ABILITYKIA ORA!
Welcome to our last newsletter for 2026! What a great year we have had!
Christmas is almost here. It is time to look back at all the fun we have had. More people have joined our karate club. We have made new friends and learnt new skills.
Karate Legends has been a big success! This Saturday class is for children aged 3 to 6 years old. We started it in 2025. Our youngest students learn karate by playing games, moving and having fun. It has been great to see them grow in confidence.
Our second karate tournament was in August. It was a wonderful day! We had 68 people take part, with 116 entries in karate and kobudo events. Children and adults all had a chance to show what they could do.
People told us they had a great time. They liked how friendly and helpful everyone was. We will be holding another tournament in 2028!
We still have our last gradings and our Christmas classes on 16th and 19th December.
Thank you for making 2026 a special year. Let's finish it with smiles and lots of karate fun!
Gradings and Achievements
Our students have worked hard this year! Many have learnt new skills and earned new belts.
A grading is a chance to show what you have learnt. Getting a new belt takes practice. Every student can be proud of their progress.
We have two more gradings before the end of the year. We may see a few more new belts before Christmas!
How are we doing?
We now have 80 students who are training, and two new students have joined us.
On average, students come to 63% of the classes they can attend each week. Over the last six months, 75% of students have stayed with the club.
Here's the breakdown of our club's current belt ranks:
- 5 purple belts (5th kyu)
- 14 blue belts (6th kyu)
- 21 green belts (7th kyu)
- 10 orange belts (8th kyu)
- 18 yellow belts (9th kyu)
- 12 white belts (10th kyu)
That means 40 students now have green, blue or purple belts!
But karate is not just about belts. Learning a new move, trying something hard and doing a little better are all things to celebrate.
Well done to everyone who has graded! Keep practising, and let's see what we can do in 2027.
Tournament 2026!
What a fun day! On Saturday 29th August, we held our second karate tournament. Children and adults came together to compete, make friends and have fun.
We had 77 people sign up, and 68 took part. There were 116 entries across karate and kobudo events. Many people tried more than one event!
Karate, kobudo and lots of smiles
Individual karate had 54 entries. Team karate had 48 entries. Both children and adults gave it their best.
We also had six entries in individual kobudo and eight in team kobudo. In kobudo, students show skills with traditional Okinawan weapons.
In individual events, there were 20 gold, 15 silver and 14 bronze places. Team events had five gold, five silver and five bronze places.
But medals were not the most important part. For some students, being brave enough to compete was a big win. Our round robin style meant people had more chances to take part.
What did everyone think?
People told us they had lots of fun! Here are some of their comments:
- Brilliant! Please do again.
- Fun time.
- First time experience, my kid got the best support.
- I had a good time here with my friends and family and competing.
People liked our kind, helpful judges and helpers. There were serveral things that were problamatic. Next time, we will provide parking instructions. We will ensure everyone can see the rings.
A huge thank you!
Thank you to our judges, record keepers, runners, instructors and volunteers. Thank you to the families and friends who cheered everyone on!
A special thank you to Nuku Ora for providing Funding. Without their support this tournament would not be possible.
Most of all, well done to every student who took part. You can be proud whether you won a medal, tried something new or had fun.
The smiles and happy memories were even better than the medals. We have already started planning for 2028!
The Zombie Apocalypse 2026!
The zombies are back, and this year they are hungrier than ever!
On Wednesday 28th and Saturday 31st October, our dojos will be spooky places full of zombies!
We need karate students of all ages to help save the dojo. Wear your scariest, funniest or silliest Halloween costume!
Can you stop a zombie with one strong punch? Can your kicks send the zombies away?
Watch out for the T-Rex too! The dinosaur may be back. Can you finish your kata before it finds you?
There will be spooky games, lollies and lots of laughs. All belts are welcome. We need everyone's help!
Will you survive, or become a zombie snack?
A Festive Farewell to 2026!
Christmas is nearly here! Let's finish our karate year with some festive fun.
Our special Christmas classes are on Wednesday 16th and Saturday 19th December 2026.
We will have mince pies, Christmas crackers, treats and lots of laughs!
You can wear a Christmas outfit or a Santa hat. Little Blue will be wearing his Santa hat too!
What a wonderful year
We have made new friends, learnt new skills, earned belts and enjoyed a great tournament. Every student has helped make this year special.
Looking ahead to 2027
Our first class next year will be on Wednesday 27 January 2027. We can't wait for more karate, kobudo and fun!
If you cannot come to our Christmas classes, we will miss you. We wish you and your family a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Thank you for being part of our karate family.
Looking ahead to 2027!
We have lots of exciting plans for next year. We want everyone to be able to enjoy karate, learn new things and have fun.
- Our karate coaching book. We want to finish a book to help teachers make karate easier for people with different needs.
- Self-defence classes. We plan to teach simple ways to stay safe, be aware of danger and feel more confident.
- Judging course. We want to teach people how to judge karate events, give scores and help competitors.
- Tournament 2028. We will start planning our next tournament and raising money to pay for it.
- Raising money. We will ask Wellington businesses to help support our club.
- More karate friends. We want more people to join our Lower Hutt Saturday classes and Karate Legends. We also hope to work with Hutt City Council to tell more families about us.
- Better training. We will keep improving our adaptive karate based on Okinawan Goju-Ryu karate.
- Invite a friend! Know someone who might like karate? Ask them to come and try a class. Everyone is welcome!
There is lots to look forward to in 2027. With your help, we can make it another great year!
Look out for the Summer issue and feel free to share this newsletter with your friends.
Membership is free and open to anyone who wishes to take part in the martial arts training offered by the club. All the details are on our website. www.karatedojo.nz
Ngā mihi