Kyu Grading Results

The second kyu grading of 2008 took place at Mayflower School on the 29th June.  JKA England Chief Instructor, Sensei Ohta started the day with two pre-grading training sessions, the first was aimed at our more advanced members, with the second class catering for white to green belts. 

After a short break, the kyu test began and we are delighted with the result.  All of our members were succesful in gaining their promotions with only one member having to re-take the kata section next time. 

Congratulations everyone and keep up the good work!

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BLACK BELT SUCCESS

Congratulations are in order for two of our members who passed their Dan Gradings at the recent JKA Spring Course in Guildford on the 4th May.

Stephen Crittell has been training with the club for almost ten years and has shown great dedication and perseverance during this time.  We were all very pleased for Stephen (Danger) when it was announced that he had passed his Shodan (1st Dan).

Later in the afternoon, David Horne put in a strong performance of Kata Jion and Heian Sandan on his way to passing his Nidan (2nd Dan) .  Well-Done to you both!!

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Xmas Party & Awards

We have had a fantastic year at the academy and deciding the winners was extremely difficult.  Congratulations to the following members...

Angela Cashman (Student of the Year - Ladies)
Peter Bunce (Student of the Year - Men)
Helen Smith (Student of the Year - Girls)
Liam Smyth (Student of the Year - Boys)
Susie Jayasinghe (Special Achievement Award)

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FIVE New 2nd Dan's

The Yushikai Karate Academy achieved yet another fantastic result at the JKA England Course & Black Belt Grading on Saturday 1st December 2007.

On completion of a superb training session, lead by Imura Sensei (7th Dan) and Ohta Sensei (6th Dan), FIVE of our members were succesful in passing 2nd Dan.

Congratulations to Tomonori Koga, Anne Brown, Steve Halford, Adam Harvey-Cook and Susie Jayasinghe!

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JKAE National Champions

A considerable number of competitors from the Academy attended the JKA England National Championships for Kyu Grades on the 18th November 2007. 

The majority of our members were competing for the very first time and all of the club Instructors were very impressed with the way in which they presented themselves and the Academy.

A huge Congratulations to everyone who took part and a special mention to all who finished in the final 4 of their respective categories. Click here for results.

Fantastic Result everyone... 20 Medals in total!  How are we going to top that in 2008?

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Rowland passes 2nd Dan

Congratulations to Rowland Costin for grading to 2nd Dan. 

The grading was held as part of the special JKA spring course with Sensei's Tanaka (8th Dan), Sawada (7th Dan), Ohta (6th Dan) and Kurihara (3rd Dan).

The tough examination consisted of a range of kihon combinations, advanced Kata (Rowland chose to perform Jitte) and Kumite and we were all very pleased to hear "Pass Nidan" on conclusion.

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Dave passes 4th Dan

Yushikai Karate Academy Chief Instructor, Dave Paulus has recently returned from the JKA Honbu Dojo in Tokyo, where he attended the All Japan Spring Training Camp.

During the course, a Dan Grading was conducted by JKA WF Chief Instructor, Sugiura Sensei as well as a panel of senior masters including Ueki Sensei & Tanaka Sensei.

We are very pleased to announce that Dave was succesful in passing his 4th Dan (Yondan) grading.

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James passes 2nd Dan

Congratulations to James French for grading to 2nd Dan under Sensei's Ochi (8th Dan), and Ohta (6th Dan).

James has been training at the Yushikai Karate Academy for over 10 years and is our longest serving member.  James performed Nijushiho as his chosen kata and was also asked to demonstrate Jion by the JKA examiners. 

After sparring with two other candidates, we were all very pleased to hear that James had passed!  Congratulations James and keep up the hard work.