grading books

please bring in grading books next week,
thanks guys

Heian Godan

This weekend we practiced the kata Heian Godan, a great kata to study with many new techniques and stances. Lots to learn and practice over the xmas break including that Jump!!! 

We would like to wish everyone a very happy Christmas and best wishes for the New Year.

OSU!

Happy Birthday!!!

 

We would like to wish Tony a very happy birthday, best wishes from everyone at shobukan dojo. Thank you for a really great class and workout at the weekend, looking forward to the next one.  

OSU!

West Karate Club Competition

Following on from last year’s competition in Fermoy, West Karate Club/West Wheelchair Karate Club, Galway, are holding a competition on 9th March 2013.
Venue: Ballybane Community Centre, Galway
Time: 10:30am
For more information or entry forms, please contact West Karate Club at  tommybyrne7@gmail.com

Licence for 2012

Anyone who has not received a licence sticker for 2012 please bring in your grading books, thanks guys. 
Osu!

Ken-Bu-Kan New Dojo

Thanks to Sensei Brian Toomey for a very enjoyable and challenging kata session last Sunday. The new Dojo looks Fantastic, well done guys. The best of luck.

Osu!

Summer Camp 2012!

TUAM KARATE CLUB will be attending the annual summer camp in Dungarvan, Co. Waterford next weekend. Members of the club have been attending this course every year for well over ten years now and it is always a hugely enjoyable and rewarding experience. Classes will take place on the beautiful Clonea strand and many students camp in the camp site directly behind the beach. Accommodation is also available in the local hotel ("Clonea Strand hotel") or in Dungarvan town, approximately ten minutes down the road. There are still some lifts available for those who wish to attend, please contact Stacey for more information. Highly recommended!

As a result there will be no training at Tuam Karate Club next Friday and Saturday. Classes will resume as normal from Friday the 29th June. Details of the seminar are as follows:

 Summer Camp 2012:
June 23rd and 24th
Clonea Strand, Dungarvan, Co. Waterford.
All sessions will take place on the beach, weather permitting.

Saturday: 10am to 12noon. Second session: 5pm to 7pm (*unusual class times to accommodate the tides)

Sunday: Instructors class: 11am -12noon
All grades:12 - 1:30pm
Black belt grading: 1:30pm

Prices - juniors: 35E; seniors:70E

For further information contact your instructors or Sensei Brian Toomey on 087 2500783


Osu!
Stacey

Grading congratulations!

Just a quick post to say a big congratulations to everyone who graded last week.  Sensei Brian Toomey, 6th dan, taught a weekend course in the dojo over two days for us and graded many of our students after some tough but beneficial training.

While grading exams and gaining a new cotton belt every few months is not the goal of Karate, it does provide a good benchmark and goal for students to work towards.  Despite the fact that we prefer to take time to make sure our students are the best of their level around and thus only grade every 4 to 6 months as opposed to every 3 months on the dot as some clubs who aim to churn out substandard Karateka as quickly as possible to keep the money flowing do, it is nonetheless great for us to see the amount of progress some of our students are making on the grading front.   Several students who started training with us less than a year and a half ago are already on their 3rd belt - a quarter of the way to black!  A good start on a long journey which shows what we can achieve through attending tough and regular training two to three times a week.

A special congratulations however goes to one of our longest attending students, Martin Hughes.  Martin has been training with us solidly for many years now and last week he graded successfully for second brown.  This is a really big achievement and leaves only one belt to go before black.Martin has worked very hard with us over the last while, regularly attending special brown and black belt-only Sunday morning sessions.  All the hard work and sweat paid off, however and Martin did the dojo proud during his grading.  Nearly at the top of the ladder now Martin! :)

Well done once again everyone, remember - consistent effort over time equals success.
OSU!

Irish Open Tournament Report!

Tuam Karate Club had great success at the Irish Open Shotokan Karate Championships in Fermoy, Co. Cork on Sunday last. About ten club members attended the championships and five national level medals were brought home after a long day of travelling and competing.

As a dojo, Tuam Karate Club does not focus our training on competition, preferring self defense based martial arts as opposed to competition oriented "Sports Karate". Despite this, we always make a point of encouraging and facilitating as many of our students as possible to attend the All Ireland Open Tournament as it provides students with an excellent experience of competing in a national event and most importantly gives everyone a very good opportunity to exercise the all important "courage muscles" and learn to deal with the fear and adrenaline one experiences in a self protection scenario. Also, win or lose, competing can often be a lot of fun and always leaves students and Karateka of all experience levels with lots to think about!

The standard at the Open was, as ever, very high, with stiff competition to be found in all divisions. Nonetheless, the club easily held our own amongst those dojos who focus on tournament training an everyone who attended did the dojo proud and performed excellently, in spite of their nerves. We hope to build on this success and return to the event next year with even more members attending and maybe even a few more medals too! Thanks to Sensei Brian Toomey, 6th Dan, and all at Kenbukan Dojo in Fermoy for an enjoyable and well run event. OSU!

Club instructor Sempai Ben (left) took silver in the senior black belt mens' kata division, coming second to a fourth dan.

Two Tuam Karate Club students do us proud making the final podium for the senior womens' kyu grade category.

The days winnings!

Irish Shotokan Karate Open Championships!

Following on from our great success at the event last year, where some divisions saw first second AND third place go to our students, Tuam Karate Club will be sending a squad to the Irish open shotokan Karate championships this year. The competition takes place in Fermoy, Co. Cork next Sunday and will be attended by Karateka from across the entire country. Indeed, for last years event, the entire Italian Karate squad travelled to attend!

The standard at the competition is always very high, but attending is a great experience for students. Whether you win or lose, it really is all about having a new experience, learning to fight even though you are scared, rising to a challenge and having a good time. A certain amounts of lifts are available with members who are driving down, if you would like to attend but do not yet have a lift arranged, please contact one of the instructors either at training this weekend, or by phone if necessary. Get practicing! :)

Full details are as follows:

IRISH OPEN SHOTOKAN KARATE CHAMPIONSHIPS 2012

IRISH WHEELCHAIR KARATE CHAMPIONSHIPS 2012

LORETO SPORTS COMPLEX, FERMOY, CO. CORK. SUNDAY May 1st 2012

OFFICIALS: 10.30AM. JUNIORS: 11.00AM. SENIORS: 1.00PM. WHEELCHAIRS: 2.00PM

JUNIOR KATA MIXED U.16:
-Beginner to 9th Kyu
-8th Kyu to 6th Kyu
-5th Kyu and Above

JUNIOR KUMITE U.12:
KIHON IPPON MIXED:
-Beginner to 9th Kyu
-8th Kyu to 6th Kyu
-5th Kyu to Black Belt

SENIOR KATA LADIES:
-Beginner to 4th Kyu
-3rd Kyu and Above

SENIOR KATA MEN:
-Beginner to 4th Kyu
-3rd Kyu and Above

JUNIOR KUMITE U.16 GIRLS:
-Under 4’6” Up to Purple Belt
-Under 4’6” Brown & Black Belt
-Over 4’6” Up to Purple Belt
-Over 4’6” Brown and Black Belt

JUNIOR KUMITE U. 16 BOYS:
-Under 4’6” Up to Purple Belt
-Under 4’6” Brown & Black Belt
-Over 4’6” Up to Purple Belt
-Over 4’6” Brown & Black Belt

SENIOR KUMITE LADIES:
-Up to 7th Kyu
-Up to 4th Kyu
-Brown & Black

SENIOR KUMITE MEN:
-Up to 7th Kyu
-Up to 4th Kyu
-Brown & Black

-SENIOR TEAM KUMITE
-SENIOR TEAM KATA

UNDER 19 KATA MIXED:
- Beginner to 9th Kyu
-8th Kyu to 6th Kyu
-5th Kyu to Black Belt

Under 19 KUMITE GIRLS:
-Up to Purple Belt
-Brown & Black Belt

UNDER 19 KUMITE BOYS:
-Up to Purple Belt
-Brown & Black Belt

-JUNIOR TEAM KUMITE (2 Male 1 Female)
-JUNIOR TEAM KATA (Any Mix)

Fees: Seniors: €15. Juniors: €10. Teams: €20.
(Fees include any number of Individual events.)
Spectators: Adults €10. Children Free.

*N.B. Team Competitions will depend on the number of entries.

Gum Shields and White Mitts are compulsory for all kumite events. [*Mitts will be provided by the Tuam club for our students as necessary.]

Events may be added or dropped on the day.

Wheelchair Karate events will be decided on the day.