Christmas Course report

The JKS England Christmas Course was held at the Djanogly Academy in Nottingham on the 3rd December and marked the last event of the JKS England calendar for 2023. A fully subscribed attendance was made all the more impressive with many travelling from far and wide, carefully navigating the snow to take their place in the line.

A warm welcome on a bitterly cold winter’s day was given by Alan Campbell Sensei, 8th Dan Head of JKS England who thanked everyone for their support throughout the year and also celebrated the quality showcased at the successful JKS Nationals Championships which were hosted in Grantham on the 19th November.

Alan Sensei was pleased to be able to present a number of dan diplomas but also reserved time to praise the cohort of JKS members who visited Japan recently for the International Seminar. Many students had fruitful experiences in Japan, with not only positive grading outcomes but also with other JKS qualifications.

Matt Price Sensei 7th Dan, then encouraged the hall to a round of applause for the accomplishments which Alan Sensei had himself achieved while in Japan. Passing Hachidan (8th Dan) in addition to attaining the highest level of “A” for Instructor, Examiner and Judge, Alan Sensei had excelled individually with the grading having the significance of being the last physical examination in the JKS. The “full house” of qualifications realised by Alan Sensei, only possible through a lifetime’s dedication to much more than just personal training. Following a remarkable karate career to date, Alan Sensei affirmed his desire to be able to provide the opportunies and support for students to share in the joys which he has experienced along the way. After everyone had shown their respect and admiration for Alan Sensei in a final round of applause the hall was filled with a great energy hearing about the many successes over the past few weeks. 

Matt Sensei then elaborated on the events of the JKS Nationals and thanked those involved in all aspects of this for making it another special day for JKS England. Looking forward to the World Championships in 2024, Matt Sensei covered the value of the fundraising taking place to be able to send a squad, including the raffle tickets available on the day of the Christmas Course as part of this preparation.

It was then time for the course to start with Steve Carless Sensei 6th Dan taking the warmup and first half of the seminar. Steve Sensei would begin with very deliberate repetition, starting with squat pulses. Students were encouraged to maintain proper form and to understand further which aspects of the body to engage at the right time. Moving on to squat jumps, Steve Sensei exhibited his vast technical knowledge by isolating and explaining the small adjustments to be made as different variations were performed. Students would then pull their toes and squeeze their glutes to modify the squat jumps and begin to distinguish the relevance of this to correct form in the execution of technique. Proceeding to then drive onto one leg and then recreate this sensation whilst becoming airborne, what began as a very routine exercise had developed into a thorough examination of which muscle groups to recruit and co-ordinate in the driving power when making stances and transitions.

Students would then deliver stepping punches with the focus remaining on the drive which had been practiced. The timing points were something which Steve Sensei alluded to before moving on to demonstrate how they related to sanbon-tsuki and in particular how the hip action related to the driving action from the back leg whilst adopting a static position.

After pairing up, Steve Sensei would have students practice sanbon-tsuki against a partner as a specific blocking sequence countered each attack. Shoulder and body action would be tested to block from different positions, practicing a number of approaches involving joint action and working from the most effective angles. Once the punches had been nullified, a uraken would help to close the distance before a short ura-tsuki dealt the final blow, at least for the time being.

Once the blocking sequence had become second nature with students closely following Steve Sensei’s demonstration and crystal-clear explanations, further striking techniques were added in the form of two spinning backfists. The first of these would be done rapidly by rotating on the spot, keeping the feet in position before the second would be unleashed whilst disengaging to a safer position because of the technique’s recoil. The pairs were given the chance to elevate the pace of the sequence to end at full speed, combining all of the elements which Steve Sensei had detailed so far.

Students would then be guided to carry over the same technical elements into the kata Heian Godan, where all the thoughts Steve Sensei had verbalised and displayed had their precise place. Reminding students about the earliest themes of the session, the class appreciated how the translation of all aspects practiced in the earlier drills should take place to optimise the training benefits.

The kata Joko Issei was then taught by Steve Sensei, ending a simply flawless lesson which appeared to have been planned to perfection. Breaking this down into bite-size sequences students picked up the movements quickly but managed to retain the quality of movement which had been the focus of Steve Sensei throughout the morning. The kata was then performed freely once the sections had been repeated and stitched together for final performance. Steve Sensei had connected all parts of his lesson with great care and attention and this thoughtfulness affords easy retention by the pupils, empowering them to continue to develop further when back at their home dojos. The fixture and consistency of this level of excellence is a testament to the help which all of the senior grades work together to deliver.

A short break then gave students the chance to buy raffle tickets before Matt Sensei started the second half of the course. Matt Sensei started by drawing on his familiarity with the nature of training and the intensity of the Honbu Dojo instructors he has witnessed on many visits to Japan. Matt Sensei was talking specifically about the conditioning drills which are used to chisel both the body and mind and the reasons this should never be overlooked.

Matt Sensei allowed students to pair up to become one another’s “emotional support partner” for the challenging range of activities which lay in store. Creating or modifying these over many years, Matt Sensei maintains the highest level of conditioning on a personal level and takes pride in educating students in how to benefit themselves by integrating this as part of their regular training regimen.

The range of exercises would be done for a minute with Matt Sensei offering a brief 30 seconds respite as the next conditioning drill was festively unwrapped. As these were revealed and then demonstrated, students returned to their positions alongside or facing their companion. The drills selected covered all over body conditioning and would rotate, challenging students to maintain form and posture as the clock ticked. Matt Sensei kept the focus on reaction high a random count was employed to trigger the activity. Working many common favourites, Matt Sensei also added a number of kumite centered training exercises. Working balance on one leg and various kicks, press-up holds and many other core kumite drills.

Once Matt Sensei had firmly implanted his conditioning mantra into the student’s minds, he would finish the course with some strategic kumite moves. Matt Sensei urged students to value the fitness levels needed for kumite, especially towards the end of matches or after multiple rounds. Matt Sensei covered a number of scoring techniques which could be engineered through he manipulation of the opponent’s body and limbs. Opening scoring zone from the clinch, students were taught how to manoeuvre the elbow of their opponents to one side to enable the opportunity of a scoring kick at the end of a bout where multiple points might be needed. Matt Sensei analysed the distance required and many other more academic elements of kumite competition which are necessary but difficult to execute when fatigued and when concentration is harder to preserve.

Once the course had ended with the bow, many would leave with festive wishes from Alan Sensei whilst a few stayed mindful and gave their best performances in the grading which took place afterwards. As always congratulations to those successful and until next time for anyone needing reassessment. This brought another fantastic course to a close. JKS England thanks everyone for their support and wishes all a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year.