IKO BRITISH CHAMPIONSHIPS

On Friday 26th September Barry Kyokushin travelled to Derbyshire to attend the International Kyokushin Organisation Great British Championships, which were being held on Saturday 27th September. We travelled up by coach (provided for us by New Adventure Travel Ltd)and stayed at a hotel situated about 20 mins away from the venue. With over 160 competitors in attendance the view for the spectators was awe inspiring, seeing all these competitors being address by Country Representitive Shihan Jose Claronino 7th Dan.

The event started with Kata Competition for which we had 4 entries from our club. Harriet Knowles, Jack Hilldrup, Keith Jenkins and Tony Jones. All our competitors manged to get through entry level kata (Taikioku Sono San) and moved on to perform their specified kata. Jack Hilldrup 5th Kyu( Yellow Belt) was up first demonstrating his skills with Tensho ( a kata that is needed for promotion to 1st Dan Black Belt. ) With style and grace Jack performed it well and secured 2nd place. Next up was Harriet Knowles performing Pinan Sono Ni, after making a few mistakes Harriet still managed to perform well enough to secure 3rd place. Congratulations to both.

Next up were Keith Jenkins and Tony Jones performing their specific kata. Keith Jenkins performed Pinan Sono San and although performed it very well and almost faultless, other competitors in his category were performing much higher grade kata's which pushed Keith out of the winners positions. Tony Jones was up performing Yantsu and possibly down to nerves made some mistakes and was therefore disqualified for not completing the Kata. Better luck next time both.

Moving on to the kumite, Juniors fighting this time round were Josef Govier, Harriet Knowles, Jack Hilldrup, Natascha Sedgmond and Ieaun Short.

All fighters were going in with very little experience but fought well and with confidence but on this occasion didn't achieve trophy positions.

Next up was Keith Jenkins. Recognising his opponant from the English Championships he fought with caution but was too late, with one quick kick to his face keith went down and sustained a blooded nose. As he was being seen to by paramedics it was discovered that his opponant was actually in the wrong category, he was too old to be fighting 15 yr old Keith Jenkins and was therefore disqualified putting Keith through to the final. Keith had a tough fight in the final but despite his injury and still feeling a little shaky he threw a barrage of connecting punches and kicks and won with all 3 referees awarding the win to Keith. Well Done Keith, 1st Place British Champion.

Tony Jones was up next and fighting a very experienced fighter. Tony did all he could against him and with a split decision at the end the referee awarded his opponant the winner.

This Year we had 4 Students who had only the week before achieved their 10th Kyu Grade (first grade Orange belt) and were first time fighters. Gareth Dutton, Rachel Sim, Alex Jones and Jack Millford. It was unfortunate that Alex Jones and Jack Millford were knocked out in the first round but these first time fighters fought with great determination and effort. However, Gareth Dutton and Rachel Sim fought tromendously well. Gareth Dutton fought exceptionally well after winning his first fight against a very experienced fighter and again in the second. He had a short rest before going into the final, it turned out that during his second fight Gareth had actually broken his finger, so going into the final with this injury Gareth fought well and after a split referees decision his opponant won 1st place. However for a student who had only just passed his first grade and who had never fought before, winning second place is a great achievement. Many Congratulations Gareth.

Rachel Sim, the only women fighter from our club fought with great flare and determination, once again Rachel Sim had only just gained her 1st grade in our club and had never fought before. She flew at all of her opponants not letting the very experienced higher grades any breathing space to fight back. The phrase "woman possesed" springs to mind when trying to describe Rachel's fighting ability. Winning her first bout without any problems she had a short break before her 2nd bout. When called up, once again she dominated the fighter with a barrage of point scoring techniques. Going through to the final, Rachel fought on after previous fights had called for her to have several extentions as a referee's decision could not award a clear winner. Pushing on and tired from so many extentions Rachel dominated her opponant once again and achieved First Place. Many Congratulations Rachel.

With Rachel gaining 1st Place and being crowned British Champion as indeed with all our fighters, both Sensei Richard and Senpai Phill are extremly proud of all of you.

Last up for the day was Senpai Phill. Winning his first bout with some very complex and full point scoring techniques he didn't allow his very experienced opponant any chance of scoring. After a short rest he was called up to fight once again and things were a little different this time round. His fighter seemed just as experienced as vetran fighter Senpai Phill. At the end of the round it was a split decision between the referee's so they added an extention of an extra minute. After 2 futher extentions, with both fighters digging deep to find the strength and determination to carry on in the final extention, Senpai Phill emerged victorious winning 1st place and becoming British Champion. Both fighters showed a true example of the word "OSU".

After the trophys were awarded for the Clicker Tournament, presentations were made to all the students who had achieved their 1st and 2nd Dan (black belts) at Summer Camp in July 2008. Senpai Phill was the first up to be presented his 1st Dan Belt and Certificate, a momentous occasion, not only for himself but for the Club too.

End Results

Jack Hilldrup KATA 2nd Place

Harriet Knowles KATA 3rd Place

Keith Jenkins 13 -15 yrs Clicker 1st Place

Gareth Dutton Mens Clicker 4th Kyu and under 2nd Place

Rachel Sim Womens Clicker 4th Kyu and under 1st Place

Senpai Phill Sedgmond Clicker 4th Kyu and above 1st Place.

 

Most Improved Student

Jack Hilldrup is this quarters most improved student. Jack has been very consistant with his attendance to training and always gives 100% when in the dojo. Following in his fathers footsteps (Peter Hilldrup winner of the Student of the Year award), Jack has progressed through his grades and is a very promising student. Sensei Richard and Senpai Phill are both very happy with his attitude and confidence. Congratulations Jack.

More Outdoor Training

Porthkerry Park was the location for our outdoor training session. With almost every student attending it was a very successful session. It started with sprints then moved on to basic warm ups we then performed a series of punches, blocks and kicks instructed by Sensei Richard Males, Senpai Chris Bullen and Senpai Phill Sedgmond. Once the Basics were complete we jogged everyone over the the famous "Golden Stairs". Running up in 2's everyone made it to the top then jogged back down. Then Jogging back to the main field Sensei Richard went through some basic Bo (Staff , 6ft Pole) movements, which was then followed by Senpai Phill drilling them on one of the Bo Kata's.

seniors were then taken back over to the golden stairs for one last sprint whilst the juniors were given more sprints and basic conditioning. As the night was drawing in we closed the session with some meditation in Seiza (kneeling position) for 15 minutes and finally they performed 10 hard, strong punches in seiza and sensei richard closed by saying thankyou to everyone for attending.

more photo's in the gallery

 

Summer Camp Success

At the Kyokushin GB Summer Camp held on 11th to the 13th July, a National Grading was held for students wanting to be graded for 2nd Kyu to Nidan (2nd Dan Black Belt). This is where our students Peter Hilldrup, Tony Jones and Tyrone Conway took club gradings for 7th Kyu and 6th Kyu Grades and we are happy to report that they all passed. However, this National Grade was a mile stone for Barry Kyokushin as its Assistant Instructor Senpai Phill Sedgmond achieved his 1st Dan Grade making him the 12th Shodan the club has promoted in 30 years. After a hard 2 and a half hour grading and the rigourous training sessions, some held at 1am, 5.30am, Senpai Phill had to endure a 20 Man Kumite (Fight), each opponant being brown belt and above (No padding of any kind, bare knuckle). The fighting was continuous lasting one minute each opponant. Winning 18 out of 20 fights Senpai Phill was a little worse for wear after them but still managed a smile at the end as Sensei Richard Males came to congratulate him.

 

Pictured above from left to right are :- Tony Jones (now 6th Kyu), Peter Hilldrup (now 6th Kyu) Tyrone Conway (now 7th Kyu), Senpai Phill Sedgmond (now 1st Dan) and from Pyle and Cornelly Dojo ( Shihan Paul Greenway's Dojo) Senpai Huw , Senpai Mark (now 1st Dan) and from Bridgend Kyokushin (Sensei Keith Davies Dojo) Jamie (now 2nd Kyu).

 

 

 

Barry Kyokushin train harder and

"higher" than anyone else.

On Saturday 26th April Barry Kyokushin Karate Club jogged to the top of Pen y Fan, the highest mountain in South Wales standing at 2939 feet and usually takes around 1hr 30mins to climb.

The day started with everyone meeting at Senpai Phill's house and we all drove up together. It was a very warm sunny day, conditions were near perfect for hill walking. We arrived at the base of Corn Du (second highest mountain in south wales) at about 1.20pm, got changed into our Gi's and walked to the footpath that takes you up to Corn Du. Once everyone was from the car park we explained the terrain and dangers of walking/jogging in the Beacons before we set off. After jogging for 20 minutes we stopped for a quick warm up session and then headed off to the peak of Corn Du. It was a hard climb and many found it difficult but all made it up to Corn Du, however, I should point out that at this point they all thought that Corn Du was Pen Y Fan. When they realised that Pen y fan was behind Corn Du they all let out a sigh. Never the less they all pressed on and made it to the peak of Pen y Fan. Once there, Sensei Richard had everyone line up along the edge of the mountain and perform a series of techniques and we had a big group photo taken.

As we left the mountain Sensei Richard, Senpai Phill and a few other brave students walked back to Corn Du to train on the side of the mountain on Dead Man's Ledge, a foot wide path with a 2000 foot drop infront of you and the mountain face behind you.

Then it was time for our decent, as it is with any hill coming down is far easier than going up, but for a few students they made it a challenge to jog back down too. Once we were all congregated at the bottom and taking a well earned rest, Senpai Phill and Sensei Richard decided the seniors needed cooling off, and quickly too. They were marched over to a small hidden waterfall and made to roll over in the stream and then perform more techniques while stood under the waterfall. Juniors were made to dunk themselves in the cold stream of water that runs down the mountain. Its a great way to refresh yourself after a rigourous training session.

Well Done to everyone that took part in our Outdoor Training session it was a great turn out by everyone, parents included and welcome to the start of a new tradition in our club.

"OSU"