First Assessments

Congratulations to the first group of students who completed their assessment this week. Everyone performed exceptionally well.

Class Assessments

This week is the first of our Class Assessment weeks. Every class will undergo an evaluation and assessment similar to a Grading.
We will then give each Student and their Parents feedback on their progress and the areas which might need more attention.
Certificates of completion will be presented on the day and the countdown to the Grading will begin next week.

Below is a photo from last weeks Sensei Kato 9th Dan, seminar in Cork. Myself (Malcolm) and Sensei Marie travelled to train with Sensei Kato. It was as usual a very demanding weekend. The them for the weekend was the Sandan Katas!!(there's allot of them) and Kicking, lots of kick combinations.
Regrettably I tore my Hamstring in two places on the Saturday so couldn't finish the weekend.
Congratulations to Ian Kelly from the Tuam Sho Bu Kan Karate Club on his successful Shodan Grading.

Students of the Month

Congratulations to our Students of the Month for Feburary from the Friday classes

Raymond Morrin, Dylan Joyce & Harry Curley

Roisin Brogan

A FEW NOTES FOR PARENTS.

Some parents have asked about adult classes, so we have decided we will go ahead and begin an adult class. Kick off date is for Monday the 12th of April, after the easter break.
All abilities will be catered for, you don't need to be fit already but if you are, hopefully we can help you with finding a few new exercises that you haven't tried yet.
Classes will be pay as you go, so give it a try and you can progress along with your child and maybe have a lifelong shared interest.
Ask your instructors for further information.

If you have been training for over a month and have not yet paid the annual insurance please do so now.
Also if you have not yet returned registration forms please return them.

I know that it is easier to plan out your calender if you have advance warning of the club plans.
We will not have class on St. Patricks Day or any other bank holidays.
The early planning stages are going on to arrange an internal competition at the end of July which will finish us up for the summer.
There will be no training for the month of August.

Student of the Month

It is that time of the month again when we present our students whom have excelled with a medal and the title 'Student of the Month'. It was difficult from the first of our classes this week with joint winners in the 6-8 year old category.
Photos are below from the first half of the week.
There are still two classes to go this week and we will post the winners from them at the weekend.
Congratulations to all winners and to every student, keep up the good work and continue to train hard.
If you click on the photo you can see the full sized file.

Student of the Month

Anna Heffernan from the 8+ Wednesday class

Sean Brandon from the 4-6 year old class on Tuesday

Eanna Costello & Joe Mullins from the 6-8 group on Tuesdays

Dai Katas Uploaded

Karate in Tuam has taken a new progression this week with the uploading of versions of the Dai Katas to the Grading Syllabus pages. So far Dai Ichi Ken, Dai Ni Ken and Dai San Ken are loaded to the 13th, 12th, 11th and 10th Kyu pages along with the required Khion and Kumite for the grades. I will add Dai Yon Ken later as I add to the syllabus.

These Dai Katas are not available on any other site and are not on the web anywhere in the forms required by I.J.K.A. Ireland for grading through the beginner grades, for this reason we had to record them ourselves. We have shown them from two angles and a little slower for learning purposes, so use them as a learning aid only.

New Classes

A quick note to let you know that our classes for children over 8 years will begin on Wednesday 17th February and Friday 19th February. The new class times are displayed on the sidebar. As with our other classes places are strictly limited and family members of existing students will get first preference. So make sure to contact us A.S.A.P. if you want to secure a place.

National Success

Although only a short time in existance the club has had its first success at a national level with club member Jayden Murphy achieving a joint 3rd place in the National Junior Mugendo Kickboxing Championships which were held in Sligo last weekend.
This was Jaydens first competition at this level and a great achievement and beginning to his competition career while still only six years old.
We can say with certainty that other members will follow this success and will bring a new era to Karate in Tuam.

Grading Syllabus

We have begun to create the pages for the grading syllabus. We will try to make each page as clear as possible so it will be easy to follow from home. Also we will be recording the required katas and posting to the pages over the coming weeks.

As you know we are the first karate class for children from 4 years old in Tuam or the North Galway area, so in keeping with a progressive route for our children who are or will soon be 9 years we will be starting another class for Juniors 9-14. Class will run on Wednesdays and Fridays. I will post the dates and times later but it would be advisable to book places in advance as we want to keep the numbers at optimal levels.