January 2007 – NEWSLETTER

2006 was a good year for the club, although we did have a couple of sticky patches that required divine intervention.

 

Adult section

 

The adult beginners intake has been very poor, most of the adults that joined have been parents of children that are training. Having watched the sessions and understood Karate, realise that it has something to offer, possibly something that no other discipline can. Let’s look at its advantages.

·        First you will get physically fit, but what is different, is that it is supervised all the time, and you progress on a structured program.

·        Stress. We live in a very pressured society and people spend a lot of money on medicines and therapists. Karate will certainly reduce your stress level, although of course you can not eradicate it completely, but you will be able to deal with it.

·        Weight loss. I think it is true to say that most diets don’t work, or at the most for a limited amount of time. If you wish to lose weight, you have to change your life style. On your own, this is almost impossible to do. If you train at Karate on a regular basis you will learn to listen to your body, and your life style will change in a natural way. This will not happen overnight, you will have to be patient.

·        Aggressiveness. Most people that are aggressive have low esteem and confidence level. Once you can defend yourself, your self esteem and confidence will increase. You will be happy with yourself and rid yourself of negative thoughts, jealousy, greed and envy.

 

Sadly everybody needs to be able to defend themselves and their family. You will learn to do this, but sometimes in a passive way. If you would like to know more about this aspect of Karate, then please talk to me.

  

December adult grading

 

The standard was good with only one of the students not being ready to progress on to the next level, I understand that they have a poor attendance record. If you do not train on a regular basis, you are very unlikely to improve. Paul Matthiae obtained his second dan, to achieve this level you must train for at least two years after reaching first dan. Jonathan Springall and Richard Kirby both obtained their black belts. Congratulations to all three of you.

 

Junior section

 

The junior section has grown beyond all expectations, many parents who have children training, have now brought a younger sibling to train. This is of course pleasing when parents trust us with their children, I consider this to be a great privilege.

The atmosphere in the club on Saturday and Sunday is really nice. I find both days very pleasant days, I do however wish you would close the door though.

 

Junior Grading

 

The junior grading was something special. If you cast your mind back to the grading last March, I was very upset with the number of children that hadn’t reached the standard required to progress on to the next level. Three students went for their black belt, but were unsuccessful. This was totally unexpected. Children should not be put in for a grading until they are ready, and have a good chance of passing. This is unfair to the children and can damage their confidence, it is also unfair to their parents.

 

Shortly after this incident Yasser left and Hayley, a second dan, took over the junior section and a new era was born. Jimmy, Dean and myself had absolute confidence in her, but we were not prepared for what happened.

 

The December junior grading was divided into two groups:

Red/White, Red and Yellow belts.

Blue belts and above.

 

In the first group only one student did not meet the level required, but two students double graded.

 

In the second group, the standard was to say the least was superb. If we operated as they do in dancing with levels, commended, highly commended and with honours, all the students would have passed with honours.

Jim, as you know is not easily pleased and expects a very high standard. He phoned me on the following Monday morning and this is what he said. He said it was a great pity that I was not there to see them. He said that heand Dean just looked at one another, they could not believe what they were seeing. He said it was the highest standard that he had seen in twenty years, and he was emotionally moved. He said that the children technically were spot on and were fast, sharp and focussed.

 

I spoke with Dean, and he agreed with what Jim had said, and added that the junior kata was excellent. Their technical ability and timing was brilliant, and they all worked as a group. This I found particularly pleasing, as you know when we introduced the new system we were trying to promote group motivation.

 

Three students obtained their black belts, Amy Rosemary, Chris Raby and Arun Veerappan.

 

I’m sure Amy won’t mind me saying that in March she didn’t achieve her black belt. Since then she has put that behind her. To come back overcoming  the disappointment, and train for a further nine months, putting herself under greater pressure before attempting another grading shows great courage and I admire her for it. Congratulations to all three of them.

 

All the Blue belts, Purple and White belts and Purple belts, double graded. This is unprecedented. I would like to congratulate the children and thank them for all their hard work and effort.

 

I would also like to than the parents for entrusting their children’s training to us, after this result, I’m, sure you will agree that your trust was well founded.

 

I would like to congratulate Hayley on her achievement, I was teaching juniors long before she was born, but I have never achieved what she has.

 

She has been awarded the Hayley Jenner award.

 

When people see Sutton Martial Arts and the success that it holds, I am the one that gets all the credit. This could not be further from the truth.

 

The team that make the club work are a group of dedicated people and one little cat. Lets take a look at them.

 

Jim, who is the chairman of Syu Yu Kai and the senior instructor, is a 6^th dan black belt with thirty years experience. He has entered full contact Karate competitions at the highest level. He has technical knowledge second to none, and even after thirty years still has enthusiasm as fresh as it ever has been.

 

Paul, who has just gained his second dan, assists Jim with the adult classes, he has trained for many years and is a first class instructor.

 

Dean is the deputy chairman of Syu Yu Kai, a third dan with nearly thirty years experience, as well as being a first class instructor. He does all our design and printing, not only for the Karate, but all the other disciplines that use the premises, we could not afford to do that on our own. He has just become a father for the fourth time, congratulations. Two of his children train in the junior classes, he also teaches the juniors on a Sundays, and the high grades with Hayley on Saturdays. All the work he does for the club is for free. It is impossible to thank him enough.

 

Hayley is a second dan, and an instructor of the highest standard. She also does all the organising and paperwork for the gradings. I could not manage without her. She is to take her third dan this year, good luck Hayley.

 

We now come to Tom, he greets everybody and is loved by all. It is amazing that a little cat can affect people so much, both Jim and I love him to bits. He once went missing for two days, I have never seen so many worried people, I know that some people were over the club into the early hours of the morning. One of my great pleasures is to be greeted by Tom when I arrive at the club of a morning, I will spend time with him over the holiday period.

 

Then there are the people that operate in the shadows:

 

Lee, who’s children train with us, has been involved in the club for many years. He does many jobs around the club and contributes many ideas for future improvements. Recently he has donated the fridge to the club, once again free of charge.

 

Gary, who also has children that train in the club, has painted the outside of the building and repaired the badly damaged window sills, free of charge.

 

Anna, has a daughter that trains with us, she is a professional bookkeeper. I have had terrible problems with the Inland Revenue, she has managed to sort it out for me, we still have a little way to go, but we will get there.

 

Thank you all.

 

The parents play a great part, if they didn’t encourage them and bring them along to the club, we wouldn’t have a junior section.

 

You can have the best premises, the best instructors, but without dedicated students, you have nothing.

 

I am very proud of the instructors, students and parents at Sutton Martial Arts, it is an oasis in a troubled world. It is free of colour, racial or religious prejudice. We haven’t had any thefts, jealousy or greed.

 

It is strange that that although most people think Karate is violent, if everybody did practice Karate, there would probably be no violence. The true Karate practitioners strength is that they do not have an EGO.

 

I have to look at my greatest strength and inspiration, Eileen, my wife and best friend for nearly fifty years. On behalf of all of us, may I wish you all a very happy and prosperous new year.

 

 

 

Syd

 

May your God be with you.