Club Notices

Monday’s and Wednesday’s class cancelled due to snow and…

Due to the inclement weather and further forcasats of snowfal. This is combined with a few people already indicating difficulty in getting there tonight due to icy roads

We have decided to delay reopening after Christmas and the club will remain closed for classes today at Weoley Castle and Wednesday at Stechford. We will review the situation on Wednesday to determine if we need to make any changes for Thursday at Weoley Castle and Friday at Stechford and will inform you if that is the case.

We have taken this decision with the safety of both our students and instructors in mind whilst getting to and returning from the dojo

Take care and we hope to be able to return to training later this week.

The BWCSK Team

Club Notices

Longbridge dojo classes suspended

Due to a change in ownership of the gym facilities at Longbridge with the resulting changes to the management of those facilities, training will not resume at Bournville College (South and City College Birmingham) this week.

 However we are currently in the process of trying to secure a new location easily accessible by cars and public transport within walking distance of the current location in the area. Unfortunately due to the Christmas holiday we have been unable to complete this before training is due to resume next week. 

We are sorry for the inconvenience and will  aim to offer a Saturday class again as soon as the arrangements can be finalised. In the meantime students who currently train at Longbridge can train at all our other dojos as usual. 

Thanks for your understanding.and we hope to be able to share news of the new venue with you soon . 

Sensei Sue, Richard, Mike and Pat.

In guard position by the Christmas tree Uncategorized

Kyu and Dan Gradings December 2025

BWCSK held the final gradings for the year at Bournville College dojo on the 13th December with additional gradings taking place over the course of the following week for those unable to attend. Well done all who graded!

Special congratulations to Ruby Noble and Charlottle Mead who both passed their Shodan (1st Dan) black belt gradings and Faye Tonkinson, Angela Notice and Michal Paul who passed their sandman (3rd Dan) black belt gradings. These are all great achievements and I personally know how hard all of you worked to obtain this result.

I’d also like to spare a thought to those who took and failed their kyu and dan gradings. Taking a grading is never easy and if you couldn’t fail the grade would be meaningless. Remember that you all achieved a step that those who didn’t put themselves forward to be accessed never reached. Now just continue training work on the areas required and you will achieve your goals,

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Kenshin Dojo students with certificates Gradings

Kyu Gradings June 2025

BWCSK held the main June Kyu gradings at Bournville College dojo on the 14th June with additional gradings taking place over the course of the following week for those unable to attend. Well done everyone who graded!

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Club Notices

Apology for lack of recent updates

You may have noticed that the web site (and Facebook page) haven’t been updated for an extended period. My apologies for this but this was due to some initial computer upgrades on my primary machine that then escalated into major electrical work on ny home combined of course with the usual peaks at work for the last quarter and of course seasonal illness.

The computer is now up and running again and the electrics sorted so hopefully more regular updates will resume.

My apologies to those who have been checking for updates in the meantime.

Richard

Club Notices

Kenshin dojo closed on Wednesday 14th May!

Group photo after grading Awards & Presentations

March 2025 Gradings and Certificate Presentation

BWCSK held their first gradings of the year on the 15th March 2025 at the Longbridge dojo. Well done to all those who took their grading and congratulations to all those who passed. A lot of those who graded are now heading into the advanced Kyu grades where things become more difficult and expectations increase as you start to approach your black belt grading.

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We also had the pleasure of presenting Dion with his Shodan certificate at the Kenshin dojo after he passed his grading in December a couple of weeks earlier.

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Club Notices

Happy New Year 2025!

Happy New Year. Best Wishes for a happy, healthy and prosperous 2025 from all of the BWCSK team.

Training resumes the week starting Monday 6th January 2025. Unfortunately due to the inclement weather and instructor availability due to unforeseen illness amongst the available instructors not still on their Christmas break we have had to cancel Monday’s classes but hope to return to the normal schedule from Wednesday. Please check our Facebook page or members group if an existing student for further updates. We are sorry for any inconvenience this causes but alas like many people this Christmas a number of us were struck down by the current flu going around which in combination with the current weather warnings in place made cancelling the class the best and safest option for students and the remaining instructors alike.

Club Notices

Christmas & New Year 2024 Closing Dates

Just a reminder that the last session for 2024 was on Monday 16th December. We are now closed until the week beginning 6th January 2025 when all clubs will reopen on their normal schedule.

Merry Christmas & Happy Mew Year from all the team at BWCSK

Students in front of the Christmas tree Gradings

Kyu & Dan Gradings December 2024

The Kyu & Dan gradings, December 2024 were held at the Bournville College dojo (A.K.A. South & City College Birmingham – Longbridge Campus) on Saturday 14th December with a few additional gradings taking place the following week at the Weoley Castle dojo. All of us at BWCSK would like to congratulate all those who passed their gradings. Well done we were very pleased with the overall standard on display.

We also had a couple of students attempting different levels of black belt grading. Whilst unfortunately one didn’t pass on the day they put in a shift during the grading and will hopefully fair better when they take it again. As one would expect each higher dan grade gets harder with greater technical proficiency and knowledge required to pass, many require multiple attempst but through persistence and study get there in the end. Even attempting a Dan grading is a difficult task so we offer our heartfelt commiserations to the candidate that failed but are confident that they will come back stronger and better next time. We are pleased to be able to offer our special congratulations to Dion Worthington on achieving the rank of Shodan. Dion is a long time student of the Kenshin dojo and is the third student to achieve their black belt from Kenshin SKC since they became part of BWCSK. Dion started training with Sensei Franklyn Doras from a young age, continuing his training with Sensei Peter Shuter after the death of Sensei Doras and then again when the club became part of BWCSK. His willingness to help and tiredless dedication meant he became the first assistant instructor from Kenshin when it joined BWCSK.

Below is a selection of pictures from the grading days from our Flickr account.

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