60th Birthday Arrives

All at the WKU wish Les Birkin a very happy 60th, time for the bus pass and free prescriptions, I await a report but here is a picture of him receiving a present from his clubs.

Mersea Training Course

There is a weekend training and grading course being held at Waldegrave Holiday Camp on the 30th & 31st August. Click on the link for details.

Summer Course & Dan Grading

I shall write a full report on the course page but as the weekend draws to an end there are many happy but aching students going home across the country. Thanks to all for their support over the weekend, the weather Gods were kind to us on Saturday.

Selections for World Championships in Tokyo

The hot news today is that at the selections in Bisham Abbey Sarah Clark was selected to represent England in the -53kg division at the world championships in Tokyo later this year. Sarah will also be a member of the ladies team. Rory Daniels proved yet again what a valuable member of the squad he is, he has been selected for the men's open weight and also the team. Darren Haynes has made a well deserved return to the national squad with his selection as the team reserve. Three WKU members going to Japan to represent England must be classed as a great success story and bears Testament to the standard that is prevalent within the association, I just hope Rory or Darren has a kit bag big enough to fit me in! Paul James and Shaun Langson also acquitted themselves very well, both having won a fight, drawn another and lost the last one. Great news for all of the squad and for our own WKU coaches.

Front Page News

Latest Competition news

See our competition pages for the latest news from Birmingham.

European Promotion

Congratulations to Ivor Thomas on his promotion to "A" class judge at the recent Europeans, Ivor was the only English promotion in the group attempting kumite advancement.

Take note selectors, the WKU are clearing up in Edinburgh, a full report is on our competition page, there is also a link to many photographs but please keep sending in more to me.

Jersey April visit

The Jersey club invited Kevin & Ann Barrett over for a week to run a couple of training sessions, a report on these is on the "course" page.

April Fundraising

Sunday 20th April was the date set for our kyu grade fund raising event, look to our competition page for a full report on the event.
Further to the fundraising we have had a very generous donation from Samba Consulting an "IT" company, Mr Simon Bunker a student at the Clevedon club has donated a large amount towards the expenses for Edinburgh, this along with donations from Bristol Builders and Hudson Engineering of Nailsea has put us a long way towards our target. Many thanks to all of these companies for their support, I shall see if they have web sites and add links from our site.

English Nationals

Good results from the first EKF nationals, a full reports on the competition page to follow, and another English qualified referee for the WKU.

Bristol Summer Course

The date is set, July 5th at The Old Reds as always, the summer sun will be with us, it has been arranged. Cost for this course are £5.00 for juniors and £10.00 for seniors, very good value. Don't forget to bring food and lots of cold drink to help keep you going.

Bristol Builders Supplies

We are grateful to Bristol Builder Supplies for their very generous donation to help in sending our squad to the Commonwealth games. Bristol Builders are situated at Unit 3, Barton Hill Trading Estate, Herapath Street, Bristol, BS5 9RD, if you need supplies, make sure you check them out as your first port of call.

Competition Results

Look into our competition page for the latest results of the competition held at Brierly Hill on the 24th February, great results for our WKU members.

Fundraising Event

Many of you will not know but this years Commonwealth Games being held in Edinburgh are now open to associations. The WKU have always had a very strong kumite squad and also a few coming through on the kata squad. It is hoped to send a squad to the games and although they are all willing to self fund for the event, we as an association would like to try to raise some funds to help with the expenses. To this end we are going to have a small Kyu grade competition for our clubs at the Bristol dojo on the 20th April. At this moment it is felt it will be a junior event for under 16 year olds. If anyone out there has any bright ideas on gaining some sponsorship, please let us know, maybe your company would like to buy the medals for the competition or sponsor in any other way!

WKU Course at Emersons Green

Check out our "Courses" page for the latest event held at Emersons Green, lots of pictures from the day also.

Esporta club

Here are a couple of pictures of our club who train at the Esporta Health club in Bradley Stoke, near Bristol.

Our first session runs from 10.00 - 11.00 on Saturday mornings, it was a culture shock having to be there at 09.00 so we managed to start an hour later, thus students and instructors are sometimes a little more awake.

The second session 11.00 - 12.00 is for our younger and lower grade members, break them in gently, though I am ready for a strong cup of tea afterwards! The support is good and we are steadily growing in numbers.

Jersey Course 2nd Oct - 6th Oct

Liam's retirement course is nearly on us, he will be leaving the island to go back to Ireland, lets make this a course to remember!

Christmas at Brightlingsea

Happy faces looking forward to the big day, maybe a few looking forward to a week or two of rest!

Dan Grading November 18th

The Christmas Dan grading was held at the Bristol dojo recently. To start the session there was an hour long warm up, this was open to all brown belts and above and was well attended. During the training period instructors were changed around, thus giving each group a chance to learn different ideas from across the country. Fifteen students were up for the grading of whom eight were to later pass.
Promoted to Sandan & Shodan,

I have asked for pictures to be forwarded, as soon as I receive some I shall make a link for them to be displayed.

See our course page for a kata course and officials course held recently at the Clevedon dojo.

England Call Up

Sarah Clark has been selected to join the england squad who are off to Istanbul, Turkey for the Junior World Championships. Sarah will be fighting in both the team and individual events. As the new governing body has only just been formed, there is no money in the kitty, Sarah has to "self fund" for this event, the WKU are helping and so are a few clubs in the area, if you or your club can also help please contact Wendy White our secretary, any donation will be gratefully received as she has to pay air fare, hotel and even the competition entrance fee herself.

Jersey Course

A report has been written, just confirming everything and having my grammar checked! I have about 300 pictures to edit, some will be up very shortly. Many thanks to all those people on the island who gave their time to make this yet another very successful weekend. A full report and the link to the photographs will be found on the "Course" page.

Mersea Course

Latest news coming from the Mersea course held on 02/09/07, a full report will be posted soon, it might also explain some of the strange going's on in that part of the country!

Summer Dan Grading 2007

It seems I have slipped up here, a report was put out and lots of pictures of the course but nothing of the grading, anyone out there with pictures please send them in to me, I shall get onto a report ASAP.

WKU Beach Fun Day Sunday 5th August 2007

*** More pictures added 16/08/07***

We had lots of Sun and Fun down on the Beach in Weston-super-Mare.

The rain storms throughout July and August obviously had people doubting that this event would go ahead, but it did, and it was a great day.  No rain, just sunshine.

There were over 50 students training with over 100 for the barbecue, well down on previous years, probably because of the fear of bad weather, but nonetheless a good crowd and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. 

Clubs supporting the event were Bristol, Oldmixon & Uphill, Clevedon, Broadwell, Nintai Ronin and Patchway. 

For the training the instructors were Alan, Dave, Andy, Ivor and Nigel, who between them put the students through their paces followed by various kumite and self-defence techniques.

For the barbecue the burger chefs were Gary for the carnivores and Darren for the vegetarians (and he even managed to rope his Mum in!).  They all did a wonderful job throughout, although the burgers ran out at one stage but a quick dash to the local supermarket put us back on track once more and everyone was fed to the usual good standard without waiting around too long.  

Jackie, Laura and Kam organised the catering marquee ably assisted by Sarah, Scarlett and James.  The side salads and pasta/rice dishes proved very popular with the tuna pasta, potato salad, curried rice and vegetable pasta bowls all being polished off well before the end, and it doesn't matter how many cherry tomatoes I buy they all vanish in minutes.

After the barbecue was over Martin and Mark organised a game of family friendly rounder's for anyone who had a little energy left.  They were enjoying themselves so much they refused to stop for the raffle!  The photo's tell the rest. 

Our official photographer Jill was there to take some snaps for the website and our raffle queen Sarah with assistants James and Sam did the usual good job by hassling everyone out of the contents of their purses and wallets!. 

Thanks to the usual crew for turning up early and staying all day until the last box had been packed away.  You work so hard and I am so very grateful.

Another great day.

Wendy

Referee Course & Squad Training

Sunday 22nd July saw us at the Bristol Dojo again, we started the day with a referee and table official course, a few new faces were made welcome. Shane Balmer 5th Dan and chairman of the Rokakai Karate Association paid a visit with Brian Holland 3rd Dan the team coach and some young members. Alan and Andy gave a training session which was followed by a small competition, this was well supported, I think all clubs took home a medal or two.

Summer Course & Grading

Check out our course page for the latest update on this years summer course with links to lots of pictures of the course and the Dan grading.

Results from the regionals

Check out our competition page for the latest results, a great day for WKU.

Squad Session with a Referee & Table official Course

On the 22nd July, starting at 11.00 we shall be having another referee/table official course.  This will be followed by a squad session where we shall also be able to have some more practical training.  Please pass the word around the clubs, we are beginning to see some interest from our more senior members and from the families that attend, it is very important that we at this stage encourage everyone to understand the workings of the table, it is so important to bring these people forward as they can make an area run so well that the referees and judges can get on with their jobs and not worry about what is happening behind them.  Please pass the word, all are welcome.

Colchester Area Competition

Check our competition page for the results of a recent competition held in Colchester, a full report will soon be there.

You Tube

Well done to Caleb for getting the WKU on You Tube. Pay a visit to youtube.com, type in WKU Karate and see a list of clips from recent competitions or click on this link, if he had told me he was filming I would have combed my hair! Also have a look at the latest results on our competitions page.

Weekend Training Course at Saxmundham

Les Birkin 7th Dan will be holding a weekend training course at the Carlton Park/Camping Site in Saxmundham on the weekend of the 26th & 27th May. This site takes caravans and tents and all of the family are welcome. Those wishing to attend or who require more information please contact Les on 01206 322062 or 0771 380 6851 for details.

W.K.U. Open 6th May 07

Look to our "Galleries" page for hundreds of pictures of our latest competition. Many thanks to Jill Adams for all of her work in getting this album onto the web so speedily, a report will follow shortly.

Ivor Thomas

Ivor Thomas has this week been promoted to European Judge, congratulations to him for his determination and hard work that has gone into achieving this position.

Referee Course

Saturday 24th March we held a course at the Clevedon Dojo for referees, judges and table officials. With over twenty attending the course from Bristol, Broadwell, Clevedon, Oldmixon and Uphill and a guest from Imperial, it proved to be a popular afternoon with a lot gained to help at our future tournaments. Gary Doughty was promoted to association referee, whilst Paul James, Mike Elliott and Maria Kelly-Fursdon were all promoted to association judge. We also had members getting to grips with the art of the table paperwork, without these volunteers we could not run our competitions so successfully. Many thanks to the students who turned up to fight and put out officials through their paces, Sarah Clark and Chelsie Ware going to town making life very lively for the judges and referees. There will be many more of these courses and ratification of promotions will take place at our national competition in May. Anyone wishing to progress through the system please just let your instructors know and they will start the ball rolling.

English Event at Sheffield

Go to the competition page for the early report on this event. A full report will be posted later.

Karate England

Due to the demise of the governing body, we would just like to keep our members informed of some of the events happening around us at the moment. Western Karate Union has always carried it's own member to member insurance, our instructors have their own public liability insurance, so we are well covered and events have not affected us in any way here.
There is a lot of news bounding around the web sites, we the executive receive many E mails every day supporting one faction or the other. We have yet another meeting in Birmingham on the 1st April, hopefully when all of the knives are put away we in karate may move forward in a united front.
The majority of what is happening does not alter anything for most members, it is the elite squad/England athletes that are in Limbo at the moment, they may suffer if we lose the top competitions that are normally held throughout the year, though I am sure our chief instructor will still be keeping them on their toes and match fit. I will try to keep everyone updated as time goes on.
Kevin Barrett

WKU Referee Course

Saturday 24th March we intend to have a referee course and exam for WKU officials. All of those wishing to either get on the ladder or progress through are welcome to attend. We would also invite anyone wishing to help at our competitions to come along and learn how to become a table official. For those taking referee qualifications there will be a written exam and some practical training with a view to promotions being verified at our event in May. Times are 14.00 - 17.00 at the Clevedon dojo, dress as per refereeing code. If you have any students willing to give their time and energy for some practical kumite please bring them along. This course is free to WKU members. For more information call Kevin on 01275 877811 or E mail kevin@wku.org.uk

AMA International Nottingham

Look to our competitions page for a report on this event.

Junior British International January 07

Go to our competition page for a full report and a link to the pictures of this event.

Boxing Day Fun Run

Boxing Day in clevedon had it annual road race, three WKU members were in the event (there may have been more). Rory Daniels, Sophie Millard and Chris Green all completed the course, I do not yet know how they did and just in case the "old one" Chris caught up with Rory we shall leave it at that, suffice to say all three completed their respective course. Well done, you should all be fit and ready to start back to training in the New Year.

Dan Grading Bristol November 2006

Bright and early on a Sunday morning many weary eyes from the Colchester area of the country arrived for a course and Dan grading. Many had left home just after 04.00 but it must be the good living as when the course started they were full of energy. To travel such a long way and have the level of support from their clubs is a credit to them, this was also shown in the grading as the standard was of the highest that anyone could have asked for.
Those promoted to Shodan were, Daniel Williams of Clevedon, Nathan Jones of Colchester, Martyn Holman of Brightlingsea and Ben Collins of Broadwell.
Promotions to Nidan went to Kristie Parkins of Hadleigh, Natasha Jones and Sophie Weller of Colchester, Emma Knight of Oldmixon & Uphill, James Trott of Bristol Karate Shotokan.
David Kemery of Chipping Sodbury was awarded his Nidan and Alan Taylor his Yondan, much to the amazement of both men.

Jersey Course 2006

Who could have asked for a better weekend than the one that we all had? The weather was first class all weekend, the hotel was great and the welcome and generosity of our host club was out of this world. Our thanks also have to go out to Martin Gurren, Managing Director of Freelance Motor Group at longueville, not only was our chief instructor and his wife collected at the airport in a fantastic Lexus limousine, he also supplied a Lexus RX300 and a Lexus RX400h for Alan and myself to use all weekend. Dave Louis as always was there, though often to us visitors he may be in the background, I know very well the amount of effort he puts in to promote the club and karate in Jersey. Liam and his motley crew set up a great weekend, with coaches to take everyone out for a fantastic meal on the Saturday night. We from the mainland thank all of you over there for all you do to make these weekends so memorable.
I shall be receiving a report from Liam very shortly and will ask Alan for another, these will be posted on the "course" pages of the site. I have about 300 pictures to edit and post, so here is one to be going on with.

Visit by Terry Pottage England Chief Referee

Sunday 1st October saw Terry Pottage 7th Dan, the England Chief referee visit the Bristol dojo to take a course for our members and a few visitors.We started with a run through the rules book, this brought out some interesting questions, showing that our future referee's and judges are thinking of how to read situations in competitions After the theory came some practical, many thanks to the students from Oldmixon and Clevedon who became our "guinea pigs". A short break and time to get into our gi's when Terry then took us through Gojushiho kata. The time flew by, for some of us with the kata we could have had another couple of hours and still had problems remembering the moves, thankfully our youngsters will remember, we hope! Thanks must also go to Tony Dent who traveled from the North East to be with us and Adrian Williams who traveled from the South, well South Bristol that is! Thanks obviously to Terry for his support, we look forward to seeing him again in the future.

*Senior British International Karate Open See Competition page*

WKU Beach Fun Day – Sunday 6th August 2006

Another good day in Weston-super-Mare – goes without saying really!

The rain storms at the beginning of the week had me a little concerned but I need not have worried because, as always, the weather was kind to us on the day.

There were 70 students training with 140 for the barbecue, a little down on last year but nonetheless a good crowd. The burger chefs did a wonderful job considering the wind was hampering things a little more than normal and everyone was fed and watered to the usual good standard with side salads and pasta/rice dishes made up of numerous different concoctions thought up by some ever helpful Oldmixon members (Kam, James and Jo). For all those wishing to know the recipe of my coleslaw it is very simple - white cabbage, carrots, onions and mayonnaise. There are no secret ingredients so I don’t know what all the fuss is about unless it’s the silver spoon I stir it with that gives it a special flavour!

Instructors were Alan, Chucky, Max, Kevin, Nigel, Darren, Quin and Gary who between them put the students through their paces followed by various kumite and self-defence techniques.

Jackie reigned supreme in the catering marquee ably assisted by Kam (who had previously spent two hours raking the sand for the training only to find them move the area to something a little firmer this year – sorry Kam!), Ann, Pauline, Erica, Scarlett, Andy (yes, Andy), Sarah, Quin, Debbie, and probably several others who I’ve missed off. The main BBQs were manned by Kim and Kevin Jones with a little assistance from Dennis, with Kevin and Nigel adorning the Veggie section assisted by Brian. Our official photographer Jill was there to take some snaps for the website and our raffle queen Sarah did her usual good job by hassling everyone into submission.

Darren did his bit also although he could have done without his wife Kelly throwing the car keys away with all the rubbish, leftover food ‘n all – yuk!

Clubs supporting the event were Bristol, Bristol Shotokan, Broadwell, Clevedon, Esporta, Kenkyukai, Nintai Ronin and Oldmixon & Uphill.

You are a great bunch to work with and I thank you all for your support and usual good humour. I would like to make special mention to Kam Govind who cooked up pasta dishes beforehand, turned up early to help set everything up, raked the sand for two hours with her son James, helped prepare the fresh salads, cooked some of the sausages, helped serve out the food, clean up, pack up, get the marquee down and then tidied the leftover rubbish off the beach. Bet she slept well on Sunday night!

Wendy

Many thanks to Jill Adams for editing and adding so many pictures in such a short time, click the link below to see them.

Beach BBQ Pictures

British Youth Championships Sheffield

June 10th & 11th on a hot weekend we were all melting in Sheffield. We came home with two medals, a bronze for Jenny May in the girls 8-9 kata and a silver for Chelsie Ware in her kumite event. I will ask Alan and Wendy for a full report, pictures will also be available with a link from the competition page shortly.