Guildford International Course

28th to 30th August 2009

The JKA England summer course held at the Spectrum Leisure Centre, Guildford, was host to some of the finest instructors karate has for a three day training course.  Sensei Ueki (8th Dan and member of the Board of JKA Directors) and Sensei Taniyama (6th Dan and General Manager of the JKA Guidance Division) from the JKA Japan Honbu were joined by Sensei Ohta (6th Dan and JKA England Chief Instructor) for a very well attended event.

(Click here to download grade passes)

Day 1 - Friday 28th – After a warm up by Roy Tomlin (5th Dan) Sensei Ohta instructed the first lesson focusing on control of the back foot and balance, especially when directing energy, in particular, attention to the heel of the back foot when executing techniques.  These were built up into a series of exercises combining a kick and counter punch to help confirm this.

Sensei Ueki took the second lesson for black belts and paid great attention to Bassai Dai.  This was aided by practical examples of bunkai with fellow students and attention to detail on specific elements of the kata.

Sensei Ohta concluded the day with Jitte and a complete breakdown and analysis of the kata before bunkai again with other students.  The kyu grades had the opportunity to train with Sensei Ueki and Sensei Taniyama while the dan grades were put through their paces.

Day 2 – Saturday 29th - For those whose hips were still working after Friday’s lesson, we in for a busy day.  Glyn Morgan (5th Dan), took the warm up after which Sensei Ueki focused on the stances, in particularly hips being parallel to the floor for maximum control and effectiveness.  The emphasis on the shorter stances, particularly when partnering up with a fellow student became apparent and how effective some of these techniques really are.

After a short break, Sensei Taniyama took the black belts for a focus on zenkutsu datchi, notably how the front leg maintains power and the interaction with the back leg can make for a powerful combination.  By squeezing the back leg (and not telegraphing your opponent) increased the speed and distance travelled during kumite. 

Sensei Taniyama also took the black belts for the third lesson of the day, building on what was explained during the second lesson.  This built upon knowing your distance when attacking an opponent and demonstrated using oi zuki.  Sensei used an incredibly effective movement by transferring power from the back leg to the oi-zuki while tremendous speed while impressed everyone watching, reiterating not to signal any movement of attack while executing the movement (and blocking the opponents front hand).  The class concluded with practicing kata – Sochin, and the opportunity for students to ask questions on specific aspects of the kata.

While these were all basic techniques, the Sensei’s masterful skill in taking what we think we know is basic, takes years of dedicated insight to perfect. 

Day 3 – Sunday 30th – After a warm up by Sensei Ismail (5th Dan), Sensei Taniyama focused the class on attention to the central pivot of the body when moving, especially when changing stance and how techniques could be added.  The class concluded with Sanbon and Gohon kumite to demonstrate the points raised. 

After short break, Sensei Ueki focused on more basics, especially ma-ai (distance), especially when using block and counter techniques.  Sensei also noted the use of go-no-sen (seizing the initiative after an opponents attack) and sen-no-sen (seizing the initiative before an opponents attack, with great effect.  Sensei Ueki also took the dan grades for the final class of the course with kata – Bassai Dai, Jion and Gangkaku.

Click here to download grade passes

JKA England would also like to thank everyone who attended the course for what was an enjoyable weekend.  In particular, those students and instructors from the greater JKA fraternity who travelled great distances for the course, we extend our gratitude and friendship – notably from JKA Scotland, JKA Isreal, JKA Ireland, JKA Germany, JKA Poland and as always JKA Norway.

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