NEWS
END OF YEAR CELEBRATION & PRESENTATION EVENING
On Saturday 17th December, Reikan Karate had their first proper club party at the Maypole Function Room. Adult student Tony Stubbings did a fantastic job of DJ'ing playing a really good mix of music. We had also hired a family we met at St. Marks Christmas Fayre to come along and do Henna Tattoo's, although a couple of ladies took the advantage of having some eyebrow threading done. The ladies were kept very busy with a steady flow of children and 'big kids'. First off we had a childrens dance competition, every child that took to the dance floor was given a raffle ticket. Elena Ooijman won the competition and was awarded a trophy that she keeps until next year. Matthew Hutchins got 1st prize in the raffle and got himself his own bear wearing a gi with blackbelt (Debs was VERY reluctant to include this prize, as she REALLY wanted it for herself!).
Presentations came after Sensei Tony's speech, Lorraine Perry was thanked for her continued support of Reikan in the form of advertising in the CM17 magazine for which the club are truly grateful and she was presented with a crystal paperweight. Sensei David was introduced as an Instructor & board member, together with Anne Mette Barnett who is a board member and Equal Opportunities officer. David & Anne Mette were awarded a Reikan kanji t-shirt and crystal paperweight. Debs was introduced as well, photographer, admin, web monkey and Child Protection Officer, she was not awarded anything.....boo hoo! Mia Rootsey, Elena Oijman and Henry Waterfield were recognised as being the only three original students from when the club very first opened three years ago, they were given a Reikan Kanji beanie hat (which only Sensei Paul & Tony have). Henry was absent and will be awarded his at the first lesson he is back.
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We hope everyone that came along enjoyed the evening, it's the first time we have organised an event outside of the Norman Booth Centre and we think it went very well.
We really hope the students and families enjoyed themselves as much as us (the photo evidence suggests you did). All the photo's and a short video clip can be found on our facebook page.
BLEEP TEST DECEMBER 2011
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The adults had already completed this test on Tuesday 13th December with Instructor David Boakes coming out on top with a score of level 11 shuttle 1.
On Thursday 15th it was the turn of the mixed class and this time it was mainly the younger students, although Mahboob and Pete completed the test for the second time in a week.
All the students put in a great effort but congratulations to Tyrees (pictured left) for achieving level 8 shuttle 10 at only 8 years old.
Special mention to Georgia who dropped out at level 8 shuttle 1 with a stitch but a great result.
Jamie (pictured right) at 17 years old achieved the highest score on the day reaching level 10 shuttle 10.
Well done everyone who completed the bleep test for the first time, incidentally only two students who were doing this for the second time at the club, achieved a higher level this time round.
KUMITE SESSION NOVEMBER 2011
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The session started with the usual vigorous warm up and then pair work with various kicks and punches. Students had plenty of 'drink breaks' and worked with various Sensei's and Dan Grades with different equipment to help improve their techniques.
Before the session finishes, Sensei Paul & Sensei Svapnil demonstrated all the pair techniques - although Sensei Lesley stepped in for those that would aggravate Sensei Paul's hip. The session finished with a small kumite competition. Students that wanted to take part put their names down and a quick draw sheet was compiled. Sensei Lesley, Sensei Paul and Sensei Svapnil did the refereeing with Matthew a new student who is already a Dan Grade and was a referee/judge at his last club working as a mirror judge for them. All the students have shown an improvement in confidence and did very well, with some close scores in the bouts. The photograph shows the winners & instructors:
- Joint Third place - Kacey & Hollie
- Second Place - Kin Man
- First Place - Kai
The adults were seperated and results for this are as follows:
- Joint Third Place - Anne Mette & Pete
- Second Place - Mahboob
- First Place - Jamie
The adults really stepped up the pace and I think everyone took at least one hit to the face (all unintentional) but showed great spirit with no-one quitting. Competition sparring is very different to class sparring and I think we all learn something new each time. Congratulations to Jamie, who although having youth and energy on his side, is only a white belt and was our eventual winner. The adults will be presented with their trophies at the next adult class (photo to follow). Over 200 photo's can be found on REIKAN FACEBOOK PAGE
OCTOBER QUIZ WINNER 2011
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Congratulations to Jemima, our quiz winner for October and first student to get all the questions correct and emailed in. Good to see a few more students enter this time, Elena, Emma & Win Tone who all got a small chocolate consolation prize.
Please note, the rules of the competition will be changing from November onwards. We realise that perhaps not all of our students have access to a home computer and to keep it fair for all, the competition will run until the last week of the month (to enable us to arrange & present prizes) and correct entries will be collected and names entered into a online random generator.
If anyone has problems with submitting via the website (those who use webmail rather than an email client) please copy and paste - or just type the question and answers in an email and send it that way. It will still count. Hopefully, we will even more families participate in November.
SEPTEMBER QUIZ WINNERS 2011
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Daniel was the first correct entry received for our new monthly online quiz and as only ONE other student bothered to submit an entry, it was decided to give Win Tone a prize also. Daniel recieved a polo shirt with the Inspiration kanji embroidered on, the first to have one these (even the Sensei's don't have one yet) and Win Tone received a pair of kumite gloves.
All the answers to the questions can be found on our website or in the student folder. We might put one question in that you will have to research on the internet from time to time, just to keep it interesting. We really hope to see more students enter in October as it was a little disappointing to see only two out of a club of over forty students enter in September.
KATA SESSION SEPTEMBER 2011
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Today was the first Saturday morning session we had focused on Kata. Sensei's Tony, Paul, Jack & Dave were there to put the students through their paces. As we had students of various grades in attendance, groups of students worked with different sensei's to learn or go through their kata's. Sensei Jack demonstrated Seienchin for everyone and the session, which again flew by, finished with a friendly kata competition. Daniel Barnett was the eventual winner, with Tina Williams taking second place and the third place being secured by another member of the Barnett family, Anne Mette. Special mention goes to Mark Waterfield for actually going out on the mat and trying his hardest to remember his first kata, everyone makes mistakes but to have the courage to go out on the mats in front of your peers and family isn't easy and everyone who took part should be applauded for "having a go".
A small selection of photo's can be found on our Facebook page (less than usual because the photographer was very pre-occupied with England's first rugby game of the World Cup, which Eric had kindly put on the tv upstairs)!
KUMITE SESSION JULY 2011
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The session started with a vigorous warm up and then pair work with various kicks and punches. We then moved on to whole class drills, working on gyakuzuki and the application of it in kumite terms. Sensei Colin had some novel idea's as you can see from the photograph, at one point it looked like a deportment class! As ever these new approaches kept the students focused and motivated. As always, there were plenty of opportunities for students to grab a much needed drink.
We had a great turn out for this session considering how hot the hall was and it was great to see more younger students wanting to improve their kumite. We were very lucky to have Sensei Lesley, Sensei Colin & Sensei Svapnil from IKC, together with Sensei Tony, Sensei Paul and Sensei Jack to help the students. A special thank you to Sensei Colin for providing an excellent overview of gyakazuki in a way that even the 5 year old students enjoyed and understood. The session began with the usual stretching and some simple punching techniques. Sensei Colin then went into further detail, with demonstrations by the blackbelts and finished with the children and adults having a go at 'competition style' sparring on the mats. Hopefully everyone left the session with more confidence and a better understanding of just one punch - amazing how two hours can be filled by working with just a single element of karate! Afterwards the instructors (and photographer) enjoyed a well deserved lunch by the river.
Saturday 30th April was blue skies but very windy, probably not the best weather for dangling on a rope 120ft above the ground, but thats exactly what Sensei Tony, Paul & Jack did. It was a last minute rush decision to sign up, but we are extremely proud to have raised £655 in just over one week. The monies raised are going to the Samantha Dickson Brain Tumour Trust who are leading the way in funding research into a cure for brain tumours. We thank all our students who donated and a big thank you to Luke and his mum Debbie for coming down to watch (or make sure they did it). Afterwards, we celebrated with a well-deserved drink (or two) in the local pub. Eight students made some posters for advertising the club and congratulations go to Max Rootsey & Lindsey Claridge who were picked by three judges as the winners. Their entries will be used to run some leaflets off & be placed in the foyer of the Norman Booth Centre.
DANIEL
ELENA
EMMA
JOSHUA P
LUKE
MAX
MIA
They have all been scanned in and a slideshow has been created. Unfortunately light colours do not scan very well, despite adjusting the colours and enhancing the pictures, so apologies in advance if you can't see them very clearly.
We had an excellent show of adult students but only one younger student turn up for our first two hour focus session on kumite and squad building. Emma, Jan, Stuart, Tina, Tony and Sensei Svapnil of IKC were alongside James who at the moment is a white belt. We would like to point out that despite James' young age and grade, he managed to keep pace throughout the two hours with all the adults - in fact I think a lot of the adults wished they had his energy! The session got underway with some skipping before everyone started the circuit of speed reaction hoops, punch & kick bags, hurdles, multi height jump station, press up bars and bench and various other ways that Sensei Tony & Paul had devised to sap the energy out of everyone. Whilst students were learning how to flag, score points & referee, a small kumite competition was going on. Big congratulations to James, who beat every adult he fought on the day. James rightly deserved his small shield for being a true star throughout the duration of the 2 hour session. Keep up the dedication, please click the thumbnail to view a larger photo.
The session finished with a small kumite competition. The adults were up first and our more mature students did very well against the more experienced higher grades of IKC. Anne Mette Barnett found herself up against Sensei Lesley Darrington, a very experienced fighter and although it would be fair to say Anne Mette looked slightly intimidated, she held her own and hopefully gained something from the 3 minute bout. The instructors were so impressed, that Sensei Lesley & Svapnil, who actually made it to the final, awarded the shield to Anne Mette in recognition of the hard work and effort she had maintained throughout the two hour session. The juniors were up next and considering our most experienced student is a green belt, everyone showed some determination and effort through their bouts. The final was between Kacey Waterfield and Win Tone Kwok and boy was it close. Kacey won 14 to 13 in what was a great fight to watch. Kacey was awarded the shield but the sensei's were so impressed with both girls, who are still only red belts, that a medal was found for Win Tone, it really was that close! Sensei's Lesley, Colin, Tony, Paul & Svapnil enjoyed the session very much and hope that all the students managed to learn something from it.
KUMITE SESSION JUNE 2011
CHURCH LANGLEY WATER TOWER ABSEIL 2011
POSTER COMPETITION 2011
KUMITE/SQUAD BUILDING SESSION MARCH 2011
Next everyone paired up and worked on some punches & kick combinations changing partners every few minutes. Sensei Tony then talked the students through some of the WKF criteria for decision on scoring in kumite . After everyone moved to the matted area,everyone learned how to walk onto the mat and had a go at being a judge with flags and the main referee. We discovered just how difficult it can be to clearly see a point being scored and remember to flag/or stop the fight and get all the wording right in awarding points and restarting the fight.
CHRISTMAS FUN LESSON 2010
Despite the snow and lots of nasty bugs doing the rounds we had a good turn out of students from the mixed and adult classes together with parents and even grandparents joining in. We had two adult teams and three child teams playing in the handball tournament.
Congratulations to Joshua Walker-Reids team of Samuel Reid, Max Rootsey, Matthew Hutchings, Daniel Barnett & Maryam Hussain who won overall on points. Each winner was presented with a small placque as a reminder. All other competitors were presented with a medal.
Thank you to all the families who brought food & sweets to the afterparty, I am sorry if I have forgotten anyone but special mention to:
We hope everyone had fun and those that celebrate Christmas have a wonderful time. We look forward to seeing you all from Tuesday 4th January 2011.
DEMONSTRATION, High Wych Village Fete
This was the clubs first local demonstration and we were very happy with the outcome. Senseis Tony & Paul would like to say a big thank you to Daniel, Edward, Henry, Matthew, Max, Mia & Zoe (and their respective parents/grandparents for bringing them) for coming along and joining Lara and Sean to put on a great display.The students showed their counting, blocks, punches & kicks, Lara & Sean both did a kata each and some light sparring. Next Max put Sean through his paces with some sparring, while Henry put his gloves on and gave Lara a run for her money. At the end any children at the fete were invited to join in and have some karate fun. Thank you to Suzanne & Annemette for inviting us.
MAY BANK HOLIDAY, The Grove Hotel
This time Sensei Tony & Sensei Paul were invited to run an hours karate fun for the children of hotel guests within the Walled Garden area. The weather wasn't brilliant but the rain stayed away and a few children ventured outside to join in. The wives on the other hand had a lovely time watching from the conversatory area!After the session had finished we all enjoyed a BBQ layed on by the hotel, can think of worse ways to spend a day!
EASTER KARATE KID COURSE, The Grove Hotel
Sensei Paul & Sensei Tony had been invited by The Grove Hotel to run a two day Easter kids karate course. So Good Friday we travelled over (even though the M25 did its best to stop us) and found the course was full. Jack and Sean helped out and Sean got to spend his 14th Birthday being hit by lots of children! The children seem to enjoy the course and picked up some stances, blocks and counting by the end of the hour. We travelled back on Easter Monday when it was the girls turn to help out, Nicole and Lara. There were so many children this time, we had to move to a bigger room! It was quite demanding as a lot of the children were younger than the age we usually teach. However, the children seemed to enjoy it and there were 2 or 3 that came Friday that came back again Monday. At the end of each session all the children were awarded a certificate and medal for their effort.COMPETITION, Easter 2010
The drawing competition has closed and we have received some fabulous entries, the judging was extremely difficult and both Sensei's have decided to get an outsider to to do the next one! Congrations to ALICE BRAY for winning & SAMUEL FOWLER who was runner up. Below are all the entries because we think they all deserve to be showcased.Well done everyone, they really are super pictures. The winning drawing will be put on our notice board at the Norman Booth Centre. We hope everyone enjoys their eggs! Please click the thumbnail for a larger picture.
PC KARATE OPEN, Birmingham Feb 28th 2010
IKC Chief Instructor Lesley Darrington and Reikan's Sean Perry travelled to Birmingham on Sunday morning (very early I might add!) to compete at the PC Karate Open competition. We were joined by Sensei Paul and Nicole who stayed right till the end to support both competitors - thankyou! Sean has not competed in over a year and will admit to being a bit rusty - as well as struggling to remember all of his kata's! But he saw this as a way to gently get back into things. After a lot of hassle trying to actually get into the competition, both Sean and Sensei Lesley were quickly on the mats. Sean was in the mixed boys/girls 13-15years any grade section and had a bye into the third round. Sean took all 3 flags the first time out on the mat performing Annan. Next round he came across an opponent we know and she won the round 2 flags to 1, which Sean should be happy with as he admitted he lost his way in Chatanyara Kushanku a few times during his performance. She went on to win Gold in the section, so all in all not a bad start to competing again and hopefully it has inspired Sean to train a little harder. Sensei Lesley had to rush to make it in time for her kata section due to the delay in getting in and unfortunately did not medal.We then had a break before the kumite started and took the opportunity to sit with Sensei Paul and Nicole and have something to eat. Sean was the first fight on the mat as the one before had a competitor disqualified for failing to get some shin & instep pads on within the alloted time! Seans opponent was shorter than him - not something he is used to, he is usually the smallest guy in the category. After 2 minutes of sparring, the score was a draw 1-1, this took the fight into an extra minute. Sean got increasingly frustrated at not being able to score and eventually lost 1-0. His opponent went on to take Silver in the category, again proving he was up against one of the best in the section. Sensei Lesley had entered two categories, Veteran Ladies, which she won Silver in. With only a short break her next category was starting, Ladies 18 years and over. This category only had 3 competitors, one of which was the lady who had just won Gold in the previous category. This section was decided by using the "round robin" method, meaning all 3 competitors had to fight each other. Sensei Lesley was first on the mat, against the the competitor she narrowly lost to in the category before. This time the fight was a draw, Sensei Lesley then won her next round and as luck or fate would have it, she had to face the same lady for the 3rd time today. Sensei Lesley had obviously been very attentive during her other two fights as she managed to win this time securing her the Gold. Well done to Sean for coming out of retirement and having a go, its not all about winning - although a big shiney medal/trophy is nice to take home. Big congratulations to Sensei Lesley on her double victory!
LOCALS THAT LAUNCH, January 2010
January 2010 has started with a full page article appearing in CM17 Magazine. The article gives a background to the club and has generated a lot of interest.
FESTIVE LESSON, December 17th, 2009
Before we get to the lesson we would like to thank all the parents who participated in the games and a big thank you to the students and parents who shared food at the after lesson gathering. We can only speak on behalf of the Sensei's and their families, but we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and hope you did too. We count ourselves lucky to have such supportive students and extended families.FITNESS CLASS OCT 2009
The children had an hour and a half of fitness and fun to music on Saturday 17th October. The emphasis is on polymetrics and stamina based exercises, mixed with fun karate games and the opportunity to earn certificates of merit and rewards. The smiles on their faces said it all and we really look forward to next months class.
+447858 010804 (Tony) +447964 044365 (Paul)