With Christmas around the corner, we wanted to let you know that our last training session of 2012 will take place on Sunday 23rd December, after which we take a one week break. But we'll be starting back in Nailsea on the 2nd January and in Backwell on Friday 4th January for those keen to get back to regular training.
We would like to take this opportunity to wish you a Merry Christmas and to thank all our members for their continued support and hard work over the last 12 months. We look forward to picking up where we left off in 2013 for another successful year.
Congratulations to those that successfully completed the Winter 2012 Backwell Karate Bushido Warriors programme last night. Everyone did brilliantly in the final session, where we reviewed everything that the Warriors learnt over the 8 weeks.
Backwell Karate are currently accepting new members at all age levels, including for their latest Bushido Warriors special course for children aged 5 to 8.
The Bushido Warriors beginners’ course (which starts up again on Friday 25th January) is designed especially for Primary School aged children and is a great way to have fun and learn something new in an environment that’s especially for your child’s age. Over the eight weeks of the course, your child will learn the basics of Karate-Do, from bowing, to kicking, punching and also basic partner work.
Through regular training, students will improve their balance, posture, self awareness, self confidence and self esteem. Parents and teachers continually report on the improvement in the behaviour of children who train regularly.
If your child is keen to give Karate a try then get in touch by emailing info@backwellkarate.org for more information or to enrol.
Nailsea & Backwell Karate practitioners were buzzing this weekend after a visit from European Shotokan Karate Champion Sensei Matt Price.
After a surprise appearance at the Backwell Karate dojo on Friday night, Price taught two seminars at Scotch Horn Leisure Centre in Nailsea
where he shared both competition and traditional Karate techniques and drills that have not only taken him to a European title but have also
seen him coach a new generation of champions to their own Euro titles in Italy earlier this year.
Saturday's lessons saw Nailsea & Backwell Karate members put through their paces with drills to improve punches, kicks, sweeps and submission
techniques over the course of three hours.
Chief Instructor at both Nailsea & Backwell Karate, Tim Griffiths, said, "We are delighted to host guest instructors of the calibre of Sensei Price here in Nailsea as part
of our strategy and ethos for continuous improvement for the area. The progress we've made as a club this year has been fantastic, having won medals at
regional and national competitions and also having seen numerous outstanding performances at belt examinations.
"The instruction at special courses like this – along with the hard work and dedication from club members week
in, week out – help us to keep improving. I’m really proud to be part of something that feels so special right now."
Karate is an excellent way to get fit at the same time as learning a skill that improves concentration
and discipline. Nailsea & Backwell Karate are currently accepting new members.
Christmas training times
8 December
Backwell Karate Bushido Warriors complete course
8 December
Press release: Sensei Matt Price coaches in North Somerset
2 November
Today saw the launch of our Autumn/Winter 8 week Warriors programme, and what a fantastic start by everyone that came along!
Our first 8 aspiring Warriors completed a 40 minute class packed full of punches, kiais and fun activities to help them learn the basics of Traditional Shotokan Karate.
The course continues until Friday 7th December, where those that successfully complete the programme will be awarded with their Level 1 certificate, to confirm them as fully fledged Bushido Warriors.
The Warriors programme is designed especially for Primary School aged children. It is a way to introduce children from 5 upwards to Karate and for our older members is a route to help our aspiring champions of the future to improve their Karate and compete, if they choose.
Our next 8 week course is due to begin at the end of January and we are accepting enrolments for those aged 5 to 7 who are completely new to Karate and also for those who have completed Level 1. Spaces are strictly limited. Please contact info@backwellkarate.org to book a space.
The final coloured belt grading of the year is scheduled for Sunday 16th December at Bath University Sports Village (New Sports Hall), Bath, BA2 7AY. There will be no training in Backwell that morning. Training will take place from 12-2pm and will be followed by the grading soon after. After the grading the Annual Bill Winfield Memorial Children's Competition will taking place. We would encourage all under 16s to take part, which gives a great introduction to competing in a friendly, safe environment.
Those training or grading will need an up-to-date KUGB licence which needs to be brought in your red KUGB grading record book on the day. If you're not sure whether you'll be eligible to grade, please speak to one of the club instructors at training.
Nailsea Karate and Backwell Karate are proud to be hosting a special training session with Sensei Matt Price on Saturday 27th October.
Sensei Price is the current JKS England Squad Coach, and is a former European Shotokan Champion and KUGB Grand Champion. Those who've trained with Sensei Price in the past will vouch for the fact that he lives up to his reputation for teaching exciting lessons, with something that bit different from many other instructors.
Training will be held at the Scotch Horn Leisure Centre (Auditorium) from 10-11.30am for 9th to 4th kyus and 12-1.30pm for brown and black belts.
The cost of training will be £10 in advance and £12 on the door, and as space is limited, the only way to guarantee your place is to book in advance.
To book your place, you can
Take a look at the links below for clips of Sensei Price in action:
Sensei Price ippon at European Championships
Sensei Price demonstration at JKS World Championships
Backwell Karate picked up two titles amongst a raft of placings at the KUGB Southern Region Championships held in Reading this weekend.
Steven Connell and Tim Griffiths both picked up a brace of medals, with Connell taking Gold in boys' kumite (free sparring) and Silver in under 16s kata and Griffiths taking Silver in men's kata and bronze in kumite. Jim Mateer also picked up a kumite bronze (men's kyu grade category) in his first ever KUGB tournament.
In the team events, Backwell Karate took Gold in Team Kata and bronze in Team Kumite.
With an overall haul of two gold, two silver and three bronze medals this was the club's best ever performance at the tournament for the 70 KUGB clubs in the south of England.
Club instructor Tim Griffiths said, "Everyone's made fantastic progress over the last few months in Backwell and also our new Nailsea club and today's results really help demonstrate this. There was a great team spirit at the competition, and the medals put the icing on the cake.
Nailsea and Backwell Karate hold classes three times a week for both adults and children aged 7 and up and are currently accepting new members.
For more photos, visit the Backwell Karate Facebook page.
Today's grading saw over 60 people decend on Sir Bernard Lovell Sports Centre in Bristol for a training session with Sensei Bob Poynton followed by a coloured belt grading.
This is the first grading since Nailsea Karate opened its doors so it was good to see the first of Nailsea's students join those from Backwell to make up a third of the attendees. The training session was a fun mix of basics for gradings and combinations to keep us on our toes!
Congratulations to all those who passed, especially for those that managed to double grade - an excellent standard and spirit from both Nailsea Karate and Backwell Karate members (full list in the Summer newsletter, due out shortly).
On Saturday, a group of nine competitors and five spectators from the club made the trip up to Birmingham's National Indoor Arena to compete in the 46th KUGB National Championships.
Many of our competitors got a taste for winning in either their kata or kumite event, which was a great way to get ready for the Southern Region Championships in a month's time. Though there were no Backwell medallists on this occasion, it was a great opportunity to spend some time together as a club and watch many of the KUGB's top competitors fighting it out to become national champion.
There were many outstanding performances throughout the day, not least from recent visitor to the club, Holly Sterling (Sendai Kushiro), who became only the third ever female KUGB Grand Champion, by winning both the Female Senior Kata and Kumite. Many congratulations to Holly, who was also awarded the Sensei Enoeda Trophy, for best overall competitor of the day. We would also like to congratulate Ryan Tucker (Leeds Shotokan) and Hisham Saif (Al Gazhali) for winning the Male Senior Kumite and Kata, respectively.
The next Kyu grading is scheduled for Sunday 17th June at Sir Bernard Lovell School, Oldland Common, Bristol, BS30 8TS.
Prior to the grading, Sensei Bob Poynton (7th Dan, KUGB) will be taking an all-grades training session, which starts at 12 noon. There will be no training in Backwell that morning. After training finishes at 1.30pm there will be a short break before the grading commences. For those who pass their grading, new belts will be on sale at the back of the hall.
Those grading are advised to bring their up to date licence with grading book and also something to eat and drink prior to the grading.
If you're not sure whether you'll be eligible to grade, please ask at your next training session.
On Friday 27th April the Parish Hall will be unavailable, so training is moving to the Backwell Budokan Hall at our usual training times of 6.30-7.30pm for below brown belts and 7.30-8.30pm for brown and black belts. To get there, use the Rodney Road entrance to Backwell Recreation Ground. The Budokan is immediately behind the Scout and Guide Hut. Take a look at the map to see where it is in relation to our usual dojo.
No other training times are affected.Three local Karate practitioners reaped the rewards from putting in the hard yards as they all passed black belt 'dan grade' tests this weekend in Surrey.
Backwell resident Ian Connell was delighted to pass his black belt after years of hard training while Ian's son Steven and also Devon Troskie both passed the advanced 2nd Dan black belt examination.
The trio were put through their paces by Karate Union of Great Britain Chief Instructor Sensei Andy Sherry in exams which covered advanced combinations, kata (or forms) and free sparring before they were awarded their coveted grades in front of around 100 other Karate practitioners from across the southern region.
All three train at Backwell Karate where the team of instructors were all delighted at the outcome. National squad member and club instructor, Tim Griffiths, said, "What a day! Dan gradings are always very hard, so for three out of three club members to pass at the same time is especially pleasing! We're all really proud of Ian, Devon and Steven's achievements which are the result of their continued hard work and dedication."
The instructors from the club are launching the new Nailsea Karate dojo from Wednesday 11th April, where new members will be encouraged to follow in the footsteps of the Backwell trio. Classes are open to children and adults from 7 years upwards.
To celebrate the launch of our new sister club, Nailsea Karate, both clubs are jointly hosting a special 'double header' training course on Saturday 7th April with international medallists Sensei John Bruce and Sensei Holly Sterling in Scotch Horn Leisure Centre (auditorium), Nailsea! Please note that this is a change to the venues originally announced.
There are two training sessions which everyone can attend. Training times are 10am to 11.30am and 11.45am to 1.15pm. There will be separate classes with each instructor which will be split by grade (beginner to 4th Kyu and brown and black belts) which means that everyone will get a good chance to get the best out of the training.
Space is limited and so places will only be guaranteed by buying a ticket in advance. Tickets for the whole day cost £16, but please remember that while Senseis Holly and John have a 600 mile round trip to be here, for us it's a great opportunity to train with some of the best competitors in the country right on our doorstep!
Tickets can be bought at Backwell Karate training sessions, or reserved/paid for by emailing us. Email info@backwellkarate.org for details.
We're delighted to announce that our new sister club, Nailsea Karate, will be opening its doors on Wednesday 11th April at 6.30pm in Nailsea School (Sports Hall).
From 11th April we'll be holding two classes every Wednesday evening. One that's dedicated to beginners and another for more advanced students, from purple belt upwards.
Backwell Karate members are very welcome to train at both clubs, with your membership now being extended to cover both dojos.
As it's not every day that you get to train at a club's inaugural session we'd like to invite you all to join us for a celebratory first night.As a special thank you for supporting us, any members that have tickets for the Sensei John Bruce and Sensei Holly Sterling will be invited to train for free that night! We look forward to seeing you there!
For information about the club, visit the Nailsea Karate website.
The next Kyu grading is scheduled for Sunday 4th March at Sir Bernard Lovell School, Oldland Common, Bristol, BS30 8TS.
Prior to the grading, Sensei Bob Poynton (7th Dan, KUGB) will be taking an all-grades training session, which starts an hour later than normal at 12 noon. There will be no training in Backwell that morning. After training finishes at 1.30pm there will be a short break before the grading commences.
If you're not sure whether you'll be eligible to grade, please ask at your next training session.
On Saturday 4th February, the KUGB's England Kata squad selections took place at the famous Liverpool Red Triangle Karate Club, under the watchful eye of Chief Instructor Sensei Andy Sherry.
Sensei Tim Griffiths was once again selected for the England Squad. He was in good company - of the 23 selected there were at least four competitors who have previously won the KUGB National Championships and also placed at European and World Championships.
Tim is not only proud to be representing Backwell Karate but pleased that he can continue to train at the very highest level so he's able to pass on his knowledge to members of the club.
We look forward to this being the first of many highlights for the club in 2012!