JKA England Four Nations Competition
Saturday 31st October 2015
Crawley, Sussex
Competitors from JKA Scotland travelled to the K2 Leisure Centre in Crawley, Sussex to compete in the JKA England Four Nations Competition.
There were individual events in Kata and Kumite for all grades in various age group categories. The annual event was very well attended as usual with a high turnout of competitors.
It was a very successful event where a total of 17 medals were won by JKA Scotland competitors in the following categories:
| Kata Medals: | |
| Blair Flynn | Gold Medal Children’s Kata 10-12 years |
| Jake Stewart | Silver Medal Boy’s Kata 7-9 years |
| Dylan Buckley | Gold Medal Boy’s Kata 10-12 years |
| Calvin Bruce | Silver Medal Boy’s Kata 13-15 years |
| Lucy Hull | Gold Medal Girl’s Kata 10-12 years |
| Jodie Ferguson | Bronze Medal Girl’s kata 13-15 years |
| Colyn Flynn | Bronze Medal Male Kata 16-20 years |
| James Cambell | Bronze Medal Male Kata 21 – 44 years |
| Andy Barclay | Silver Medal Male Kata 45 + years. |
| Kumite Medals: | |
| Jake Stewart | Bronze Medal Boy’s Kumite 7-9 years |
| Callum Flynn | Bronze Medal Boy’s Kumite 13-15 years |
| Lucy Hull | Bronze Medal Girl’s Kumite 10-12 years |
| Aria Pasqual | Gold Medal Girl’s Kumite 13-15 years |
| Marco Aboim | Silver Medal Male Cadet Kumite 16-18 years |
| Colyn Flynn | Gold Medal Division B Male Kumite |
| James Sinclair | Bronze Medal Division A Male Kumite 21 + years Nidan and above. |
| Andy Barcley | Gold Medal Male Kumite 45 + years |
Thanks to all competitors who competed and represented JKA Scotland at this event and to all officials and supporters who made the journey down to represent our association.
A big thank you also to JKA England for hosting such a well organised event.
JKA Scotland
National Gasshuku 2015
Friday 28th to Sunday 30th August
K Shiina Sensei 7th Dan JKA M Shiina Sensei 3rd Dan JKA Ohta Sensei 7th Dan JKA
Over the weekend of Friday 28th to Sunday 30th August students from all over Scotland came together for the JKA Scotland August Gasshuku 2015.
The August national course offered quality
instruction from world class JKA instructors. The instructors for the
2015 course were the following:
Shiina Sensei 7th Dan – JKA HQ Instructor
Ohta Sensei 7th Dan – JKA England
Shiina Sensei 3rd Dan – JKA HQ Instructor
As always the JKA Scotland National Gasshuku was an excellent opportunity to train with three top JKA instructors. As well as having Ohta Sensei instructing this was also a significant occasion in that guest instructors from JKA Headquarters Honbu dojo were Katsutoshi Shiina Sensei and Mai Shiina Sensei who are father and daughter and both JKA Instructor Training Graduates. JKA Scotland also had the special honour of this being the first time they had taught together outside Japan on a national Gasshuku.
Over the three days training classes were broken into three groups Black Belts, Brown Belts and Colour Belts. Each day’s three hours training was split into two sessions of 1-1/2 hours. Each instructor rotated around the groups after each session with three separate training halls for classes being used over the weekend.
All three instructors made a tremendous effort to not only make each class varied with high technical content but also enjoyable and inspiring for those training. This made for a fantastic atmosphere over the three days.
The following is a selection of photographs from the weekend’s course:
Following the conclusion of the three days training on the Sunday there was a short presentation to the Instructors thanking them for their exceptional instruction over the three days.
JKA Scotland would like to thank all three instructors for their efforts over the three days and making it a very enjoyable and successful weekend.
JKA Dan Grading:
Following the training on Sunday a JKA Dan grading was held.
The following students from JKA Scotland passed Dan Grade and will receive their JKA certificate from JKA Honbu dojo Tokyo Japan.
| Pass 1st Dan JKA (Shodan): | |
| Grant Reekie | JKA Dalgety Bay |
| Kevin Mackie | JKA Aberdeen |
| Cameron Mackie | JKA Aberdeen |
| David Gillanders | JKA Kel-North Berwick |
| Steven Hamilton | Armadale |
| Elliot Makin | Baldridgeburn |
| Corey Coyle | Baldridgeburn |
| Belinda Mcdonald | Alloa |
| Marion Mcintyre | Baldridgeburn |
| Mark Gregory | Shibumi Saltcoats |
| George Marriot | Shibumi Saltcoats |
| Pass 2nd Dan JKA (Nidan): | |
| Ian Hunt | JKA Kel-Musselburgh |
| Liam Garrett | JKA Kel-Musselburgh |
| Paul Watson | Baldridgeburn |
| Pass 3rd Dan JKA (Sandan): | |
| James Sinclair | Shibumi Saltcoats |
| Sue Struthers | JKA Orkney |
| John Lunn | JKA Kel-North Berwick |
| Peter Kerr | Alloa |
| Pass 4th Dan JKA (Yondan): | |
| Alan Bown | JKA Dalgety Bay |
| Andrew Hamilton | JKA Orkney |
| Drew Kennedy | JKA Orkney |
| David Osborne | JKA Kel-Musselburgh |
Congratulations to all the above students.
JKA Junior European Championships
Bochum, Germany
Saturday 23rd – Sunday 24th May 2015
From Thursday 21st May to Monday 25th May 2015 the JKA Scotland Junior squad traveled to Bochum, Germany, to participate in this year’s JKA junior European Championships.
The travelling party arrived in Bochum on the Thursday in preparation for the weekend’s events. The Squad then travelled on the Friday afternoon to the Ruhr Congress in Bochum for a final JKA Scotland squad training session before the championships.
As usual Saturday morning saw an early start for the Championships with the JKA Scotland Squad arriving at the Ruhr Congress Sports Hall Arena at 8-15am.
With the tournament now in its 11th year it has grown into a major event in the JKA Europe calendar with countries from all across Europe travelling to take part in the 2 day event which was held on 6 areas in the stadium.
The tournament started on schedule at 9-00am on day 1 with the elimination rounds for all individual events. The final events were then followed by the medal award ceremonies.
By the end of the first day JKA Scotland had secured the following medals:
Aria Pascual – Silver medal Girls Individual Kata 14 years and Bronze medal Girls Individual Kumite.
Lewis Simpson – Bronze medal Boys 11 years Individual Kumite.
Kyle Bruce – Bronze medal Boys 11 years Individual Kumite and Bronze medal Boys 11 years Individual Kata
Dylan Buckley – Bronze medal Boys 11 years Individual Kata
Sunday morning saw day 2 of the championships with the Team events and the veteran’s events taking place.
The JKA Scotland team’s performed well taking the following medals:
Lewis Simpson, Kyle Bruce, Dylan Buckley – Silver Team Kumite – Boys 10-11years.
Lucy Hull, Lucy Ferguson, Iona Barclay – Bronze Team Kata & Bronze Team Kumite – 11 years.
The level of competition was very high demonstrating the overall standard of JKA Europe. The competition was well organised by JKA Germany and ran very smoothly and on schedule throughout the day.
JKA Scotland Squad competitors:
Andy Barclay
Marco Aboim
Murdo Lunn
Jodie Ferguson
Ross Lunn
Calvin Bruce
Caitlin Gray
Aria Pascual
Daniel Simpson
Simon Carmichael
Lucy Ferguson
Lucy Hull
Iona Barclay
Thomas MacFadyen
Dylan Buckley
Lewis Simpson
Kyle Bruce
Travelling Officials:
Bert Stewart
John Lunn
Arthur Bruce
Andy Barclay
JKA Scotland Coach: John Deans
Thanks to all competitors, officials, parents and supporters who travelled to Germany for this event.
JKA Scotland
Special May Course and JKA Dan Grading
Saturday 16th May 2015
JKA Scotland held its Special May Course and Dan grading with Sensei Ohta 7th Dan JKA on Saturday 16th May 2015 at the Dunfermline High School, Dunfermline.
These courses are always very popular and this was proven once more with one of the highest turnouts in attendance for this course. It’s also a great opportunity for JKA Scotland instructors and students to get together and train.
Following the initial warm up Sensei Ohta’s instruction during the first half of the course concentrated on Kihon training specifically for Dan grading. This involved various kihon exercises to help promote correct transition between stances and use of the hips etc. These exercises were used as building blocks to performing the actual Dan grading Kihon combinations correctly.
Some of these Kihon combinations were then used as the basis for Kumite exercises with a partner to further practice and develop understanding of the Kihon techniques and combinations.
After a short break the 2nd half of the course started which concentrated on Kata. Priority was given to Kata being performed for Dan grading that day and also some selected Kata being practiced for Dan grading in the near future. The class was then split into 3 different groups over two training halls and along with JKA Scotland Technical Committee instructors the various Katas were taught. This gave the opportunity for some last minute Kata practise for those attempting Dan grading following the course and for those not grading the chance to choose which Katas to practise on the day.
Judging by the feedback received after the course the course was a great success and proved a great learning opportunity for those attending and we are all now looking forward to next month’s JKA Scotland Regional Courses with Sensei Ohta.
JKA Dan Grading:
Following the conclusion of training a
JKA Dan grading was held. The following students passed Dan grade:
| Pass 1st Dan JKA (Shodan): | |
| Caitlin Gray | Dalgety Bay |
| Jay Scott | Shibumi |
| Kyle Bruce | Shibumi |
| James Miller | Musselburgh |
| Lewis Simpson | Musselburgh |
| Dylan Buckley | Shibumi |
| Jordan Galbraith | Armadale |
| Pass 2nd Dan JKA (Nidan): | |
| Tom MacFadyen | Baldridgeburn |
| Wendy Osborne | Musselburgh |
| Marco Aboim | Dalgety Bay |
Congratulations to all the above students on passing Dan grading.
Thanks to Sensei Ohta for a fantastic afternoon of instruction and thanks to all JKA Scotland instructors and students who came along to support the course.
JKA England Spring International Course
May 2015 – Crawley London
JKA Scotland members pictured with course instructors.
JKA Scotland members travelled to Crawley London to attend the JKA England Spring International Course 2015 held in the K2 Sports Centre Crawley. The 4 day course was held over the weekend of Friday 1st to the Monday 4th May.
This year’s line-up of instructors was once again very impressive and was as follows:
Sensei Omura 7th Dan – JKA Thailand Chief Instructor
Sensei Imamura 7th Dan – JKA Honbu Instructor
Sensei Ohta 7th Dan – JKA England Chief Instructor
Sensei Shiina 3rd Dan – JKA Honbu Instructor
There were a large number of students attending from many different countries across Europe and further afield and many have been regular attendees of the course over the years. This gave a great opportunity for everyone to train together and socialise with friends from the various countries attending. As well as the 4 days training there was a friendly international event on the Saturday and JKA Dan grading on the Sunday.
JKA Scotland would like to thank JKA England for hosting and organising the course and weekends events which was extremely well attended and enjoyed by all. Thanks also to all the course instructors for 4 days of exceptional instruction. We shall look forward to attending the JKA England Autumn International Course in September.
JKA European Championships 2015
Prague, Czech Republic
From Thursday 26th March to Sunday 29th March 2015 the JKA Scotland squad travelled to Prague, Czech Republic to participate in this year’s JKA Senior European Championships.
After arriving on the Thursday the Squad were up early on the Friday morning for a JKA Scotland squad training session at the Sportovni Klub Dojo Bojovych Umeni in Prague for some final preparation prior to the event.
Saturday morning saw an early start for the Championships with the JKA Scotland Squad arriving at the Prague Sports Hall Arena Sparta at 8-00am. This is a major event in the JKA Europe calendar with countries from all across Europe travelling to take part and was held on 6 areas in the stadium. The opening ceremony started at 9-00am with the illumination events following during the the day. The evening saw the final events followed be the medal award ceremonies.
The level of competition was very high demonstrating the overall standard of JKA Europe. The competition was well organised by JKA Czech Republic and ran very smoothly and on schedule throughout the day.
The JKA Scotland squad all competed well in the Kata and Kumite individual and team events. Thanks to all competitors, officials and supporters who travelled to Prague for this event.
JKA Scotland Squad competitors:
Magnus Garson
James Campbell
James Sinclair
David Grant
Murdo Lunn
Colin Flynn
Marco Aboim
Travelling Officials Referees:
Alan Simpson
Gordon Williamson
John Lunn
JKA Scotland
Association National Championships 2015
JKA Scotland’s association annual championships were held on Saturday 7th March at Dunfermline High School, Dunfermline.
The championships commenced at 9-45 am with a short opening ceremony. There were various Kata and Kumite event categories according to grade and age with events being run concurrently throughout the day. The events started with junior kyu grade kata leading up to senior Dan grade Kata which was then followed by the Kumite events.
Following the completion of the various categories eliminations there was a short break then the championships finals were held followed by the medal presentation ceremony.
During the day all competitors showed great effort in competing to the best of their ability while at the same time demonstrating correct JKA Karate etiquette and respect for their opponents. The spectators also played their part during the day cheering on competitors and showing appreciation of good performances during matches which made for a great atmosphere throughout the day.
A number of the competitors taking part are members of the JKA Scotland Squad and were using the event as preparation prior to the 2015 JKA European championships which are to be held in Prague on 28th March. The junior JKA Scotland competitors will be competing in Bochum, Germany in May.
The organisers would like to congratulate and thank all competitors, officials, assistants, spectators and families for a fantastic and pleasurable day of JKA Karate and friendly atmosphere. We shall look forward to next year’s event.
Below is a link to the full results table.
For a full table of results please click this link.
JKA Scotland
January Kata Course and Coaching Seminar
JKA Scotland held its first of many events for 2015 a special Kata course with Sensei Ohta 7th Dan JKA on Saturday 17th January at Dunfermline High School, Dunfermline.
These Special Kata Courses with Sensei Ohta have always been a popular and well attended event due to them giving the opportunity to get together and spend time on some in-depth training of various Katas.
The first Kata covered during the course was Hangetsu with Sensei Ohta spending time explaining and demonstrating Hangetsu stance. As this stance can be quite difficult even for experienced karate-ka to perform correctly some time was initially spent on Hangetsu stance training.
Also covered in detail were Katas Gankaku and Kanku-Sho. Practise of each Kata also included some application with partners and a question and answer opportunity along with a final demonstration by Sensei Ohta of each Kata.
Following the practise of Hangetsu by Brown and Black Belts a separate Brown Belt class was taken in the adjoining gymnasium by JKA Scotland Technical Committee instructors Sensei Simpson and Sensei Deans. In this class Kanku-Dai and Bassai-Dai Katas were covered.
Sunday 18th January was the JKA Scotland coaching assessments which followed on from last year’s coaching seminars.
Thanks to all who attend the weekend’s events and thanks to Sensei Ohta for a fantastic weekend of instruction as usual his enthusiastic teaching style and ability to demonstrate and explain Kata techniques in-depth made for a very enjoyable and educational course.