BWCSK Dojo Re-opening for Adults – May 2021

We are pleased to announce that in line with the easing of coronavirus restrictions taking place on the 17^th May 2021 we will be re-opening our dojos for adult training. Coronavirus (Covid-19 / SARS-CoV-2) safety restrictions are still in force so training will continue to be socially distanced and non-contact with temperature checks and other safety measures continuing as was the case before Christmas and has been taking place over the last month with children’s classes.

We are still waiting to hear from our Longbridge Methodist Church venue as to when we will be able to resume Wednesday night training there and will provide an update when one becomes available. The latest update we have received indicates that we are unlikely to be able to return before the next planned easing of restrictions on the government roadmap currently planned for the 21^st June 2021.

As everyone can now train in the dojo, we will no longer be continuing with our free online zoom lessons but we thank all those who have participated and hope they provided a useful means to continue training during this period away from the dojo.

To reflect the limitations on training we will continue to charge the reduced flat fee of £5 per session for dojo classes.

New members are welcome, please contact Sensei Susan Hession if you are interested in joining as always the first two classes are a free trial before joining.

BWCSK Dojo Re-opening For Juniors – April 2021

Hello folks,

We are pleased to announce that in line with the current government roadmap for easing covid-19 restrictions we will re-opening our dojos for junior (under 18) members to train this month.  Coronavirus (Covid-19 / SARS-CoV-2)  safety restrictions are still in force so training will continue to be socially distanced and non-contact with temperature checks and other safety measures continuing as was the case before Christmas.

Classes will resume from Saturday 17th April 2021 at the following times and locations:

• Saturdays 13:00pm – 14:00pm – All Grades: Bournville College, Longbridge, B31 2AJ.
• Mondays 17:30pm – 18:30pm – Beginners / Intermediate Grades: Weoley Castle Community Church, Weoley Castle, B29 5LE .
• Mondays 18:30pm – 19:30pm – Brown and Black Belts: Weoley Castle Community Church, Weoley Castle, B29 5LE .
• Thursdays 17:30pm – 18:30pm – Beginners / Intermediate Grades: Weoley Castle Community Church, Weoley Castle, B29 5LE .
• Thursdays 18:30pm – 19:30pm – Brown and Black Belts: Weoley Castle Community Church, Weoley Castle, B29 5LE .

We are still waiting to hear from our Longbridge Methodist Church venue as to when we will be able to resume Wednesday night training there and will provide an update when one becomes available.

Existing students can book their place on these classes using the online booking form. Free online Zoom classes will continue for Adults whilst they are not permitted to train in the dojo but will not resume for Juniors after the Easter break. To reflect the limitations on training we will continue to charge the reduced flat fee of £5 per session for dojo classes.

New training location in Longbridge at Bournville College

BWCSK are pleased to announce the opening of a new location for training on Saturdays. Unfortunately since the national Covid-19 lockdown in March we have been unable to run our usual Saturday classes due to circumstances beyond our control and that venue has been unable to reopen as soon as we had hoped it would. Fortunately we have now been able to find a new location in the same area for our students which we hope will be equally as convenient to those who used to train at the previous venue. We would like to introduce the Bournville College dojo, this is located at Bournville College, 1 Longbridge Lane, Longbridge, B31 2AJ with training taking place at 1pm on Saturdays’ in the Sports Hall.

We are still subject to Covid restrictions and so can currently only accommodate up to fifteen (15) juniors on a class and five (5) adults on a separate parallel class which will take place at the same time. The juniors (under 18s) class is now available for booking via the usual booking form but the adult seniors (over 18s) class is not available for bookings and is invitation only at present to ensure that all seniors can get a chance to train on one of these when available. We may review the possibility of bookings for the adult class in the future.

Below is a picture from our first class at the new venue.

Enter the Dojo! BWCSK Weoley Castle Dojo Reopens

We are pleased to announce that training resumed at our Weoley Castle dojo from the 27^th July 2020. It seems like a long time since we had to close our doors due to the rising Covid-19  infections and eventual national lock down. Since then we have continued training online offering eight free classes a week (split between Juniors and Seniors)  to our members via the Zoom application. Those classes finished last Saturday with the reopening of the dojo but we would like to thank all the instructors who gave up their time  and resources and all those who helped make those classes happen over the last three months. We would like to also thank all the students and their family members who trained on those classes or made it possible for others to train.

This week was a soft reopening with Sensei Hession contacting each member individually to inform them of the reopening plans and the new Covid-19 safety rules and restrictions in place and to allow everyone to get used to the new rules. We are pleased to say the reopening went well and that the club is now open again to all. Unfortunately due to the new Covid-19 safety measures we have had to implement a booking system as only a limited number of spaces are available on each lesson in order to mantain social distancing and where possible electronic payment upon the booking of a session to avoid the handling of cash and change which might be a vector for transmission. Please contact Sensei Susan Hession if you wish to book a place on a class, unfortunately if the places are already taken you will not be able to train that day unless someone drops out. Please do not attend if you are feeling unwell, are exhibiting any symptoms of Covid-19 or have come into contact with someone who has symptoms.

We would also encourage students where possible to arrive in their gi and to try and avoid bringing unnecessary items into the dojo. Please bring your own full water bottle so that you will have a drink available during training. Hand sanitiser will be present throughout the building and temperature checks will be performed before entry into the church building is allowed. Unfortunately if you have a temperature you will not be allowed to enter and train. We appreciate that it may not be possible or advisable for everyone to wear their gi to the dojo such as those who take public transport and you will be able to change in a designated location but please try and minimise the items you bring to the dojo as much as is possible. Mitts, gumshields and other protective equipment wont be needed as no sparring, partner or pad training will be taking place.

Students must have a current license to train, please contact Sensei Hession if your license has expired so that it can be renewed.

All classes are £5 per student and class times are as follows:

These classes are split into various rooms with no contact for students between each class or room. Please do not park in the church car park unless you will be staying for the entire night as we need to leave space for students to enter and exit without contact with other groups.

We will provide details of when the Longbridge dojo will be reopening when we have further information but we are currently not expecting to be able to return to Longbridge this month.

Training together whilst apart

Calling all current BWCSK students.  Karate still goes on even whilst we are locked down in our homes, we are still training together whilst apart. If you would like access to free exclusive content and online training sessions please contact us, either directly by phone, email, messaging app or social media.

Unfortunately we can only provide these options for existing students and we are sorry for any inconvenience that may cause.

We would like everyone to stay safe and take care and we look forward to hearing from you.