Latest news from Easingwold Shotokan Karate Club

28 Jun 10: Good all-round results at recent Kyu Gradings
Congratulations to everyone who passed their grading at Thirsk dojo on Sun 27 Jun. Sensei Grahame said he was delighted that the standard of the grades awarded reflected the hard work put in by students over the last few months. He said he hoped everyone will have learned something about which areas of their karate to focus on in the coming months.

22 May 10: 3rd Dan for Sensei Grahame and 1st Dan for Jake Robson
Congratulations to Sensei Grahame who passed his 3rd Dan grading today.

On the grading panel was BSKA Grading Examiner, Sensei Ady Gray 5th Dan, Technical Advisor Sensei Dave Hazard 7th Dan and Sensei Colin Smith 4th Dan BSKA.

Asked for a comment, Sensei Grahame said: "Yipppeeeeeeeee!"

Jake Robson was also successful in passing his grading and becoming a Junior 1st Dan. He said it had been a tough grading, but was delighted that he had made it to black belt.

Pictured (left to right): Sensei Grahame Hunter (3rd Dan) and Jake Robson (Junior 1st Dan) .

01 Mar 10: Success for all at recent grading
Sensei Grahame has said he was delighted with the standards achieved by his students at the recent BSKA grading held at Thirsk Town Hall. Everyone who took part was awarded either a Mon or a Kyu grade by Sensei Ady - BSKA's Chief Examiner. For anyone who is still confused by the belt and grading system, a full explanation has been added to this site - click here to go there.

13 Dec 09: ESKC named as Club of the Year 2009
Great news - Easingwold Shotokan Karate Club has been named by Sensei Ady Gray - founder of the Byakko Shotokan Karate Association - as the Club of the Year for 2009. He made the announcement at the BSKA end of year course and presenations event in Thirsk. Sensei Grahame was delighted and said it was an award that could be shared by everyone who had worked so hard over the last year.

8 Dec 09: Rosey Gregg gets her black belt
Rosey Gregg - who has been training with the club for the last five years - has graded to Junior 1st Dan after being put through a tough grading by Sensei Ady Gray 5th Dan. Rosey - who is 13 - has become the club's youngest Dan grade, and also the first girl to make it to black belt. Rosey said she was stunned when told she had passed because she felt the grading hadn't gone that well. "I haven't stopped smiling since," she said. Sensei Grahame said Rosey deserved the belt, as she always worked hard and put a lot of thought and effort into her techniques. Congratulations from everyone at the club.

5 Dec 09: Jigsaw matting fundraiser: more than half way there
A big thank you to everyone who took part in the sponsored kata event. All the money has been gathered in, and amount raised was £770. Prizes go to the students who raised the most money: Thomas Nixon, Ethan Smith, Gage Andrews and Joel Nesbitt. We need to raise £1350 to buy the matting, so we're just over half way there. With everyone's continued support, I know we'll get there. Thanks again. Sensei Grahame.

7 Nov 09: Sponsored kata a great success
Thanks to everyone who took part in the sponsored kata event to raise money to buy much-needed mats for the Easingwold dojo. Please bring in your collected sponsorship money so that a final total can be worked out. Remember, there are prizes for those students who raised the most money. Watch this space for more news, and for photos of the event.

24 Oct 09: Dan-grade kata videos now on website
We have had some very positive feedback about the Kyu grade katas which have been available to view on this website since August. Now, you can also see the katas studied by black-belt grades. We hope you find them useful and enjoyable to watch.  Click here to go to the Kata videos page

2 Aug 09: Kata videos added to ESKC website
If you're having trouble remembering the finer points of your kata, there are now videos of all the kyu grade katas on this website. Whilst the videos were not produced by ESKC, they were carefully selected by Sensei Grahame who judged them to be good practice.  Click here to go to the Kata videos page

NEWS ARCHIVE

26 Jul 09: Easingwold Shotokan Karate Club gets two more black belts
Two more students, who have been with the club from the beginning, have made it to black belt.

Luke Turnbull and Michael Whitehead were at the very first lesson in 2003. A few weeks ago, they were put through a very tough grading by Sensei Ady Gray and Sensei Dave Hazard.

Both Michael and Luke described the grading as incredibly nerve wracking and exhausting as the examiners scrutinised every move. "I never thought I would get this far when I first started karate," said Michael. Luke agreed. "It still hasn't sunk in," he said.

Pictured left to right: Luke Turnbull, Sensei Grahame Hunter and Michael Whitehead.


14 Jun 09: Smiles all-round after course and grading in Easingwold
There were lots of smiles and few looks of frustration as students took part in one of the regular gradings at the Galtres Centre, Easingwold on Sun 14 Jun.

The pre-grading course, led by Sensei Ady, spent time on kumite, which forms part of the grading for red-belts and higher.

For some, this was their first grading - and all passed to achieve 9th Mon (white belt with red tag). "It's always really satisfying for me to see the white-belts make their first move up the grades," said Sensei Grahame. "They've all worked hard and deserve this recognition."

Pictured: Sara Cooper receives her 1st Mon grade from Sensei Ady (left) and Sensei Grahame.

12 Feb 09: Celebrations as the club gets first black-belt student
Easingwold Shotokan Karate Club has its first black-belt student. Jonathon Cooper was one of just eight students in the Club's early days when training took place in a back room at the Galtres Centre, Easingwold. That was 2003, and since then, he has risen steadily through the grades and has now been awarded his 1st Dan black belt. He has also had numerous successes in competitions in both kata and kumite. Sensei Grahame Hunter paid tribute to Jonathon's hard work and determination and described him as "a model student with enormous commitment." The work gets even harder for Jonathan from now on, however, with many more Dan grades to aim for.


9 Aug 08: Malcolm Woodcock presented with Spirit Award medal
Sensei Grahame has recognised the consistent hard work of 8th Mon student, Malcolm Woodcock, by presenting him with a club Spirit Award. "From his very first lesson, Malcolm has put 100% effort into improving his technique," said Sensei Grahame. "I'm really proud of his approach to learing karate and his positive attitude."

Malcolm is no stranger to the dojo, having reached his 1st Dan Black Belt in Wado Ryu karate about fifteen years ago. He was forced to quit, however, when changing work patterns meant he could no longer make it to training. Malcolm was delighted to learn about Saturday morning sessions in Easingwold, but made the decision to train as a beginner. "I'm glad I did," he said. "I needed to re-learn the basics after such a long time, and Shotokan karate is quite a bit different to my old style." Sensei Grahame's next medal award will be in the autumn. In the meantime, his message to students is: "Give it all you've got."