Welsh Bushi-Kai Karate Association

WKGB Welsh Closed Karate Championships
On Saturday, 18th May, we sent a strong squad to our Welsh National Championships in Cardiff.
The only way to describe our performances on the day is ….awesome…. with our squad picking up a 26 medal haul, including 14 Golds.
Full listing of our medal winners:

Gold & Welsh Karate Champions
James O’Leary (u12 boys)
Morgan Phillips (u14 boys)
Kieran Hooper (u16 boys +65kg)
Megan Taylor (u14 girls -45kg)
Nic Hole (u18 boys -68kg)
Jordan Harris (u21 -68kg)
Amy Nicholas (u21 -60kg)
Mark McMahon (senior men +84kg)
Holly Carey (senior ladies +61kg)
Under 14 girls team (Megan Taylor, Rebecca Hole, Kate Davies)
Under 12 boys team (James O’Leary, Tom Hole, Evan Hill)
Under 16 boys team (Kieran Hooper, Jack Jones, Ashley Lewis)
Senior men’s team (Anthony Bridge, Mark McMahon, Jordan Harris)
Senior ladies “A” team (Holly Carey, Amy Nicholas)

Silver
Iestyn Williams (u10 boys)
Evan Hill (u12 boys)
Jack Jones (u16 boys +65kg)
Lauren Stanford (senior ladies -55kg)
Under 16 boys “B” team
Senior Ladies “B” team (Helena Sykes, Lauren Stanford, Rosie Irwin)

Bronze
Helena Sykes (senior ladies kata)
Morgan Evans (u14 boys)
Kieran Nicholas (u14 boys)
Rebecca Hole (u14 girls +45kg)
Rosie Irwin (u21 -60kg)
Helena Sykes (senior ladies +61kg)

A fantastic set of results … you are all a credit to the WBK and its Coaches…… The legacy left to us by Shihan Ritchie Noblett is in safe hands.

First web update for some time after what has been a very busy period for the Welsh Bushi-Kai and its students. What follows is a set of reports on the various events that have taken place recently.

Brown Belt Course / Grading
During the Month of April, two Brown Belt courses took place at the Baglan Dojo under the Instruction of Percy Brown and Paul Bridge.
These courses were structured so that all aspects of the grading were covered, with particular attention paid Ohyo and Kihon Kumite plus Advanced Kata. Course Intructors were very impressed with the effort and commitment shown by the students and significant improvements were noted. These courses were planned as the final preparation for the Grading  held on May 11th.
The Grading itself, held at our Cwmafan Club dojo proved to be a great success, with some 28 students attempting their grade examination. We are delighted to report that there was a 100% Pass rate and passes  by grade are as follows:

3rd Kyu:  6 senior, 13 Junior
2nd Kyu:  1 Senior , 7 Junior
1st Kyu:  1 Junior

WBK Squad Training
On April 28th, the WBK held the first in a series of Kata and Kumite Squad Training sessions, this one at our Neath Dojo, in Ysgol Hendre School, Bryncoch
Over 40 students attended the session which proved to be a great success. The Kata session was conducted by WBK Kata Coach, Mark Coleman, and was centered around the Pinan Katas.
For the Kumite Session, the students were put through their paces by Gareth Reynolds. Gareth has been one of the top fighters in the UK for well over a decade and we are extremely grateful to him for taking time out of his busy schedule and for traveling down from Bristol to instruct on the course.

WKU Invitational Tournament
On May 5th, Our Kumite Coach, Nigel Taylor, took a small squad from the Bushi-Kai to  the Western Karate Union Event held in Weston-Super-Mare. This event has grown in stature and size over the years and is now one of the main events on the competition calendar which this year saw 750 competitors in action, including many National & International athletes.
Our Squad put in a great show and returned home with 1 Gold & 3 Bronze Medals.
Robyn Davies – Gold – Girls 5-7 yrs Kumite
Nic Hole – Bronze – Male Kumite 16-17 yrs
Rosie Irwin – Bronze – Female Kumite upto 4th Kyu
Lauren Stanford – Bronze – female Kumite -60kg

Photos of these and other events will be added to the galleries in due course. The “Photos” pages are currently being re-established after going AWOL due to a technical issue …..  around 50% are back on line, including Shihans photos.

On Saturday 13^th April the Welsh Bushi Kai hosted a junior (U16) friendly competition at our Cwmavon club.  As well as the Bushi Kai clubs there were entries from WKC, St Pats Karate, Merthyr Wado Kai and Talbot Karate.  In total there were 159 entries with all clubs being well represented.

The day started at 10am and was finished by 2.30pm, testament to the hard work by the officials.  It was great to see everyone pulling together to ensure the smooth running of the event. The competition had a friendly and supportive atmosphere and saw some excellent displays of both kata and Kumite from some very young competitors.  Events like these give younger and less experienced competitors the chance to get on the mat and have a go, without having to worry about being pitted against a more experienced opponent, as we split the categories by age and grade.  Due to the huge number of entries in the boys U8’s we split this category into 5yr, 6yr and 7yrs old.

As well as developing our young competitors, it gave some of our Dan grades the opportunity to practice their refereeing and judging in a real life environment, but without the pressure our main competitions.

The kata events were first on, where the entries were dominated by our Shotokan guests, however, it was pleasing to see some young Bushi-Kai students getting among the medals.  The standard among the young competitors was really quite remarkable, I am sure there were a number of future national champions in attendance.  Next up were the girls Kumite events, numbers in most of these were very good (bigger than many competitions we travel to). It was pleasing to see that all of the clubs in attendance picked up some medals in these events.

There were many promising junior grades in attendance, as well as the novice competitors who had the opportunity  to watch a number of Welsh Champions in the senior grade events.  Finally we moved onto the boys Kumite, starting with the 5 yr old boys, which was one of the most supported categories of the day, with all of the competitors enjoying the experience.  As with the girls there was a good spread of medals among the clubs, and some very promising novices as well as many Welsh / British Champions on display in the higher grade categories.

The level of karate of display was of the highest standard, for which the coaches must take credit for the fantastic job they do with these youngsters.

We would like to thank Bo Shannon (WKC), Rob Green (St Pats), Ashley Evans (Merthyr Wado Kai), Michael Mainwaring  (Talbot Karate) and the Bushi Kai clubs for supporting this event and ensuring its success.  Also our thanks to all of the people who helped setting up  on the day, from those on the door, working on the tuck shop, score keepers, referees, judges and those getting the competitors ready to bring to the area.  None of this would have been possible without your help.

After the competition everyone was invited back to Cwmavon Welfare club, where food was laid on for everyone, and gave everyone the chance to mix and build friendships.

 

Association Junior Comp:
The Association is hosting a junior / 16 years and under competition on Saturday 13th April. This Event will take place in the Cwmavon Community Centre with a 10am start time.
In addition to assisting junior squad development, this event will be used as a training exercise for Referees, Judges, Table Officials etc.
Entry forms have been mailed to all WBK Club Instructors.
Squad Training:
There will be an Association Squad Training Session for Kata and Kumite on Sunday 28th April. The venue for the session is as follows:

NEATH KARATE CLUB
YSGOL MAES-Y-COED (Ysgol Hendre)
MAIN ROAD
BRYNCOCH
NEATH
SA10 7TY

Directions: Click  Here

Kata will take place 10am – 11am. Instruction by Mark Coleman / Association Kata coach.
Kumite will follow at 11am – 12 noon. Instruction by Nigel Taylor and senior Association coaches.
Each session will cost £3.  If you stay for the two sessions it will be £5.

All ages and grades are welcome to train.

More Squad sessions will be announced shortly as we look to further develop both our Senior and Junior Squads.

At a Dan Grading held in Cwmafan Community Centre on Saturday March 23rd, the following students were successful in passing their Black Belt (Shodan) Examination:

Morgan Evans – Cwmafan Karate Club
Delyth Evans – Gilfach Goch Karate Club
Ryan Woodward – Swansea Uni Karate Karate Club.

Our New Black Belts

We would like to congratulate Morgan, Delyth and Ryan on their acheivement, which was the culmination of months of preparation training including the 4 day Dan Grade Course.

For those students who attended the course but were assessed as not quite ready to attempt their gradings, we thank them for their efforts and look forward to seeing them continue to develop and reach the high standard we require.

WBK Dan Grade panel for this Grading was lead by Nigel Taylor 5th Dan & Mark McMahon 5th Dan.

Mission For Sam – Make it Happen

In addition to the Facebook page mentioned in our previous News item, we would like to announce that the Mission for Sam Campaign has been further enhanced via a website dedicated to the cause.

Please take time out to visit the website, where you will find further information regarding – Getting Involved – Donations – Contact – General Information  and so forth.

The Mission for Sam Website is :  http://www.thinkingshrinking.co.uk/

Introduction
Sam John is a courageous 16 year old from Fareham, UK who urgently needs a specific Proton Therapy to treat his inoperable brain tumour.  Sam readily needs  Proton Therapy which will not be available in the UK until 2017. This will be too late for Sam.
Having turned 16 just two months ago, Sam does not qualify for the specific NHS funding towards this particular type of Proton Treatment so we need YOUR help to get him to the USA!!

Sam is the Grandson of the late Shihan Ritchie Noblett, and we at the Welsh Bushi-Kai are doing all we can to raise awareness for this cause.

Please  click on the photo below to the “Mission For Sam” Facebook page.

Details of the Dan Grade Course have been confirmed as follows:

Monday 18th March – Baglan Community Centre, 7.30 – 9.00pm
Tuesday 19th March – Gilfach Recreation Centre, 7.00 – 8.00pm
Thursday 21st March – Cwmafan Community Centre, 7.30 – 8.30pm
Friday 22nd March – Baglan Community Centre, 7.00 – 8.30pm

Good luck to those students selected to attend this course.

WKGB Team for K1 Dutch Open

Good luck to the WKGB team travelling to Holland on March 8th 2013  for the prestige K1 International Dutch Open.  This World ranking WKF tournament promises to have over a 1000 competitors from among the best in Europe.

Open only to members of the WKGB in Wales – it is part of the continuing WKGB squad development plan commitment to elite performance.  Many of the competiitors will be using this tournament a part of their prepartion for the European Senior Tournament in May.

With the advent of the WKF Olympic recognition bid this year, it promises to be a very high quality tournament!
The WKGB Squad under the direction of Assisstant National Coach, Nigel Taylor is:

Holly Carey, Amy Nicholas, Jordan Hopkins & Mark McMahon (Welsh Bushi-Kai),  Gemma John & Sion Rees (BKW),  Rhys Adey (WKC) and Cheyne Phillips (WSKU).

Dan Grade Assessment
Friday 8th March – Baglan Community Centre – 7pm Start
All students registered for Dan Grading later this month should attend.

Dan Grade Course
Details Shortly – please check back later.

Brown Belt Course
Following on from the course last sunday, two Brown Belt courses have been arranged:
Friday 19th April
Friday 3rd May.
The courses will take place in Baglan community centre. 7pm start

Junior Competition
The Association is hosting a junior / 16 years and under competition on Saturday 13th April
and will take place in Cwmavon community Centre with a 10am start.
Entry forms will be sent out soon.

WBK – Association Committee Meeting
Date to be announced shortly: