2011 News

This page is updated quarterly (or as time commitments allow), for more up to date information...

...follow us:

_________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

Hartlepool Wadokai End of Year Training Course & Kids Christmas Party
Saturday 17th December 2011

Today we held our End of Year Training course followed by our Kids Christmas Party to finish off a very busy, but very successful year for the club. We had 44 students turn up for the free training course and a staggering 92 kids (& a stack of parents) for the party! By far the best attendance we’ve had for a club event so far.

I’d like to personally thank the instructors, students, committee, parents and volunteers for all their hard work and dedication over 2011. Also, a massive thank you to all the parents who donated raffle prizes and last but not least, to George Gowland for another great Disco (accompanied by Luke & Nick’s band!).

serious face!

Training Course

This course has became something of a club tradition since Carl & Amy came back from training in Japan, with the course content being copied from Arakawa Sensei Shiramizu dojo’ End of year course. After a thorough warm-up led by Sensei Amy, all the students completed a mammoth 1000 punches (of various types) and gruelling 1000 kicks. The Pee Wee’s especially showed fantastic spirit throughout! We finished off the session with a few Kata and a group shot (minus instructors).

Christmas Party

We held this party in a big sports hall because we had so many kids coming along. The Disco was provided by George Gowland (Tel: 07970 697779) and he was accompanied by Luke & Nick’s band, who played a 30min set to finish off the party. Catering was provided by Sensei Lynne, Michelle Butterfield and few other dedicated parents (Vicki, the flap jacks were my favourite {hint hint}).

During the party we also gave out a number of awards:

Cheerleader of the Year award 2011 - Miss Caroline Wilson

European Championships Awards - Jasmin Langley & Bailey Reed

Student of the Year 2011 - Roy Salmons

Please visit the Club Blog for a full gallery.

_________________________________________________________

Fitness Testing - Part 2
Wednesday 14th December 2011

Tonight we carried out a number of sport science tests on our competitors. These tests form part of Sensei Carl’s ‘Analysis of Sports Performance’ module in his Sports Coaching & Exercise Degree at Hartlepool College of Further Education.

The tests were as follows:

The ‘Illinois Agility Run Test‘, Power on an electronic shield with Gyakuzuki (reverse punch). And finally we recorded a number of kumite matches from each fighter. This will be analysed by the clubs referee’s over the holidays for favourite techniques used, scoring techniques, movement patterns etc… and areas of improvement.

All this data will be used as part of the 2012 squad training program for our competitors.

(Special thanks to Mikaela White for working the video camera)

_________________________________________________________

Fitness Testing - Part 1
Wednesday 14th December 2011

Today Amy and Carl had the (dis)pleasure of taking part in some fitness tests at Teesside University. These formed part of Sensei Vince’ final year of his Sports Coaching & Exercise Degree. After a brief warm-up we worked on a bike which was hooked up to a computer which gave incremental resistance for a shattering 30 seconds. Our legs felt like jelly afterwards. Next was a ‘sit & reach’ test, grip test and as the photo above shows a vertical jump test.

Carl was particularly pleased with his jump results but the lab technician decided the results must be dodgy because the score was similar to what pro basketball players get… hmmm…

A number of other club members are also taking part in the tests over the next few weeks too. It will be interesting to see the final results.

_________________________________________________________

Hartlepool Wadokai Club Grading
Monday 12th December 2011

Please visit the Club Blog for the report and gallery.

_________________________________________________________

Hartlepool Sporting Association Meeting
Wednesday 7th December 2011

Carl and Mr Vince attended this meeting on behalf of the club.

_________________________________________________________

Hartlepool Wadokai JUNIOR Inter-Club Karate Championships
Sunday 27th November 2011

Today was the Hartlepool Wadokai JUNIOR Inter-Club Karate Championships. The event was held at the Belle Vue Sports Centre in Hartlepool and had almost 250 competitor entries from 11 clubs attending.

We started the day a few minutes behind schedule at approx 10:10am but by 2:10pm, all events were done and dusted. For this I’d like to personally thank ALL the officials and volunteers who made the day go so smoothly, and also the competitors and parents for being great sports throughout. I’d also like to personally congratulate Askam Karate Club for achieving a fantastic FIVE bronze medals in their FIRST EVER competition!

Please visit the club blog for the Podium Gallery

Download the results here

We’re missing a few podium shots for some reason (KA9 – 3rd Kyu + Kata, 16-18yrs; KU3 – Kumite, Male 10-12yrs; KU8 – Kumite Female 16-18yrs). If anyone has these can you please send me them?

I’d like to once again thank everyone for attending and hope to see you all at our Full Inter-Club Championships in March 2012.

_________________________________________________________

Sugasawa Sensei Course
Wednesday 9th November 2011, Leeds

Sensei' Michael, Carl and Amy all headed down to Leeds for another chance to train with Sugasawa Sensei. Sensei' sense of humour permeates through his teachings so it's easy to enjoy the training and learn loads at the same time.

_________________________________________________________

Hartlepool Wadokai AGM
Wednesday 9th November 2011

The minutes of this meeting have been emailed out to members. If you haven't received yours then please get in touch. The AGM was immediately followed by a regular Club Committee Meeting, the minutes of which have also been sent out.

_________________________________________________________

Self Defence for Teenagers
Wednesday 9th November 2011, Hartlepool Sixth Form College

The Club has been running a Self Defence course for teenagers at Hartlepool Sixth Form College.

All the students involved took to the program very positively and we were able to progress through very basic one-to-one scenarios through to dealing with groups.

We spent a lot of time working on overcoming the initial ‘flinch-freeze’ response when under pressure coupled with various body manipulations and strikes.

We also covered ‘Awareness & Avoidance’ and the ‘Fight or Flight’ response.

In all it was a good introductory course and will hopefully give the attendees more confidence.

We’ve given each of the attendees a free months trial at our community classes for January so we hope they take up the offer.

_________________________________________________________

New Club Black Belts
4th, 5th, 6th November 2011, Alfreton

Last weekend members of the club headed down to Alfreton for a training course with Okumachi Sensei, 6th Dan JKF-Wadokai and a further two days with Sakagami Sensei, Peter May, Keith Walker and Lee Minion. The session on Saturday was also lead by Okumachi Sensei who had a little bit of extra time before his flight and decided to stick around and teach some more. The Sunday was a further opportunity to run through the elements of the Dan Grade (Black Belt Test) that hadn’t already been covered over the previous two days. The actual test took place after the training.

The Hartlepool folk with Okumachi Sensei on Saturday (Jasmin & Bailey also trained with Sensei on the Friday evening)

It was a long weekend, and all the training (except the test) took place on a typical concrete sports hall floor so by the end of everything our bodies were aching.

A massive congratulations must go to Sensei Michael Jorgeson who was finally coerced into taking his 2nd Dan – after almost 20 years of being 1st Dan! Also, a massive well done to Sensei Vince Dawkins and Beth Gray who have just become our latest Black Belts. They’ve both put in a lot of work over the past 12 months and beyond to get ready for the test and it showed. High Five!!!

_________________________________________________________

Wadokai European Karate Championships
Sunday 16th October 2011, Portugal

A number of club members were in Lisbon, Portugal for the 38th European Wadokai Karate Championships. They were selected as part of the 50 strong Wadokai England Karate Team. The Hartlepool competitors were Carl Jorgeson, Amy Jorgeson, Jasmin Langley & Bailey Reed. They were supported by Sensei Lynne Jorgeson & Sensei Michael Jorgeson who were both Refereeing & Judging at the event and also a number of parents.

The entire England Team performed very well and brought back over 60 medals in all (awaiting exact medal count), the four Hartlepool Wadokai competitors brought back an impressive 14 medals between them. They were 7 GOLD, 2 SILVER, 5 BRONZE.

BAILEY REED
GOLD – INDIVIDUAL KATA, BOYS, 12-13YRS
GOLD – INDIVIDUAL KUMITE, BOYS, 12-13YRS
GOLD – TEAM KATA, BOYS, 12-13YRS
SILVER – TEAM KUMITE, BOYS, 12-13YRS

JASMIN LANGLEY
GOLD – TEAM KATA, GIRLS, 14-15YRS
SILVER – TEAM KUMITE, GIRLS, 14-15YRS
BRONZE – INDIVIDUAL KATA, GIRLS, 14-15YRS
BRONZE – INDIVIDUAL KUMITE, GIRLS, 14-15YRS

AMY JORGESON
GOLD – TEAM KATA, FEMALE, 18YRS+
GOLD – TEAM KUMITE, FEMALE, 18YRS+
BRONZE – INDIVIDUAL KUMITE, FEMALE, 18YRS+, -60KG

CARL JORGESON
GOLD – TEAM KATA, MALE, 18YRS+
BRONZE – INDIVIDUAL KUMITE, MALE, 18YRS+, +84KG
BRONZE – INDIVIDUAL KATA, MALE, 18YRS+

Us coaches believed that Bailey & Jasmin both had the potential to medal at the event, despite this being their first ever European Championships (or they wouldn’t have been selected) but we were obviously very pleased with the actual results. Both competitors were tasked to train 15-20 hours a week for the past 6 months in preparation, then weekend training camps and competitions on top so they definitely deserve their massive medal haul.

On a personal note, I’d like to thank all of the club members who helped raise funds for the event and also to the other club members who formed an integral part of the athlete support network by keeping the four of us motivated, pushed us that little bit further and gave us a beating when we were too slow in fight training! I’d also like to thank the Sports Coaching staff at Hartlepool College of Further Education for their training advice and the use of their world class Cryospa which all helped to get us older competitors fit for the event.

Not wanting to take this result for granted, we’ve already started planning for next year’s European Championships which are looking to be held in Italy (Rome or Venice). Over the coming months we’ll be pre-selecting potential Hartlepool Wadokai students who can then try for the Wadokai England Team. If you would like to be considered for the squad next year then you should speak to Carl or Amy as soon as possible.

_________________________________________________________

Club closed
19th - 25th October 2011

The club is closed due to attendance at the Wadokai European Championships in Portugal. Carl, Amy, Jasmin and Bailey are all representing the club as part of the Wadokai England Squad. Sensei Lynne and Sensei Michael are both headed out as referee's for the event.

_________________________________________________________

Hartlepool Wadokai Club-Only Annual Championships
Sunday 16th October 2011

This was by far the most efficient competition we at Hartlepool Wadokai have ever ran. The competition started at 10am and all was completed by 1.15pm - with a 30min lunch break, everything was cleared away by 2pm!

Download the competition results here

View the event gallery here (on the club blog)

Thank you once again to our officials, volunteers, parents, students and of course our committee for doing a fantastic job.

_________________________________________________________

Aiwakai Way to Excellence Course
Saturday 15th October 2011, Alfreton

Sensei Vince and Beth both attended this 4 hour Aiwakai Course in Alfreton.

_________________________________________________________

Sensei Lee Minion Training Course
Saturday 15th October 2011, Derby

Carl, Amy, Bailey and Jasmin all headed down to a special training course with Sensei Lee Minion at his club in Derby. This was a great chance to train with other Wadokai Squad members ahead of the Wadokai European Championships in Portugal. Thank you to Sensei Minion and of course Genna for your help. After the training there was a mad-dash back to Hartlepool to set-up for the club's annual competition.

_________________________________________________________

Hartlepool Sporting Association Awards Evening
Friday 14th October 2011

Tonight was the Hartlepool Sporting Association Awards Evening held at the brand new £53 million Hartlepool College of FE Campus in the centre of town. The evening was a chance for the club members to get together (rather than simply the club ‘managers’ at meetings), an opportunity to introduce Mr Alan White, former Head Teacher from Manor College of Technology as an Honorary Chairman of the Hartlepool Sporting Association and also, and perhaps more importantly, to celebrate some successes within each club – something which we all forget to do at times.

Our club was well represented with 16 people attending (instead of training) with a mix of students, parents, committee and instructors. Each HSA club was asked to nominate a person for each award of the night,’Club Sports Star of the Year ‘ and ‘Club Services to Sport award’.

Extract from Amy’s nomination:

Her dedication to Karate is truly inspiring, the club call her ‘The Terminator’ because she never gives up, carrying on past where mere mortals would have given up long ago. In Japanese the term is ‘Fudochi’ or immovable spirit and is a Samurai principle.

The sports star award was very easy to nominate, Amy is by far our most successful competitor with medals at Regional, National, European and World levels.

The Services to Sport award was more difficult. We have so many volunteers at the club that each do a fantastic job, above and beyond what would be expected and all help to contribute day in, day out to the success of the club. The aspect that made the selection easier was the ‘Education and Health Through Sport’ mandate of the HSA. One volunteer stands out above all others with this in mind, our Club Chairman, Vince Dawkins.

Extract from Vince’s nomination:

Vince has been the catalyst for a number of significant changes at the club over recent years. All of which were kick started when he signed up to a Foundation degree in Sports Coaching and Exercise at HCFE. Most notably, Vince introduced lesson plans to the club which are now used in every session without fail.

Vince is also a fully qualified and experienced chef, so added to the nutritional knowledge he has gained in his degree he has been an outstanding source of help to club members, in particular our High Performance competitors.

On behalf of the club, I’d like to thank all the staff at the Hartlepool College of FE for putting on a great awards evening and the fantastic hospitality. I’d also like to thank our club members that attended on behalf of the club.

_________________________________________________________

Hartlepool Wadokai After School Club Grading
Friday 14th October 2011

Congratulations to Rhianne, Caitlyn, Luke and Ben for passing their White & Red Belt grading today at Throston After School Karate Club. Well deserved…

_________________________________________________________

Hartlepool Wadokai Club Grading & Dan Grade Pre-Test
Saturday 8th October 2011

For a full write up please visit the club blog.

_________________________________________________________

Wadokai England Squad Training & Wayne Otto Kumite Seminar
Saturday 1st October 2011, Leicester

Carl, Amy, Bailey and Jasmin all headed down to Leicester for a special Wadokai Squad training that also had Sensei Wayne Otto OBE leading the Kumite section.

_________________________________________________________

Hartlepool Wadokai Fundraising Evening
Saturday 24th September 2011

The club parents and committee organised a fundraising evening at Hartlepool Divers Club to help raise funds for those who would be competing at the Wadokai European Championships in Portugal (October 2011). We also had local band, The Collective playing on the evening, the band includes Luke & Nick, two of our advanced students. Thank you to everyone who helped organise the event, and also thanks to everyone who turned up to support the club.

_________________________________________________________

TASK Wayne Otto Kumite Seminar
Saturday 24th September 2011, Stockton

Our friends at TASK Stockton once again hosted a very good Kumite (Sparring) seminar with Sensei Wayne Otto OBE, 9x World Champion. Lewis Muldown and Connor Butterfield both attended and thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it.

_________________________________________________________

Aiwakai Way to Excellence
Sunday 18th September 2011, Alfreton

Sensei Vince and Beth both attending this Way to Excellence course in Alfreton. This course is part of the Aiwakai Dan Grade program.

_________________________________________________________

UK Open Karate Champships
Sunday 18th September 2011, Stourbridge

Amy and Harvey entered this open competition in Birmingham. Both came home with a 3rd Place medal for their efforts, (Amy's - Kata, Harvey's - Kumite).

_________________________________________________________

Wadokai England Squad Training
Saturday 17th September 2011, Ikon Dojo, Wolverhampton

Carl, Amy and Bailey travelled down to Birmingham for this Wadokai England Squad Training session which is part of the build up to the Wadokai European Championships in Portugal.

_________________________________________________________

HW Committee Meeting, HCFE Tour, Meal
Thursday 15th September 2011

The club committee were given a tour of the new £53million college campus by Head of Sport, Mr Shaun Hope and we are very grateful. After the tour we sat down in one of the very smart new conference rooms for a committee meeting. Highlights of the meeting:

After the meeting, the committee headed to Marco Polo restaurant for a delicious, and well deserved meal.

_________________________________________________________

Carl & Amy - The Wedding
Saturday 10th September 2011

During the summer break, two of the club instructors got married in Malta (29th July). The UK party was held on Saturday 10th September, with the entire Karate club invited.

_________________________________________________________

Re-Start at Throston Primary School
Friday 9th September 2011

The club instructors have been itching to get stuck back in to teaching our After School Karate classes and Throston was our first one to re-start. As always, the kids were very enthusiastic (if a little noisy after the summer break!) and we were joined by another 20 new 5 year old students who managed to fit right in.

Over the next few months, we'll be working on further integrating the After School students with our main community club.

_________________________________________________________

Bank Holiday - Club Closed
Monday 29th August 2011

All classes are closed due to the Bank Holiday.

_________________________________________________________

Social Media Training
Thursday 25th & Friday 26th August 2011

Carl was invited to take part in this two day training course at Hartlepool College of FE. This course was led by Simon Wakeman, who is an expert in communications and marketing. Despite using various social media networks for a number of years on behalf of the club, I still learned a lot that has already been put in place to help connect even further with our members. Thank you to Hartlepool College of FE for the invite.

_________________________________________________________

Are Dancers tougher than Karate folk?
Wednesday 24th & Friday 26th August 2011

The club was lucky enough to be visited by a local Dancing super star, Bethany Muldown (who is the big sister of one of our students). Bethany started dancing at the tender age of 2 years old and can only be described as a dancing machine! She dances with the Elwick Academy of Dance, arguably one of the most successful dance schools in the town so we were very lucky to have her along.

As a Karate Instructor/Coach, I think its always important to keep pushing yourself to learn more. In Japanese this principle of ‘continuous improvement’ is called kaizen. This could be the eternal struggle of perfecting a technique or kata, or even studying a Sports Coaching Degree to ensure you’re at the cutting edge. In this particular case it’s acknowledging that there are others who are better suited than us to lead certain sessions.

Bethany has studied dancing for many years, her core strength is particularly impressive and is proof that regular strength and conditioning training works!

Bringing in an external coach also has the added benefit of ‘mixing it up a little’. Even though a number of exercises that Bethany did were the same ones that we ourselves use when teaching, they may have been done in a slightly different way, or a stretch was held for much longer which seriously tested our bodies!.

The main thing I learned personally was that we are doing a lot of things right, we just need to arm our students with the skills to do more of these exercises in their own time at home. We also need to hold a lot of our stretches longer – it really makes a difference.

Lynne, our Chief Instructor with Bethany

Thank you once again to Bethany for giving up her free time for us, we really appreciate it and once again, everyone loved it! Some of the parents liked it so much that they have asked Bethany to lead a weekly session just for them!

_________________________________________________________

HSA Meeting
Wednesday 24th August 2011

Carl & Vince attended this meeting on behalf of the club. The meeting included a guided tour of the new £53m college facilities which simply put, are outstanding. The college also includes a brand new top of the range fitness suite and an exclusive membership package for all HSA members (which includes ALL Hartlepool Wadokai members!).

Gym Offer: £120.00 for the first year of membership to the gym, this is the best gym membership rate in the town and is naturally only available for a limited time. Speak to Carl or Vince for more information.

_________________________________________________________

Hartlepool Borough Council 'Olympic Legacy Inspire' program
Monday 22nd August 2011

Amy & Carl attended this briefing at Hartlepool Art Gallery about the local council's program which will inspire a generation of girls and women in town to take up / continue in sport. This year long program uses local sporting stars such as Jemma Lowe, current world swimming champ, Amanda Coulson, contender for women's 2012 GB boxing team and our very own Amy Jorgeson. They are examples of women and girls being successful in sport which will hopefully inspire others to continue in their footsteps.

The club will also be taking part in the 'Hartlepool Sporting Association (HSA)' aspect of this project which will capture images of girls/women taking part in sport across all levels rather than simply the elite level.

_________________________________________________________

Hartlepool Wadokai Fundraising Event
Sunday 21st August 2011

Our superstar duo of Julie and Sue arranged another bag packing event, this time at the local Tesco Supermarket. Funds raised will help subsidise those members from the club representing England in the upcoming European Championships in Portugal and also help towards the cost of the club-only championships in October. Thank you to everyone who supported the event.

_________________________________________________________

Hartlepool Wadokai 'vs' Kobukan Darlington Paintball
Saturday 20th August 2011

A group of four members of Hartlepool Wadokai took up the Paintball challenge set by Kobukan Karate Club in Darlington. The Hartlepool warriers were Carl, Michael, Roy and Leah and we gave those Darlo folk a 'damned good thrashing...!' ok, not really because we were all on the same team but we all had a great time.

We're arranging another Paintballing day for Sunday 30th October for anyone who is interested. Speak to Carl for more information.

_________________________________________________________

Hartlepool Wadokai Fundraising Event
Saturday 30th July 2011

Despite the club being on holiday, some club members were still out in the community flying the flag. This time members were at a bag packing event at the local Morrison's Supermarket. Thank you to everyone who helped out and as always to our superstar Julie for organising the event. Funds raised will help subsidise those members from the club representing England in the upcoming European Championships in Portugal and also help towards the cost of the club-only championships in October.

_________________________________________________________

Hartlepool Wadokai Summer Break
Monday 25th July - Sunday 7th August 2011

Reminder of the club closing dates over the school summer holiday period. All community classes (Belle Vue & Owton Manor) return as normal from 8th August with the exception of the two competition classes, which won't restart until September.

_________________________________________________________

Hartlepool Borough Council' Olympic Event
Sunday 24th July 2011, Summerhill, Hartlepool

The club has been working with the local council on a number of programs over the past few years. We were only too happy to be involved in the latest HBC project, to celebrate the 1 year countdown to the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games. The 'demo' was run like a typical lesson, with kihon (basics), kata (form) and kumite (fighting) being shown. Thanks to everyone who supported the club, and a special mention to Connor D who recruited the troops!

_________________________________________________________

Hartlepool Wadokai Summer Camp 2011
Saturday 16th & Sunday 17th July 2011, Lake District

Please visit the club' blog for a full report and picture gallery... click here blog

_________________________________________________________

Hartlepool Wadokai Instructor Meeting
Monday 11th July 2011, Hartlepool

The club instructors got together before the summer break to confirm plans for the rest of the year, and to discuss how the year has gone so far. A summarised report may follow later...

_________________________________________________________

Throston Primary School Fun Day
Saturday 2nd July 2011, Throston Primary School

The club has a very successful After School Karate Club running at the school and we were once again invited to take part in their annual Fun Day, we obviously accepted with pleasure. Since the club had been so busy (as usual!) we were a little apprehensive about getting the required numbers for a suitable demo. In the end we shouldn't have been worried as had a small army of volunteers turn up, including nearly every student that we teach at the school. Filling up our hour slot wasn't going to be a problem.

We had to split the group into teams which inevitably led to some repetition because we wanted all the kids to be able to take part. All in all though, I think the demo was well received and it was a great way for the parents of the After School kids to see what the kids learn from us every week.

I'd like to personally thank everyone for turning up and supporting the club once again, and of course to the Throston parents for putting on another great Fun Day at the school.

Picture gallery to follow...

_________________________________________________________

PC Keith Robinson
June 2011, Hartlepool

At the recent Neighbourhood Policing Awards 2011 PC Keith Robinson was awarded the ‘PC of the Year’ award for Hartlepool. Some of you will know PC Robinson from the work he has done with our club around ‘stranger danger’ and bullying. We are very pleased to see PC Robinson’s hard work and dedication being recognised by the wider community.

_________________________________________________________

Hartlepool Sporting Association Meeting
Wednesday 29th June 2011, Hartlepool College of Further Education

Carl attended on behalf of HW.

_________________________________________________________

Wadokai England Squad Training
Sunday 25th June 2011, Ikon Dojo, Wolverhampton

Sensei Michael, Sensei Carl, Jasmin, Lewis and ___________ once again submitted themselves to the 400 mile round trip to Birmingham for this squad session. The Kata session was ran by Sensei Lee Minion and was more of a general training session than regular squad so it was decidedly more varied in nature.

_________________________________________________________

Simon Coope Karate Championships
Sunday 5th June 2011, Leicester

We sent a small squad of 7 competitors to this competition to finish off another busy weekend for the club. We brought back an admirable 8 medals (3 Gold, 2 Silver & 3 Bronze). Full results are as follows:

KATA

KUMITE

Daniel White and Lewis Muldown performed admirably in one of the toughest Kumite sections of the day but weren't able to secure any medals. No doubt they were a little disappointed from that but we've already adapted their Kumite training focus to build on their capabilities further.

On behalf of the club I'd like to thank the organiser, Simon Coope for running a very good competition and we're looking forward to taking a bigger squad next year!

_________________________________________________________

Aiwakai Summer Course & Way to Excellence
Saturday 4th & Sunday 5th June 2011, Alfreton Leisure Centre, Derbyshire

All the club instructors and a number of students attended this Aiwakai weekend training course. Saturday was led mostly by Sakagami Sensei and later on with Sensei Peter May and Sensei Keith Walker. Sunday also had Sensei Lee Minion leading the brown belts.

_________________________________________________________

Belle Vue Sports Centre 'Family Day'
Friday 3rd June 2011, Belle Vue Sports Centre, Kendal Road, Hartlepool

The club was invited to take part in the Belle Vue Centre's 'Family Day'. We didn't have a lot of time to put together any fancy demo but we had the students run through various Kata and we finished off with a 'red team' vs 'blue team' Kumite exhibition match. Thanks to Luke, Jas, Lewis, Phil, Joe, Bailey, Oakley, Sashenka, Philip & Charlie for helping.

_________________________________________________________

Aiwakai National Championships
Sunday 22nd May 2011, Alfreton Leisure Centre, Derbyshire

The club took a small army in two mini-buses (Kindly borrowed from Hartlepool College of FE) down to Alfreton for this year's Aiwakai National Championships. Due to the success of last year's event, the competition had been moved into the larger 'bowls hall' on the same site. Sensei Lynne and Michael both officiated for most of the day with Carl, Amy and Vince coaching the squad from the sidelines.

Joel, Bailey & Danny Boy (winning 3 out of 4 medals in their category!)

Well done to all competitors whether you medalled or not, and a massive thank you to all the parents and supporters that travelled so far to support the club. The day wouldn't have been the same without you all and finally thank you to the Hartlepoool College of FE for the free use of the two mini-buses - you saved us a small fortune!.

End of day 'Team Talk'

To download a full copy of the results click here (PDF 3.65MB)

_________________________________________________________

Wadokai England Squad Training & Selections
Saturday 21st May 2011, Ikon Dojo, Wolverhampton

Carl, Amy, Jasmin and Bailey all travelled down to Birmingham for this Wadokai Squad Training and England Squad Selections. I'm pleased to announce that all four competitors have been selected to represent England at the Wadokai European Championships in October this year in both Kata and Kumite.

All four competitors then had to get back to Hartlepool for a couple of hours sleep before heading back down south for the Aiwakai Nationals... travelling a whopping 700+ miles in two days!

_________________________________________________________

Wayne Otto Kumite Seminar
Saturday 21st May 2011, TASK, Stockton

(In no particular order) Alana, Connor B, Connor D, Danny Boy, Luke, Roy, Phil, Joe, Harvey, Lewis, Sensei Otto

Our good friends at TASK once again hosted a fantastic 5hr Shiai-Kumite (Competition Fighting) training course with Sensei Wayne Otto OBE. Wayne Otto is 9x World Champion and the current English and British National Coach. Ten students (above) attended supported by Sensei Lynne and Sensei Michael.

A special mention and thanks should go to the Hartlepool College of FE. We borrowed two of their mini-buses for the weekend which saved us a small fortune. This meant that the club could subsidise this training fee for all ten of our students by half!.

Hartlepool Wadokai are hosting an Aiwakai Wayne Otto Kumite Course on Saturday 9th July 2011 at the Belle Vue Sports Centre, Kendal Road, Hartlepool - please be sure to put it in your diary. Download the event poster here.

_________________________________________________________

Sportability Karate Session
Tuesday 17th May 2011, Headland Sports Centre, Hartlepool

The club were invited along to fellow HSA member, Hartlepool Sportability to run a Karate Taster session for them. Sensei Lynne and Carl were both more than happy to travel across town to deliver it - even though they had to miss one of our Adult classes to do so.

The group started off relatively small (maybe 20 people) taking part but within minutes the group had swelled to over 30 including most of the group coaches and support workers. The enthusiasm in the group was infectious and we're looking forward to working with Sportability again in the near future.

_________________________________________________________

Askam Karate Club Training Course
Saturday 14th May 2011, Askam-in-Furness

Sensei Carl and Amy were once again invited to Askam Karate Club to run a short Karate course for them. Despite leaving at 'ridiculous-o'clock' we still managed to arrived 15mins late. As penance Carl had to do press-ups with one of the Askam students sitting on his back - which proved to be a great way to break the ice with the newer Askam students.

The students were put through their paces in Kihon (Basics), Kata (Form) and we finished off with some Kumite (Fighting). After the training Carl and Amy were treat to some delicious homemade cakes with a nice cup of tea!

_________________________________________________________

Aiwakai Way to Excellence, Squad Training, Referee Training
Saturday 7th May 2011, Alfreton Leisure Centre, Derbyshire

Sensei' Lynne, Michael and Amy, along with Beth headed down to Derbyshire for this Aiwakai training course. As usual Sakagami Sensei, Sensei Peter May and Sensei Keith Walker were all in attendance to run the course but Sensei Vince Parker was also there to continue with the Aiwakai Referee Training Program, this time teaching 'Bassai Dai' Kata.

_________________________________________________________

Wadokai England Squad Training
Saturday 30th April 2011, Ikon Dojo, Wolverhampton

Sensei Carl and Sensei Amy both attended this Squad Training along with Bailey, Joel and Jasmin despite it being right in the middle of our much needed Easter holiday.

_________________________________________________________

Hartlepool Wadokai Easter Holidays
21st April - 2nd May 2011, All sites

All club sites were closed for a much needed Easter Holiday...

_________________________________________________________

English Karate Federation National Championships
Sunday 17th April 2011, Sheffield

_________________________________________________________

Hartlepool Wadokai Training & Grading course with Sakagami Sensei
Sunday 10th April 2011, Belle Vue Sports Centre, Kendal Road, Hartlepool

44 students attended our Sakagami Sensei Training and Grading Course. Sensei put the students through their paces in Kihon (Basics), Kata (Form) and Kumite (Fighting) and also assessed some of them for their next belts.

_________________________________________________________

Aiwakai Way to Excellence, Squad Training, Referee Training
Sunday 3rd April 2011, Alfreton Leisure Centre, Derbyshire

Vince and Beth both attended this course, which forms part of the Aiwakai Dan Grading process.

_________________________________________________________

Wadokai England Squad Training
Saturday 26th March 2011, Ikon Dojo, Wolverhampton

Carl, Amy, Bailey, Luke, Alana all attended.

_________________________________________________________

Hartlepool Sporting Association Meeting
Wednesday 23rd March 2011, Hartlepool College of Further Education

Carl attended on behalf of HW.

_________________________________________________________

Hartlepool Wadokai Inter-Club Invitational Karate Championships
Sunday 20th March 2011, Brierton Sports Centre, Catcote Road, Hartlepool

After the success of last year's competition we had to move into a bigger venue, and it still wasn't big enough to cope with the 300+ entries (and their respective entourages!). In all, 19 clubs attended from as far away as London to compete in our 2nd Inter-Club Championships. Despite these record entries we still managed to finish by 6.15pm and everything was cleared away before 7pm.

The club managed to win the most medals (29) overall and on points we finished 6th - a very respectable position considering the calibre of competitor the event attracted.

I'd like to personally thank every one of the officials, volunteers, competitors, coaches and parents for making the day run like clockwork and be enjoyable for all. Next year we'll have to move into an even bigger venue :-)

DOWNLOAD RESULTS - Hartlepool Wadokai InterClub Invitational Championships 20th March 2011

_________________________________________________________

Shimura & Katsube Sensei' Course
Saturday 12th & Sunday 13th March 2011, Manchester

Left to Right: Lynne, Michael, Katsube Sensei, Shimura Sensei, Carl, Amy

Shimura Sensei is the General Secretary of the JKF-Wadokai, the Japanese group that our club belongs to. Both he and Katsube Sensei are from Arakawa Toru Sensei' famous dojo in Japan. This course was organised by Ben Pollock from Manchester Wadokai and we very much appreciate the hard work of organising such a successful event.

The course was designed to be taught just like in Arakawa Sensei' dojo in Japan and that definitely came across during the weekend, it was just like training back in Japan!

_________________________________________________________

Hartlepool Borough Council 'International Women's Day' Event
Tuesday 8th March 2011, Mill House Leisure Centre, Hartlepool

The club were invited to run a 'Self Defence' Taster session during this HBC event. The attendance wasn't fantastic but it helped to raise the profile of the club and reach out to the community. It was interesting to get our first glimpse of zumba too...

_________________________________________________________

Sensei Lee Minion Restraints Course
Sunday 6th March 2011, Grantham

Angie Emms and Grantham Ji-Shin Karate Club organised this Restraints course with Sensei Lee Minion. Sensei Lynne, Michael, Carl and Amy, clearly with some energy left over from a busy Saturday headed down the A1(M) to Grantham for the course. It was really interesting, with some great training ideas that we've already incorporated into some of our classes. The 'Restraints' part was particularly interesting and I'd recommend the next course to anyone with even a passing interest - you'll learn tons!

_________________________________________________________

Aiwakai FREE Members Course
Saturday 5th March 2011, Belle Vue Sports Centre, Kendal Road, Hartlepool

_________________________________________________________

Fundraising Event 'Bungee Jump'
Saturday 5th March 2011, Belle Vue Sports Centre, Kendal Road, Hartlepool

_________________________________________________________

Hartlepool Wadokai Club Grading
Saturday 5th March 2011, Belle Vue Sports Centre, Kendal Road, Hartlepool

_________________________________________________________

Fundraising Event 'Bag Pack'
Sunday 27th February 2011, Stockton Tesco Extra, Stockton-on-Tees

_________________________________________________________

Sensei Tony Heap Course
Saturday 26th February 2011, Leeds

Lynne, Michael and Lisa attended.

_________________________________________________________

Wadokai England Squad Training
Saturday 26th February 2011, Ikon Dojo, Wolverhampton

Carl, Amy, Beth, Bailey, Luke all attended

_________________________________________________________

Aiwakai Winter Course & Way to Excellence
Saturday 19th & Sunday 20th February 2011, Alfreton Leisure Centre, Derbyshire

_________________________________________________________

Teesside University Karate Championships
Saturday 12th February 2011, Olympia Building, Teesside University, Middlesbrough

_________________________________________________________

Hartlepool Wadokai First Aid Course
Sunday 6th February 2011, Hartlepool Divers Club, Middleton House, Hartlepool Marina

Club funded First Aid course for club volunteers and some attendees from Hartlepool Swimming Club and Oaksway Netball Club. Delivered by Paul Suggitt.

_________________________________________________________

English Karate Federation National Squad Training
Saturday 5th February 2011, North

Amy, Jasmin, Connor all attended and trained. Supported by Carl, sitting bored at the side lines.

_________________________________________________________

Hartlepool Wadokai 'Competition Class' Launched
Wednesday 2nd February 2011, Owton Manor Primary School, Eskdale Road, Hartlepool

As part of HW' 'Performance' Agenda, this session was started.

_________________________________________________________

Hartlepool Sports Council Meeting
Monday 31st January 2011, Seaton Cricket Club, Hartlepool

Carl attended this meeting to represent HW and the Hartlepool Sporting Association.

_________________________________________________________

Sugasawa Sensei Course
Saturday 29th & Sunday 30th January 2011, Colchester, Essex

Left to Right: Michael, Lynne, Sugasawa Sensei, Carl and Amy

Sensei' Lynne, Michael, Carl and Amy all attending this two day Sugasawa Sensei course in Colchester which was hosted by Tim Shaw. Each thoroughly enjoyed learning/re-learning(?) another perspective of Wado-Ryu from another of the UK's resident Japanese instructors. We're all looking forward to training with Sensei again in the near future...

_________________________________________________________

Hartlepool Sporting Association Meeting
Wednesday 26th January 2011, Hartlepool College of Further Education

Carl attended on behalf of HW.

_________________________________________________________

Aiwakai Way to Excellence, Squad Training, Referee Training
Sunday 23rd January 2011, Alfreton Leisure Centre, Derbyshire

All five HW instructors took their Association Referee/Judge Exam papers and Harvey trained.

_________________________________________________________

Hartlepool Wadokai 'Start of Year' Course
Saturday 15th January 2011, Belle Vue Sports Centre, Hartlepool

We've found this event to be a great way of getting rid of the 'cob-webs' of the Christmas holidays.

_________________________________________________________

Hartlepool Wadokai Technical Commitee Meeting
Sunday 9th January 2011, Hartlepool

The Technical Committee got together at the start of the year to discuss the clubs master plans for 2011. Items on the agenda included: lesson plans, new equipment purchases, rolling out Nutritional advice and 2011 events.