After a decade of teaching Martial Arts in Basingstoke and nearly 40 years of learning and teaching several Martial Arts, my experiences is that we all reach plateaus in our training. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a hard combative martial art like Karate, Judo...
County Sports Awards Winners Unveiled The winners of the 2016 Hampshire and Isle of Wight Sports Awards were revealed on Thursday 17th March at the ceremony at Southampton Football Club. The event was presented by Kris Temple from BBC South Today, with...
The senior squad had a very busy weekend in Sheffield at the AMA International championships. This was one of the biggest competitions many of them had ever been to and they all did really well. Competitor entries for events ranged from 10 to 42, with almost all of...
The winter nights are here now. It’s cold outside. You’ve got a good book. A warm cup of coffee. You feel tired from work. There’s a good movie on TV. The dog gets lonely….. The next time you feel like a night off or can’t be bothered,...
Congratulations to club coaches, Paula Clarke, Mark van Meerkerk and Emma McDade upon the successful completion and passing of their Level 2 Martial Arts Coaching Qualification under the auspices of the British Council for Chinese Martial Arts.
The Eight Principles of Martial Arts by Wayne Roberts On the wall of our dojo in Basingstoke is a list of 8 words that face students every day when we train. I have to admit that even though I have previously looked at these words many times, I don’t...
Day 3 – Italy Competition Another long day, we all made it for breakfast at 7:00 and I’ve just back to my room at 22:26. But must say it’s been a great day for all of the squad. Another good day of high standard competition and of competent refereeing....
End of the first full day in Caorle in Italy for the Cadets and Junior’s World Karate Championships. Fair to say that the five of us are a little tired. As a recap to yesterday, we arrived in the resort at around 12:30, quick lunch and then training at...
I’m a Black Belt, I don’t need to train as much…Often the immortal words said by someone who thinks they’ve made it and stops training because they are now an awesome ‘Teacher.’ Gichin Funakoshi (Founder of Shotokan Karate) said...
As recently mentioned we are making some temporary changes to the timetable in June as Lindsey and Bryan are away competing in Slovenia. Please note the following dates on your calendar: Fitness Classes Monday 3rd June: We are changing the Monday morning class...
Members of our Karate club from Basingstoke recently attended the Karate Sport England (KSE) National Championships held in Loughborough. The team included both experienced players and novices of all ages. The KSE championships are open to all styles of Karate and it...
Black Belt Research Project 2013 Introduction by Zane Sewell As part of the preparation for my black belt examination I am going to complete a project looking at how I can help and encourage others to become the best of themselves in their Martial Arts. To explore...
A number of the members from our Martial Arts centre in Basingstoke were chosen to attend the Basingstoke and Deane Sports Awards 2013. The Sports Awards are organised by Basingstoke Local Sports Council and in particular Kevin Laing and Sue Hillyard in conjunction...
As Martial Artists, we should all seek to constantly challenge ourselves to test our knowledge and skills every time we train. As Gichin Funakoshi (who is credited with introducing Karate to Japan) said “Karate is like warm water. If you don’t heat it...
Our Martial Arts School based in Basingstoke held a grading on Saturday 8th December with members attending from both our Alton and Basingstoke classes. The grading itself was split into four different groups dependent upon age and ability. This was also one of two...
You’ve got real potential! How many time do we hear this said of ourselves and then then start to feel really proud of our accomplishments because someone has said this to us. For most of us this would be the norm. Why? Because it makes us feel good about...
The Martial Arts are primarily feminine. Many would think this a strange statement until they start to look a bit deeper. By nature men are linked to the sun (yang) and women to the moon (yin). Women have a 28 day biorhythmic cycle and their emotions change to reflect...
“Any questions?” A sea of blank faces look back. “Did you understand the principles taught?” Did I almost see a nod from one person? The Martial Arts is a funny old game. We are told that it is traditionally taught by blind acceptance/faith. The Instructor stands...
I have a dream…. That one day Martial Arts will not be thought of as ‘separate’ Martial Arts, that the politics of structures like Karate, Ju Jitsu, Kung Fu, Taekwondo and Aikido are consigned to history – that Martial Arts will retain it’s diversity without...