Wado UK News 2013

December

Wado UK 6th Presentation Evening

On December 13th, almost 200 of our members attended our presentation evening for 2013. Association awards were awarded to Laura Fee, Steve Bell and Amrit Dhesi. To see who else won awards, click here.

Click here to read the December Newsletter.

November

Western Karate Union Winter Invitational 2013

Our final competition of the year was to prove a successful trip, as the East Hull Woodford Karate Club visited Weston-super-Mare on 24th November. The Dhesi family managed to return home with no fewer than 5 medals between them, 4 of them being gold. To read a report of the day, click here.

John Gardiner Kata Course

On the 10th November, and for the second time this year, Paul Braid invited England Kata competitor John Gardiner to his Shinken Dojo to conduct a Kata seminar. Around 25 students took part on the day, some of which were returning from the July course. With the course being split into three sessions, those in attendance were first instructed in Kihon, with the second and third sessions covering Goju shi ho sho and Superenpi. It was an excellent day and one which helped our competitors enormously.

Leicester Karate Championships
On Sunday 3rd November, Steve Balaam-Reed took his Chikara club to the Leicester Karate Championships to what was the penultimate competition of the year. They returned home with an amazing 14 medals to their name, and to see who won what and how they got on, click here.

Click here to read the November Newsletter

October

Sensei Tomiyama Course

On Saturday 12th October, two Wado UK students attended a seminar with Sensei Tomiyama run by the Royal Air Force. The seminar took place at the RAF Cranwell Base in Lincolnshire, and around 40 Karate-ka took part. Sensei Tomiyama has a Shito Ryu and Goju Ryu background, but the course was set up as an open course to attract students from other styles to attend. For this reason Joe Rose and Ashley Oldershaw of the Hull Zanshin Karate Club said they would like to train with him.
Joe and Ashley were actually among the youngest participants on the day, but they both thoroughly enjoyed the experience. The day itself was divided into two sessions, but both covered Kata and its bunkai. Anan was covered in great detail, and despite the fact that Joe had the most experience between our two attendees, he had never seen this kata before. However by the end of the session Joe had remembered a good ¾ of the sequences, but more importantly he had gained an enormous insight into the meaning of the kata moves. Ashley though less experienced came away buzzing at what he had learned also.
These seminars are run several times a year, and we will advertise future events for those who would also like to attend in the future. These experiences are ones to be embraced if we wish to broaden our understanding of karate.

Click here to read the October newsletter

September

5th Wado UK East Yorkshire Open Championships

Closing the month of September for Wado UK was our biggest event of the year. For the 5th year running we held our very own open championships at the Bonus Arena at the KC Stadium. The day was supported by nearly 400 competitors from around the UK, and many of our own competitors saw medal success by the end of the day. To see how the day panned out (click here)

British International Open Karate Championships

Wado UK have another British International Open Champion, in the form of 7 year old Amrit Dhesi. Amrit from the East Hull Woodford Dojo won both his Kata and Kumite sections making him a double gold medal winner. It was a fantastic performance from the youngster, who was joined in the medal wins by his elder sister Charan. This is the second year running one of our students has achieved this accolade, in 2012 Amie Newton of the Shinken Dojo won gold at this very competition. To see a report on this year's event, (click here).

Click here to read the September Newsletter

August

Paul Newby Kumite Seminar

Joe Rose from the Hull Zanshin Dojo finished August off for us, with a trip to Lincoln for the Kumite Seminar arranged by Gary Petit of the Royal Air Force. The course took place at the Deans Sport and Leisure Centre, which has had recent investment making it an excellent venue for Karate. The day was attended by around 40 students, with the course being split into two sessions. With the school holidays still running, our attendees were, Joe! Never the less Joe enjoyed the day enormously, and his competitive skills benefited tremendously.

Joe is seen below with Paul Newby following the sessions.

South Yorkshire Open Karate Championships

A much smaller than usual squad from Wado UK took to the mats in Barnsley this year for the South Yorkshire Open. However the squad were still in the medals, and Wado UK table officials were there to assist in the running of the event too. To see further details of the day, (Click Here).

World Police and Fire Games

On Sunday 4th August, Belfast played host to the World Police and Fire Games. More specifically the Karate element of it. With over 7000 participants and 68 sports on offer, Belfast was a buzzing city for the 10 days of the games. The WPFG are beaten for size only by the Olympics and Commonwealth games. Tony Dent was there along with five other English Referees for the event. The standard though a bit of a mixed bag was good enough to throw up some exciting matches, with the highlight being the men's team final between France and Finland. A great weekend and a fascinating change on the usual International Karate scene.

The photo below shows the referees meeting Dame Mary Peters who was the Ambassador for the event

Click here to read the August newsletter

July

Here is a photograph and write up from the Hey News, which is the Hull and East Yorkshire Newsletter which circulates around the NHS in our area. It reports on the ambulance pull many of our students and parents took part in earlier in June. The photograph shows the group at the beginning of their endeavors.

John Gardiner Kata Course

England International Kata competitor John Gardiner was invited to Hull on July 28th. Paul Braid and his Shinken Dojo had arranged for him to visit and run a competition Kata seminar. Around 30 people attended the course, with the majority of them being from Wado UK clubs. The day did attract several other attendees though, as several members of the England Squad also turned up to train.
The day started at 11am and concluded at 4pm, with all those in attendance welcoming the opportunity to have a rest. It was an excellent course and if repeated should be considered one not to be missed. Below is a photo of the group following the first session, which covered the Kihon of Kata. The second and third sessions covered Gankaku from Shotokan, and Gojushiho Kata of the Shito Ryu styles.

4th Wado UK Junior Championships

Our 4th annual Wado UK Junior Championships took place on the 14th of July, with the competition being held at the East Hull Woodford Dojo for the 2nd year running. We had over 70 of our youngsters taking part, and as in previous years, the competition was run entirely with individual events covering Kata, Kick-Master, and Kumite. For more details and results and photos from the day,
(click here).

Pictured below are winners of the KA 2 medals -
1st Saskia Williams, 2nd Logan Foster 3rd Thomas Fitz-John & Renaldas Sokolovas

Antonio Seba Kumite Course

On July the 9th, Joe Munro traveled with Tony Dent to Paul Newby's No 1 Fitness centre in Keighley. The reason was a second chance to train with world renowned Kumite coach Antonio Seba. Joe trained on the same course last year, and said it was one of the best courses he had been involved in. This occasion was no different, with all those in attendance getting food for thought on the seminar.

Neil Hudgel Anniversary Celebration

On June 26th, Chris Dearing and Tony Dent attended the Neil Hudgel anniversary celebration at the Ensleigh Centre on Beverley Road in Hull. The idea of the event was to mark the 1st anniversary of the trust giving out cash awards to support local organisations. Wado UK were fortunate in receiving a grant for £1000 towards our 6th and final set of Tatami mats. The grant application was completed by Chris Dearing on behalf of Wado UK.

Below is a photo from the event on June 26th

Click here to read the July Newsletter

June

British Karate Association Championships

An excellent day's competition for 6 Wado UK competitors left them with a total of 2 gold, 5 silver, and 6 bronze medals by the end of the championships. Covering all aspects of competition from Individual Kata and Kumite to pairs & team Kata and also team kumite, the small group of six did us proud. To see the full details of how, Teerth, Charan and Amrit Dhesi got on, along with Charlotte Pinder,
Oliver Dearing and Ellis Miller, (click here).

Below are our competitors, coaches and parents following the competition

On 16th June Wado UK attended two competitions. The first and biggest of the two as far as our representation went, was the Simon Coope Championships in Leicester. The second was the Chojinkai Open Championships in Penrith. Steve Balaam-Reed along with his wife Tracy were at the Leicester comp, with Tony and Gaynor Dent being at the Penrith event. Both competitions delivered medals for our group, and you can see the full details if you click the links here. (Simon Coope) (Chojinkai)

Lord Mayor's Parade

On Saturday June the 1st, Wado UK were at the Lord Mayors Parade in Hull, helping to raise funds for the Lord Mayors charities. Several of our Parents, senior students and youngsters were there, helping the worthy causes for this years parade. Our helpers included Stevie and Maddison Bell, Holly McMullen, Charlotte Pinder, Josh Hartery, Conol Guerin, Oliver Dearing, Amrit and Charan Dhesi, and Laura Fee. Our adult helpers were Steve Bell (Organiser), Chris Dearing, Mike Pinder, Gary Stevenson, George Campbell, Patrick Guerin and Andrew Parker.

Thank you to all who donated their time to represent Wado UK!

Click here to read the June Newsletter

 

May

Northern Open Classic Championships

A very small squad of three took to the mats at the Northern Open Classic on the 26th May. Charlotte Pinder, Oliver Dearing and Ellis Miller secured five medals for our end of year tally. Click here to see how the day played out.

 

Northern Regional Squad Training

On May 18th, Several members of Wado UK attended the latest in the series of EKF regional squad sessions. On this occasion there was the added benefit of a session with the National coach Willie Thomas, himself a former 2 X world champion.
All of the youngsters said the session was excellent training and definitely one not to be missed.
Charlotte Pinder and Oliver Dearing are seen below with National Squad Coach Willie Thomas

Charlotte and Oliver can be seen here again with Thomas Balaam-Reed and Lauren Foster

Weston Karate Union Championships

On May 5th, Teerth, Charan, and Amrit Dhesi from the East Hull Woodford Dojo, traveled with Dad Mak to Weston super Mare for the WKU Spring Invitational Championships. The day yielded 1 gold medal, 2 silvers and a bronze. Kick-Master and Kata success for Amrit, was added to by Kata and Kumite success for Charan. Well done to the young trio!! Click here for a report!

Click here to read the May Newsletter

April

Asda Bag-Pack

On the 14th April, three of our clubs took up the offer of raising funds for their individual clubs at the Kingswood Asda. Normally our bag-packing activities take place at the Iceland Store, but this opportunity was given to the individual clubs for their own future activities. The day was a great success with a grand total of £651.68 being de vided between the clubs, on the basis of how many hours the youngsters were involved. Well done to all those involved, and a special thank you to Steve Bell for arranging the event.

Pictured below are Gaynor Dent and Maddison Bell during the Bag-Pack

Mushindo Kata Championships

Two Wado UK clubs, the Chikara Dojo and the East Hull Woodford Dojo attended the Mushindo Kata Championships on the 7th April, and not only did they win a stack of medals, but they finished up winning the overall team trophy too. To see how they got on (Click Here).

Click here to read the April Newsletter

March

Wado UK Race Night 2

To finish off March we organised a 2nd Race Night at the Police Club on Inglemire Lane. Around 75 of our membership and family members attended the event, and again it proved a great success. As well as raising funds for Wado UK, everyone had a great time with the horse races and additional games we took part in. Many people had a hand in the proceedings, from organising, sponsoring, administration, donating raffle prizes right through to clearing away afterwards. Whatever your involvement we would like to say a big thank you for your efforts and continued support.

Hartlepool Wado Kai Championships

Wado UK came 2nd in the overall medal table at the Hartlepool Wado Kai Championships recently. We had 9 students at the competition, who between them won 14 medals. 6 Gold, 5 Silver and 3 Bronze. To see how our group got on, click here.

Neil Hudgell Solicitors Trust

Pictured below is Oliver Dearing from the Woodford Dojo holding a grant certificate. The grant of £1000 was awarded to Wado UK by the Neil Hudgel Solicitors Trust. The money was awarded to assist in the purchase of our 6th and final set of competition mats, after a successful bid by Oliver's dad Chris.

Chojinkai Junior Championships
13 medals were won at the Chojinkai Junior Championships for 2013. To see how our youngsters
got on, (click here).

KSE 6
The latest competition in our calendar saw just three competitors from Wado UK in attendance. Teerth Charan and Amrit Dhesi from the East Hull Woodford Dojo traveled to Gloucester for the KSE 6 Championships. It is the first time we went to this competition for several reasons, not least of which the 3 ½ hour journey to get there. Never the less those mentioned wanted to compete, so the decision was made to send an entry off. It proved to be one of our best decisions so far this year, as the trio managed a total of 7 gold medals, and 1 bronze medal. An amazing achievement when you take into account that because of their ages, all of their divisions were well subscribed. Read more......

Click here to read the March Newsletter

February 2013

Sakagami Challenge Championships
On the same day as the Northern Squad Session, three Wado UK members from the East Hull Woodford Karate Club attended a competition in Leicester. Teerth, Charan and Amrit Dhesi decided to make the journey to compete at the Sakagami Challenge Championships. The young sibling trio won 8 medals on the day, with gold, silver and bronze being their rewards. To see exactly how the youngsters got on, (click here).

Northern Regional Squad Training
On February 17th, several Wado UK Members visited the No1 Fitness centre in Crosshills for the latest Northern Regional Squad session run by the EKF. The venue is run by assistant National Coach Paul Newby, who is also a regional coach for the Northern area.
The session was split into two 2 hour classes, with approximately 30 minutes between. All of those who attended benefited enormously from the days activities, and it's hoped the lessons learned can now be put into practice in future competitions.

Click here to read the February Newsletter

January 2013

English and British referee Commissions
Tony Dent has recently been appointed onto the referee commissions of both the English and British Referee commissions. Both these positions will have a duration of two years initially, whereupon members will either be replaced or re-appointed. This gives Wado UK an advantageous position in keeping up to date with developments within the competitive Karate scene.

National Kyu Grade Championships
On the 20th January, the EKF held their 2nd National Kyu Grade Championships in Sheffield. Wado UK's day ended with 2 Gold Medals, 1 Silver Medal and 3 Bronze Medals. To see how the day went, (Click Here)

Fundraising Bag-Pack
The first bag-pack of 2013 took place on the 19th January. over 20 of our members and parents took to the NorthPoint Shopping centre, to once again pack shopping for Iceland customers. To see how the day went and the amount raised, (Click Here)

EKF Regional Championships
Our first news of 2013 relates to the first ever regional competition within the English Karate Federation. Two Wado UK members were representing our group at the competition. Barry Meanwell was fighting for the Northern region, and Tony Dent was there acting as an official for the event.
To see how the event panned out, click here.

Click Here to read the January Newsletter