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| THE LAST 12 MONTH ROLLING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS: JANUARY TIGERS GRADING On Saturday 28th January, we held our first Tigers grading of 2012. The Tigers follow an age-specific karate syllabus designed for 4-7 year-olds. This time 30 Tigers were successful with 11 acheiving first mon, 8 acheiving second mon, 4 acheiving third mon and 7 acheiving fourth mon. All the Tigers are listed below. A massive thank you to Cheryl Sanders, Tanya Handley, Karl Spence, Krissy Griffiths and Natalie Golding for all the ongoing assistance in our Tigers classes. Thanks also go to Jack Brown, Josh Bannister, Amber Bannister and Lewis Bradbury for helping on the day of the grading with the course and grading itself. First Mon Lenny Cooper, Tristan Hooper, Cole Houston, George Pearson, Lexxie Pearson, Megan Simpson, Logan Smith, Eve Toplass, Jake Toplass, Samuel Turner, Jack Withers.
Second Mon Kirshon Chambers-Fuller, Harry Dunkley, Joseph Garfield, Lottie Hayward, Daniel Ranford, Tommy Richardson, George Sanders, Benjamin Stanley. Third Mon
Ynno Angeles, Ean Pabinguit, Joseph Stanley, William Tidey. Fourth Mon Joel Bannister, Karanjeet Basran, Robbie Crowther, Luke Hopkins, Jonathan Hughes, John Kirk, Rhys Leach. 
2012 KANGEIKO COMPLETED At karate dojos all around the world, Karate-ka, students of karate, welcome the New Year in traditional Japanese fashion by showing their commitment to karate via Kangeiko. This annual seven-day event literally means, "cold training". Kangeiko is a consecutive seven-day early morning training program that includes a jog in addition to regular training. The challenge at Walsall began at 6am at the dojo on Monday 9th January. Members of the dojo turned up daily and fourteen of them completed all seven days. Every day we experienced teaching from a different instructor. On the last day of Kangeiko on Sunday 16th, we stayed an extra hour in bed and started at 7am. Following training we drank a glass of Japanese Sake to celebrate the accomplishment and then headed off to eat a well earned breakfast together. For those who committed themselves to Kangeiko, the rewards were great. During the week we saw a massive feeling of camaraderie, spirit and a sense of joint accomplishment. Many students commented on being physically exhausted but also, and more importantly, they felt revitalised with a renewed vigor and determination that positively impacted them afterwards at work or home. This is the true meaning of Karate training. Well done to all Kangeiko participants. 2011 ANNUAL AWARD WINNERS ANNOUNCED On Wednesday 14th December we presented our annual awards to recognise students with outstanding performance during the year. Here are the 2011 Award Winners: Seniors Most Improved Student - Rob Leach Best Overall Student - Karl Spence Best Attenance - Tanya Handley | Juniors Most Improved Student - Lewis Bradbury Best Overall Student - Amber Bannister Best Attenance - Rebeka Thacker |  | 
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DECEMBER COURSE AND KYU GRADING
On Sunday 11th December, we held our final course and grading of 2011 at Oak Park Leisure Centre in Walsall. This time the course was only for Kyu grades as it followed the JKS Christmas course the previous day which was attended by 1st Kyus and Dan grades. This time Sensei Steve Carless 5th Dan JKS took the course and the grading that followed. Overall we had thirty Walsall students attempt gradings. Twenty-eight achieved full passes (Kyu) and two students achieve half-grade (Kari-Kyu). Congratulations to all! TWO NEW BLACK BELTS AT WALSALL SCHOOL OF SHOTOKAN Congratulations to Tanya Handley and Dominic Boniface, Walsall Karate's newest Black Belts! Both passed Shodan on Saturday 10th December under Senseis Alan Campbell 6th Dan and Scott Langley 5th Dan following the annual JKS Christmas course in Nottingham. We now have twenty-seven active black belts at Walsall School of Shotokan Karate. SUCCESS AT THE JKS ENGLISH OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS A large team from Walsall competing at the JKS English Open Championships on Sunday 27th November. Congratulations go to all team members who competed. Everyone who stepped onto the mat deserves respect. The performances are getting better all the time. We eventually came away with 2 Golds and 6 Silvers with many more strong performances. Well done guys, proud of you all. OCTOBER TIGERS GRADING On Saturday 29th October, we held our third Tigers grading. The Tigers follow an age-specific karate syllabus designed for 4-7 year-olds. Eighteen Tigers were successful with seven acheiving first mon, three acheiving second mon and eight acheiving third mon. All the Tigers are listed below. A massive thank you to Cheryl Sanders, Tanya Handley, Krissy Griffiths and Karl Spence for all the ongoing assistance in our Tigers classes. Thanks also go to Jack Brown, Josh Bannister and Amber Bannister for helping on the day of the grading with the course and grading itself. First Mon Daniel Clarke-Hale, Thomas Elmore, Joseph Garfield, Lottie Hayward, Joshua Meade, Benjamin Stanley and Matthew Turnell. Second Mon Ynno Angeles, Ean Pabinguit and Joseph Stanley. Third Mon Joel Bannister, Karanjeet Basran, Robbie Crowther, Fionn D'Arcy Dean, Luke Hopkins, Jonathon Hughes, John Kirk and Rhys Leach. 
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP SUCCESS The second JKS World Championships were held in Edinburgh, Scotland on Saturday 24th and Sunday 25th September. The event attracted JKS teams from 32 countries and the English took a large squad of 38 competitors which included eight from our school which is fantastic. Amber Bannister and Jack Brown from Walsall both came away with World Championship medals at the event. Amber fought with real spirit and timing to come away with a bronze medal in the Girls (11-12) Kumite (Fighting) event. Jack Brown formed part of the 3-man Cadet (17-18) team that came away with a silver medal in Team Kata. Congratulations to both on a wonderful result. Overall the English team won one Gold, five Silver and five Bronze medals finishing seventh on the medal table from the thirty-two countries competing. The next international event will be the JKS European championships to be held in Turin, Italy in September next year. SEPTEMBER COURSE AND KYU GRADING On Sunday 18th September, Walsall Karate hosted Sensei Matt Price 5th Dan for a course and Kyu grading. The day followed the same format as previous gradings. Morning time was about lower grades with a course for beginners to Purple/White belts from 9am-11am. A grading then followed. Afternoon was all about Black and Brown belts who participated on a course from 1pm-3pm and the day finished with a grading for 1st and 2nd kyu examinees. Matt Sensei delivered two great courses which focussed predominatly on Kumite and grappling exercises. The routines included drills for both fighting on two feet and from the ground. Matt Sensei displayed his usual passion for karate in everything that he did. Training with Sensei Matt Price is defintely recommended. JULY TIGERS GRADING On Saturday 23rd July, we held our second Tigers grading. The Tigers follow an age-specific karate syllabus designed for 4-7 year-olds. Twenty-one Tigers were successful with twelve acheiving first mon and nine acheiving second mon. All the Tigers are listed below. A massive thank you to Cheryl Sanders, Tanya Handley, Krissy Griffiths and Natalie Golding for all the ongoing assistance in our Tigers classes. Thanks also go to Jack Brown, Karl Spence, Josh Bannister and Amber Bannister for helping on the day of the grading with the course and grading itself. First Mon Kirshon Chambers-Fuller, Raheem Hussain, Bilal Mubasher, Sulayman Mubasher, Sana Nadeem, Ean Pabinguit, Daniel Ranford, Joel Russell, George Sanders, Nathan Sheldon, Joseph Stanley and Armaan Tanvir. Second Mon Finley Baker, Joel Bannister, Karanjeet Basran, Robbie Crowther, Fionn D'Arcy Dean, Luke Hopkins, Jonathon Hughes, John Kirk and Rhys Leach.  SUMMER CAMP 2011 On Friday 9th July some members of Walsall School of Shotokan travelled down to Torbay, Devon for our annual Summer Camp. The JKS Summer Camp involved three days of intensive training covering many aspects of Karate. Instructors on the three-day course were Alan Campbell 6th Dan, Ken Organ 6th Dan, Scott Langley 5th Dan and Steve Carless 5th Dan. On the Saturday evening we all enjoyed the usual get together which included a BBQ meal together and many members partied into the early hours. Here's to the 2012 Summer Camp! 
JUNE COURSE AND KYU GRADING On Sunday 12th June, Walsall Karate hosted Sensei Ken Organ 6th Dan for a course and Kyu grading. The day followed the same format as the March Course and Kyu grading with Sensei Alan Campbell 6th Dan. Morning time was about lower grades with a course for beginners to Purple/White belts from 9am-11am. A grading then followed. Afternoon was all about Black and Brown belts who participated on a course from 1pm-3pm and the day finished with a grading for 1st and 2nd kyu examinees. Ken Sensei was on great form and combined the strong technical demands of his karate well with the occasional injection of humour that left the students working hard and yet very motivated. Most of the courses covered core karate skills and tips that can be applied to all aspects of karate including Kihon, Kata and Kumite. In total 58 people trained on the day with 38 people grading. 33 acheived full passes with 5 acheiving half grades. Many students also were noted as being above average. Pictures of all examinees below. 
|  | | 9th Kyu - 3rd Kyu Grading Examinees | 2nd Kyu - 1st Kyu Grading Examinees |
IRISH COMPETITION SUCCESS FOR CHERYL On Sunday 15th May Cheryl Sanders took third place in the womens senior kumite event at the JKS Irish National Open Shotokan Championships in Dublin. Cheryl was part of a twelve strong JKS England team that travelled to Ireland for the event. The team also included Tanya Handley from Walsall. Overall the team had a strong result with 2 Golds, 3 Bronze and 4 Silver medals. JUNIOR COMPETITION SUCCESS On Sunday 1st May we took a small team of 4 Juniors to compete at the JKS novice competition held in Yorkshire. It was all about the members gaining experience in a competitive arena. The four students have been consistent at our Saturday Kumite training classes but had little or no competition experience. Nathan Tipper came away with a bronze medal in Kumite in what was his first competition. Amber Bannister also came away with a bronze medal in Kata in what was her second competition. APRIL TIGERS GRADING On Saturday 30th April, we held our first ever Tigers grading. The Tigers follow an age-specific karate syllabus designed for 4-7 year-olds. Ten Tigers were ready to grade in April. They have been consistenly training twice weekly for three months and were ready for their grading. Congratulations to all ten Tigers; John Kirk, Jonathon Hughes, William Tidey, Karanjeet Basran, Rhys Leach, Joel Bannister, Luke Hopkins, Fionn D'Arcy Dean, Robbie Crowther and Finley Baker. They are all pictured below. Well done guys! 
MARCH COURSE AND KYU GRADING On Sunday 20th March, Walsall Karate hosted Sensei Alan Campbell 6th Dan for a course and Kyu grading. The day consisted of a course for beginners to Purple/White belts from 9am-11am. A grading then followed. Black and Brown belts then participated on a course from 1pm-3pm and the day finished with a grading for 1st and 2nd kyu examinees. Both courses were intense and though provoking. Alan Sensei concentrated on the key elements of our fundamental kihon (Basics). The focus of the training was around simple karate techniques that are there to work. Everything was covered in detail from correct technique, positioning, breathing, snapping the body, the right feeling, creating speed, generating power and total body control. The session really left students with many points to take away to develop their karate fundamentals. The courses were all about doing the simple things extremely well and trying to perfect "Pure Karate". In total 63 people trained on the day with 36 people grading. 31 acheived full passes with 5 acheiving half grades and no fails. Many students also were noted as being above average. Well done guys!  |  |  | Black and Brown Belt Course Participants | 9th Kyu - 3rd Kyu Grading Examinees | 2nd Kyu - 1st Kyu Grading Examinees |
WALSALL MEMBERS TRAIN WITH JAPANESE KARATE LEGEND From Friday 11th March to Sunday 13th March, five Walsall members travelled to Nottingham for a course with our Chief Instructor Masao Kagawa 8th Dan who had travelled from Japan. The three days saw 14 hours of intense training where Sensei was also assisted by GB and Ireland Senior Instructors Alan Campbell 6th Dan and Scott Langley 5th Dan. Masao kagawa is quite possibly the most respected Japanese instructor in the world today. He is the head Coach of the Japanese JKF national team, the All-Styles Karate team, competing at WKF championships. As well as being Head coach of the Japanese National Team he is also chief instructor of Teikyo University, currently the most succesful karate university in Japan. He is also the World Chief Instructor of our organisation, JKS, teaching and training daily at the Headquarters in Tokyo as well as teaching globally. As a competitor he was one of only a handful of famous Japanese sensei to become the JKA All-Japan Grand Champion (Kumite and Kata Champion). He also went on to become JKA World Kumite Champion in 1990. |  |
The course was very well organised and attracted particpants from England, Scotland, Ireland, Denmark, Sweden, Portugal and Sri Lanka. The walsall members who trained were Sensei Steve Carless, Cheryl Sanders, Andy Clark, Tanya Handley and Amber Bannister. Sensei demonstrated his inspirational ability during the course as well as working us extremely hard. The course had so much to take away and the five members will certainly benefit and move forward in their karate development faster as a result. A very inspirational weekend! 
Dan grade participants. Kyu Grades not on this picture (Sorry Amber!). | |
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