Grading 30th May continued... Junior Red Belts

Congratulations to all the Junior Red Belts as they pass their Grading and are awarded their White Belt Pass Certificates.  Well done!!

New Technical Officers

Congratulations to Mark Lockett, Steven Peers & Bonnar Coleano who were awarded Technical Officer's at Middleton Arena on May 30th 2010.

Mark & Steven are now

Technical Officer 3rd Dan

Sandan  (三段:さんだん)

Bonnar is

 Technical Officer

1st Dan Shodan (初段:しょだん)

Grading: 30th May 2010

Grading went very well today and congratulations to everybody that passed.

We certainly had plenty of very proud Mums and Dads as well as Sensei's today and if anybody took photos, they can send them into the blog for uploading so that we can show off those certificates. 

Email your pics to katanajj@googlemail.com

Grading Reminder

Grading is this Sunday 30th May 2010

Doors open around 9am and we hope all students are on the mat for 9.30 so we can commence.

Parents are encouraged to bring their cameras for photos; these can be emailed for uploading to the blog if you wish.

Good luck to all students and enjoy your day.

Bank Holiday Closure

Monday 31st MAY 2010

Just a reminder to say that due to the Bank Holiday Monday, Oldham Sports Centre will be closed.

An Alternative Session for Juniors is at Delph on Wednesdays or Middleton on Thursdays.

An Alternative Session for Adults is Friday at Castleton

Address details can be found on the blog

Dreagan makes Prefect!!

A brand new and well deserved addition to the Prefects is Dreagan Maine.  An excellent example of a flying kick was displayed at Castleton on Friday to earn him a place in the Prefect lineup. 

Dreagan beat 20 other students and then defeated a Prefect in the final while being cheered on by all the other students!! 

Sensei W.Riley made the presentation.

WELL DONE DREAGAN!!

Prepare for Grading

We need everybodys Budo passes for Grading as soon as possible.  This is just a quick reminder to ask for all Budo passes be brought in on your next session.

Thanks to all those who have already brought in their passes

Flying Kick Winner!!!

A big WELL DONE to Hannah Taylor for winning her 5th Flying Kick award.  Tonight Hannah beat 20 other students at Castleton to win the final of the Flying Kick competition and then beat her chosen Prefect in the Grand FINAL!!  Sensei W.Riley awarded Hannah with her Medal.

Well done Hannah. 

Bank Holiday Closures....

Oldham will be closed on

Monday 3rd May 2010 due to Bank Holiday

Junior Black Belt Grading March 2010

Junoir Black Belt Grading

Adam and Jake Dixon Celebrate passing their Gold Tab part 4 at the WJJF Headquarters in Liverpool with Sensei Riley and Sensei Bernard.  Well done boys, excellent job!!

Mock Grading Begins Thursday 22nd April

Grading is round the corner again and to prepare for this we will be starting our Mock Grading.

We will start Mock Grading on Thursday 22nd April at Middleton Arena and this will roll out to the other venues on the next training date.  Details are below.

Middleton Arena .....  Thursday 22nd April
Castleton ................  Friday 23rd April
Royton ...................  Sunday 25th April
Oldham ..................  Monday 26th April
Delph .....................  Wednesday 28th April

If you need any extra lessons to prepare for Grading, please ask Sensei W.Riley for the other venue times if required.

Game on........

Easter Holidays are finally over and things return to normal.

A reminder of the venues and times

Locations & Times

MONDAY
Oldham Sports Centre, Lord St, OL1 3HA
Kobudo 19.00 - 19.30
Juniors 19.30 - 20.30
Seniors 20.30 - 21.45

WEDNESDAY
Delph Social Club, Gartside St, Delph, OL3 5DW
Juniors 18.15 - 19.15
Bradford University
Seniors 20.30 - 22.00
THURSDAY
Middleton Arena, Corporation St, Middleton, M24 1AG
Kobudo 19.00 - 19.30
Juniors 19.30 - 20.30
FRIDAY
Castleton Library, 881 Manchester Road, Rochdale, OL11 2ST
Juniors 18.45 - 19.45
Kobudo 19.45 - 20.15
Seniors 19.45 - 20.45
SATURDAY
Bradford University
Seniors 13.00 - 15.00

SUNDAY
Royton Scouts Hq, Old Edge Lane, Royton, OL2 6BD
Kobudo 17.30 - 18.00
Juniors 18.00 - 19.00

Easter Closures

Just a reminder that some venues are closed over the Easter Holidays.

Castleton is closed on Good Friday 2nd April and also Friday 9th April 2010

The Alternative session is Thursday 1st and 8th April at Middleton.

Sessions start at 7pm for Kobudo and 7.30 for the main class. 

Try not to miss these important sessions before grading.

Middleton Arena, Corporation St, M24 1AG.

Royton is closed on Easter Sunday.
Oldham Sports centre is closed on Bank Holiday Monday
Delph is also closed both Wednesdays over the Easter Holidays

Black Belt Gradings

Jonathon Dixon and Carl Cousins are awarded their Black Belts.

On Sunday 7th March 2010 at the Liverpool WJJF Dojo.

Well Done Jonathon & Carl

Katana Clothing now available

BRAND NEW IN STOCK

Fruit of the Loom KATANA CLUB BADGE T Shirts and Polo Shirts

Colours Avail:   White, Red and Black

Print Style:   Screen printed or Embroidered

Sizes:   Kids and Adults

See Sensei W.Riley on any club day or email us with your enquiries

Sam Wins Prefect Award!!

PREFECT WINNER

Sensei W.Riley presented Sam Farrell with his Prefect medal for winning the Flying Kick competion 5 times!   

Sam now joins the shortlist of Prefects that have won this competion and for a green belt thats no easy task.

As a Prefect, Sam must show his skill before every Flying Kick competion and the winner gets to choose which Prefect to face in a Final Showdown!!

WELL DONE SAM

Kobudo: The Bo Staff

A Brief History of the Bo Staff   (棒: ぼう)

The Bo staff on the surface is one of the most simplistic of all Japanese weapons. Used in many different art forms from karate to jujitsu, the Bo staff is one of the most destructive and adaptive weapons available to the martial artist.  The Bo Staff is used extensively in Jujitsu kobudo (weapon training) as it offers a range of opportunities for disciplining kata, footwork, distancing and control.

Unlike many other martial weapons, the bo staff has a very long range to enable the attacker to have superior reach on his opponent. Most Bo staffs are about 1.8m long, although the concept of a wooden stave as a weapon can be found easily in most cultures – the Quarter Staff in medieval English for example that rose to popular culture fame through the duel of Robin Hood and Little John.

An expert armed with a Bo can keep a much heavily armored and armed opponent at bay frustrating and neutralising their effectiveness. While this weapon can not be easily concealed, it is so common that most armed opponents will not even think twice about it. For example, in these times it could easily be disguised by carrying buckets or baskets. These buckets would be carried on either end and the Bo staff would be draped across the back. Simply set the buckets down, slide the staff out and you are instantly armed. The key is that you are trained in the proper technique to make the weapon as effective as possible.

The Bo Staff – Simple Tool to Deadly Weapon

While staffs have a history of being used throughout mankind, the Asian martial artist has taken this weapon and turned it into an art form. The staff is traditionally about two meters long and three centimeters thick.
While the weapon has been used informally since the earliest recorded history, a martial art called kobudo emerged from Okinawa in the early 1600s that featured this weapon. The reason for this was one of necessity as all the commoners of Okinawa were banned from having weapons. This ban forced the people to find other ways to defend themselves and using a simple staff proved to be the best.

Go with the flow.....

“Notice that the stiffest tree is most easily cracked, while the bamboo or willow survives by bending with the wind.”

Bruce Lee

Flying Kick Winner!!

Matthew Philbin's outstanding flying kick wins him a headband award.

This is very rare for a redbelt so congratulations Matthew.

This was presented to Matthew by Sensei W.Riley

To win a headband, students must win 3 flying kick awards

To win a prefect medal, students must win 5 flying kick awards

WELL DONE MATTHEW

Kobudo: SAI

SAI - (釵) is a traditional Japanese weapon. The basic form of the weapon is that of a pointed, dagger-shaped baton, with two curved prongs called yoku projecting from the handle. The ball of the handle is called the knuckle. Multiple sai are called zai.

10 year service awards

A special TEN Year Award certificate go's out to Sensei Bonar and Sensei Karen.

Awarded to them on grading day at Middleton Jan 31st 2010

Two very proud Sensei's

The Middleton Guardian Headlines

William Riley, chief instructor at the Katana jiu-jitsu, was awarded one of the highest awards available when he collected his 8th degree black belt at a gradings event in Liverpool.

Very few people in the world hold this award, and after 36 years in martial arts, William was understandably proud of his achievement.

Students from the Katana club also went to Liverpool for their junior black belt and kobudo gradings while senior Steven Peers took his 3rd degee black belt.

POLL: How often do you train?

In a recent study of 325 Jiu-Jitsu martial artists from across the world, the question was asked.....

"In a regular month, how often do you get down to the dojo and train? Include any courses, high-grade sessions etc.. (but trying stuff out on your housemates in the kitchen doesn't count as a session)"


0-3 times a month.............9% [ 30 ]
4-8 times a month.............27% [ 90 ]
9-12 times a month............31% [ 103 ]
13-16 times a month...........17% [ 58 ]
17+ times a month.............13% [ 44 ]

Total Votes : 325

Source: Planet Jitsu


This shows that a third train on average between 9 and 12 times a month, approximately 2-3 times a week. Clearly, someone who trains at that frequency could potentially pick up the techniques easier than someone who may only train once a week or once a fortnight. Im not saying that everyone should go out and train 3 times a week, im just pointing out the reason I have shown these survey results is to highlight that sometimes it may be necessary (especially on the higher belts) to try and get another few sessions a month under your "proverbial" belt, just to make sure that your technique is good and not just rushed to get through the sylabus.


Feel free to leave some comments below

Kobudo: Tonfa

TONFA (トンファー), also known as tong fa or tuifa, is an Japanese weapon. It was traditionally made from red oak and wielded in pairs.

Kobudo: Nunchaku

Nunchaku - (ヌンチャク, 双節棍) is a traditional Japanese weapon and consists of two sticks connected at their ends with a short chain or rope.


Students start by learning how to practice with this traditional martial art weopon. Developing a range of defensive techniques.

Katana Jui-Jitsu offers the chance for students to study Kobudo for free at the designated times on the right. If you have any questions, please feel free to email us (link on right) or ask Sensei Bill on any night.

Be water my friend

“Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless - like water. Now you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup, you put water into a bottle, it becomes the bottle, you put it in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend.”

Bruce Lee

More at Castleton

Sensei Riley demonstrates a takedown on Sensei Bernard

Castleton on Fridays

Friday night unfolds down at Castleton

More from Grading September 2009

Glenn and Max take a break for a photo

Achievements

Max wins a Prefect award for outstanding kicks

Middleton Arena grading dates announced

The next gradings for White belt to Brown Belt (also known as Kyu) will be on 30th May 2010 at Middleton Arena, Corporation Street, Middleton, M24 1AG‎ - 0161 662 4000‎

Black Belt Grading dates announced

Saturday 6th March 2010 at WJJF Dojo in Liverpool

8:45am - Junior Blackbelt

12.00noon - Gold Tabs



Sunday 7th March 2010 at WJJF Dojo in Liverpool

10:00am - Senior Blackbelt

The senior examiner on the grading dates will be Sensei Clark head of the WJJF.

The Liverpool Dojo address is: Barlows Lane, Fazakerly, Liverpool, L9 9EH

Grading Day January 2010

Yellow belts celebrate passing their grading

Practice makes perfect

“I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.”

Bruce Lee

Grading Day September 2009

Harrison, Ellie & Lydia Bagshaw show off their certificates

Think about it......

A quote that I hear a lot at our training sessions....


If it doesnt work in here....it wont work on the street!!
Sensei William Riley
8th Dan

When you think about how powerful the statement is, it makes you appreciate that no matter how many times you perform a certain move or defend a particular attack, if your doing it wrong....it simply wont work out there, in the real world.
It certainly makes me strive to perfect my technique, but ive still got a long way to go.

Jason Bagshaw
Student of Katana Jiu-Jitsu
training for Brown Belt

The History of Ju-Jitsu

With a history that can be traced back as far as 2,000 years, Ju-Jitsu, as opposed to Judo for example, strived to avoid the lure of the sporting arena and retained its status as a martial art. Jui Jitsu is a Japanese expression meaning compliant art. In other words the opponent pushes, but instead of pushing back you go along with - 'comply' with him and pull him towards you. Ju-Jitsu also incorporates striking and leverage techniques and makes use of the body's many vulnerable points (kyusho or atemi). Though it is mainly an unarmed combat method, weapons traditionally form part of the syllabus. Mental awareness and discipline are given as much emphasis as physical training, because Ju-Jitsu utilises skill rather than strength and brute force, this martial art is accessible to all, regardless of age, gender or build.