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.

Student Of The Month

Below are our Students of the Month from the Friday class.
Cain Morrin 6-8 years, Maggie Hearne 4-5 years.
We are very proud of all our medal winners, keep training hard guys.

Student of the Month

Januarys first Students of the month for the Tuesday class were selected this week.
Callum Carr 4-5 years

Keith Collins 6-8 years

First Student of the Month

This week we will be awarding our Student of the Month for the first time. We have divided it into two age groups 4 & 5 year olds' and 6 and above. It has become a very difficult task because every student is giving their best. To help us choose we have made our judgments on attendance, following instruction and putting in the most effort.

We have available to buy some club t-shirts for children and supporting parents. Also we can provide protective equipment e.g. junior gum-shields and mitts etc. These items are available at a discount owing to our ability to bulk buy as a club.If you have any queries contact your instructor

Successful Launch

Well the club was successfully launched last week with our first two classes being fully booked out. We have had additional calls in relation to the class and have created a waiting list for enrolment as we do not yet have the capacity to take everyone. I am completley stunned by the responce.

To my knowledge this is the first specific karate class for children of its kind in Tuam, and certainly in North Galway.

We are currently looking into having an official launch and Opening of the Dojo. I will keep you up to date with this as it progresses.

I will create a page for the hand-outs we give in class so they can be easily referenced. Also I intend to create some additional pages for Photos, Vocabulary, etc.

First Classes

Well the time for our first classes is fast approaching. On Tuesday 12th of January Faolchu Martial Arts club will be officially launched with the very first class. This class is already booked out and at this time there are only three available places for the Friday class.
We have been amazed at the response and demand for what we are to teach.

So who are we?

We are a husband and wife team namely Malcolm & Marie Murphy. We are both senior members of the Tuam Karate Club, I also hold a Black Belt in Mugendo Kickboxing. Marie is a Montessori Teacher and professional Childminder and has competed and won in National, European and World Championships Karate in 2009, while I have previously founded and taught in two Kickboxing clubs and in 2009 competed and won at National Level Karate. In a while I will create a profile page with our complete resume.

Marie had an idea to provide a Karate class for younger children (4-8 years) and after extensive research created such a programme. She then sought the permission to teach from our Sensei Brian Toomey 6th Dan IJKA.

And so a new club has been born 'Faolchú Martial Arts Club'. The word Faolchú is Irish for Wolf.
We are affiliated to IJKA under Sensei Sadashige Kato 9th Dan World Chief Instructor and Sensei Brian Toomey 6th Dan IJKA Irish Chief Instructor. And we will be following this Grading Line for our students.

If you are interested in enrolling your young wolf cubs for our class please contact us at the numbers on the side-bar of the homepage.