Black Belts Progress To Third Dan

Two second dan black belt instructors from the Wado-Ryu Karate-Do Association, Sensei Chris Thorn and Sensei Malcolm Lewis, both passed their third dan black belt examinations at the Wado-Ryu Karate-Do Academy summer course. The examining board included M. Shiomitsu Hanshi, 8th Dan, chief instructor of the Wado-Ryu Karate-Do Academy.

The chief instructor of the W.K.A., Nick Quilliam, commented "Reaching Sandan level, or third dan black belt, is a great achievement. Sandan is often referred to as the application level of Wado-Ryu karate. This is because, at this level, the student is expected to demonstrate that they have a clear and precise understanding of the underlying principles of the movements and techniques of Wado-Ryu karate, and then be able to effectively apply them in basics, kata and sparring situations. Both Chris and Malcolm have put in many years of hard, dedicated study to achieve this level. I am sure that they will continue their exploration of Wado-Ryu karate, discovering more aspects to learn and more goals to achieve. Well done to both of them."

National Championships Report

The National Wado-Ryu Karate-Do Academy Championships took place in Chippenham on 2nd July 2000, and the Wado-Ryu Karate-Do Association came away with a number of trophies.

In the senior events, Joanne Weatherall (pictured front row, right) competed in both the kata and kumite events, taking third place in both. The kata event was particularly tough, with the entry more than doubled from the previous year, and including male and female competitors. Jo kept her nerve to produce one of her best performances of Seishan kata in the final.

In the junior kumite (fighting) events, Chloe Witts (pictured back row, left) from Stroud won the female youth kumite in her first national-level competition. Chloe, who is 12 years old and attends Archway School,  entered the competition for experience, and was thrilled with her trophy. In addition, James Wheatley (pictured back row, right), who lives in Painswick, came second in the male youth kumite. In the junior kata events, Stuart Fisher (pictured left), who is 13 years old, won the youth mixed kata event.

The chief instructor of the W.K.A., Sensei Nick Quilliam, commented "This was a tough contest, with very competitive categories. The entrants from the W.K.A. battled hard and came through to gain awards that they thoroughly deserved. I was particularly pleased with Chloe's performance - this was her first national-level competition, and she is normally a quiet and shy student. I hope that this success spurs her on to further successes. Well done everyone!"

W.K.A. Success At Millennium Championships

The Wado-Ryu Karate-Do Academy Millennium Championships took place on Saturday 4th March 2000, at Guildford Spectrum Leisure Complex England. The championships were an International event to celebrate the first 10 years of the Wado-Ryu Karate-Do Academy. Joanne Weatherall and Denise Ward represented the W.K.A. in individual Kata, individual Kumite and team Kumite.

In the Kata, Denise chose to do Seishan and Joanne (pictured right) chose Kushanku. Although Denise performed well, she did not make it to the final. Joanne gave a very good, flowing and spirited performance to take her into the final with the second highest marks. In the final, Joanne chose Seishan, which she demonstrated with control and focus to take the bronze medal.

The women's Kumite event was organised as a straight knockout so it was important that both girls got off to a good start. Unfortunately, Denise's first fight was against Kajal Rai from Norway, who went on to win the championship! Joanne, who can be a little bit of a slow starter, had a very hard fight in the first round against an Italian team member. Her opponent fought in a very aggressive manner, which forced Joanne into action and got her off to a good start. Although Joanne had a very difficult route she was fighting at her very best which took her all the way to the semi-final where she was narrowly beaten and thus having to settle for bronze in the Kumite as well as the Kata.

In the women's team Kumite Joanne and Denise teamed up with Nina Dehghan (from Canada). Again, both of the girls fought well and got through to the semi-finals, narrowly missing third place.

Sensei Nick Quilliam, chief instructor of the Wado-Ryu Karate-Do Association and the Millennium Championships organiser said, "I was very pleased with the championships. I thought that all the competitors showed good spirit and very good 'dojo etiquette', and to have Ohtsuka Sensei at the Championships and give a demonstration was excellent. As for my students, I think that they both did very well, especially Joanne, who has shown a great deal of promise at other championships but has needed to turn that promise into results. Joanne trains very hard and deserves her success."

March Grading Results

March saw a number of gradings take place at a number of the clubs within the Wado-Ryu Karate-Do Association. For more information about gradings, visit the gradings section in the Wado Tech area of the website.

The picture to the right shows some of the Stroud club students who recently passed their 4th Kyu. Back row (left to right): Christopher Gibbs, Adam Flint (who decided to commemorate the occasion by dressing up as a giant chicken), Mark Borland. Front row (left to right): Sensei Nick Quilliam, Jodie Mills. Caroline Cook and Keith Mills also passed the grading, but escaped being photographed.

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