ABILITYTēnā koutou
Welcome to the Winter issue of the New Zealand Disability Karate Association newsletter.
This time last year we were also in level 2 lockdown. We were starting to learn about bubbles, wearing masks and keeping each other safe.
As a result of everyone being sensible. We have only been at level 2 for a week rather than the month we spent at level 2 last year. And now we are back training together again.
Fantastic!
Who has graded?
There has been one grading since our last newsletter. We now have one new yellow belt and five new orange belts.
We have six new members, all are likely to grade to yellow belt before the Spring newsletter. It would not be surprising to see some green belts in the dojo before the end of the year.
In our club there are now
- 7 white belts (10th kyu)
- 2 yellow belts (9th kyu)
- 9 orange belts (8th kyu)
- No green belts (7th kyu)
Getting Ready for Tournament
Kapiti Karate Academy ran an awesome karate tournament in June. There were 137 competitors representing 11 different karate clubs from around Wellington. This was the first time this has happened in the Wellington Region.
Sensei had the privilege of representing our club this year. Next year it would be great to have a group of us take part in KKA Champs 2022.
Let Sensei know if you want to take part in the June 2022 tournament. There will be kata, kumite, Kobudo and Noodle Kendo!
A massive thank you to Kapiti Karate Academy for making the event so special.
What is Noodle Kendo?
Noodle Kendo is like Bo kumite for Kids, a bit like our noodle game. The big difference is you are sparring another competitor who also has a noodle.
We will practice this in class. So we should be awesome by the time we enter the 2022 tournament.
What is coming up
Our plans for the next quarter
- Run special self-defence classes for the local community.
- Complete the update of the training syllabus for the new grades and weapons training.
- Complete work on the new information pack for schools and local businesses.
- Continue work on the incident response plan for the club.
- Marketing and fund raising will be a big focus for this quarter. We are targeting businesses around Wellington.
- Continue work on a children's book as a fund raiser, which will be self-published on Amazon.
- Agree the changes for tournament to support people living with disability.
- Remember you can invite your friends along to class.
Little Blue's karate tip
This is a reminder on how to do the first 3 moves in Kata Sanchin. This will be helpful for everyone who has just started to learn this kata.
We move forward into Sanchin Dachi with our right foot. Both arms in inside hooking block (Uchi uke) and slightly angled out.
Our back foot moves forward to just in front of our other foot (1) and then turns in as it lands(2). The back foot then straightens (3).
Now we move our arms
Pull the left arm back ready to strike. Remember to keep the other arm very still.
Now slowly strike mid-level (Chudan tsuki) and slightly inwards.
Slowly return to inside hooking block (Uchi uke).
... and now the other foot
Our left foot moves forward to just in front of our other foot (1) and then turns in as it lands(2). The back foot then straightens (3).
Remember to keep your arms very still as you move your feet.
Back to our arms
Pull the right arm back ready to strike. Remember to keep the other arm very still.
Again slowly strike mid-level (Chudan tsuki) and slightly inwards.
And slowly return to inside hooking block (Uchi uke).
We repeat the moves so we end up with our right foot forward again. And that is how we do the first 3 sets of moves in Kata Sanchin.
Look out for the Spring 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
THE END