It was another fantastic showing of the karateka from Portsmouth Karate Club at the Invitational competition event that was held at Mountbatten Centre on Saturday 20th November.
On Thursday 13th January Portsmouth karate club was proud to have two guest training, Jayne Harsley and her son Joe. What made this visit so special was that both Jayne and Joe were on holiday from Australia and that Jayne started out her martial arts journey with Sensei Dewey at the club. As always the session was a traditional and hard paced class and all enjoyed the training and having some new faces to pair up with. Jayne and Joe both currently practice Taekwondo and we wish them all the best in their pursuit on this in the future.
Looking forward to the next visit.
"What an honour to train at my old karate club in Portsmouth with my 12 year old next door neighbour all grown up now and the 5th Dan Sensei lol!! Thanks so much Stacey - we LOVED the training!" - Jayne Harsley
Sensei Dewey instructed on Tuesday 4th January, which was the first Portsmouth Karate Club training session for 2011 and it was certainly a minced pie regret-er of a session. As always numbers were looking good at the club but this was particularly impressive as so many have been hit by colds and the flu over the Christmas period. It was great to see Sensei Keith Williams back at the club training after his operation on his knee and we all wish him a speeding full recovery.
Being a traditional Shotokan Karate Club the bulk of the session covered the three K's, Kion (basic drills), Kata (Heians) and Kumite (sparring). As the alcohol and fizz drinks from Christmas were seeping out of the participants pores there was just enough time left to finish everyone off with some muscular endurance exercises, namely, squats, press-ups and sit-ups. Good to be back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Each year on the second Saturday in December Sensei Keith
Williams holds a Junior Shotokan Karate Christmas competition, at his
club in Paulsgrove, which is open to all SEKU karate-ka under the age of
16. The competition is free to enter and students get the chance to
practice there skills in Kata and Sanbon Kumite (three step).
This year three students represented Portsmouth Karate Club and did so in an impressive way. Aryton Harper (purple belt) and Frasier Wilson (Orange belt) went through several round robin elimination rounds to make it into the finals of the Kata and Sanbon Kumite and both did exceptionally well and showed great effort to get 3rd place trophies. Not to be out classed by her club mates Aine (yellow belt) performed outstandingly in the final against one of Chichester Shotokan Karate clubs finest juniors to achieve 1st place in the Sanbon Kumite. This encouraging start to their competition careers was over seen by Sensei Mick Dewey and Sensei Stacey Crowe who were both very impressed with the standard and etiquette of all the competitors.
A big well done to the trio from Portsmouth and thanks to Sensei Keith Williams for all his efforts in organising and running the competition, see you all next year.
This year was the 21st year of the Bupa Great South Run which is considered one of the premier 10 mile running events in the world. The event received live network television coverage and had approximately 23,500 participants running the course through Southsea and Portsmouth in what is a both mentally and physically demanding challenge.
On this occasion three members from Portsmouth Karate Club signed up for the run, Rob Wheldrake, Dave Galloway and Rob Maynard. With the race due to start around 11am the autumnal sunshine beamed through all morning and helped to draw out even more spectators than usual to line the streets of Portsmouth in support. I'm pleased to report all runners completed the race and are just about still walking although it must be said some better then others. Rob Maynard completed the run, his first in this event, in a time of 1:46:47, Dave Galloway with a time of 1:19:04 and Rob Wheldrake with an impressive time of 1:17:03.
Dave didn't run for a charity on this occasion but has pledge to do so next year, however Rob Wheldrake was running for Cancer Research Uk and has so far raised £280 and Rob Maynard running for Parkinson's Uk has currently raised £183.
Cancer Research Uk is the world's leading charity dedicated to beating cancer through research. They support research into all aspects of cancer through the work of more than 4,500 scientists, doctors and nurses. They are funded entirely by the public and are reliant on the help that Rob and many others provide to raise funds so that they can work on finding new ways to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer.
Parkinson's Uk have for more than 40 years been working to find a cure and improve life for everyone affected by Parkinson's. Parkinson's is a progressive neurological condition of which 1 in every 500 people in the UK have. Those with the condition don't have enough of a chemical called dopamine because some nerve cells in the brain have died. Without dopamine people can find that their movements become slower and more difficult to control.
Both Robs are still keen to collect any other donations that people may wish to make so please speak to them directly if you wish to offer your support.
Congratulations must go to Gary Compton, and the brother sister combo of Desmond & Katherine who all managed to achieve the prestigious award of Sho Dan at the Black and Brown Belt course held in Portchester on Sunday 3rd October 2010. The three had completed 3 hours of training which consisted of Bassai-Dai and combination drill work led by Sensei Brian Smith and Sensei Merv O'Donnell before the taxing grading it's self. The intense training at the club in the build up to this did have them well prepared and Sensei Crowe & Sensei Dewey took great pleasure in seeing more of their students gain the first steps towards their karate journey.
It should also be noted that Rachel from the Portsmouth University Club (led by Sensei Phil Bryant) was also successful in her Sho Dan Grading and she had been putting herself through her paces with the others at Portsmouth Karate Club in the build up to her grading.
Under the direction of Chief Instructor Mick Dewey, the SEKU Senior instructors Mervyn O'Donnell and Brian Smith, Technical Panel members Alan Lewis and Mark Elliott, along with Stacey Crowe (Squad Kata Coach) Steve Hollister (Squad Kumite Coach) and Terry Oliver (Team Squad Manager) met at the Mountbatten Centre to prepare for the upcoming Instructor Class. The reason was to discuss and agree the homogeny and ratification of the Heian Kata.
Since its inauguration under the leadership of Mick Dewey SEKU has aligned itself to the Japan Karate Association (JKA) initially and up until his sad death under the guidance of Sensei Kenosuki Enoeda and have chosen to continue along this path. Although we have no direct connection to it, we continue to use the JKA for reference.
SEKU Clubs Instructors and their assistants attended the first Instructor class of 2010. The individual attendance was good although some instructors were unable to make it through personal reasons and others chose not to.
The theme throughout the class was to pass on the findings and agreements of the previous meeting at the Mountbatten Centre - the ratification and standardization of Shotokan Heian Kata. The class proved to be very interesting and four hours of intense study and practice followed. Sensie Mick Dewey led the class with each Kata movement demonstrated by the SEKU Team Squad Kata Coach Stacey Crowe. Each Kata movement was broken down, meticulously explained and studied until class members were sure of and fully understood how the teachers wanted it performed and taught to their members. It is planned that future classes will revisit the Heian and that further study be directed toward the Brown belt kata. In time the more advanced Kata will also be covered in the same manner. At the conclusion of the class Sensei Mick Dewey thanked Stacey Crowe for his demonstration and explanation of the kata movements.
Unbeknown to Stacey who was under close scrutiny from the Senior Instructors and his performance during the class was adding up to his promotion in rank. Finally, for his contribution to SEKU over the years and his continuous study of karate, Sensei Mick Dewey awarded him his 5th Dan.
The award was well overdue and proved to be hugely popular - a standing ovation was given by all those present.
Congratulations to Rob Welldrake and Chris Farndell who achieved the great honor of Sho Dan and to Rob Maynard who achieved Ni Dan all under the Grading eyes of Sensei Dewey at the Black and Brown Belt course held in the West country on Sunday 7th June 2009.
The Honbu dojo was treated to a challenging and powerful session by Sensei Simon Staples on Tuesday 7th April. Sensei Staples is a highly thought of Shotokan Karateka not only throughout SEKU but through many organisations across the country. Sensei Staples himself was once a member of SEKU but is now currently teaching his own club as well as coaching the squad of Sensei Hazards Academy of Shotokan Karate (ASK).
Sensei Crowe and Sensei Staples have known each other for many years and have trained and fought side by side (and each other) across the world including their extensive stay at the JKA headquarters in Japan. Needless to say Sensei Staples experience and dedication to Karate has made him truly an inspirational technician, which is why when word of mouth spread that Sensei Staples was teaching at the Honbu several guests arrived to train.
The overall focus of the session was on hip movement and changing stances to shift the weight distribution and distance between attacker and defender.After initial development on zenkutsu dachi and age-uke Sensei Staples built on a combination using several dachi, uke and uchi.Each step and addition to the combination then gave chance for a pair up and with so many in the class there were great pair ups to be had by all.
Sensei Staples teaching style allowed, within the same combination, the juniors of the group time and confidence to learn and apply the combination but likewise gave plenty more advanced and intricate components to think about and work on for the seniors.
The final part of the session which was just for the senior grades, linked back to the initial movements used at the very start of the class, the zenkutsu dachi and age-uke.The movements were used in a kumite application against multiple attackers and it was stressed that an awareness of both attackers and dealing with each should be done quickly and effectively.
As always from start to finish there was a great atmosphere in the dojo and both students and Sensei Staples seemed to build on each others efforts making an intense and excitable training session.
Many thanks to all who attended, Sensei Crowe for organising another inspirational guest instructor and Sensei Staples for his time and knowledge, the Honbu looks forward to your next visit.
On Saturday the 4th April 2009 SEKU held their National Championships at the newly vamped Mountbattern Centre in Portsmouth. The Championships are always well attended by high standard karateka from SEKU and this year was no different. That said there were one or two noticable changes made and the new trophies that had been provided by sponsors Viviers, Taskmaster UK and Silver Fox Graphic Designs, added to the drive of the competitors.
As usual the day started with the popular junior individual and team kata events and no sooner had the events started did the success start rolling in. It was a clean sweep in the Pee Wee Individual Kata with a Gold for the young star Brian Garcia, a Silver for Carmen Fitzgerald and a Bronze for her brother Suma Fitzgerald, The Fitzgerald family already looking like the guys not to mess with.
The Pee Wee success continued with Pee Wee 3 Step Kumite in which Brian and Carmen once again found themselves in the final with each other, only this time it was Carmens turn for the Gold, Gold - Carmen Fitzgerald - Silver - Brian Garcia, these two have obviously been pushing themselves hard in training through out the year, well done guys.
The Juniors from the karate club worked well on their team kata and achieved a respectable Bronze in the finals as well as trophies from James Parkin in the Junior Individual Kata 10th to 4th Kyu - Bronze and Junior 5ft & Over 3 Step Kumite - Silver. These truely were excellent results as this was James first ever SEKU National Championships.
More of a seasoned regular Joe Crowe represented the club to a high standard with a bronze in the Boys Kumite 5ft & Over and a Silver in the Junior Individual Kata 3rd Kyu & Above.
With such success from the Junior members of the club the pressure was really on for the adults but it seemed they simply rised to the challange and it was initiated with the Adult Team Kata. Emma Williams, Rob Maynard and Joe Crowe performed an excellent jion to earn them the Gold and to start the ball rolling for the adults trophy talley.
James Davey and Andrew Melmoth who also found themselves at not only their first ever SEKU Nationals but their first ever Karate competition both showed their determination and attitude and this was rewarded with Silver - James Davey - Bronze - Andrew Melmoth in the Men's & Women's Kata 10th to 4th Kyu Kata.
Chris Farndell should also be mentioned for his all round karate ability as he was a finalist in both kata and kumite in the Men's brown belt categories which saw him pick up two silver places.
From beginer to blackbelt, junior to senior, there were many impressive results and at the black belt and senior end of the spectrum Emma Williams and Steph Cass achieved Bronze in th Women's Kata 3rd Kyu and above and Keith Williams in the extreamly high standard Mens Black Belt Kata achieved an impressive Bronze.
For Senpai Keith Williams and Junior Instructor Steph Cass it was an impressive day as they showed they too had allround ability and added a bronze to their medals in the Men's Black belt Kumite & Women's Black belt Kumite. Portsmouths Graham Rowley also achieved a well fought bronze in the Men's Black belt Kumite.
The winners of Mens and Womens Kumite went to the Galloways, Dave Galloway picking up Gold in the men's and his sister Karyn picking up the Gold in the women's. Having both competed for several years at the SEKU's and both won on previous occations but never within the same competition, it was an emotional day for the Galloways and one they will never forget.
The last event of the day was the team kumite and with some imrpessive opposition the Men's team achieved a bronze whilst the womens team kept up their excellent form and brough home yet another trophy but this time a Gold.
A big well done to all that competed, spectatored, coached, refereed and helped out for the day, a great effort from the Honbu Dojo.
On Thursday 12th March 2009 Portsmouth Karate Club and Paulsgrove Karate Club members under took their Shotokan of England Karate Union Kyu grading at the SEKU Honbu dojo in Portsmouth.
Grading Examiners Sensei Stacey Crowe and Sensei Keith Williams assessed the students in the usual rigorous manor and both Sensei's were overall pleased with the progress made by individual students.
The grading was assisted by the junior club instructors Sensei Rob Maynard and Sensei Steph Cass who were both making notes on further areas for development for their ever increasing junior class.
Well done to all that graded and keep training hard. Oss
The tally of medals was high for the Shotokan of England Karate Union (SEKU) squad on their first outing in the national competition circuit of 2009 and Sensie Dewey was there to support and witness it.
All squad members put in a fantastic performance at the Shotokan Legend Open competition at Bracknell Sports Centre in Berkshire on Saturday, March 7 and Portsmouth Karate Club members were well represented. Dave Galloway, squad captain, was awarded the prize for best overall male following his gold medal win in the men's kumite competition. Keith Williams, picked up bronze in the men's kumite and silver in the men's kata. Dave and Keith teamed up with Keith's wife Emma Williams to make an entry to the mixed team kumite, scooping a bronze also. Emma was a top class entrant in the women's individual kumite and kata, winning bronze in the kata.
Joe Crowe delighted the crowd (especially his mum!) with his gold medal win in the junior kumite, and fellow club member Rob Maynard put in an impressive display in the youth's kata to earn the squad another silver medal.
But it was also a day of success for the more mature members of the squad with Graham Rowley winning gold in the men's veteran kumite.
Special praise must go out to all the sqaud for the groups overall success and to the officials and Squad coaches of which our own Sensei Crowe is a fundamental part.
It was an evening of celebration for Leigh Park & Havant Resident Graham Rowley as he represented SEKU at the Havant Borough Sports Council Awards at the Civic Offices on Thursday, February 19.
Graham Rowley was named Veteran Sportsman of the year 2008. Graham used to train at the Havant SEKU dojo until it closed, he has since become a well-respected member of Portsmouth Karate Club. Graham has been training for many years and continues to be part of the competition circuit in addition to his regular training at the Honbu Dojo.
Grahams award was acknowledgement for his dedication to Karate and for being part of the SEKU squad that travelled to the JSKA World Championships in Manchester in August last year. Squad Manager Terry Oliver said: "The event was a gruelling two day affair in which Graham was part of the veteran men's Gold medal winning team and deservedly the title is just reward for a lifetime's dedication to his art. (The team also included Shaun Eglington, Plymouth & Lee Hollister, Saltash)
An example to all is that set by Graham who, as a man of a certain age and years of dedication and commitment, has achieved one of his life's goals.
Sensei Mathew Powell 3rd Dan, SEKU Squad vice captain, was a guest instructor at Portsmouth Honbu on Tuesday 17th February and didn't disappoint.
The class began with kicks performed from the floor, covering mawashi geri, yoko geri keage/ kekomi, and ushiro mawashi geri. I could see from the student's faces that they were enjoying the novel way of performing this variety of kicks. Sensei Powell then covered heian shodan and nidan before getting the class to pair up and try out a variety of attacking techniques. While moving around their partner students made use of an array of kicks and punches from all sorts of angles. The senior class covered Bassai dai and Empi with some bunkai .
Portsmouth Karate club would like to thank Sensei Powell for his very interesting and enjoyable class and hope that he will return to give us some more to think about in the very near future.
Terry Oliver 5th Dan SEKU squad manager , recently taught a session at Portsmouth honbu , and was very well recieved by all those who were in attendence. Sensei Oliver coverered shuto uke in a a variety of ways that had the class using their brains to the maximum, then for the last half an hour taught the senior grades and gave the enthusiastic class some kumite drills that they could hopefully use to their advantage.
It was good to see Sensei Oliver back at the honbu dojo, as he trained at this club for many years and I know that it still holds many fond memories for him. Having trained along side him as my Sempai and friend it brought back some good and not so good memories for me, (being his punch bag for more years than I care to remember, only joking Terry).
We hope to have Sensei Oliver back for more sessions in the near future. Many thanks.
Clubs from across the country flocked to Portsmouth on Saturday 15th November to compete in the 38th Shotokan of England Invitations at the Mountbatten Centre.
The annual event sees competitors of all ages come together to display their talents.
The members of Portsmouth Karate Club involved in Saturday's competition proved their skill on home turf with a tally of six gold and five bronze medals in both adult and junior events.
Third dan black belt Dave Galloway stole the show winning the men's black belt kata, kumite and team kumite along with team-mates Keith Williams (fourth dan black belt) and Graham Rowley (third dan black belt).
In addition Keith Williams came third in the men's black belt kumite and Emma Williams picked up a bronze in the women's black belt kata.
It also was a day of medals for Rob Wheldrake and Chris Farndell who both picked up gold in the men's brown belt kata and men's brown belt kumite respectively.
The club's junior members didn't disappoint either, Joe Crowe, who recently achieved his black belt after four years of training, came out top in the boy's individual kumite.
Kelvin Hunt (purple belt) stood out among a high standard of competitors in the junior kata to win bronze. Kelvin was joined by his brother Brandon (red belt) and another Portsmouth Karate Club member Brian Garcia (yellow belt) to come fourth in junior team kata, this was a great achievement considering most of the other competitors were black and brown belts!
Brian Garcia also picked up joint third in the three-step fighting with Carmen Fitzgerald (white belt). Through the rounds Carmen managed to pick off two brown belts to secure her medal.
Club instructor Sensei Stacey Crowe said: "I am so pleased with the club's achievements as the standards were very high at the 38th Portsmouth Invitations. It demonstrates the hard work and dedication of all the club members."
"It is especially inspiring for the younger members of the club to see seniors do so incredibly well."
It was a great day for the many spectators with a whole host of nail biting moments to keep them entertained.
Spectators are always welcome at the competitions, the next being the SEKU National Championships on Saturday 21st March at the Mountbatten Centre.
Joe Crowe (12) became the latest member of Portsmouth Karate Club to achieve the Shodan grade at the October black and brown belt course at Portchester Karate Club.
Joe, who has been training for approximately 4 years, is also becoming well-known on the competition circuit.
After an intensive three hour training session Joe was put through his paces in Kion techniques, Kumite and Kata, of which his free choice Kata was Bassai Dai.
Thank you to everyone who joined us on our recent club trip to St Malo on the weekend of the 20th to the 21st of September.
We sailed out from Portsmouth on Saturday evening on the Brittany Ferries ship, the Bretagne. Once on board our group of 23 enjoyed a four course meal in the restaurant before heading to the bar to get involved in an evening of Cabaret.
Many of our group took part in the cabaret acts, which included musicians, singers and even an illusionist. The illusionist's glamorous assistants for the evening were none other than Karyn Galloway, Hannah Day, Karen Crowe and the birthday boy (!) himself, Matt Powell.
We arrived in St Malo early the next morning, and our bleary-eyed group took a wander into the historic town for a croissant and coffee. We then returned to the ship to catch up on our sleep during the journey back, or in some of the groups' case a day in the bar!
A special thanks goes to our group members from the Isle of Wight (Mark and Lisa Elliot), Saltash (Hannah Day and Steve Hollister), and Lovedean (Terry and Heidi Oliver). Portsmouth members attending were: Mick and Maureen Dewey, The Crowe Family, Graham Rowley and Lisa Ansell, Keith and Emma Williams, Matt Powell and Karyn Galloway, Dave and Natalie Galloway, Rob Maynard and Colin and Gill Galloway.
We mustn't forget a special mention to Gill Galloway for organising the amazing weekend.
The SEKU Annual Karate Competition took place Saturday 15th March at the usual venue - the Mountbatten Centre, Alexandra Park. Portsmouth Karate Club was once again on top form and took home a total of 4 Golds, 2 Silvers and 7 Bronze medals.
Mens Team Kumite: Gold -Dave Galloway, Graham Rowley, Keith Williams, Rob Maynard
Mens Individual Kumite: Gold -Dave Galloway
Mens Individual Black Belt Kata: Silver -Dave Galloway, Bronze - Keith Williams & Phill Grimes
Womens Individual Kumite: Silver -Stephanie Cass
Womens Individual Black Belt Kata: Bronze -Emma Williams & Stephanie Cass
Youths Individual Kumite: Bronze -Rob Maynard
Boys Individual Kumite Under 5ft: Bronze -Joe Crowe
It turned out to be another succesful day for the SEKU Team Squad at the Legend Championships in Bracknell Saturday 23 February 2008. The SEKU squad is made up of many karateka from across the country and representatives from Portsmouth Karate Club included; Dave Galloway, Graham Rowley, Rob Maynard and Joe Crowe.
Portsmouth Karate Club representatives were involved in achieving:
5 Man Team Kumite: Gold -Dave Galloway (Portsmoth), Graham Rowley (Portsmouth), Lee Holister (Saltash), Rob Edge (Saltash), Matt Powell (Portchester)
Mixed Team Kumite: Gold -Dave Galloway (Portsmouth), Tracy Corby (Plymouth), Matt Powell (Portchester)
Mens Team Kumite 3man: Gold -Dave Galloway (Portsmouth), Graham Rowley (Portsmouth), Matt Powell (Portchester)
Each year on the second Saturday in December Sensei Keith
Williams holds a Junior Shotokan Karate Christmas competition, at his
club in Paulsgrove, which is open to all SEKU karate-ka under the age of
16. The competition is free to enter and students get the chance to
practice there skills in Kata and Sanbon Kumite (three step).
