!

She also got 3rd place in Ladies Kumite (-65kg), though she was disappointed with this result...

Well done Amy, your now matching Carl on the number of medals you've won!

Sakagami Sensei, Training & Grading Course

2009-11-15T11:23:00.000-08:00

Sunday 15th November,

Hartlepool Wadokai were invited to the Hartlepool Kihon-Do Karate Club at Manor College of Technology for a Training and Grading course with Sensei Sakagami. We pre-tested our Purple belt juniors on Wed 11th, to see who was ready to grade. All the students we selected passed with flying colours and were fantastic ambassadors to our club - well done! Sensei Michael & Carl along with an injured Sensei Lynne (who couldn't train) were there to support the students.

The juniors posing with Sakagami Sensei

The following students were successful with their belt tests:

Vince Dawkins - 2nd Kyu
Beth Gray - 2nd Kyu
Jasmin Langley - 3rd Kyu
Luke Dawkins - 3rd Kyu
Joel Copeman - 3rd Kyu
Daniel White - 3rd Kyu
Connor Dougherty - 3rd Kyu
Charlotte Welsh - 3rd Kyu

A special mention to the following students who also trained with Sensei, but didn't attempt a belt test:

Connor Butterfield,
Kate McCaffery
Andrew Fleet
Keith Windross
Graham Field

Well done once again to all students who graded, you all really deserved your passes! Now the real hard work starts, now that you're brown belts!!!

Wadokai European Championships

2009-11-14T09:22:00.001-08:00

Carl & Amy were part of the 37 strong Wadokai England Squad that flew over to Dublin Ireland for the Wadokai European Karate Championships. Sensei Lynne also flew over for the trip in a coaching (and much needed physio) capacity. The event was held at the ALSAA sports centre at Dublin Airport on Saturday 24th October.

The England squad ended up bringing home 36 medals, including 5 medals from Carl and Amy.

Carl:

Senior Team Kata - GOLD

Amy:

Senior Female Kata - BRONZE

Senior Female Kumite -55kg - SILVER

Senior Team Kata - SILVER

Senior Team Kumite - SILVER

A more comprehensive report of the competition can be read in the latest Aiwakai newsletter, visit www.aiwakaikarate.co.uk.

2009-11-07T10:27:00.000-08:00

This is an update of the preparations for the 6th Hartlepool Wadokai Cup, I can guarantee it's going to be bigger and better than ever!

Progress:

We've ordered the Medals and Trophies from JC Trophies, to the tune of £2178.93.
We've invited the Hartlepool MP, Mr Iain Wright to the competition view the invite letter here
Mr Iain Wright, the MP for Hartlepool has kindly accepted our invite to attend our competition and award the medals.
We have invited Sensei Mick Ryde & Sensei Sue Ryde from Ripley Aiwakai Karate Club to help with the competition.
Sensei Mick Ryde has agreed to be the Chief Referee for the competition.
Sensei Nicole Wardell from Kobukan Darlington Karate Club has also agreed to help officiate at the competition.
Entry forms are now available and can be downloaded HERE
We've purchased another Electronic scoreboard so that we can run TWO Kumite areas.

Way to Excellence, Leeds

2009-10-29T07:51:00.000-07:00

27th September, Leeds

Sensei' Lynne, Michael, Carl and Amy attended the the Way to Excellence course hosted by Leeds Wadokai. Our SatNav decided to announce 'you've reached your destination' whilst we were in heavy traffic under a bridge. We eventually found the venue with time to spare and it was great to catch up with so many old friends before the session started.

Once we got through Keith Walker Sensei' gruelling warm up, we moved onto basics and combination work before working on Pinan Kata. After this the kyu grades were split from the Dan grades, we were put through Seishan kata by Sakagami Sensei. Then we moved onto Kihon Kumite and Tanto Dori (Knife Defence) and I particularly enjoyed discussing the subtle differences between what I learned in Japan (Shiramizu) and Sakagami' Sensei approach, and the reason's for both.

We all thought we were finished but Keith Walker was given the reigns again, and he had us all shadow sparring for ages! This was tough at the end of a 4 hour training session but they weren't finished yet. We lined up for what we thought would be the final bow, but Sakagami Sensei asked Peter May Sensei to put us through some final basics.

All in all, it was a really tough session, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Carl

Sensei Peter May Training & Grading Course

2009-10-29T07:04:00.000-07:00

Sunday 20th September, Belle Vue Sports Centre

Once again, we invited Sensei Peter May up to the club for another great training and grading session. As usual, Sensei asked us what we wanted him to work on, and this time around we asked him to be really tough on everyone. Especially since our students have forgotton how to stay in their stances. In fact, if you look at the pic above, you'll see one student in the front row that has a very dodgy stance (don't worry, we made sure Sam got press-ups!)... The juniors were also given Kata tips for the upcoming Aiwakai Invitational Wado Kata Championships. Once again Kobukan Darlington sent their cadets - thanks for your support guys!

Check out the pose...!

Despite Sensei being extra tough on them, they all still had a great time and the coaches have got tons of stuff to work on for the Aiwakai Kata competition.

Next up was a kyu grading, the nerves were clearly showing with some of the juniors but they managed to battle through to get their next belt.

The Seniors were up next, and we had a great turnout with support from Sensei Rob Jewitt's Satori Wado-Ryu Club, and Sensei Mick Stainsby's Kihon-Do Karate Club. Because the class had a mix of grades from red belt right through to Senior Dan Grades, Sensei Peter May worked his magic to make sure everyone got something out of the session.

Thanks again to Sensei for another great course! The next Sensei Peter May Course will be December 19th...

English Karate Federation (EKF) Squad Training

2009-10-29T06:34:00.000-07:00

Sunday 13th September, Ripon

Still recovering from the gruelling Sensei Keith Walker Kumite course, Carl and Amy attended their first EKF Squad Training session which was led by the legendary Sensei Wayne Otto and his great coaching team.

After a tough warm up, the 'A' squad split from the rest and everyone was put through some really good fight drills and exercises. The coaches were very laid back, and with good humour got everyone fired up and giving their best.

It was a thoroughly enjoyable session, I can't wait until the next one!

Sensei Keith Walker Kumite Seminar

2009-10-29T06:02:00.000-07:00

Saturday 12th September, at the Belle Vue Sports Centre

This was the first time that we'd invited Keith Walker Sensei up to run a course for us and he certainly didn't disappoint. Sensei started by putting the juniors through their paces with some great drills and exercises that ensured everyone worked hard, but had a great time with it! Sensei also made it his mission to fight every student, and in true Keith Walker style, ensure he kicked each of them round the head or dropped them to the floor - at least once!

Ka-me-ha-me-ha!!!!!!!

After the Juniors session, it was the turn of the seniors. Once again, they worked through some great drills and exercises. This time spending more time on the finer details and tactics of Kumite. Once again, Sensei finished off by trying to kick all the students round the head or drop them...

Special thanks to Kobukan Darlington Karate Club for their support.

Keep checking the website and newsletter for details of the next course with Sensei Keith Walker.

Check the gallery for all the pics of the course...

British Karate Championships, Edinburgh

2009-10-29T05:40:00.000-07:00

Sensei Carl and Amy attended the British Karate Championships in Edinburgh on 5th & 6th September.

This was only the second competition they had entered since coming back from Japan, and they'd never competed in this event before. Both were keen to get some mat-time and see what they need to work on before the Wadokai Europeans.

Unfortunately, neither Carl nor Amy managed to medal but i'm sure they'll keep at it!

Update

2009-10-28T13:38:00.000-07:00

Photo Uploads
The photos from the following events gave now been uploaded to the gallery:

Lee Minion Course - 17.10.09
Peter May Course - 20.09.09
Keith Walker Course - 12.09.09

Club Investment
Also, we have continued our investment into the club coaches and volunteers by booking and paying for the following courses, to the value of £210.00:

Tuesday December 8th 2009, 6-9pm - Sport Coach UK, Child Protection - Erin, Diane, Carl, Amy

Thursday 4th February 2010, 6-9pm - Sport Coach UK, Equity in your Coaching - Carl, Amy, Lynne, Michael (Possibly Vince)

Tuesday 9th March 2010, 6-9pm - Sport Coach UK, Working with disabled performers - Lynne, Carl

6th Hartlepool Wadokai Cup
Finally, we've set up a special web page on the site just so that you can keep abreast of the latest developments regarding the club competition.

We've sent off the cheque to JC Trophies for tons of medals...
We've also invited the Hartlepool MP, Mr Iain Wright to attend the comp and award the medals/trophies...

the club comp is on Sunday December 6th.

Hartlepool Mail Article - Japan Trip

2009-10-20T10:28:00.001-07:00

Hi all,

In case you read with your eyes closed OR you don't read the Hartlepool Mail, I'd like to direct your attention to the following article...

Mail Article

As always with the media, some of the facts have been lost and replaced so I'd like to clarify. Sensei Lynne Jorgeson is the Chief Instructor for Hartlepool Wadokai, I am simply the first Professional Karate Instructor for the club. Also, Amy got her 1st dan in Englan before flying out to Japan and I got my 2nd Dan in Japan... I think that's it.

I hope you enjoy laughing at our horrible pics... :-)

Carl
Reporting from Dublin, Ireland

Corporate Karate

2009-10-16T03:26:00.000-07:00

‘I have a strange favour to ask you’ was the way a telephone conversation started between Carl Jorgeson, Development Officer for Hartlepool Wadokai Karate Club and Andrew Drummond, the training Manager for Hartlepool based Garlands Call Centre.

Andrew asked Carl to visit Garlands and help in their management training program but the brief given was a little unusual. ‘We want you to pretend to be like the bad guy Sensei from the Karate Kid movie’. The session didn’t last more than 30 minutes, but it was a great way to build links between Karate and one of the biggest Private Employers in the North East.

The press release covers the outline of the training program.

Press Release

Call Centre managers learn black belt leadership

Tees Valley and South Tyneside, UK, 18th September 2009. Outsourced customer contact specialists Garlands Call Centres have called on the services of local karate association Hartlepool Wadokai to inspire its managers to lead by example.

It’s all part of an intensive leadership and cultural change program called ‘Soul Train’ that’s designed to set new performance benchmarks to raise quality and set Garlands apart from its competitors. Since the program was introduced in August, 30 Directors, Managers, Coaches and Trainers have been through the training - that’s designed not just to instill a powerful winning mindset but also to deliver easy-to-use tools and techniques to improve management and coaching skills, and enhance communication skills. The Soul Train programme was designed by Results International PLC and developed to meet Garlands’ needs.

A key element of the program is an exercise called 'Karate Levers', and it was the idea of Garlands training manager Andrew Drummond and Results International Business Coach Dave Evans to invite Carl Jorgeson, a karate master from the Hartlepool Wadokai, to Garlands last Friday to judge the group's progress and give a practical demonstration of the principles being taught.

“You can imagine the look on people’s faces when an actual black-belt turned up to put our group through its paces”” said Andrew Drummond. “We wanted people to demonstrate the techniques they’d learnt in a real live situation and we gave Carl a brief to exhibit some of the behaviours of the karate instructor from the 80s movie Karate Kid! It was hugely entertaining – but with a hard business message as well. It was all about visualising success, and about the importance of speed, working to goals, and aiming beyond immediate targets.”

“The principles of good leadership are very similar to those taught in karate” explains Carl Jorgeson. “To complete a business task successfully you need to visualise success and have goals beyond what you’re trying to do – just like you do when undertaking a move, such as throwing a punch, in karate. There’s a difference between a strong punch and an effective punch, like in business, there’s a difference between getting a job done and getting it done right.”

“We’ve been delighted by the impact the Soul Train program had had on inspiring our managers to be better leaders” says Steve Norman, Business Development Director at Garlands. “We are confident that this learning will now be communicated and coached throughout the organisation to improve the results we achieve for all our clients.”

This article has since featured in the Hartlepool Mail...

EGM

2009-10-16T02:48:00.000-07:00

Hi All,

A quick update... the EGM was held last week with a reasonable attendance.

The key changes are:

Vince Dawkins remaining as the club Chairman until the AGM
Amy Coulson stepping down as Treasurer, and taking up the Squad Manager Post
Carl Jorgeson temporarily taking over the Treasurer role (until the AGM)
Vicky Dawkins stepping down as Gen Sec
Julie Salmons taking on the new Volunteer Co-ordinator role

We would like to thank all outgoing committee personnel for their commitment and dedication for the club.

The minutes for the full meeting are available for download here

Also, all of our up to date policies can now be purchased online in a published book format. Please visit: Lulu.com

EGM Date confirmed

2009-09-24T02:46:00.001-07:00

For the attention of the Exec Committee...

The long awaited EGM has been confirmed for Wednesday 7th October, 7pm-9pm at Owton Manor Primary School.

The 'High Performance' Class will not be running on this date, no other classes are affected.

If anyone has items for the agenda then please send them to me asap.

I hope to see all the committee there...

Carl

45th JKF-Wadokai All-Japan National Championships

2009-08-26T04:03:00.000-07:00

15th & 16th August, 2009

As you are all aware, I recently returned back to Japan to have another attempt at the All-Japan Wadokai Nationals. I was feeling pretty optimistic as I placed in the 'best 16' in my Kumite division at last year's event.

{If you only want to read about the competition, you'll have to scroll down a bit}

Day 1

I arrived in Japan at approximately 3.30pm on Tuesday 11th, after about 25/30 hours travelling. It took an age to get outside the airport. The new security measures in place are tiresome and the Swine Flu preventative measures are really intrusive... The latter consisted of a pretty little Japanese girl with the customary white face mask on and rubber gloves. She randomly picks out people from the queue and asks 'are you ill? no. Ok then, off you go', I wasn't asked.

I managed to hump my monster backpack and myself to the train line, and after buying a ticket for the wrong line, got a refund and caught the correct train. After a few transfers, I finally got to Wado station (near Sugito City) for about 6.30pm.

Louise, in all her madness...

Louise Fisk, my replacement in the Shiramizu Dojo Intern program, and my newly adopted Karate Sister, was sat waiting for me at the train station. After laughing at the size of my backpack, she kindly took some of my luggage and we headed off to the Yoga Dojo in Sugito City, were I would be staying for 9 days.

The Yoga Dojo

The surprising thing was, well, me! Sakayuri Sensei who is a yoga master, wasn't expecting me until the Wednesday. There seems to have been a mix up with the days, probably because of the huge time difference between Japan/UK. It really wasn't a problem though, the Yoga dojo is on a huge plot of land, and they've built lots of additional buildings in the grounds. I was staying in half of a beautiful log cabin, surrounded by woodland.

I managed to grab a quick japan style shower/bath combo, then dug out one of my carefully folded yet now completely creased karate suits and walked the 10 minute walk to the dojo. In true form, the weather was still really hot and humid, and I was starting to look a little more hideous than normal by the time I got to the Shiramizu Dojo. I was greeted with huge smiles and looks of surprise. Arakawa Sensei was shocked to see me (a day early), and he apologised with his trademark smile for getting the days mixed up. I humbly replied in my very limited Japanese something along the lines of 'it's ok, don't worry about it, nice to see you again'. The time was pushing on 8pm so I quickly got changed... and lined up at the back of the dojo for the bow in.

Animal Instinct...

The training was good, just like I remembered. We started with some on the spot stuff which immediately burned out my thighs. Then onto basics and kata. During the break, I caught up with my Shiramizu friends and even managed to get cuddles off my ladies. After the break we had a short time to 'self-practise' kata so I set to work trying to make my Kushanku (the first round kata in the competition) at least passable.

Part way through the kata practise, Arakawa Sensei asked me to put my kumite mitts on. I had absolutely no doubt about who I would be fighting, and sure enough, stood waiting for me was Rikuto. Rikuto is good, he's a high school student (14 or 15 years old) and is really fast and sharp. The thing that makes him a great and successful fighter though, is his irregular timing. For a Japanese fighter, I would say he was unique. He can suck you in to his distance, and then you get smoked. Being tired and jet lagged isn't the best time to fight the guy who has what Arakawa Sensei calls 'animal instinct'.

I managed to hold my own in the drills and Rikuto was quite respectful, meaning that my vision wasn't blurry and all my limbs and digits were still intact at the end of the session. I must have done ok, because Arakawa Sensei invited me to visit the Hanasaki Tokuharu High School with him and his boys high school team on the Wednesday morning.

During the final etiquette, Arakawa Sensei decided to re-introduce me to everyone, even though I'd only been absent for 40 days! I was also invited to the front of the class to give a short speech in japanese about why I was back etc... I tried to 'wing it', saying something like 'it's great to see you all again, let's all do our best in the competition'. i then ran to the back of the class as fast as I could. The speech really wasn't very good, but I think I dazzled them with my winning smile, I suppose this time around I can blame the jetlag!

After the training, I walked home with Louise and Erica (the two new interns) and stopped at their place for some well deserved Ice Cream. Then I went back to my place to start unpacking.

Day 2

After quite a good sleep, I woke up at 05:30, got showered… checked how much I’d been eaten by mosquitoes in the night (3 puncture wounds - nice!) Got dressed and headed for breakfast.

It was delicious, pasta bolognaise, and cooked vegetables of various types. Cold Tea, Apple Juice, Bagels and coffee. All the food had been home-grown in the Yoga dojo grounds and homemade too.

I headed to the Dojo via the local seven-eleven to get some snacks. At the dojo I beat up some of the kids (or rather, got beat up) whilst waiting for everyone else to turn up. Yoshihara & Yamazaki sensei’ were running a special morning class for the Juniors, as part of the Shiramizu Dojo build up to the Nationals. There were maybe 30 kids turned up.

I, on the other hand, was going to be visiting Hanasaki Tokuharu High School with three of the cadet boys. We rode with Kikuchi Sensei, and got there for about 8:45. We said our hello’s, got changed and one of the sempai’s started the warm up… The training was to run from 9am until 12noon, and it was broken into three distinct sections.

The first hour was mostly taken up by the warm up, stretching etc… The second hour was taken up with basics, including tons of Junzuki, Gyakuzuki, and Maegeri. The maegeri in particular really made my legs ache with pain, and it really became a mental training session rather than physical. The third hour was taken up with specific kumite training, partner’s drills, team drills, pad work etc… We finished off with some ‘free style’ drills… and shadow boxing.

Afterwards, we bowed out and I was chatting with Arakawa, Kikuchi and the High School Karate Coach about his students wanting to go to England for a ‘homestay’ program. I immediately offered my dojo' services and my parents home for accommodation.

After doing my laundry and grabbing some food, I hobbled to the local Internet Cafe which is a 4 minute train ride away. I managed to get back to the girls apartment just in time to see them drive off with Setsuko, one of our Japanese friends. I hobbled after them as best I could, I was still aching from training. I caught up to them at the Yoga dojo. We headed to a local restaurant for a bite to eat, and then off to a local, though very busy Karaoke bar, all to celebrate Erica' (Canada JKF-Wadokai) birthday.

Erica (left), Setsuko (right)

With the Nationals at the weekend, I wasn't going to be drinking. I knew it would make the karaoke that bit more interesting. For my attempt, I picked a Beatle's number and just belted it out on stage, lots of energy accompanied by some really bad singing. My audience loved it.

Louise in action...

Day 3

The next day I had an early start and was at the dojo before 7am working on my Kushanku. After an hour or so, Louise turned up to rip apart my performance. After training for a few more hours, we went with Arakawa sensei, his wife Keiko and their two sons, Yusuke and Masatoshi to lunch at a local family restaurant. We all had a great chat, the food was delicious and we finished it off with a selection of cake, what more can you ask for? When we were leaving, I tried to intercept Keiko picking up the receipt from the table and failed, then failed again in bartering with Arakawa Sensei for him to let me pay my share of the bill. The plan for the afternoon was to have a couple of hours sleep then head to the dojo for self training. In reality, the couple of hours turned into 4, which meant it was too late to head to the dojo. I popped round the girls' apartment for Ice Cream instead.

Day 4

On the Friday morning, I was woken at 2am by a very large bang. At first I thought something or someone had hit the cabin windows. It was only when I got out of bed at 5am that I realised it was a party balloon that had burst in the night. A reminder of Erica's Karaoke bash...

After breakfast I headed to the dojo with Louise, this time after getting my kata thoroughly ripped again, we worked on Kumite Kata drills. The Shiramizu dojo doesn't practise these so we were both a little rusty. We spent quite a long time on these, working the differences in thought, approach and application into these exercises. The English and New Zealand drills are very different in places, though very similar in places too. It was interesting to see how external influences had affected the approach to these drills. Toby Threadgill Sensei, a Jujitsu master based in the US has heavily influenced Robbie Smith's New Zealand Wado whilst Yanagawa Sensei, a Budo Karate master has influenced England's Sakagami Sensei.

Carl (left) and Yusuke Arakawa (right), Arakawa Sensei's oldest son

On the afternoon, Louise and I accompanied Arakawa Sensei and his family to a huge retail park near Kuki City. The place was pretty cool, really trendy and well designed with some cool features such as multiple Ice Cream parlours and a huge area devoted to racing remote control cars. We spent a couple of hours window shopping and watching the racing, then we met up with the Arakawa's for ice cream. We then headed home and had to hump it to get to the dojo on time for the class.

At the Friday night class, the students were packed wall to wall as this was the final class before the 45th JKF-Wadokai All-Japan Nationals. The session was pretty standard, except the kumite training. Again I was matched with Rikuto but as it was the day before the nationals, we were both on good form. I would diplomatically say that we were very well matched, and we each scored some cheeky shots. I also fought a few other people and did well.

After the training, everyone collected a paper cup and wrote down their 'oaths' for tomorrows competition. We then all filled the cup with our favourite drink, then the Shiramizu Captains, Yuki and Chihiro said a few inspirational words and then we all drank. We all then made a huge circle, arms over each others shoulders and then stamped our feet and shouted something in Japanese (sorry i wasn't sharp enough to hear what) then we all disbanded feeling ready to face the world - it's a really simple but effective team build.

Once the class was over, Team Gaijin (Carl, Erica, Louise) escaped and headed to the Intern apartment to do some sowing. Yes, you read that correctly. The competition is huge, perhaps 2000+ competitors, so to ensure that everyone is where they should be, you have allocated numbers that you have to display on your back and then show these numbers before you fight. This effective system minimises a lot of mistakes that could otherwise happen.

As it turned out, the girls only had two sets of needle and thread so I decided to to simply tape my numbers onto my karate suit. This was to have repercussions at the competition.

The big day - the 45th JKF-Wadokai All-Japan National Championships

Sakayuri Sensei had arranged for Team Gaijin to have a mega breakfast feast early on the morning. The food was simply delicious and it gave us the boost we needed to be at the meeting point (Shirayuri Kindergarten) for 6.20am to ride the Coach with the Shiramizu Team all the way to Chiba prefecture. Day 1 of the competition was taking place at Urayasu Park Gymnasium near Tokyo Disney Land.

We made really good time with the coach, which meant that we had to wait for nearly an hour outside the venue until they opened up. It would have been fine but it was already becoming a very hot day. The doors were eventually opened at about 9am.

Being a veteran of this event now, I headed straight to the changing rooms to get my suit on, dropped off my bag at the annexed Shiramizu seating area. As expected, the venue was already filling up and the eager Shiramizu team had already secured a spot close to the middle of the hall. I headed down into the main hall for the team warm up which was led by Yuki, one of the Shiramizu Team Captains.

The warm up was pretty standard, basics, simple combination drills and light stretching, all of this accompanied by kiai's, lots and lots of kiai's... as with all competitions, these team warm ups are an exercise in who's got the biggest.... kiai/team etc etc... in reality, it is actually a great way to get the younger competitors involved and fired up, ready to go.

Kumite

The senior ladies were up first, so I secured a good spot by the side of the mat so I could coach Louise. Louise took third place in the Wado World Cup in 2005 (Japan) and she'd never competed in Kumite as a senior. She moved well, and held her own though her opponents experience won out and Louise ended up losing the match with a very close 4-3 score.

My kumite division was quite large, about 75 entries which was about the same as last year's event. I was feeling in good shape, I signed in when called, we all bowed in and then I drifted to the side of the hall with my IPod playing my 'fight music mix'.

I was on the line ready before the referee called us up and I bowed my head to my opponent with was respectfully returned. The referee eventually called us up with more than a little drama as I didn't have my competitor number attached to my back, the tape I had used had proved inadequate and it had fallen off during the warm up. Louise showed my number from the side lines but the Tatami chief (Area head referee) didn't seem to be pleased. He told me in broken English that it should be attached to my back, I tried to explain that it was attached but had simply fallen off. Looking around the hall at this point, I couldn't help but notice more than one competitor in action without a competitor number on their backs, none of them seemed to be having the same trouble.

Carl (blue) in action

The match was started and I quickly took the lead with two well placed lead hand punches. It wasn't all going to go my own way though as my opponent eventually equalised, and then took another. The score was now sitting at 3-2 with the time ticking away. I launched my attack, leading with my hands as feints followed by a perfectly timed lead-leg roundhouse kick to the head which wasn't even acknowledged by any of the officials. In the ruckus, my opponent somehow managed to get a body punch scored. I came back again, this time with my trademark hook kick which even if I do say so myself, landed perfectly across the back of the head. Once again, not one official acknowledged the kick. I chased the fight right to the buzzer, managing to get one more point but in the end it wasn't enough, I'd been closed out in the first round with a 4-3 score line.

Now, it's easy to feel bitterness at this point. I'd flown thousands of miles only to be shut out in round 1, not exactly the result I was going for, and my ego was definitely bruised. Though when I stepped off the mat I'd felt as though I'd done everything I could have. It was only when I was going over the fight afterwards in my head that I'd fully appreciated how the fight went. As always, you think about what you would do differently, how your defence would be stronger, your body movement faster, your scoring techniques more obvious.

In the end though, it all comes to the same thing. We've all chosen to participate in a sport were no matter what our preference, be it Kata or Kumite, it comes down to human opinion as to who is best in a match. The problem with that is that even the most impartial judge/referee has bias, whether they realise it or not. You can have the best technique and timing, be the fastest and strongest, have the best ring craft and tactics and still lose. If you look at football, 99% of the time, a goal scored is a goal scored, 100,000 people in the crowd can immediately see that a player has just scored a goal, this will be followed by girly screams of joy from one side, and girly crying from the other. Karate is just not like that, it's not that clear.

So, what do we do about this? Complain? Quit? Argue for a change in the rules? Better training for referees? No.

What we do now is no big secret. We practise more. We do more training, get more coaching and try harder. If we as competitors aren't good enough to leave no doubt in anyone's mind in a match, then we need to do more. Simple really.

Kata
The first round Kata for all senior divisions was going to be Kushanku. If I'm honest, I'd say all my other Kata's are better so it certainly wouldn't have been my first choice. You can't complain about how the cards are dealt.

Motivated by my embarrassing performance in Kumite. I spent the next 3 or 4 hours beating my Kushanku into submission in a random corridor of the sports centre. I got quite a lot of attention from random Japanese people whilst I was practising. In fact, people would just stop walking in the corridor and watch me practise. I figured that this could be taken one of two ways, one: 'awwww bless, the white boy's playing at Karate.... awwww bless' or two: 'hey look, the white boy can actually do Karate!'. I'm not entirely sure which was the common opinion but it didn't stop me training.

Nearing exhaustion, i made my way up to the Kata competition area on the second floor. I watched in frustration as Louise performed a very good Kata, only to see the officials blatantly bodge it. The area had 5 flag officials. After both competitors had finished the kata, they returned to the line and the referee put his whistle to his mouth. WHISTLE!, four officials raise their flags immediately, two red and two blue. The fifth official took his sweet time, looked around at what his fellows had done, looked at the competitors, in my opinion panicked as he realised he'd been day dreaming and then threw up the first colour to come to mind. Red. Louise didn't go through. It was so blatant that as the two competitors bowed to each other the head official asked the spanner official if he was certain about his choice. The guy looked again and insisted that he had. To me, as a biased spectator it looked like he wasn't paying attention during the performances, then panicked and subconsciously (?) chose the Japanese competitor on instinct. Then, once the decision was made, he couldn't go back on it because he would look like a complete fool.

At this point I'd just like to point out to the readers that I do in fact deeply respect the work that officials do at competitions, without them we simply wouldn't have competitive Karate. I do however have very strong opinions on spanner referee's being permitted to judge high level events when they simply don't have the experience to do so adequately. It's not fair on the competitor's who will often have spent months physically and mentally preparing for the event, only to have it botched by someone not knowing what they're doing. It cheapens the whole sport.

Ok, now it was my turn. It was almost 50 weeks to the day since I'd first competed in a Kata competition. My debut was in fact this same competition the previous year and I'd only ever competed in Kata competitions in Japan. My only goal was to perform without being nervous. At last year's event, I'm not ashamed to say that I was so nervous that my hands were shaking during my Kata and I got through Chinto in about ten seconds flat!

This year, I was ready. I felt prepared. My kata was as good as it was going to get. When called up, I bowed to my opponent and confidently announced my Kata KUSHANKU! We started on the referee' whistle. I actually have my kata on video and i've already watched it hundreds of times, analysing every move. I was very sharp and fast. The thing that lost me the match was (for those who know the kata!) the part after the turn were you raise your right knee for a kick, and bring both hands together before dropping to the floor with your right leg forward and both hands on the floor in front of you. After completing the turn, I managed to botch the recovery and wobble into cat stance. At this point I knew that I'd blown it and my composure faltered enough that I managed to kiai at the wrong point in a subsequent combination and scowl at myself in the process. I finished the kata knowing that the result would be a 5-0 loss.

I really can't say I was disappointed with my performance. There is no excuse for losing balance in Kata but I've managed to improve my Kata one thousand percent whilst training in Japan. More practise needed...

Part TWO of this mini adventure will be with you shortly... including climbing mount Fuji and catching the sun rise over Japan's tallest mountain!

Committee Changes

2009-08-26T03:56:00.000-07:00

On Friday 7th August 2009, Debbie Muldown stepped down as Chairman for Hartlepool Wadokai.

On behalf of everyone at the club, I'd like to thank Debbie for many years of hard work on behalf of the club and its membership, and we wish her well for the future.

We are holding an EGM in September to discuss the new direction for the club, at this meeting we will vote for a new chairman. Until that time, Vince Dawkins (Vice Chairman) will step up into the Chairman role. All nominations for Chairman need to be submitted in writing before September 6th.

Japan - Returneth

2009-08-09T11:05:00.001-07:00

Yes yes... as I've already posted. I'm returning to Japan tomorrow... All i've got to do is fit all the stuff in the photo into my backpack and i'm ready to go.

As you can see, I've got all the essentials including:

5 Karate suits...
4 karate belts
3 backpacks - various sizes
2 walking sticks
1 really cool head torch
karate safety gear
first aid kit
sleeping bag
Bisto Gravy
Chocolate
PG Tips T bags
Lynx deoderant and Shower Gel

and of course... my laptop and IPod!

AND, you may ask yourself WHY I would want to return to Japan when I've only been back in the UK for five and a half weeks. No, It's not the wallet-crunching recession, or the mild weather, or the weird food...

...it's the family!

Now, that MAY seem harsh but let's consider that for a moment. The folks have had me working hard in their big old house over the last few weeks doing this...

making this small window-hole into a massive 8ft deep x 8ft long x 5ft wide hole that we've surrounded with a solid brick wall and staircase...

If that wasn't enough, we also found Human Bones whilst digging. Soooo, we had to notify the police, and in true form, they turned up en-masse... about 15 coppers in total! After a few hours of halted play, a university professor turned up to examine the bones. He decided that they were ancient and that we weren't in fact serial killers, so the Police left and we had to notifty the local archeologists.

Thus began a day-long archeological dig. It turns out that we uncovered parts of three people, very likely nuns from about 640AD - similar to the one that Channel 4's Time Team uncovered in the front garden in 2000.

In other news, Amy has had us moving back into our own house after 18 months away from it. So we've, Ok, Amy's been really busy cleaning and unpacking and generally making the house look pretty. So in between trips to Ikea, removing a strange accumulation of 28 inch CRT TV's, and re-setting up our home-dojo, I've been doing my best to resist Amy's insistence that we do actually have to go home eventually.

Amy, busy building an Ikea light, whilst I drink tea and criticise...

Congratulations - 25 years, not out

2009-08-09T10:48:00.000-07:00

Cutting of the neck... I mean, cake!!!

Yesterday, a lot of the Hartlepool Wadokai seniors descended upon Hartlepool Divers Club for the 25th anniversary of two of our Executive Committee. Those being Mrs Diane Wilmot, who is one half of our Club Welfare Officer, and Mr Steven Wilmot, otherwise known as 'The Godfather', a man of many talents who not only designed our great club badge, but is also the club press officer, editor of our newsletter AND webmaster of the specially designed 'kids section' of the club website.

The party was a great success, with a great crowd (courtesy of the family), great food (courtesy of Trio Catering) and great music (courtesy of Alan Turner aka Taffy! http://www.taffysdiscotech.co.uk/).

Congratulations on surviving 25 years of marraige from everyone at Hartlepool Wadokai.

Japan - The Return...

2009-08-06T12:39:00.001-07:00

This is Sensei Carl with Masatoshi Arakawa,

the youngest son of Takamasa Arakawa Sensei.

It may just be a coincidence, but Carl had to leave the country

shortly after this picture was taken... :-)

Yes that's right, Sensei Carl has been back in the UK for less than 6 weeks but he's getting ready to fly back on Monday 10th August (until the 20th).

He's returning for the 45th JKF-Wadokai All-Japan National Championships were he'll be competing against the best of the best from Japan in Kata (pre-arranged form) and Kumite (fighting). To prepare for the competition, Carl will be returning to Sensei Takamasa Arakawa' (6th Dan JKF-Wadokai) Shiramizu Dojo where he'll be training daily.

Carl also competed at last year's event where he placed in the 'best 16' for Kumite, though didn't get through the first round of Kata. This was still quite a good result considering it was his first ever competition in Japan, and the first time he'd ever competed in Kata in anything bigger than a club-only event.

Whilst there, Carl will also be taking part in an International Expedition to climb all 3776 metres of Mount Fuji, the largest mountain in Japan. He'll be climbing the mountain the day after the Japan Nationals alongside his adopted Karate Sister, Louise Fisk (from New Zealand) and Chris Heinmiller (from Canada) and hoping to reach the summit for sunrise of the 17th August.

We'll keep you informed of Carl's progress in Japan...

Vue Cinema Trip

2009-08-01T09:21:00.001-07:00

During our Summer School, which runs from July 20th until August 7th, we managed to negotiate a special discount for our students at Vue Cinema. We all decided to head down to our local Vue Cinema on Wednesday 22nd July to see Ice Age 3 - 3D, which was fantastic...!

Special thanks to the Vue Hartlepool Management for making the trip possible...

Click on the LOGO for the Hartlepool VUE Cinema Website

Stranton Primary School

2009-08-01T07:16:00.000-07:00

For the last few months, the club has been running a conditioning class every Saturday morning at Stranton Primary School. Since Amy and I have been back, we've turned this into a two hour Karate class.

The attendance hasn't been particularly inspiring, but every student that turns up has worked really hard and had a great time doing it - what more can you want?

We started out with some basics...

Also at today's class, we continued on with the a theme running through our Summer School - Tanto Dori, or knife defence. This stuff is usually not taught until a student reaches black belt, in fact in Aiwakai (our association) it's not needed until a student tries for 3rd Dan, so it's very advanced stuff.

Despite the advanced nature, and the fact that we had a mix of grades from yellow (8th Kyu) through to purple belt (4th Kyu), the kids did great.

We worked through the first 3 knife defences which in Japanese are called

No1:　うでがらみどり (pronounciation = u-de-ga-ra-mi-do-ri) Udegarami-dori

No 2:　こてなげどり　 (pronounciation = ko-te-na-ge-do-ri) Kotenage-dori

No 3: うんがどり (pronounciation = u-n-ga-do-ri) Unga-dori

We also made sure they all knew how to breakfall correctly, with amusing results...

Sensei Peter May Training Course

2009-08-01T05:57:00.000-07:00

Saturday 11th July 2009, Belle Vue Sports Centre.

Today we had yet another great training course with Sensei Peter May, 6th Dan who was as usual assisted by Sensei Mairi Kerin.

The kids trained first with Sensei putting everyone through the basics, including some simple but effective reaction training.

Then, everyone moved onto basics and Kata training. To finish off, Sensei and Mairi put the kids through their paces with some Grappling Drills which everyone of them loved.

The Seniors started with basics, and moved onto some great sparring drills and finished off with an indepth look at Seishan Kata - which was completely for Carl and Amy's benefit because it's the compulsory Kata for the European Championships in October.

A little bird told us that it was Sensei Peter May's birthday on the following Monday, so we got him a delicious chocolate cake after the kids session to make sure he was suitably embarrassed.

The Usual Suspects - (L-R) Sensei' Mairi, Lynne, Michael, Carl, Sensei Peter May, Vince, Amy

Thanks again to Sensei for another great course. The next one is booked for September 20th at the same venue.

National Wadokai Squad Selections - report

2009-07-13T04:20:00.000-07:00

Despite only arriving back in the UK on Wednesday 1st July, Amy and I were eager to head on down to Birmingham for the Wadokai England Squad training session on Saturday 4th July.

The squad session was also selections for the 2009 FEW European Championships which will be held in Dublin, Ireland in October. The session was split into different time slots for Kata (12:00-14:00) & Kumite (14:00-16:00)

Kata
Amy and I decided to use the Kata session as a warm up for the Kumite. Sensei' Peter May & Lee Minion put us all through our paces in basics and Chinto. The instructors spent time going over the finer points of the WKF Kata rules and what the referees are looking for. Also, we were all asked to perform our favourite kata in front of everyone and some of us were also asked to perform Seishan which is the compulsory Kata for the European Championships.

After the individual training, we were put into teams of 3. I was paired up with two lads who are used to competing in Kata at a high level. We decided to do Seishan because the speed of the Kata gave us all chance to synchronise.

The Kata session was really good, and I personally felt that it was tailored completely to what I needed to make my Kata even better - this is obvioulsy the sign of a great coach!

Kumite
We had a few minutes and then we went straight into the Kumite session. We were put through a warm up by Sensei Andy Genery 7th Dan which included a few pairs drills. We then formed lines to do a few minutes of fight drills and then went onto the selections which basically meant that we were sat around for hours and then called up to fight. I remember thinking that the only two people I didn't want to fight were Matt and Dale...

My first fight was against Mat Hubber, a fellow Aiwakai guy who until very recently was training with Sensei Keith Walker, Matt also took the mens title at the Aiwakai National Championships in May. It was a good fight, but sometimes a little scrappy though I managed to secure the win.

My Second fight was against Dale from Sensei Lee Minions Derby Karate Academy. This was another close fight, Dale started well with a solid lead hand punch to my right eye socket. The fight went right down to the wire with me lagging by one point, I managed to equalise right on the buzzer. The fight then went to Sai Shiai which is a new change to the rules, all points and penalties are wiped from the board and a completely new fight takes place for one minute (the old rules was - first to score). This is was my first experience with this rule change and it certainly got the adrenalin going because you have to dominate for the full minute rather than simply getting a cheaky point in the first few seconds. I went onto win this fight though I can't remember the score.

Amy was moving well, but she needed to be more clear with her techniques. She ended up winning one fight and losing one fight, but her performances were good in both cases.

We were informed on Saturday (11th) that both Amy and I have been selected for the England Squad. I've been selected for Kumite and Kata (which was a huuuuge surprise!) and Amy has been selected for Kumite and is a reserve for the Kata team.

Overall not a bad result for the club...

Temporary Class Changes

2009-07-06T07:10:00.000-07:00

Due to issues outside of our control, we have had to take the temporary step of relocating our 'Friday' class from the Belle Vue Sports Centre to Owton Manor Primary School. We have also slightly changed the times to 1830-1930 (Kids Beginner Class) & 1930-2030 (Intermediate & Advanced Kids Class) & 2030-2200 (Advanced Adult Class).

This is a temporary measure for the following dates only:

Friday 3rd July 2009

Friday 10th July 2009

As yet, we are not sure where the Friday class will be after these dates though the class will definitely continue at one of these sites.

We apologise for any inconvenience caused and we will resolve this matter as soon as possible.

...more new classes from September

2009-06-14T23:06:00.000-07:00

Stranton Primary School (From 12th September)
Saturday
10:00am-11:00am - Kids (All Grades)
11:00am-12:00am - Conditioning Class (existing class, reduced to one hour)

Brougham Primary School (From 15th September)
Tuesday
3:30pm-4:30pm - Kids (All Grades)

More NEW classes confirmed...

2009-06-06T23:27:00.000-07:00

We have the pleasure of announcing 3 new Karate Classes that will be available from September...

Monday - St Helen's Primary School
3:15pm-4:15pm - Kids (St Helen's After School Club Only)
4:15pm-5:15pm - Kids (All Grades)

Wednesday - St Helen's Primary School
3:15pm-4:15pm - Kids (St Helen's After School Club Only)
4:15pm-5:15pm - Kids (All Grades)

Thursday - St Helen's Primary School
4pm-5pm - Kids (All Grades)

These classes will start from September 7th 2009...

Sensei Lynne is Famous!

2009-06-06T05:46:00.001-07:00

Sensei Lynne was recently snapped by the local newspaper...

Follow this link to find out why: http://www.hartlepoolmail.co.uk/news/Saucy-spill-causes-traffic-chaos.5337198.jp

Aiwakai Nationals - Mikey's report

2009-06-01T01:32:00.000-07:00

Parental Advisory... The following report is filled with Mikey's.... unique humour... if anything offends, you have my permission to throw him a thorough beating! - Carl

It’s Saturday 23rd May and the time is 4.25am.

No you haven’t misread that does actually say 4.25AM! That’s 04:25, or half past four in the morning. The worst part about this is, I’m not coming in from a night out, and I’m getting up now. This can’t be good.

OK so I quickly take stock of the situation and start the bath running and whilst waiting for this to finish I did what comes naturally to everyone and text Tinkerbelle and Rambo. If I’m up this early, so are they. HA!

Anyway, after a quick bath I decided to hassle the folks and Ellen too, just to make sure they’re up in time you understand. Honest…

Fast forward to a more reasonable time in the morning, its 6am now and the coach is locked loaded and ready to roll. Obviously time to get my head down and catch up on the sleep I’ve missed out on. I get everyone’s attention for my customary announcement and, after a short death threat involving some horribly violent and painful method of execution; I leave the kids wide eyed and looking at each other uneasily to sleep. Result.

The Officials

A short while later (seriously not long enough) we arrive at our destination and it’s time to get in and register for the Aiwakai Nationals. Always one to set a good example I promptly bully one people until one of them relents and carries my bag into the centre for me. You’d have all done the same if you could it weighed more than I did why would I want to carry it?

Anyway, swiftly brushing aside the mental torment of our students and following a swift coffee I head out to the mezzanine to check out the tournament floor. Everything seems to be in place, 3 areas set up, the control table in place and the first aid station all ready to roll (well, barring the actual people as it was only 08:15 and we didn’t start for some time).

The venue

The categories were all posted on the walls with their entrants and the provisional timetable was posted so we have a rough idea of the times we’ll be up and the order of events. I check out my categories, not too many for Kata, good stuff as I’m ropey at best, and possibly the largest number of competitors I’ve ever seen in my Kumite category with around 20,000 entrants. OK it was more like 20 but still, I may enjoy fighting but I’ve never claimed to be national champion material.

The mother AKA, Sensei Lynne, mid-Seishan

The good news is the folks are up first in their kata event. The old girl is up first and goes through to the semis with Seishan. The old fella got a bye in the first round so they’re both in the semis. Both perform Nihanchi and both get 3rd place. We’ve started well.

l - r, Jason Gallagher (1st), Mark Harland (2nd), Lynne Jorgeson (3rd), Michael Jorgeson (3rd)

Kata

A lot of our kids are in this event...

We have several other event running at all times so it’s all a bit of a blur but after a chick change I find myself watching Tinkerbelle in her Kata category and find the I am up next.

Kate, aka 'Tinkerbell' on her way to 3rd place

Oh bugger. It’s occurred to me now that not only have I not been practicing my kata but I have no idea which one I’m going to perform (so much for everything I’ve been telling the kids eh?). I decide I’ll make my mind up as my opponent is performing his as I have the luxury of being up second. Nihanchi is the order of the day and I manage a win with all 3 judges going my way. The next round isn’t so good, I’m not particularly confident with Wanshu (which my opponent has selected) and Seishan is too slow and highlights my questionable techniques.

Mikey in action...

I decide that, although I won’t do well with a Pinan kata, that’s the way I’ll go. As expected I don’t progress but it’s 3rd place. Result.

Mikey looking a bit rough after exercise...
or maybe it was the VERY early morning.

On to the kumite events. There are too many things to detail here from the kids categories but I will say a big well done to all our fighters. Everyone fought like lions.

Carl here... This pic made me laugh... Obviously NOT because Phil is hurt, but because the medics bring.... Fosters!

On to the adult male fighting. Vince drew the short straw, with there being 19/20 entries, some had to fight before being in the same round as the rest of us. Still, things started well, Vince won his fight which meant he was to face mat (who went on to win) in the second round. Vince fought very well but Mat's skills are tight and Vince wasn't progressing any further today. I wasn't hopeful about my own performance.

The Vince

When it got to my fight, everything was calm. This is what I enjoy doing, this is the fun stuff. Can't actually remember who I fought in the first round (sorry) but several hits to my face because my front arm was too low I started getting annoyed with myself. A cheeky uppercut which I caught myself throwing was enough to catch myself though. I managed a dubious win in this round. On to the next. I got a little frustrated in this round too, had an incident where my knee was taken. It got a little ragged and the ref wasn't getting the support from the judges he wanted. Still. Another win.

Mikey vs Jamie Ellson (Swanwick)

Next round I was fighting Jamie, he's a good bloke but he's really fast. Much faster than I am. It was clear from before the bow that I was going no further. We were both tired by this stage but he had those bursts of speed just when needed. He advanced to the semi's and I finished my day just outside the medals.

A well earned break...?

Over all the day was great fun, the areas were run very well and the event ran smoothly and often ahead of schedule.

There were a couple of injures among some of our competitors. Both Vince and I have damaged a foot. I'm convinced it's broken although the hospital said no (just like they did last time when Vince broke his). Amy (rambo) and Phil both took an injury to the ribs and Phil also got an injured leg too.

The Hartlepool Wadokai Squad... with their medals!

All that remained was the coach journey back home. It had been a long, but enjoyable day...

Lewis Muldown... taking a well earned nap after winning 2 1st places in Kumite!

Carl here again... the full results can be downloaded from the Aiwakai website www.aiwakaikarate.co.uk.

Aiwakai Nationals - Final Results!

2009-05-27T00:56:00.000-07:00

The full results for the Aiwakai National Championship are available for download from the Aiwakai website, www.aiwakaikarate.co.uk.

Hartlepool Wadokai finished ranked 1st (for total number of medals) and 2nd overall (on points). Well done to EVERYONE who entered... a fantastic result!

Next Events
The Aiwakai Summer Course, June 5th, 6th & 7th has a Special Guest Instructor - Sensei Derek Desmond, the Irish National Kumite Coach who will be running a kumite seminar over the weekend.

Also, the next Wadokai England squad session is June 14th...

...Please speak to an instructor if you'd like to attend either of these events.

Aiwakai Nationals - success!

2009-05-24T22:26:00.000-07:00

23rd May 2009

The club hired a coach for everyone to get to the Aiwakai Nationals, but that meant a VERY early start for everyone. Hartlepool Wadokai had the most entries (18!) in the competition out of all the Aiwakai clubs, and we brought back 20 medals! The following people entered the competition:

Entries
• Lewis Tucker
• Lewis Muldown
• Jasmine Langley
• Jack Plows
• Connor Dougherty
• Luke Dawkins
• Charlotte Welsh
• Beth Gray
• Sam Tillot Gray
• Amber Tillot Gray
• Phil Salmons
• Bailey Reed
• Kate McCafferey
• Amy Comb
• Vince Dawkins
• Mikey Jorgeson
• Lynne Jorgeson
• Michael Jorgeson

Results
Lewis Muldown
• 1st ’10-12 years, 4.5ft and below’ Kumite
• 1st ’10-12 years, 4.5ft and above’ Kumite

Jasmine Langley
• 1st ’10-12 years’ Kumite

Jack Plows
• 2nd ‘4th Kyu and below, 10-12 years’ Kata
• 2nd ’10-12 years, 4.5ft and above’ Kumite

Luke Dawkins
• Joint 3rd ‘4th Kyu and below, 10-12 years’ Kumite

Charlotte Welsh
• 2nd ’13-15 years, 6th Kyu-3rd kyu’ kata
• 2nd ’13-15 years, 4.8ft and above’ Kumite

Beth Gray
• Joint 3rd ‘Junior 6th Kyu – 3rd Kyu’ Kata
• Joint 3rd ‘Junior 13 – 15 years’ Kumite

Sam Tillot Gray
• Joint 3rd ‘Peewee’ Kata

Phil Salmons
• Joint 3rd ’10-12 years, 4.5ft and below’ Kumite
• Joint 3rd ’10-12 years, 4.5ft and above’ Kumite

Bailey Reed
• Joint 3rd ‘Peewee’ Kata

Kate McCafferey
• Joint 3rd ‘2nd Kyu – Black belt’ Kata

Amy Comb
• 1st ‘3rd Kyu – 1st Kyu’ Kata
• 3rd ‘Senior Open Grade, 16 years +’ Kumite

Mikey Jorgeson
• Joint 3rd ‘Senior Open Grade’ Kata

Lynne Jorgeson
• Joint 3rd Veterans Kata

Michael Jorgeson
• Joint 3rd Veterans Kata

Special Mention to Lewis Muldown and Phil Salmons, both were entered into the Kumite '4.5ft and below' category, but there were only 3 competitors in the division. So they were asked if they would enter the '4.5ft and above' division too! Obviously they entered, but they also managed to get medals too! With Pint Sized Lewis winning the category!

Also, another Special Mention for Sensei Lynne, and Sensei Michael. Both entered the Veteran's Kata division and both came away with Joint 3rd place! - I'm just pleased that they didn't get to the final!!! :-)

Keep a look out for some pictures and a full write up... coming soon...

NEW KARATE CLASSES

2009-05-18T03:56:00.001-07:00

We are pleased to announce that as of Monday 18th May, we are running weekly Karate classes at Manor Primary School. The schedule is as follows:

Kids Class (All Grades) - 6pm - 7pm
Adult Class (All Grades) - 7pm - 9pm

All classes are open to NEW and EXISTING students...

Hartlepool Wadokai AGM 2009

2009-05-12T23:28:00.001-07:00

20th April

We recently had our AGM. The minutes were kindly taken by Julia Gowland, and they can be downloaded here.

Aiwakai WTE Course, hosted by Hartlepool Wadokai

2009-05-12T03:29:00.000-07:00

Sunday 19th April

Hartlepool Wadokai was selected to host this edition of the Aiwakai Way to Excellence program...

Sensei Vince (right) in action

A lot of people from our club attended, and the course itself had a very good turnout with over 60 people.

Mikey and Kate
Before Kate dropped Mikey!

Sakagami Sensei looks on... in despair?

As usual with these events, the students were put through their paces by Aiwakai' top instructors.

Sensei Lynne, and Sensei Michael

Everyone worked hard on the Sensei' teachings, all of which is necessary for those wanting to reach black belt...

Some of the Darlington lot enjoy a bit of a tussle...

...though, as you can see, it wasn't all work!

Some confirmed dates in the Way To Excellence program are as follows:

September 27th - hosted by Leeds Wadokai
November 28th & 29th - hosted by Hartlepool Wadokai

The November event in Hartlepool will also include this years Aiwakai Dan Grading, and there will be a Social Event/Party on the Saturday evening.

Diary Dates...

2009-04-28T03:52:00.001-07:00

The following dates have been confirmed and should be entered into your Diary.

Training & Grading Course, with Sensei Peter May - Sunday July 11th - 12-6ish
Special Kumite Course (Instructor to confirm) - Sunday September 13th - 12-6ish
Training & Grading Course, with Sensei Peter May - Sunday September 20th - 12-6ish
Special Kumite Course, with Sensei Lee Minion - Saturday October 17th - 12-5pm
End of Year Training & Grading Course, with Sensei Peter May- Sunday December 19th - 11-5ish

JKF-Wadokai Kanto Championships

2009-04-21T23:05:00.002-07:00

22nd March 2009, Chiba, Japan

Team Shiramizu!
Photo take from the Blog of Arakawa Sensei (Japanese Only)

The Kanto area of Japan includes a number of prefectures including Saitama, Chiba and Tokyo which makes this competition and every category huge! Carl & Amy entered as part of the Shiramizu team. Amy did great in kata, beating some good quality competitors to finish 'best 8!'. Both would agree that they didn't fight their best in the Kumite divisions, Carl crashed out in the third round against someone who insisted on trying to give him concussion! Results are as follows:

Amy - 'Best 8' Kata
Carl - 'Best 16' Kumite

Well Done to Amy on her achievement in Kata, she's certainly put in the time and effort to deserve this placing! Visit the Japan Karate Intern Blog for a full write up.

Aikido & Massage Event

2009-04-21T23:05:00.001-07:00

20th March 2009, Belle Vue

Hartlepool Wadokai recently hosted a visit from a local 'Sports Injury Massage' instructor, who also happens to teach Aikido. A few members of the club were taught a number of massage & Aikido techniques during the class.

Chiba Area JKF-Wadokai Dan Test

2009-04-21T23:04:00.000-07:00

15th March 2009, Chiba, Japan

Carl recently achieved his Nidan (2nd Dan) at this dan (Black Belt) test in front of a panel of 10 Japanese Sensei!

Club Training & Grading Course

2009-04-21T23:03:00.000-07:00

7th March 2009, Belle Vue

Hartlepool Wadokai recently held a Training & Grading course at the Belle Vue Sports Centre. Congratulations to everyone who passed! A full list will follow shortly...

TASK Invitational Inter-Club Championships

2009-04-21T23:00:00.000-07:00

27th February 2009, Stockton

Hartlepool Wadokai only entered a small squad of 7 competitors into this competition. Despite this, we still brought back an impressive 5 trophies! A great result for the club... well done to everyone who took part!

Results are as follows:

Lewis Tucker - 3rd Place KATA
Joel Copeman - 3rd Place KATA
Charlotte Welsh - 1st Place KUMITE
Jack Plows - 2nd Place KUMITE
Lewis Tucker - 3rd Place KUMITE

Shiramizu 'Pre-Dan' Test

2009-04-21T22:58:00.000-07:00

24th February 2009, Sugito, Japan

Arakawa Sensei from Shiramizu (very) recently notified Carl that he would be trying for his 2nd Dan (Nidan) at the annual Chiba area dan grading. However, before Arakawa Sensei lets any student go before the grading panel, he 'pre-tests' all the candidates to see if they have what it takes.

So on the 24th February, Carl performed a number of Kata followed by some free fighting in front of all the Shiramizu instructors. In the end he was given the 'ok' to take the test.

Instructor Training

2009-04-21T22:57:00.000-07:00

23rd February 2009

Sensei Lynne has started a 'Sports Injury Massage' course & Assistant Instructor Vince and Junior Instructor Amy have both started a 'Sport Leader' coaching course. Hartlepool Wadokai has sponsored these individuals to attend these skill development courses provided by the Hartlepool Sports Council.

Shiramizu Club Championships

2009-04-21T22:53:00.001-07:00

22nd February 2009, Asukaru Sports Centre, Satte City, JAPAN

This was the 10th anniversary of the Shiramizu dojo' annual club-only championships and it didn't disappoint.

Carl in a 'Tiger Mask'

Power rangers

Arakawa Sensei killing a bunch of roof tiles!

Visit the Japan Karate Intern Blog for a full write up.

Aiwakai Way To Excellence & Winter Course

2009-04-21T22:51:00.001-07:00

21st & 22nd February 2009, Alfreton

A number of students & instructors attended this Aiwakai course.

Satte City Area Karate Championships

2009-04-21T22:47:00.000-07:00

8th February 2009, Asukaru Sports Centre, Satte City, Japan

This was the first competition of the year for Carl & Amy in Japan.

Both did very well, the results are as follows:

Amy, 1st Place Kumite
Carl, 2nd Place Kumite
Carl, ‘Best 8, Kata’

Amy, with her Gold medal!

Carl in action

Visit the Japan Karate Intern Blog for a full write up.

Shiramizu - Start of Year Training Course

2009-04-21T22:45:00.000-07:00

12th January 2009, Japan

Amy attended this event, Carl was working!

Visit the Japan Karate Intern Blog for a full write up.

Nippon Budokan - Kagami Baraki

2009-04-21T22:39:00.001-07:00

12th January 2009, Tokyo, Japan

Shiramizu group shot, with Takagi Sensei.

Carl had the honour of taking part in the Nippon Budokan 'Kagami Baraki' martial arts ceremony as part of Shiramizu. Unfortunately Amy was working so she couldn't make it!

Visit the Japan Karate Intern Blog for a full write up.

Shiramizu - Walk to a Temple

2009-04-21T22:33:00.001-07:00

11th January 2009, Japan

Carl & Amy took part in the Shiramizu Dojo' annual walk to a temple.

That's Takamasa Arakawa, the owner & chief instructor of Shiramizu leading the walk.

It's a significant event in Japan, its a way of cleansing away the previous year's sin and starting anew.

Visit the Japan Karate Intern Blog for a full write up.

Hartlepool Wadokai - Start of Year Training Course

2009-04-21T22:27:00.000-07:00

10th January 2009, Belle Vue Sports Centre

To see in the new year and to get rid of any Christmas cobwebs, Hartlepool Wadokai held a 'Start of Year' training course. The event was held at the Belle Vue Sports Centre and was very well attended. The course covered all the basic techniques, all the Pinan Kata and a number of 'advanced' kata.

The course was finished with a little bit of Kumite (fighting) and finally - 1000 punches, without stopping! A great start to the new year!

Hartlepool Wadokai

2009-03-21T02:49:00.000-07:00

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