Simon Thompson

Euros Edwards

Andrew Jones

Rhianedd Thompson

Sarah Edwards

Sian Belsey

Welcome to the Lancaster Training Course (7th to 11th August 2006) Blog.  We will try and update the site every day to let you know how its going.

After 4 and a bit hours we arrived here in Lancaster having travelled from Aberystwyth on a sunny Sunday, obviously as soon as we arrived it started to rain – typical.  Booking in was a nightmare as they did not have no where near enough rooms, had to wait 4 hours in the end before we could get in (worst yet – not a happy bunny).  Once settled the pub offered a comforting sanctuary where us weary travellers could relax with egger anticipation for the forthcoming course ? 

Monday morning – What a different sorry, getting up in time for an 8am first session sounds easy but anybody who has been to Lancaster or Torbay before will testify its almost impossible. 

Sensei Sherry took the first session f or us higher Dan grades he started with his usual basics with intense attention to detail of every part of the moves.  Followed by some interesting sparing techniques which involved a random number of steps just to confuse everybody.  Sensei Brennan helped to demonstrate mae-toby-geri while keeping the arms still, did look a little like a morris dancer.

Best Quotes:-
 “Just count to three, One, Two, Three!! That’s all it is…”

Sensei O’Neil managed to find a few thing to talk about, gets very carried away bless.  Concentrated on maintaining a short stance in order to develop the correct fast power need to react to our opponents.

Best quotes:-

“Poke them in the eye and give then a dog and stick”

“If you have not been bitten you have not lived”

“Too much hip twisting leads to toilet trouble”

Todays Kata: Empi

The afternoon was spent wondering around Lancaster looking at stuff.  Found a couple of pubs by the canal where a couple of beer’s where sampled.  Followed by an all you can eat Chinese buffet where we may have to declare Euros as the winner of the most food competition.

A couple more beer’s and its off to bed ready for tomorrows training. 

Posted : 7th August 2006 - 20:47

Tuesday Morning – Sensei Bob Poynton took us through the correct timing and body movements, and the variation which can be used in simple basic combinations.  We did Kihon Kata about 20 times, each time substituting some of the moves for much more advanced techniques.  A very tiring session. 

The second session was with Sensei Bob Rhodes – we started with the usual 10 move combinations, which got everybody in the mood for the forthcoming fighting combinations. These involved forming groups of 4 and taking various moves out of the kata’s to apply them in a kumite setting.  The bunkai we did from Nijushiho was excellent except for lack of control from my opponents, resulting in a platypus-style lip (see the photo).

Todays Kata : Nijushiho

After the second session today the people taking the grading this week had to endure an extra half hour with the Frank and Andy show – rather them than me :-)

The official social event is tonight …….  Watch this space …..

Posted : 8th August 2006 - 18:23

Wednesday morning – Hang over from the social evening was a nice surprise this morning, did not think we drank that much but I guess still drinking at throwing-out time would suggest otherwise.

Sensei Billy Higgins - As usual an excellent session from Sensei Higgins; a very long fighting combination involving attack and defence from many strange angles.  He spent the whole session telling us off for kiai-ing and laughing about the brown belts getting told off for not kiai-ing.

Second session was the long awaited Sensei Brennan session. Everybody gets very excited before this session as it’s usually the hardest.  Despite a very fast starting combination of 16 moves, he did chill out and did a very interesting kicking combination-type session.  It’s difficult to decide if I would have preferred a much harder session, as then you feel like you’ve survived and deserve a medal (a big shiny one). But in all fairness I could not have survived as my body is broken, and walking is now harder than I remember it being last week!

Best quotes:
“Do it Nippy !!!”
“Threeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee” der-ring ding ding (we added the der-ring ding ding)

Todays Kata : Makeo (watch out Clive we are now heros on this kata)

Extra interesting things:-

Sian did the extra session for future grading people and managed to get a nice fist-shaped imprint on her forehead, but she seems to love it. 

The brown belts did not actually manage to bow out in the second session, as Sensei O’Neil was still teaching for an extra 20 minutes and everybody else had left the building by the time  he realised the time.

Best kiai of the day was from a brown belt who said “Gaaay” then looked confused.

We spent the afternoon visiting Morecambe bay. We were caurious to see where old people go to die, but instead we found an excellant prom and beach. Though it was so windy it practically blew us back to Lancaster (with fish and chips in hand!). Still, cleared away the cob webs!

Posted : 9th August 2006 - 20:10

Thursday morning: nothing left physically, had to roll myself out of bed this morning.  Sensei Brennan’s warm-up seemed to go on forever.  We had Sensei Sherry first thing. The session started with fighting combinations all based around a half step. What an excellent way of waking up, it was only a matter of a couple of punches and we were all guns blazing.

We did Tekki Sandan - one of the very strange kata’s which seems disjoint and difficult to remember sequences.

Then the last 30 minutes was full-on kumite where we were encouraged to try and kill each other, and with added shouting from Sensei Brennan the class was buzzing.  Under pressure I not only managed to make my opponent bleed but also step heavily on Sensei Sherry as I moved back.  What an excellent session...

The second session was taken by Sensei O’Neil and began very promising, but then went off on such a tangent that not even he knew how or why he had got onto the point he had; some very funny stories.  We did “some” kumite which involved the usual short stance attacking with multiple techniques, he got quite wound up as some people where only punching lightly and did not appear to be trying to kill each other.

Best quotes:-
“I always wanted to practice sweeps on a friend of mine because he only had one leg so it would have been easy”

“Its not a request just do it, ….. Please.”

“You must stay in your stances to develop, etc etc because it’s the small things that count. It’s like fat people; it’s not the Burger for dinner that makes them fat, it’s all the snacking between meals.”

After the second session Sensei Sherry showed me his right foot which was properly bruised, apparently this was me !!! 
I said “Sorry Sensei” just as Sensei Brennan walked passed mumbling “You will be Simon, You Will be….”    Oh I guess the Tekki grading in 10 days will be an interesting affair :-)

Today’s Kata: Tekki Sandan.

The superstars competition was well attended – Obviously the Dan Grades won (again)

Posted 10th August 2006 - 17:03

Friday – last day, flipping good job, walking is getting harder and harder.  Sensei Poynton had the last session with us.  Started with a very enjoyable kumite combination, which was nice and simple and involved just hitting each other – now we‘re talking. We did an hour of basics, which took every last drop of energy that I had and then it was time for all the kata’s from the weeks training. It’s a sort of traditional way to end the course for the higher grades to do each kata twice and the most amusing aspect for me was that after each kata another Dan grade would drop out of training due to injury related problems.  By the end of the session there was what could only be called a “Gaggle of black belts” congregated at the back of the class.  Made it to the end without joining the gaggle, another successful course !! hooray !!!!

Todays Kata: Everything

The second session of the day is the Dan grading.  Sarah Edwards took 2nd Dan which she passed with flying-colours, with some excellent kicks (might have to get her to teach kicks!?) and some ace kumite that involved jumping in the air and batting her opponent in the face. Certainly made Sensei Brennan grin (which is a good thing..).  Congratulations Sarah.

Best Quotes:-

“I guess the bruises are worth it now….  No Whinging or whining now just put ice on it”

Thanks for taking the time to read our Blog, below is a small selection of photos….