Thank you to all the students and Instructors who took part in our advanced training course for Black and Brown Belts. These sessions are great because we can cover advanced parts of the syllabus and work with fellow higher grades from all areas of the Club.

We hope you enjoyed it and have taken a few things away that you can work on. The next brown and black belt course is Sunday 27th April. Any student aiming to attempt their Black Belts or next Dan grades at the May grading must attend this event so please keep the date free.

We are delighted to announce that the following students retook Kata sections and completed their Dan Gradings:

Samantha Lawrie - Shodan

Congratulations Samantha on successfully completing your Black Belt. You have trained consistently since the day you started and you seem to really enjoy the challenge of learning karate. Your Kata was much improved and you appeared to be more confident this time around. I think it helps having just one section to focus on and the your Kata was fantastic. I hope that you will start to believe in yourself more from now on and you can relax knowing that you’ve reached your goal. You are such a lovely lady to have in the Club, always positive and set a great example to others. We are so pleased for you, well done!

Benjamin F - Shodan

Ben has had such a long karate journey that started over 10 years ago. He was unlucky at our November grading as I think nerves just got the better of him. I know he was disappointed but he has shown great resilience in that he came back to class straight away and just got on with it. He has really strong karate and scored good marks in the Kihon and Kata section. It was just that momentary lapse in concentration, it can happen to anyone. This time around, he absolutely smashed his Kata. It was powerful, well timed and it was clear that a lot of practise had gone into it. I hope you will continue to train in karate and enjoy it, you are a brilliant student and a wonderful cadet leader. I hope that passing your Black Belt will restore your confidence! You’ve caught up your big brother now too which is bonus. Mums still in charge though with that Nidan! Well done.

Sophie L - Shodan

What a beautiful display of karate from Sophie! She has always been an excellent karateka and such a hard worker. We are so pleased to see her come back more determined than ever after experiencing such a crushing disappointment. Again I just want to say that these things happen to the very best of us. Performing in front of a panel and a lot of spectators creates enormous pressure. This time around Sophie was so focused, nothing was going to stop her. I bet she will never want to do Junro Shodan again after all that practise. We are so proud that you are one of our black belts because you really do have lovely karate and extraordinarily good kumite. Keep up the outstanding work and inspiring others to have karate just like yours. Congratulations.

Helen Dolan - Sandan

Yes! Helen Dolan Sensei is a 3rd Dan and we couldn’t be prouder! Achieving Sandan is an exceptional achievement made by only a few. Out of the thousands of people who start their karate journey only a handful will ever make it Sandan. Anyone is capable of achieving Shodan. Nidan, you have to work more for and prove that your karate works. Sandan is real commitment. It takes time, sustained effort, perseverance and sacrifice. It’s going out to karate, spring, summer, autumn or winter, night after night, month after month, year after year. It is developing a growth mindset to continue practising and honing your techniques when there isn’t much left that is new to learn. Sandan is the grade that ordinary student with ordinary commitment will never get to because they make those sacrifices to get there. We were gutted for Helen Sensei when she fell short at the test, because she does all of these things. She lives the karate life and is such a kind and humble person. She is a fine example of a true martial artist.

Karate means so much to her and the Dolan fellas. She is always in the dojo, giving her energy and is generous with her time. Inspiring others, prioritising their learning and their development. It is because of people like Helen and the Dolan family that we keep going and continue to have such a wonderful community Club. Students become friends and eventually like family. She means so much to so many and is an absolute diamond. November will have been devastating for Helen Sensei because she cares so much. I hope that completing your grading and smashing that Junro Yondan will restore her confidence and allow her to enjoy her training again without any additional pressure. It will be nice to work on the next set of Katas I am sure (without doing a junro yondan for a while). Congratulations Helen Sensei, we are so happy for you, it’ll be a while before you have to think about doing it all over again! Well done.