Arabella, 1st Dan!

Congratulations to Arabella Cutts on achieving her Black Belt at the K2 Crawley today... a lot of hard work has paid off, very well done Arabella!

Congratulations to Karen and Mark!

Karen and Mark got married in Hatfield on the 3rd September 2011 - A huge congratulations from all the club Members, it was a wonderful day and enjoyed by many of the club members. Karen's dance with her dad Sensei Tom was particularly memorable!

Club Grading

Congratulations to all students who graded today. An excellent lesson with Sensei Roy Tomlin was followed by a successful grading for everyone who attempted their next belt.

National Championships 2011

On Saturday 02 July the 2011 JKA England National Championships were held at the Crawley K2 Sports Centre. This year, the Kyu grade competition was combined with the Black and Brown belt event, which made it a very busy day. Thanks to the level of organisation by Sensei Ohta and his team the day ran smoothly and finished on time.

Stevenage JKA had the following nine students entered:

Beginner to 4th Kyu
Jermain Straker, Olivia Hindle, Jordan Cooper & Tosan Okoturo

Black and Brown belts
Tosan Awani, William Bray, Arabella Cutts, Jon Cooper & Karen Peebles.

All students did very well and showed good spirit. The following medals were earned:

Olivia Hindle
Silver in Junior Kata 6-10 years, orange to yellow belt
Bronze in Girls Sanbon Kumite 6-8 years, orange to yellow belt

Tosan Okoturo
Bronze in Girls Kihon Ippon Kumite 9-11 years, green to purple/white belt

William Bray
Bronze in Black & Brown Belt Boys Individual Kumite 7-9 years

As well as entering the competition herself, Karen acted as coach for and looked after the junior students (she also managed not to lose Jon, which the whole club will agree is an achievement in itself).

All six club instructors, Sensei Tom Peebles, Phil Cooper, Mick Farquharson, Steve Deal, Lydia Chown and Steve Rowe attended as judges/referees, and Lynn Peebles, Carol Deal and Julie Lopez were timekeepers.

2011 Club Competition

After the success of last year's club competition this year's event was eagerly anticipated, with all students determined to do well and go for those medals. 52 competitors entered.

The competition was run along the same rules as the JKA England National Competition, which will provide valuable experience for students who are competing in the Nationals, and was also good practice for the club instructors who will be acting as judges and referees at the Nationals.

The standard of karate was very high, with good spirit from all who entered. Everyone should be very proud of themselves. The medalists were as follows:

Beginner to 9th Kyu Junior Kata
Bronze - Charlotte Jones
Silver - Antoine Georges
Gold - Giordano Di Credico

8th Kyu to 4th Kyu belt Junior Kata
Bronze - Jermain Straker
Silver - Christopher Tang
Gold - Kian Hewstone

3rd Kyu to 1st Kyu Junior Kata
Bronze - Thomas Lopez
Silver - Charlotte Lopez
Gold - Arabella Cutts

Beginner to 4th Kyu Adult Kata
Bronze - Manish Gosrani
Silver - Tony Leighton
Gold - Sally Rowe

3rd Kyu to 2nd Dan Adult Kata
Bronze - Karen Peebles
Silver - Joylon Martin
Gold - Dave Thomas

Beginner to 9th Kyu Junior Kumite
Bronze - Jade Straker
Silver - Emma Leighton
Gold - Giordano Di Credico

8th Kyu to 4th Kyu Junior Kumite
Bronze - Joshua Budden
Silver - Christopher Tang
Gold - Tosan Okoturo

3rd Kyu to 1st Kyu Junior Kumite
Bronze - Charlotte Lopez
Silver - Arabella Cutts
Gold - Charlie McGlynn

Beginner - 4th Kyu Adult Kumite
Bronze - Phillippa Lomasney
Silver - Tony Leighton
Gold - Diane Tang

3rd Kyu to 2nd Dan Adult Male Kumite
Bronze - Dan Moss
Silver - Jon Cooper
Gold - Dave Thomas

The competition was followed by a party and disco in the evening, where medals were awarded. We were treated to an amazing dancing display from Dave and Laetitia, and to some... dancing from the rest of the club members. Next year karaoke?

It was a brilliant day and evening, and many thanks to all who helped arrange it; particularly Tom and Lynn Peebles and Steve and Carol Deal, and to Karen Peebles for capturing the day in photographs.

Kumite/referee course at Hatfield

Under the tutorship of Sensei Ohta, the south-east region hosted a kumite/referee course held at Hatfield university today.

20 members from Stevenage Karate club attended this course. This was a brilliant insight in the various kumite formats, and should be an advantage to all competitors taking part in the forthcoming club and national competitions.

Congratulations to Dave and Laetitia!

Dave and Laetitia got married in France on the 14th May 2011 - Congratulations from all the club Members, it was a wonderful day and enjoyed by Tom, Lynn, Steve and Carol.

Congratulations to Karen!

Congratulations to Karen Peebles on passing her 1st Dan Grading at Guildford, well done Karen!

Dreams Come True certificate

Thanks to the JKA for passing us a certificate, which has been sent to congratulate all students who took part in the sponsored event recently. Well done again everyone!

Club Grading

Congratulations to all students who graded today. An excellent lesson with Sensei Adel Ismail was followed by a successful grading for everyone who attempted their next belt.

Dreams Come True charity event

Following a request for the club to perform a sponsored event for the charity 'Dreams Come True', much sweat flowed on the evening of 17th Feb when one hour of continuous kumite and kata was practised by the members.

Accompanying the sweat went bright red faces as the successful evening progressed.

The sponsorship forms showed many generous sponsors, and the monies raised totalled £658.05. On behalf of the charity and the Stevenage Karate Club, congratulations to all those who took part. You can all be proud of your hard work and the resulting outcome.

WELL DONE EVERYONE!

Congratulations to Nick and Mick!

Well done from all at Stevenage SKC to Nick Taylor for passing Shodan and to our very own Assistant Instructor, Sensei Mick Farquharson, for passing his Sandan!

Happy Christmas to all and a Happy New Year!

Success at the Kyu Grade National Championships!

Stevenage scored success again this year at the Kyu Grade Nationals, with Tosan Okoturo and Sally Rowe both gaining Bronze medals in Kumite. This just goes to highlight what a great fighting club Stevenage SKC is!

Well done to all students who entered this year, the full entrants list is as follows:

Jermain Straker, Charlotte Lopez, Thomas Lopez, Julie Lopez, Tosan Okoturo, Kevin Marchant, Zafirah Kesington, Sally Rowe

Special lesson with Sensei Tomlin 5th Dan JKA

Stevenage Karate Club students and karate-ka from the surrounding area can take advantage of another superb lesson from Sensei Roy Tomlin 5th Dan JKA on the 25th November.

The lessons will be from 7pm - 9pm and are open to all students, however non club members will have to pay a £5 fee to take part - a bargain we're sure you'll agree!

Medal Time!

Following our club competition. There was as air of excitement when Sensei Tom announced on Monday 26th that the medals were almost here and should be ready to present at our Thursday training.

They had been ordered from Spain and we were wondering if their delay had been caused by the world cup celebrations.

So with Lynn organising the order of things etc. and Karen our club photographer clicking like mad, the medal presentation took place at last.

With several students winning more than one medal, it sounded like Christmas had arrived early with the jingling of sleigh bells as they ran back into line – with big smiles.

Well done again to everyone. Please see our gallery for pictures.

JKA Stevenage holds Club Competition

On Saturday 10th June we had our first competition, and did we all enjoy it!

It started early in the morning and after all the entrants had finished competing we had all witnessed a very high standard of Karate – a pleasure to watch.

From the youngest to the older, the smallest to the bigger, everyone can be proud of their efforts.

It was run exactly along the lines of the national competitions, so all the students now have an invaluable understanding for future competitions - internal and external. And I'm sure they will be entering many more to come.

In the evening, thanks to much arranging and organising we had a medal presentation – although the medals were substituted with certificates, until they arrive.

With the presentations done we all let our hair down – those with enough – and tripped the light fantastic, that's dancing to our younger people. With the bar open and a fantastic array of good food, there was nothing left to do but have really good time.

We are all most grateful to all those that did the organising and arranging.

Well done all those that took part – you are all winners.

Go to our gallery to see photos of what a good time looks like!

Club Grading

Congratulations to all students who graded today! An excellent lesson with Gary Stewart 5th Dan JKA was followed by a successful grading for everyone who attempted their next belt. Special congratulations to Graham who double-graded from 10th to 8th Kyu, well done Graham!

JKAE National Championships at Crawley

Well done to the students that entered the Nationals in Crawley on 3rd July.

It was a long tiring day, with a very high standard of competition. The students that entered were:

• Arabella Cutts
• Jolyon Martin
• Laetitia Alexandre
• Jon Cooper
• Dave Thomas
• Nick Taylor
• Steve Deal
• Steve Rowe
• Mick Farquharson

Dave and jo both got bronze medals in kumite, well done!

Sensei Tom Peebles and Lydia Chown were referees, Sandy Tse was Club Coach and Lynn Peebles and Carol Deal were timekeepers.

Sensei Ohta passes 7th Dan

Our heartfelt congratulations go out to Sensei Ohta, who successfully passed his 7th Dan grading! Read more about Sensei Ohta in our profile.

Kyu Gradings

Stevenage had a successful grading with Roy Tomlin 5th Dan JKA and all students passed!

Shodan for Mark

Congratulations to Mark Payne who attained his 1st Dan (Shodan) in Bath on 21st March. Well done Mark!

Kyu Grade Championships

Stevenage Karate Club had some great successes at the 2009 JKA National Kyu Grade Championships! Congratulations to the following students who won medals at the Kyu Grade Championships:

• Charlotte Lopez (age 11), Gold medals in both Kata and Kumite
• Arabella Cutts (age 11), Gold medal in Kumite, plus trophy for best junior female
• Sandy Tse (age 21), Gold medal in Kumite, plus trophy for best senior female
• Kev Marchant (age 30), Silver medal in Kumite and 4th place in Kata
• Julie Lopez (age 43), Bronze medal in Kumite and 4th place in Kata
• Laetitia Alexandre (age 28), Bronze medal in Kata

Dan Gradings

After months of hard training congratulations to Dave Thomas who attained his 1st Dan (Shodan) and to Steve Rowe who attained his 2nd Dan (Nidan). Well done both of you!

National Championships

Congratulations to Jo Martin who came second in this years JKA National Championships in Junior Male Individual Kumite 16 to 18 years.

Lydie gets Nidan

Congratulations to Lydie who successfully passed her 2nd Dan grading.

Jo gets Nidan

Congratulations to Jo Martin who has successfully passed his 2nd Dan grading. Well done, Jo!

Dan Gradings

Congratulations to Lydia who, after a lot of training, successfully passed her 2nd Dan grading.

National Championships

Jon Cooper and Steve Rowe came joint third in 21 and over age category (3rd Kyu to 1st dan Kumite). Jo Martin came 3rd in the Kumite section.

Dan Gradings all round!

Club regular Jon Cooper gained his 1st Dan grading this month after a lot of hard graft - congratulations to Jon!

Our Chief Instructor Tom Peebles continues to excel by successfully passing his 4th Dan grading.

Congratulations to Sensei Tom for this fantastic achievement!