Bristol Karate Academy

On 2nd July we were delighted to welcome back technical wizard and all-round karateka, Steve Carless Sensei (6th Dan JKS) to Bristol for a fantastic summer seminar.

Steve Sensei is a senior JKS England instructor and a former SKI Grand Champion, as well as an SKI international medallist. Becoming a ‘grand champion’ in the UK means winning both kata and kumite in the same year. A feat that Steve Sensei achieved not once but twice!

Aside from his competitive achievements though, Steve Sensei is a phenomenal instructor and after last year’s Academy spring seminar, he received such positive feedback that it was only natural for us to invite him back to teach in the West Country.

In all, 75 Academy members trained across two sessions. And we were treated to some superb karate! The first session started with flexibility and body control drills – something of a super power for Steve Sensei – before exploring kicking with partners. Tiring, hard-going, yet bag-loads of fun!

Our second session of the day was focused on kata and kata-based movement. As well as covering syllabus-based kata, we also went through Kakuyoku Nidan. For some, this was a great opportunity to refresh our memories from the Zoom-based lockdown kata sessions taught from the JKS honbu in Japan. For others this was the first time performing the kata. Either way, we were grateful for the opportunity and the expert commentary from Steve Sensei.

Our special seminars usually come with an opportunity for our kyu grade members to go for their next belts. This event was no different. Congratulations to the 54 members that graded! We had members achieve grades from 12th kyu to 2nd kyu. A special mention to those that took their first ever grading with us. We know that stepping up to that grading line can be daunting, but you did yourselves proud!

As always, putting on events like this is the culmination of lots of effort from many people. Firstly, we are grateful to Steve Sensei for travelling from the Midlands to teach us. Secondly, thank you to everyone that attended the training and grading. Finally, a big thank you to everyone that helped organise the event or who helped out on the day.

Thanks to everyone for making our summer seminar a fantastic celebration of karate and of the wonderful community that we have at Bristol Karate Academy.

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