Last Friday's class and grading with guest instructor Sensei Brian Toomey was a huge success for the club. A 6th Dan black belt and one of the highest ranked Karate instructors in Ireland, Sensei Brian taught a physically demanding and thought-provoking class. He focused primarily on different defensive strategies and combinations based around the principle of body evasion - known as tai sabaki - and we worked on applying this in some rigorous three-person drills. Brian also ran us through the black belt kata "Ji'in" (meaning "love and truth") which is a requirement on the second dan grading syllabus. A very enjoyable (and very challenging!) class which was of great benefit to all who attended.
Following the class, a number of students (some of whom are pictured above) then graded for white, red and yellow belts under Sensei Brian. All the hard training over the last while had clearly paid off and they did the club proud by all passing with flying colours. Well done to all who trained and a huge congratulations to all who graded so successfully!
Ben.
