Black Belt Success
On Sunday 29 August 2010, Liam Smyth became the latest Yushikai member to achieve his 1st Dan Black Belt. His grading was preceded by a hard day's training at the JKA International Summer Course in Guildford. Following the course, the panel of examiners (Sensei's UEKI - 8th Dan, KAWAWADA - 7th Dan, IMAMURA - 7th Dan & OHTA - 7th Dan) examined Liam's technical abilities, as he demonstrated semi-free sparring and free style sparring. Congratulations Liam! We were also pleased to learn that Keagan Bennett had passed his 1st Dan! Keagan trained at Yushikai Karate Academy up to 1st Kyu before moving to Australia in late 2008... Congratulations Keagan! The Karate KidOver 250 people from Yushikai Karate Academy completely sold out Screen 1 at Empire Cinema in Basildon for their private screening of the new Karate Kid movie.
The movie, starring Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan is based on the 80's classic and was enjoyed by all in attendance. Many of our members were even brave enough to wear their Karate suit to the screening! To celebrate the launch of the 2010 Karate Kid, we are offering a FREE Movie Poster to anyone who attends a FREE trial class at our academy during August or September 2010 (offer available while stocks last). Training with Lyoto MachidaOur Chief Instructor, Dave Paulus has recently returned from Las Vegas and the Martial Arts Super Show. The primary reason for Dave's visit was to train with Lyoto 'The Dragon' Machida.
Machida, known as the first mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter to use Karate succesfully in the Octagon, taught and demonstrated moves that earned him the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship back in May 2009. At the age of three, Machida began studying Shotokan Karate with his father. He was awarded black belt in Shotokan at 13 and went on to earn a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Machida began training as an MMA fighter at age 17. He won the Brazilian Karate Championship twice and placed second in the South American Karate Championship. His career as an MMA fighter began in Japan in 2003. As of this writing, Machida's MMA record is 16-1. Machida is a native of and resides in Brazil. National Championship 2010Well Done to the Yushikai team for their efforts at the JKA England National Championship held in Crawley this July.
Special Congratulations go to Serhiy Bagley (2nd Place Kumite), Ilaida Costin (3rd Place Kumite) and Alex Barker-Moore (3rd Place Kata). JKA Joint Training CampSensei Dave has recently returned from Budapest where he attended the JKA Joint Training Camp. JKA HQ Sensei's Ueki, Tanaka, Imura, Shimizu and Inokoshi lead the training over the 3 days (4th - 6th June 2010) and the event was attended by karateka from 22 different countries. A qualification test was held during the course where Dave was succesful in obtaining his level 'C' Instructors licence.
Naka Sensei VisitWe were honoured to welcome Tatsuya Naka Sensei to our Dojo on Tuesday 4th May 2010. Naka Sensei is a full time Instructor at JKA HQ and a graduate of Takushoku University, currently ranked 6th Dan. More recently, Naka Sensei has featured in the starring role of 'Kuro-Obi' and 'High Kick Girl'.
Only 30 places were on offer for this class, all of which were taken by Yushikai's enthusiastic students and Instructors and Ohta Sensei was also in attendance to assist with translation. Dave Sensei took the warm up then Naka Sensei started with basic punching combinations, drawing our attention to the 3 types of hip rotation. Sensei also spoke about the difference between 'sport' karate and 'budo' and gave many superb examples and demonstrations. Heian Shodan was practiced with Sensei drawing our attention to many common mistakes and then offering sound advice on how to improve. We then adapted the Kata using Tai-Sabaki before applying the same principles to basic kumite. There is just not enough space on this website to go into detail any further, all that can be said is that Naka Sensei is an inspiration and a true gentleman and a great time was had by all! Oss Ohta Sensei, 7th Dan
We continue to be very grateful for your support and inspiration! Easter Boot CampOur special Boot Camp is proving to be very popular with all involved. Each day starts at 10:30am with a 90 minute class followed by a 1 hour lunch break. The second daily session runs from 1pm for a further 90 minutes. Each session has a different theme and subjects have included Flexibility, Kumite and Competition Karate to name a few. A DVD is played during the lunch break, covering a different subject depending on the class content that day.
Those in attendance have also had the opportunity to study new Kata including Heian Nidan, Heian Sandan and Kanku Sho. Check our events page for details on our Summer Boot Camp. Ladies Only ClassA new class will be starting on Thursday 22nd April 2010. Susie Jayasinghe (2nd Dan) will lead the session each week from 10:30am to 11:30am for ladies only! The first two classes are FREE of charge so why not come along and have a go! JKA Kan-geiko 2010A special time at the JKA Honbu that few outside of Japan will have heard of is 'Kan-geiko'. The literal translation means mid-winter training. For one week a year, at the end of January, the Tokyo headquarters opens its doors at 6am every morning for the dedicated karate-ka to undertake the course. In essence it is a way of re-confirming your dedication to karate by training early every morning without fail. The date chosen to symbolise a new start and to test the will-power to battle the elements of the cold.
Yushikai Karate Academy's Chief Instructor, Dave Paulus was in Japan for Kan-geiko between the 22nd January and 1st February and had the opportunity to train with many of the world's top instructors, including Sensei's Osaka, Izumya, Naka, Okuma and many more. Annual Awards 2009An enjoyable evening was had by all at the 2009 Celebrations. The 'sold out' event attracted over 150 of our members, family and friends to the Billericay Town Football Club on Saturday 12th December. Things got started at 7:30pm, with the presentations being made shortly after. Yushikai's Chief Instructor, Dave Paulus quickly summarised the great success that has been achieved over the last 12 months including New Black Belts, Visits from top JKA Instructors including Sensei Osaka, a record breaking performance at the Kyu Grade Nationals and much more! He then went on to announce the annual award winners as follows... Student of the Year (Female)... A. POPE
The party continued until late with Heart FM DJ Martin Day providing the entertainment! Congratulations to all of the winners and a big THANK-YOU to all of our members for your support in 2009! Sensei Chubachi CourseWe were pleased to welcome Sensei Chubachi to the Yushikai Karate Academy on the 6th December 2009. Sensei Chubachi has recently graduated from the JKA Instructors Course at JKA HQ and was in England for a few weeks to assist Sensei Ohta.
The training session attracted around 40 of Yushikai's Brown and Black Belts and was very fast paced, focusing on various kumite techniques and combinations. There was a great atmosphere and the training was enjoyed by all. Sensei Chubachi now joins the list of high profile Instructors who have taught at the academy along with Sensei's Ohta, Hirayama and Osaka. Hopefully more to come in 2010! JKAE National ChampionsThe JKA England National Karate Championship was held in Walton on Thames on Sunday 22nd November 2009. The event attracted competitors from all over the UK, including a large contingent from Yushikai Karate Academy in Billericay . We achieved an exceptional results and improved on last year's performance by winning a total of THIRTY FIVE medals (13 Bronze, 11 Silver and 11 Gold). Congratulations to everyone who participated (All Yushikai finalists are listed in the latest newsletter, available at the dojo).
After the medal presentations, Sensei Ohta presented the 'Best Male Competitor' cup to Yushikai's JACK TAYLOR! Osaka Sensei (8th Dan JKA)The Yushikai Dojo was the venue for a Sepcial Brown and Black Belts 'Master Class' with Sensei Osaka (8th Dan JKA). After the introductions and warm up, Sensei Osaka started with a few basic exercises that concentrated on correct use of the hips, their correct rotation and timing while delivering various blocking and striking techniques and moving from one stance to the next. Correct footwork was also emphasised to ensure that both the technique and stance's direction of power was in the same line and moving forward towards the target. Sensei Osaka's demonstrations showing correct use of the hips, knees, legs etc, were quite amazing but also clearly showed what was required.
After almost 2 hours of the highest quality instruction the class came to an end with all students showing their appreciation. We would like to thank Sensei Osaka for finding time in his very busy schedule to visit our dojo and Sensei Ohta for his assistance in organising the course and translating. JKA Spring GasshukuOur Chief Instructor has recently returned from the land of the rising sun, where he spent two weeks training at the JKA Honbu Dojo. During his stay, Dave had the opportunity to train under many of the most respected Instructors in the world, including Sensei's Tanaka, Imura, Imamura and many more.
Dave also attended the International Gasshuku, where he succesfully gained his 'D' level Instructors qualification from the JKA. Annual Awards 2008The Yushikai Karate Academy Christmas Party and Awards Evening was held at Mayflower High School on Saturday 13th December. Around 200 people attended the event including our special guest from Japan, Sensei Hirayama, who had taught at the academy earlier that day.
Essex FM's Martin Day provided the entertainment and a special 'Year in Review' slide show was presented, which highlighted all of the success achieved in 2008 and proved to be very popular. Sensei Hirayama kindly agreed to present the awards to the following winners... Student of the Year (Female)... Lisa Bloor Congratulations to all of our winners and thank-you to all of our members for their support.
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Congratulations to Ohta Sensei on passing his 7th Dan at the International Training Camp at Sohonbu last week (April 2010). 
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