Bristol Karate Academy

Congratulations to Joel Olivier and Juan Rodrigues, who both successfully passed their nidan grading examinations on Sunday.

The grading was held in Nottingham under a grading panel led by the Head of JKS England, Alan Campbell Sensei (7th Dan).

Before the exam, Joel and Juan were put through their paces by guest instructor, Makita Sensei (6th Dan), who certainly gave everyone plenty to think about. Makita Sensei is a resident instructor at the world headquarters to the Japan Karate Shoto Federation in Tokyo and demonstrated exceptional body control and skill, in a lesson that explored some of the fundamental principles of JKS Shotokan Karate. Thank you to Makita Sensei for your expert instruction.

When training was complete, it was Juan who was first to step up to the line. While Juan had previously passed his grading under another federation in 2022, he has been studying hard to improve his karate further. As a result, Juan’s fundamentals were more accurate and smoother than ever before. His kata was more precise as well as more dynamic and his kumite had a greater degree of finesse, with devastating kicks added to the mix too.

Having passed his shodan (black belt) crossover grading in 2022, Joel was looking for a promotion to 2nd Dan (nidan). As with Juan, Joel’s karate has come on immensely. JKS karate avoids the over-tension that some other groups occasionally typify. Joel has put lots of work into making sure his karate has improved along these lines. Joel was able to demonstrate this with his kumite (sparring), as well as his trademark focus throughout his fights with two different opponents.

With the gradings complete, it was down to Alan Sensei to reveal the results: two well-deserved passes.

Well done to you both. We are all very proud of you and your achievements.

LATEST NEWS