Yesterday, the club was privileged to be able to train with current KUGB champions, Holly Stirling and John James Bruce. Both instructors picked up medals at last year’s World Shotokan Championships in Chicago, and brought to their training sessions the skills and commitment that has made them world and national champions. The club members trained alongside other karateka from the South West and all participants had great experience learning something new to take away and work on in their clubs. Sensei Kieran Shore from the Bath club commented,” the KUGB’s future is in safe hands with instructors of the calibre of Holly and JJ coming through and passing on their experience!” Many thanks to Tim Griffith of Nailsea and Backwell SKC for organising the session. [photo]

Bath karate club members are nothing if not dedicated to their art and the pursuance of personal achievement. This is illustrated in the extreme by Emma McDermott who yesterday passed her 1st Dan grading, but having travelled 420 miles to take it! Emma took her grading in Cowdenbeath (that’s in Scotland) having travelled the length of the country from Bath. The examiner was Sensei Andy Sherry, 8th Dan. Well done to Emma! [photo]

Congratulations to Sam Milford who successfully passed his 2nd Dan last weekend [photos]. The examiners were Sensei Andy Sherry and Sensei Bob Poynton. Sam’s success is testament to his regular training, hard work and fitness. We hope to report more Dan grading successes over the year.

Happy New Year to all the club members and friends. We hope that you have had a good Christmas and are gearing up for a return to training. Training has resumed at the normal times and we look forward to seeing you soon. Please remember to check your licences and renew them in time - forms are available from Kieran or Rob.

In December, the club celebrated another good year at the annual Christmas Dinner at the Bear Pub! We were pleased to welcome our special guests Rob and Lin Welsh from Tamworth SKC. As in previous years the student of the year trophy was awarded. The club was really pleased, this year, to award the prize jointly to both Rob Davis and Dave Forde for their dedication to training and instructing over the year and especially in achieving their 3rd Dans together in October. Congratulations from all at Bath SKC! [photo]

Bath Shotokan Karate Club hosted the annual Bill Winfield memorial competition for children on November 20th. The competition was overseen by Sensei Bob Poynton from the KUGB. The competitors were both enthusiastic and committed and the standard was very good. The results were as follows:

Kata - Red Belt and Below
1st Taylor Wright
2nd Tom Jackson
 
Kumite - Red Belt and Below
1st Cory Goodhind
2nd Alex Rew
 
Kata - Yellow and Above
1ST Aaron Mateer
2nd Jake Deverux
 
Kumite - Yellow and Above
1ST Fergus Puddy
2ND Aaron Mateer

Well done to everyone who took part (see photo).

Yesterday, at the Special Dan Course in Chesterfield, two of the Bath senior instructors, Rob Davis and Dave Forde, passed their 3rd Dan gradings. The examiners were Senseis Andy Sherry and Bob Poynton with Sensei Frank Brennan in attendance. In blistering heat, Rob and Dave were part of a group of only seven candidates who successfully reached the required standard out of the 21 who made the attempt. It is even more remarkable that they both passed this significant and challenging exam on their first attempts - this is quite a rare occurrence. Congratulations are also due to Kieran Shore who has proved his well deserved reputation as an excellent instructor, having coached and guided Dave and Rob for the last 6 months to yesterday’s excellent outcome.

This result exemplifies the commitment of all the club members to attain and maintain a high standard of karate through regular and dedicated training. [photos]

The next Kyu grading with Sensei Bob Poynton will be held on Sunday 17th July in Bath. See Events page for more details. Remember to check that your licences are in date - licence forms can be obtained from Kieran.

A number of club members still have KUGB raffle tickets that presumably have not been sold. Please return all unsold raffle tickets to Kieran as soon as possible as they need to be sent back to the KUGB asap. Thanks.

Sensei Bob Rhodes was a guest instructor at the club last night. The session started with a typically challenging set of basics and combinations, designed to test one’s mind as well as body! Sensei Rhodes then taught the katas Tekki Shodan and Tekki Nidan along with aspects of the bunkai (applications) against multiple attackers. This was a session that showed the complexity, diversity and applications of shotokan karate along with Sensei Rhodes’ creativity with bunkai. After the session it was obvious that everyone had felt this was a great session, and left thinking in a slightly different way about the purpose of the individual moves in kata.

Sensei Rhodes will be returning to Bath on Sept 11th to run a one day course along with Sensei Billy Higgins. More details will be posted soon.

Yesterday, Bath SKC hosted a training session and Kyu grading with Sensei Bob Poynton. Thanks to everyone who came and supported this event, especially the other clubs in the region. Congratulations are due to the following Bath club members for their successes at the grading:

Hope Murphy-Nanton 8th kyu
Howard Gill 8th kyu
Ashley Cole 8th kyu
Georgia Langley 6th kyu
Adele Adams 6th kyu
Fraser Dunn 6th kyu
Calum Ridyard 7th kyu
Ciaran Shapeero 7th kyu
Fernando Pinel 1st kyu
Kelvin Gilbert temp 1st kyu

Well done to everyone! [photos]

The Events page has now been updated with more... events! We have the next Kyu grading planned for April with Sensei Bob Poynton, and there are a number of sessions booked with Sesnei Bob Rhodes for Thursday night training. Also, in September we are running the one day course we held last year with Senseis Bob Rhodes and Billy Higgins. Last year’s course was a great success and thoroughly enjoyed by all who attended - put the date in your diary now.

A Happy New Year to all our members and friends. Please note that training begins on Thursday, Jan 6th at 7.30 pm We look forward to seeing you all back and raring to train hard. Beginners are welcome to turn up and try out training with us, as are those who have done karate in the past and want to get started again. See the training page for more details.

There is no training tonight - training has now finished for this year. The sports centre is closed as the floor is being refurbished, which we will all look forward to! Training starts again on Thursday 6th January 2011 at 7.30. On behalf of Bath Karate Club we wish you all a Happy Christmas and prosperous New Year.

The Bath club celebrated the end of the year with its annual Christmas Meal. During the meal, the Student of the Year trophy was awarded to Steve Powell for his commitment and attitude to training during 2010. Congratulations, from the club instructors. (photo)

The Annual Bill Winfield memorial competition was held today at the University of Bath. The competition was overseen by Sensei Bob Poynton and featured children competitors from nearby KUGB clubs. We were very pleased with the turnout of competitors: Nadia Mead, Fraser Dunn, Alex Bennett, Georgia Langley, James Langley, Healy Loader, Emily Hallett, Blake Foster. Competitions were held for both kata and kumite and the winners were: Kata 1st Alex Bennett, 2nd Georgia Langley; Kumite 1st James Langley, 2nd Georgia Langley. Well done to all who participated and congratulations to the winners. [Photos]

Just to give you all some advance warning. The next Kyu grading with Sensei Bob Poynton will be held on Sunday 12th December in Bath. We will also be holding the Bill Wiinfield Memorial Competition on the same day. These events will be held in Bath and as soon as we have booked the venue we will put more details up here. Remember to check that your licences are in date - licence forms can be obtained from Kieran.

The club today hosted a very successful course with Sensei Bob Rhodes, 7th Dan and Sensei Billy Higgins, 7th Dan. The course consisted of 4 hours of very stimulating, creative and sometimes confusing karate! Both senseis covered a range of kihon techniques, kumite drills and kata bunkai. The course was for all grades and present were a range of karateka from a novice all the way through to 5th Dan. Although, all of the training was great fun, probably the stand out sessions were the bunkai to the katas Wankan and Tekki Nidan. The applications involved common place techniques such as kicks and punches, but also involved foot sweeps, head butts and throws. This was a great opportunity, not to be missed. If you did miss it, then make sure that in the near future you train with either or both of these senior KUGB instructors. [photo]

The minutes of the Club’s AGM held in April are now on our Downloads page.

It is with regret that we announce that our kids’ club, held at Southdown YMCA, has had to close. Due to circumstances beyond our control, and changes in the usage of the YMCA facilities, it is no longer be possible for us to run the children’s karate club on Thursday evenings. For the time being, all children who regularly train at Southdown are welcome to come and train at the adults’ club at Bath Sports Centre between 7.30 - 8.30 on Thursdays, where a separate session for them will be run. Our apologies for any inconvenience that this has caused.

Bath Shotokan Karate Club is pleased to present two upcoming events that have just been announced. On Sunday 12th September, Sensei Bob Poynton will be holding a training course followed by a Kyu grading at Bath Sports Centre. On Sunday 26th September, we have organised a course with Senseis Bob Rhodes and Billy Higgins to be held at the Sports Training Village at the University of Bath. This is a rare opportunity to train with both of these exciting instructors on the same day. The course is open to all grades and associations. Details of both events can be found on our Downloads page.

Congratulations are due to Andy and Julian who passed their Shodan and Nidan gradings, respectively, on July 24th. The examiners were Sensei Andy Sherry 8th Dan, and Sensei Billy Higgins, 7th Dan. Thanks also to all members of the Bath club who turned up to support the KUGB at the black and brown belt course at the University of Bath. [photos]

Twelve members of the club recently took part in the Rotary Club Martial Arts festival held in Bath. The festival showcased 12 different martial arts, including traditional Japanese arts such as aikido, ju jitsu and karate, as well as more modern systems such as Krav Maga. The club ended the event and gave a demonstration of all aspects of our training, finishing with a line-up agains Senseis Ron and Kieran. Some photos of the event can be found on the Photos page.

We have recently heard that Keith Anderson has passed his 2nd Dan grading. Keith is a Bath club member who is currently serving with the British Army in Kuwait. Well done from all of us in Bath.

Backwell karate club has launched its new website. Please contact Sensei Tim Griffiths at Backwell for more information about the club’s training [email].

The club today hosted a Kyu grading with Sensei Bob Poynton, 7th Dan. The club members did very well and congratulations are due to the following. Children’s club: Gemma (9th Kyu), Georgia (8th Kyu), Adele (8th Kyu), Sam (7th Kyu) and James (6th Kyu). Adults’ club: Fernando (3rd Kyu), Kelvin (3rd Kyu), Gavin (2nd Kyu), and Matt (2n Kyu). Thanks also to the other clubs who came and supported this event.

As usual this year will be a busy year for the club. There are a number of club or KUGB activities that are going on in the next few months, some of which are on our doorstep. For example, the KUGB’s Special Dan Course will be held in Bath on 17th April at the University. This is an opportunity for all black belts to train for free with Sensei Andy Sherry, the KUGB’s Chief Instructor, without having to travel! On the following day the Bath club will hold its Annual General Meeting (see Events page). This meeting should be attended by all Bath karateka to come and participate in the running of the club for this year. Remember it’s your club and you need to make your views known. Finally, we now have confirmation of a training session and Kyu grading with Sensei Bob Poynton on Thursday April 22nd. See the Events page for details.

This is advance notice of a unique martial arts event that will be held in Bath for charity. On May 16th, three local Rotary Clubs of Midsomer Norton & Radstock, Chelwood Bridge and Somer Valley are organising a martial arts festival, the largest of its kind in the South West, to raise money for two very important charities: Dorothy House Hospice and Mentoring plus. The festival will involve demonstrations of 12 different martial arts, including Shotokan karate. Wait for it... yes, the Bath club will be doing the Shotokan Karate demonstration!! Full details of the event can be found on the following website. We will let you know more details, especially about our demonstration, as the festival takes shape. Please put the date in your diaries.

Today, three members of the Bath club were selected to train with the Central Region Kata Squad for 2010. Kieran Shore, Rob Davis and Julian Chaudhuri attended the training and squad selection with Sensei Frank Brennan. Sensei Ron Hicks who was not at this selection was also invited to train with the squad. Although squad selection is complete for this year, everyone is welcome to train on the All-Grades training courses that are held prior to the squad session. Full details and dates are on the Events page. [photo]

Today the club named Sensei kieran Shore, 4th Dan, the Instructor of the Year for 2009. On presenting the award, Sensei Ron Hicks, 5th Dan, commented “Kieran has shown a very high level of dedication and commitment to regularly instructing in the club sessions and also by going the extra mile outside the club to support those preparing for gradings.” Many congratulations from all at Bath SKC. [photo]

A Happy New Year to all our members and friends. We hope you had a good break and are ready to start training. Time to work off the mince pies and turkey. Normal training starts on Monday 4th January at Bath Sports centre.

If you are looking to learn a new skill in 2010 then karate may be for you. It’s a great way to keep fit, improve your self-confidence and make new friends. Beginners are always welcome to start training at any time of the year. Just turn up at one of our regular sessions (see Training>Beginners for more info).

A special ’thank you’ to Dan for designing the new club banner. [see here]

Congratulations to Robert Flather who was awarded the club trophy for Student of the Year 2009. During this year Robert has been a regular member, who has always trained hard and shown dedication to his training. He has supported the club in its events. His year culminated in the award of his 1st Dan. Well done from the club instructors. (photo)

Today, Bath SKC hosted the December Kyu grading and Bill Winfield Memorial Day with Sensei Bob Poynton, 7th Dan. The day started with a 2 hour training session with Sensei Poynton and the 35 kareteka held in the University of Bath’s Sports Training Village. The Kyu grading followed the training and we offer our congratulations to the following club members who passed. Kids club: Ciaran Shapero, Sam Styles, William Greensides, Adele Adams, Fraser Dunn, David Lee, Josh Whittaker, James Langley. Adults: Vanessa Deshaies, Matt James, Alex Whittaker, Gavin Knowles, Kelvin Gilbert, Simon Cameron, Steve Whittaker, Fernado Pinel.

The day finished with the annual Bill’s Day competition. Many thanks to all the junior students who stayed on to compete and make this a successful event. (photo)

Congratulations to Robert Flather who today successfully passed his Shodan. This was taken under Senseis Andy Sherry 8th Dan and Frank Brennan, 7th Dan in Reading.This is well deserved given Robert’s commitment to his training leading up to the grading. Well done! (photo)