Welsh Bushi-Kai Karate Association

The Welsh Bushi-Kai will see two of its pillars retire from the Association and Karate at the end of this year, namely Nigel Taylor 6th Dan & Liz Noblett Admin.
Each of them has dedicated over 40 years of their lives to the Welsh Bushi Kai. The WBK cannot speak highly enough of them, and the respect and gratitude everyone within the association have for them is immeasurable. Their dedication, loyalty, passion has helped shape the Welsh Bushi-Kai to the Association it is today, and we will forever be in their debt.
We are sure that all current students, instructors, parents, former members and all WBK friends from across the world would like to echo their congratulations and share many fond memories.
Thank you and enjoy your well-deserved retirements, Nigel Taylor and Elizabeth Noblett.

Nigel Taylor
In Summary:  41 years dedication to the Welsh Bushi-Kai , 27 years as Cwmafan Bushi-Kai Club Instructor, 6th Dan Senior Instructor, WBK Kumite Coach, WBK Chairman, WBK Executive Committee Member, Former Welsh Karate National Coach, Welsh Karate International & Champion.
When Nigel began his Karate journey in 1979, few of us would have thought that he could have achieved so much within the art, but there can be no doubt that Nigel has been instrumental in the success and promotion of the WBK over the last four decades, as a competitor, coach, mentor & colleague.

Elizabeth ‘Liz’ Noblett
In Summary: 44 years dedicated service to the Welsh Bushi-Kai, 3rd Kyu Brown Belt, Admin Officer, WBK Licensing Officer, WBK Secretary .
Liz has been working tirelessly behind the scenes right from the very beginning of the Welsh Bushi-Kai in 1980, and for the Afan Lido Karate Club for several years before that.
Much of the success of the WBK as an association can attributed to the sheer hard work that Liz has completed in her multi-faceted role as Admin, Secretary, Officer, Course and Tournament organiser, as well as Travel Agent & Councillor !!

Good Luck to both Nigel & Liz as they move on and enjoy their lives away from Karate and, again, we thank you for all you have done and for so many great times and memories.

On Friday 18th December, on what was the last training session of the year, and the last for the foreseeable future thanks to Covid Restrictions, the WBK were delighted to be able to conduct a grading at the Baglan Dojo for those Juniors eligible to try for Red Belt.
We would like to congratulate our wonderful juniors on successfully passing their first grading. Grade examiners were Anthony Bridge 4th Dan, Natalie Gallagher 2nd Dan & Darren Williams 2nd Dan.

Hopefully training will resume early in the first quarter of 2021 and we can begin preparations for our next gradings.

As we all know 2020 has been a difficult year for us all and our karate has had nothing but disruption, from training to competitions and gradings.
To begin the year we were expecting to grade around 20 students across 1st, 2nd & 3rd Dan Grades. However, a global pandemic changed the agenda.
Some students were unable to train, many students isolating left, right and centre and a few students not quite ready (with no fault of their own).
A Dan Grading never seemed possible in these times but during a final club assessment, it seemed clear that a selection of students should be given the chance.

Recently those successful students went through an intense and gruelling Dan Grading at the Cwmafan Bushi-Kai Dojo. The Grading was conducted by Nigel Taylor 6th Dan, Jordan Hopkins 4th Dan, Gary Southall 4th Dan and David Roberts 3rd Dan.

We are proud to announce that all candidates were successful:
Cassie Davies – 1st Dan
Ella Pridham – 1st Dan
Halle Davies – 1st Dan
Kira Davies – 2nd Dan

Many congratulations girls, fantastic achievements and a wonderful way to end such a disappointing year.

To our new 1st Dans, now your karate journey really starts

Please be advised that the WBK Covid-19 Policy is now at Version 3, to incorporate necessary changes required as we return to training after the “Fire Break” Lockdown:

The WBK Covid-19 Policy V3 can be Viewed/Downloaded from the Website Homepage and via the Link below:

WBK COVID-19 Policy V3

WBK Chairman, Jordan Hopkins will be updating our Clubs and Association Social Media platforms with additional information as we go through the week.

We would like to thank everyone for your continued support through these changing times and we look forward to seeing you all back in our Clubs.

❌WBK CLUB CLOSURES❌
Following on from the Welsh Government announcements today, the Welsh Bushi-Kai will be temporarily closing ALL clubs from 6pm Friday 23rd October.

Clubs will start to reopen again on Monday 9th November in relation to WG guidelines. Reopening dates and times for each club will be promoted in due course.

Apologies to be the bearer of bad news. The WBK is committed to following all WG guidelines and ensuring the safety of our members, instructors, families and friends are at the forefront in everything we do.

As always, thank you for your continued support and understanding during these unusual times. Any queries or questions you may have, please feel free to contact me directly.
Thanks,
Jordan

Temporary Club Closure – Cwmafan Bushi-Kai

Due to the rise of COVID-19 cases and a second member of our club testing positive, we have decided to close the club for the next two weeks. Rest assured the members who have tested positive were already self-isolating.

Also, please note that the Margam Bushi-Kai Club will also be closed as a precaution as instructors and members train in this club as well.
Club Reopening Dates:
Cwmafan Bushi-Kai – Monday 26th October
Margam Bushi-Kai – Wednesday 28th October
These dates are subject to change.

Apologies to be the bearer of the bad news, but us instructors value the health and safety of our karate community above all.

Thank you as always for all of your support and a huge well done to those students who have trained regularly. We will do our utmost to get things up and running again, once it is safe to do so.

If you have any queries or questions, please feel free to get in touch with me directly.
Jordan

OUTDOOR TRAINING:

Thank you to the WBK students who signed up and attended our trial outdoor training sessions last week!
Looking at the weather forecast for the week coming, it looks like we will have the opportunity to train on Tuesday 11th August. Further days will be added but weather permitted, to confirm a little drizzle won’t stop us!
Sessions – Margam Bushi-Kai:
White Belts to Blue Belts 5th Kyu – 5.30 pm to 6 pm
Purple Belts, 3rd & 2nd Kyu Brown Belts – 6.15 pm to 6.45 pm
1st Kyu Brown Belts & Dan Grades – 7 pm – 7.30 pm
Please ensure that students and parents/guardians follow the WBK Covid-19 Rules and Procedures including social distancing, one-way systems and hand hygiene. Students can wear general sportswear including sensible footwear.
Please complete the form below to confirm your attendance to Tuesday’s session and share your interest to attend another session:

WBK OUTDOOR TRAINING FORM:  [ CLICK HERE ]

Please Contact Jordan Hopkins for further Details

WBK Track & Trace:

Thank you to everyone in our WBK Community for your patience, kind words and messages over the past few weeks. It was very encouraging to receive so much interest regarding our outdoor sessions and it was great trialling those sessions last week.
Going forward the WBK will be following the Track & Trace system for training sessions. To make it easier for our students, parents/guardians and instructors, please complete the online WBK Track Trace Form. If your information is correct and doesn’t change over the coming weeks, the form will only have to be completed once and instructors will take a register each training session.
Please be aware that if the WBK Track & Trace Form is not completed then students will not be allowed to train.

WBK Track & Trace Form: [ CLICK HERE ]

WBK Statement 21/03/2020: Coronavirus

In light of recent events and issues regarding Coronavirus, we are constantly assessing the situation and monitoring the guidance from Public Health Wales.

We have made the tough decision to close all clubs for the foreseeable future. The WBK is one of, if not the best Associations around for its standards of karate, discipline, resilience and toughness but also for it’s duty of care and responsibility. Hence why this decision came easy as ultimately the safety and well-being of our WBK community comes first.

To all of our dedicated karateka, keep practising and maintain a good level of fitness. All we can ask is for you to do your best in this difficult time. We want to avoid our returns being obstacles.

Thank you for your continued understanding and support. Stay healthy and safe in this uncertain time.

Jordan Hopkins

WBK Chairman

For clarity all clubs are closed until further notice:

· Cwmafan Bushi-Kai

· Margam Bushi-Kai

· Baglan Bushi-Kai

· Neath Bushi-Kai

· Gilfach Goch Bushi-Kai

· Llandeilo Bushi-Kai

· Swansea University Karate Club