Alison and I spent Sunday at a course entitled "Emergency First Aid at Work" presented by Tony Bennison of http://www.abcfirstaid.co.uk

I was looking forward to bandaging Alison and putting slings and splints on people - WRONG! It was actually a very sensible course aimed at keeping first aid simple and supporting life until the ambulance arrives. Tony gave several clear messages throughout the course eg. call 999 - and if you don't know what to do, or are unsure of anything, speak to 999. We learnt the principles of Danger - Response - Airway - Breathing - Circulation, and that you should repeat these steps over until help arrives. A major part of the course was instructing us when to use CPR, and not to be afraid of using CPR.

His talk was interspersed with actual videos of sporting events showing what can go wrong if the correct first aid approach is not adopted. These covered sudden death syndrome, where fit sportsmen collapse and how treatment should or should not be given. We also saw a training video of Sir Steve Redgrave at Leander, who collapsed during training with a diabetic hypo and, even with doctors present, his treatment was incorrect.

We finished with the usual dummy work, but Tony made sure we had to keep pumping our dummies for 5 minutes (which seemed twice as long) so that we appreciated how tiring CPR can be. We also practised administering an adrenaline injection to an allergy victim using an Epipen, and finished with de-fibrillator practice which made us all realise how simple they are to use.

It was a great course and extremely valuable to Alison and myself - but we hope we never need to use it!

Oss!

Sensei Simon

Sensei Daniel Lautier was born March 23, 1950 in Tangier (Morocco). His father working for an airline so he travelled frequently. As a teenager, he started karate in France, March 21, 1965, under Mr. Perret. In 1968, he stayed in Japan and went to the JKA. There he met many instructors, especially Kase Sensei and Sensei Miyazaki. Back in France, he trained many months with Kase Sensei at the dojo of the Rue de la Montagne-Sainte-Geneviève in Paris. Sensei Lautier passed his black belt (shodan) at the age of 19 in 1969.

Soon, he devoted himself to his passion  of karate full time and became a teacher. From the moment when Sensei Kase joined karate in the French Federation, Lautier Sensei helped to develop and promote the Japan Karate Association in France.

By 1978, he was training regularly with Miyazaki Sensei and every week travelled from Paris to Brussels to be with Sensei Miyazaki. This continued until Sensei Miyazaki sadly passed away in 1993.

Sensei Lautier devoted all his time to teaching and the development of the JKA, creating the Shotokan Karate Association with some 80 clubs in France. While keeping the identity of the JKA, and independence of the association, he managed to obtain a memorandum of understanding and recognition for the federation.

Every year since the 90's Sensei Lautier has invited JKA instructors to France, including such famous names as Senseis Enoeda, Kawawada, Mori, Ueki, Iida, and Osaka. In 1998, the 7th JKA World Cup was organized in France.

During recent years, Lautier Sensei  has taken his "pilgrim staff" to teach karate through Morocco, Madagascar, Djibouti.

Reproduced from Sensei Lautier's profile on his dojo website, Boulogne, France

http://www.jka-bsk.org/daniel-lautier_2246277.html

His golden rule: Discipline & Work
His latest book: In the footsteps of my Sensei

Busy week! Saturday 12th November saw us at Stevenage JKA Karate Club for a grading with Sensei Gary Stewart. Sensei Gary gave black and brown belts a hard taining session first thing - lots of exciting partner work, followed by continuous kata. Four katas in a row, without stopping, tests your stamina and technique. Several years ago I faced a test which demanded several kata constantly over about an hour, and the only way to survive such a test is to make sure your technique stays as strong and focussed as possible - good practice.

The grading went very well and all our students passed well. I was delighted with our three orange belts - they were 1,2,and 3 in their grading group and when it was time to show their kata they moved almost like a team kata, all together. Well done Adnan, Glenn, and Matt.

Sunday I was helping to judge the JKA London Area competition and Alison was timekeeping. It was great to see the commitment shown, especially by younger competitors. I refereed several jiu ippon kumite bouts and found it very hard - consideration has to be given to correct attack, distance from target, effectiveness of block, spirit, and many more factors on both sides, but generally the four corner judges managed to achieve unanimity so my catsing vote was only needed a few times. A long day but very rewarding.

And the week climaxed yesterday with my assessment at Oasis for eligibility to take 3rd dan in December. Sensei Paul Steadman scrutinised my technique and I have a lot to work on in the next two (TWO!!) weeks, so bye for now - I have to go and train!

Oss!

Sensei Simon

The end of a hard week's training. Last weekend Mrs M-J and I attended the excellent Autumn International Course at K2, Crawley, with Sensei Imamura, Sensei Izumiya, and our Head of Association Sensei Ohta. The training was excellent and many gems of advice came from the close instruction of each Sensei. It was also a good opportunity to brush up on advanced katas - Gojushiho and Unsu - the latter being particularly difficult for us more mature karateka. Sensei Izumiya made us laugh talking about how different age bands should regard the jump in Unsu. People in their 20s should jump, people in their thirties should try to jump, people in their forties should think about jumping, and people in their fifties and older can dream about jumping!
Good attendance at the club this week - thank you students! Thursday was tough for me because of a hard lesson at Oasis with Sensei Ohta - not helped by broken air conditioning! Some fellow students thought I had feinted when I slipped in a patch of sweat during stepping punch.
Returning home, I was able to measure my effort. Weight of gi dry = 1225 gms; weight after one and half hours lesson at Oasis = 1700 gms. Therefore water loss = 475 gms which apparently translates to 17 fluid ozs or nearly a pint!
Now recovering in fabulous weather....

Oss!

Sensei Simon

Last weekend was a martial arts extravaganza with the JKA England National Competition in K2 at Crawley. Alison and I went there on Friday to help set up, and because we could not gain access to the main hall until 10.30 pm we were helping until 2 am! It was worth it because the Hall looked superb with 7 arenas ("tatami").
Up at 7am for a huge breakfast courtesy of the Arora Hotel and the referees briefing at K2 for 9 am. This year we combined kyu grades with dan grades so there were over 500 competitors to manage through the day.
I had the privelege of joining Sensei Adel Ismail's judging team on area 2. Refereeing - and judging - is high pressure because motivation and reputations are made or broken by your decision. And mistakes are especially embarrassing!
Evenso, we kept going and it was a great experience and I would recommend anyone to try judging and refereeing as long as you have the guidance of an experienced karateka to keep you on your toes!

See the JKA website http://www.jka-england.org/index.html for the competition report and photographs.

NB: Next year Harpenden JKA will be entering a team so start preparing now!

Oss!

Sensei Simon

On Sunday 5 June 2011 JKA England held a kumite and referees' course at Hatfield Sports Village. With the National JKA Championships looming on 2nd July this was an excellent opportunity to practice kumite with new partners, so it was good to see many kyu grades in attendance.
After a warm up from Laura, a national squad team member, Sensei Ohta took us through some basics to reinforce our training. For the next three hours we graduated from three step sparring - sanbon kumite - to kihon ippon kumite - one step sparring, jodan, chudan, maegeri - and then jiu ippon kumite adding kekome and mawashigeri. Black belts finished with jiu kumite using jodan chudan attacking.
As we worked through the forms of kumite we split into small groups to practice the techniques under competition conditions, with referees and corner judges. Many enjoyed this because it made us appreciate the pressure a judge or referee comes under. We alternated positions so that everyone had a chance to be a corner judge, regardless of grade.
I also thought that Sensei Ohta's request that a higher grade partners with a lower grade for some kumite during the course was excellent. It was a good opportunity for kyu grades to train with someone new, sometimes under pressure.

Oss!

Sensei Simon

Computers! Don't you love them! 1 hour to go and I wanted to start with the Enter the Dragon theme.....major start-up failure on computer 1. Computer 2 working - after 4 attempts to buy the tune, I landed on Amazon (20 mins to go). Do I want to download the downloader NO, of course, you have no choice - proceed - 15 mins to go, tune bought, burn to CD........."error - licence not valid". No music then, but my adrenalin was truly up!

As it happens, Wood End had the theme to karate kid 2 so the children entered assembly to see me facing Sensei Lester. We demonstrated 3 step sparring, talked about the training and the history of karate, and then the Wood End After School students demonstrated their techniques to the school. We showed everyone how to punch with "Kiai", and finished with a count down to help me break a piece of wood - always a risky exercise, but thankfully the plank broke as directed.

Many thanks to Sensei Lester Wellington of Tairyoku Karate Club for helping me, and thank you to Wood End School for giving us the opportunity to show off the Japan Karate Association to some new potential students.

Oss!

Still recovering from four days of intensive karate at the Spectrum Leisure Centre, Guildford. We were very fortunate to be taught by Sensei Tanaka (8th dan), Sensei Osaka (8th dan), Sensei Sawada (7th dan), Sensei Ohta (7th dan), and Sensei Inokoshi (3rd dan).
Mrs M-J and I camp nearby at the Basingstoke Canal Centre because we like to watch the sun go down as our bodies recover from the exertions. We arrived early to set up camp just as Princess Catherine and Prince William were "tying their knot", and departed for Guildford quickly. Friday afternoon was group training with multi-directional punching - often confusing!
Saturday to Monday we trained from 10 am to 1 pm each day. There was an excellent balance between full on endurance training and technical instruction, especially when we separated into groups - kyu grades, brown belts, shodan/ nidans, and sandan and above. The groups focus on kata mainly so this is always a good opportunity to get a new insight into a kata and practice application of several parts of the kata.
I enjoyed the course immensely and as ever it was a good opportunity to catch up with friends. Make sure you go to the Autumn course at the end of September!

Oss!

An early start took us to Swanley for the first course of the New Year. Sensei Glyn Morgan, 5th dan, of Wareham & Purbeck Karate Club took the warm up and then we split into sections by grade. The JKA Squad joined the brown belts, and there were separate groups for kyu grades and black belts.
Sensei Ohta instructed the black belts, starting with choku-zuki, and then took us through the elements of Bassai Sho. Emphasis was on hip movement and position in back stance (kokutsu-dachi). We moved on to the kiba-dachi, ashi barai, and double punches which are a feature of Bassai Sho, and practice with partners was an excellent way of appreciating how this should work, drawing the attacker towards you with the ashi barai. Similarly, practicing the last two moves (tsukami) with partners was also very useful.
A short break and then we were taken through Jitte by Sensei Gary Stewart. Jitte has blocks with hands held high (jodan yoko-uchi barai) and it can be very demanding when you have to repeat the movement many times! Partner practice included being held back while performing the movement which increased the strain on our muscles. Again, practicing with partners was very useful to understand the hooking movements (osae-uke) at the beginning of the kata, and also appreciate the implications of a good palm heal strike on the back of the elbow joint of an attacker. Control was essential!
We finished with the return of Sensei Ohta for Souchin. Apart from the difficulty of souchin dachi, Sensei showed us the need to switch power on and off throughout the kata (see previous blogs). We also applied the moves with partners, stepping forward to block a maegeri which needs instant reaction or anticipation of attack to be successful.
Sensei also explained that the regular practice of souchin does have an effect on the way some people walk, much to the embarrassment of one particular instructor whose favourite kata is Souchin!
The course was an excellent start to the year and was very well attended. We are looking forward to the Bath course in March.

No Pain, No Gain as they say. I've certainly built my credits for turkey and Christmas pudding this week but I'm still hurting from two visits to Oasis SKC in London.
Tuesday night a few of us from Harpenden JKA braved snow and trains (well done Marc for not giving in after two cancellations and a break-down). Sensei Paul Steadman was in charge and instead of the usual warm up and stretching we were straight in to partner work, testing eachother's strength in stance and then speed. A relentless pace ensued of partner work including a lively combination of attack and defence - HJKA students be warned! I have made notes for next year! We reached a crescendo with one partner, back against the wall, defending against the other throwing almost any technique at them. Damage report - one split toe, slight muscle strain in shoulder, Mrs A has a ligament problem, plus total exhaustion!
Foolishly I returned next day for Wednesday's class with Sensei Ohta which usually begins with "slow" kumite to warm up. Whether it was the dentist's injection that morning or just tiredness, I kept missing defence of attacks to my head but fortunately the control of the opposition was excellent. We continued with slow basic techniques repeated many times and finishing with a sequence at full power. After a short break, five step sparring and then combination defence and attack. Partner work pits you against anyone else in the dojo and I looked across to see Sensei Keith - possibly 6ft 4" - helping Patrick, brown belt, possibly turning 5ft - which was great to see.
The lesson finished with all heian katas, tekki, and your chosen favourite. I usually sweat profusely, and I know how extreme a lesson is when even my belt is soaking wet!
Now, next morning, the body knows it has worked hard. Ouch!

A Merry Christmas to all my readers!

Oss!

Sensei Simon

The highlight this month was the visit from Sensei Tsuyama, 8th dan, accompanied by Richard Heselton, 4th dan, from Japan. Sensei Tsuyama taught Sensei Ohta, Chief Instructor of the JKA in England. JKA England held a course at Hatfield Sports Village attended by nearly 200 students including yours truly and several kyu grade students from our club. Sensei Tsuyama took us through basic techniques explaining many finer points with assistance from Sensei Heselton.
The black belt class concentrated on kizamizuki with partners which got very lively! It was also a privilege to watch Senseis Tsuyama and Heselton demonstrating how it should be done. We continued with jodan, chudan, and maegeri kihon kumite but using relaxed but fast block and counter, which was excellent to get the pulse racing. Excellent value for only £10 for three concentrated hours!
I saw Sensei Heselton again at the national squad selection, where I was able to practice some judging. I recommend searching youtube for "Heselton kumite" and you will see Sensei Heselton's awesome power, which several of our squad experienced - mind you, out of the corner of my eye I did see one of our squad steal a victory which must be equivalent to Henry Cooper's historic left hook against Muhammad Ali!

Oss!

Sensei Simon

Sunday 21st March was the JKA course at Bath University. An excellent venue and the course was well attended with many kyu grades as well as black belts. Ohta Sensei took us through basic techniques and then we progressed to some demanding combination techniques - one partner attacked with kizami-zuki, step forward 4 punches in sequence vs age-uke then four different blocks finishing with a counter. Good tough spirited training and conditioning!
We continued with several kicking techniques and then rehearsed the black belt grading syllabus with full spirit.
Kata practice for black belts was a choice of bassai dai, gion, or nijushiho sho with application (bunkai) training in threes. My arms are only just recovering!

(Everyone please note - JKA courses are open to ALL GRADES - see http://www.jka-england.org/Events/jkaenglandevent09b.html )

Oss!

Sensei Simon

Just recovering from a visit to Sensei Ohta's club at Oasis in London (sse links) on Tuesday 22 December. Sensei started the lesson by reminding us that this was the last lesson in 2009 so we would train for 10 minutes and rest, then train some more. Each 10 minutes was intensive punching, blocking, kicking, stepping etc to count, followed by sanbon kumite, ippon kumite, and all the heian katas and tekki. The atmosphere was enhanced by the poor air conditioning which meant all the mirrors were steamed up and the floor was wet with condensation and sweat! My favourite was sideways stepping in kibadachi with maegeri and then keage, which our students will be enjoying early in the New Year!

Oss!

Sensei Simon

To Budokwai in Kensington on Monday 26th where Sensei Shiina, 7th dan, took a special lesson. Look up youtube "Shiina JKA" and you will see some of Sensei Shiina's kumite, and you will realise what an awesomely powerful proponent he is. He was introduced by Sensei Ohta as a special friend and after a warm up from Sensei Sue we were straight into chokuzuki then punching and double punching from kibadachi to shizentai. Sensei Shiina wanted us to change from the traditional aim of punch and stance finishing as one to a more dynamic approach to punch and then settle in the stance. We continued with partners, first practising avoiding a blow by a quick hip flick and then zuki combinations, full speed, including attacking the length of the dojo. Excellent!
Sensei finished with souchin and explained how we should feel our back shoulder blade muscles squeeze together like a coiled spring ready to release fast punches like an arrow from a bow. We all finished with our favourite kata. Sensei also gave us a talk about the importance of attitude and spirit - when you put on a gi and enter the dojo you must always try your hardest and always try to improve your technique.
I sincerely hope we can see more of Sensei Shiina in the future.

Oss!

Sensei Simon
 

I demonstrated karate to about 300 pupils of Wood End School today, showing them basic punching, blocking, and kicking and the katas kihon and bassai dai.

At the end, I asked if anyone would like to be punched and at least thirty hands shot up! I thought it best not to, of course!

Great school. I am looking forward to taking the After School Club on Thursdays.

Oss!

Sensei Simon

No training at the After School Club this week but students were asked to practice 100 punches and 100 kicks over half term.

Tuesday night's club was preparation for the grading with Tairyoku Shotokan in Aylesbury on 6th June. We all worked hard but there is one question we all puzzled over - how do you make Heian Sandan last 40 seconds? The answer will follow when I have had the chance to consult with senior instructors over the next few weeks.

Sensei Roy Tomlin http://www.beckenhamkarate.co.uk/roytomlin.html  took the class at Oasis because Sensei Ohta was abroad with the Squad at the European Championships (which were very successful - see later). Sensei Roy took us through an excellent combination of attack, defence, counter-attack, vs defence, counter-attack, defence, counter-attack. This was followed by gojushiho dai, an intricate kata demanding balance and control - but they all do, don't they?

Oss!

Sensei Simon

Guildford Spring Course 2009

Friday 1 May 2009

Once again, clubs from all over England – and Europe – gathered at the Guildford Spectrum Leisure Centre for the JKA Special Spring Course. Familiar faces were everywhere as we stretched in preparation for the start; someone commented that you could tell who was planning to grade because they were rehearsing their kata in earnest before the sessions started.

We lined up eight deep for the Rei, getting our first glimpse of visiting Sensei’s Sawada and Ogura and of course Sensei Ohta, who announced that Sensei Osaka was delayed because of urgent JKA business in Japan and would be joining us the next day.

Sensei Morgan, 5^th dan Wareham & Purbeck, took the warm up and handed over to Sensei Sawada who took the whole group for basic kihon training. We started with hip twisting and inevitably Sensei saw that some students did not have enough tension in their knees. We teamed up in threes so that one student had their knees held in position by the other two while practicing hip twisting, holding the knees in the same position.

Next we practised maegeri front kick, and Sensei used a belt held in position to demonstrate the straight path the kick should follow from the ground to the target – demonstrating on Sensei Ohta. We tried this in threes moving the kicking foot slowly (and agonisingly for some) up the belt to the target. One of my partners had a replacement hip but still persevered!

The lesson continued with age-uke (rising block) naturally at full speed from standing (shizen-tai). Then we performed age-uke in several directions, side and back, emphasising big hip movements from shomen to hammi. We were told not to lose our toes because we will lose our energy, which is vital to move between stances.

An excellent start!

Part 2 – shodans & nidans

Separating kyu grades, brown belts, and black belts Sensei Ogura took my group for kanku dai. It is always amazing that something needs to be corrected every time you concentrate on a kata, and this was no exception. Sensei Ogura emphasised the importance of the circular movements in the kata (moves 16, 21, 36), as well as encouraging low stances especially after the drop down (moves 43 - 44) – which was hard for those of us the wrong side of 50!

Sensei also stressed the importance of keeping the gedan berai hand in the same position when moving from 59 to 60 with the stamping kick, which we practised many times to complete the session.

Part 3 – shodans & nidans

Sensei Ohta then took our group through kanku sho. The lesson started with training in narrow stances, moving us on from the days of shoulder width stances to the more fluid style of today which allows better and faster movement between techniques. I can remember having my feet swept by Sensei Bob Rhodes in the 70s if our feet were not shoulder width apart.

For the applications, we practised the grasping block (moves 7, 15, and 34) in two forms and also the blocks in back stance moving to double punch (moves 23 – 26) which, in my opinion, demand careful concentration to make a proper kibadachi with hip control.

Sensei Ohta then led us through kanku sho. We all admire the control Sensei shows when he demonstrates, especially when he explains the difference between “on” and “off” – power and relaxation.

The lesson ended all too soon and reminded me exactly how difficult kanku sho is – but there again, all the katas are like that, aren’t they?