News, Blogs & Events - Page 21 of 22 - Birmingham & Weoley Castle Shotokan Karate

Notice to Students Use of Shihan and Sensei

3rd August 2013
by Richard Amuzu

As most of you know Sensei Cummins bestowed the title of Sensei to the club Sempai Austin Birks 4th dan so that upon receiving instructions from Sensei Birks during a class as the senior student the correct response would now be “Osu Sensei” instead of “Osu Sempai”. This has led to some confusion during classes where students where receiving instructions from both Sensei Cummins and Sensei Birks. Therefore as Sensei Cummins has recently been awarded the rank of 8th dan it has been decided amongst the senior students that the honorific title “Shihan” should be used when responding to instructions from Sensei Cummins to avoid confusion therefore when receiving or responding to Sensei Cummins please use “Osu Shihan”.

Shihan is an honorific title used in many martial arts as is usually bestowed upon senior dan grade black belts although unlike titles such as Renshi (4th or 5th dan), Kyoshi (6th or 7th dan) or Hanshi (8th dan and above) is not related to grade but is used as a sign of respect. It is usually informally translated in English as “Master” but literally translates as simply “To be a model” / “Instructor”.

Demonstrations

Shotokan Karate Demonstration

27th July 2013
by Richard Amuzu

Saturday 27^th July 2013

Between 11.00am and 12.00pm

Queen’s Park, Harborne, Birmingham, B17 9AH.

Sensei Cummins along with students from BHSKC held a demonstration of Shotokan Karate as part of the activities at Queen’s Park on Saturday 27^th July 2013. It was a lovely hot morning and everyone was in great spirits looking forward to the demo. The demo covered the key aspects of traditional Shotokan karate as taught by Sensei Cummins showing a very appreciative crowd students of BHSKC performing kata and kumite plus a demonstration of kobudo with demonstrations of the Bo and Nunchaku by Sensei Cyril Cummins 8^th dan and Sensei Austin Birks 4^th dan respectively. Thanks to all those who took part and we hope that everyone watching enjoyed the demonstration. If you and/or your children are interested in starting Shotokan Karate training at BHSKC then please contact us for details or come along to a session we would love to see you.

Photos from the event are available on our Flickr Photostream and video from the event can be found on our YouTube channel.

Demonstrations

Windsor High School Demo

22nd June 2013
by Richard Amuzu

22^nd June 2013

On Saturday 22^nd June 2013 Sensei Cyril Cummins 8^th dan and some of his students put on a demonstration of Shotokan Karate at Windsor High School. Photos from the demonstartion can be found on our Flickr Photostream and video footage on our YouTube channel.

Gradings

Sensei Cyril Cummins awarded the rank of 8th Dan

11th May 2013
by Richard Amuzu

Birmingham & Halesowen Shotokan Karate Clubs are pleased to announce that Sensei Cyril Cummins has been awarded the rank of 8th Dan (hachidan) by NAKMAS.

Sensei Cummins has been studying Shotokan karate for nearly fifty years and in that time has built up a vast wealth of experience and knowledge which he has used to train thousands of students during this time producing a number of champions and students who have gone on to be instructors in their own right. Today at the age of 75 years old he still teaches at BHSKC and is imparting his knowledge to the next generation of karateka. Sensei Cummins has shown amazing dedication to Shotokan Karate over the years and exemplifies what it means to be a true master of Shotokan Karate.

On behalf of everyone at BHSKC we would like to congratulate Sensei Cummins on achieving 8th Dan.

Sensei Cyril Cummins 8th Dan — Sensei Cyril Cummins 8^th Dan

Articles

Blackpool Training Weekend – A review

9th May 2013
by Richard Amuzu

by Melissa Daly, 3rd Kyu

From the 3rd to the 5th of May 2013, a number of karate students from BHSKC went to Blackpool for a special weekend training course organised by Sensei Cyril Cummins, now 8th Dan. For the duration of the weekend, we stayed in a lovely, homely hotel owned by Sensei Cummins’ son. We were all made to feel welcome by the staff and received delicious, home cooked meals. The rooms were comfortable and clean and we all thoroughly enjoyed the time we stayed there.

The dojo, which is part of a newly built leisure centre, was exceptional. The hall was very spacious and the walls were mirrored so that we could observe ourselves and not miss anything and the floor was completely covered in mats.

During the weekend, we focussed on kata, kumite, bunkai and physical strength. The advanced katas Sensei Cummins taught us were Kanku Dai and Meikyo. Kanku Dai, for me is an enjoyable kata to learn. Despite it being an advanced kata, it is quite basic because it contains essential elements of all the other katas. Although I found this kata quite long and challenging, I managed to complete it eventually.

Sensei Cummins also taught us the bunkai to Kanku Dai, with him demonstrating on Sensei Austin Birks, 4th Dan and Matt Russell 3rd Dan. It was interesting to be shown how to use certain moves from the kata with attacking and defending.

The kata I personally enjoyed the most was Meikyo. To me, the kata was quite simple to pick up because most of the sequences are mirrored. I especially liked how the kata started off in a slow movement and then quick and repeated. I also enjoyed the spinning jump towards the end of the kata.

Sensei also took us through Bassai Dai, which was extremely helpful for me, as this is my grading kata. We went through the kata step by step and then completed it in our own time.

Articles

Blackpool Weekend Karate Course

5th May 2013
by Richard Amuzu

Friday 3rd May till Sunday 5th May 2013

On the 4th and 5th of May 2013, Sensei Cyril Cummins held an advanced training course in the Palatine Leisure Centre in Blackpool. Both of the 3-hour training sessions were extremely intense and physically challenging. The course covered kihon, kata and bunkai, as well as kumite in great detail.

The basic techniques were geared towards the individual grades, so that each person was given a challenge and pushed to the limit. Kata and bunkai were studied in depth; Sensei Cummins’ extraordinary knowledge and ability to find numerous interpretations for every single kata made this an invaluable experience for any karateka.

The kumite sessions allowed everybody to try new techniques and to enhance their overall ability. Not only did this course focus on practical issues, but Sensei Cummins also provided background knowledge on a large number of theoretical and historical aspects of Shotokan karate. Sensei Cummins will soon be celebrating 50 years of training.

Few people have done what he has done and during this training weekend, he generously gave participants a unique insight into his training journey. The ethos of the course was to push oneself to the limit, which is what we did. This course was a priceless experience for everybody who took part. Make sure you don’t miss the next one!

A selection of photos from the course can be found on our Flickr album here.

Articles

Special Weapons Course Featuring the Bo, Sai & Nunchaku

19th April 2013
by Richard Amuzu

Friday 19^th April 2013

Nuffield Health Fitness and Wellbeing Centre

Sensei Cyril Cummin’s continued his kobudo (weapons training) sessions with a course featuring the Bo, Sai and Nunchaku. What follows is a brief summary of that course.

The course started with the bo, as this has featured in a number of courses I felt that I was now coming to grips with the use of the bo and when we revisited the bo kata shushi no kon I now felt reasonably comfortable doing it. This was reflected with the rest of the class who had all participated in some of the previous sessions and it felt more like revision and polishing the techniques rather than trying to remember what came next for the most part.

After the Bo we moved onto the Sai, Sensei Cummins explained the history of the weapon before demonstrating its use. We all then attempted to perform basic techniques with the sai. Personally I found the sai extremely difficult to handle especially when swivelling them and as a result found even performing kihon kata with the sai a challenge. This seemed to be reflected with most of the class and Sensei Cummins with he help of Sensei Susan Hession slowed down and helped everyone understand how to swivel and manipulate the sai.

After the sai came the nunchaku, again Sensei Cummins explained the history of the weapon and demonstrated a number of ways in which they could be used. Then we all had a go. I found the nunchaku easier to handle than the sai and fear of hitting myself in the face with the wooden nunchaku I was using soon evaporated. Whilst I wont claim to have replicated that famous scene from Enter the Dragon, I was able to swing the nunchaku around myself and swap hands and arms with relative ease.

Finally we partnered up and participated in some basic sparring defending attacks from a bo with the sai and counter attacking. This was interesting and felt far more difficult than using the tonfa in a similar situation to me.

Alas time was up and another very informative kobudo session concluded. I look forward to the next one as everyone else who attended also indicated and hope to practice more with the weapons covered so far.

A selection of photos from the course can be found on our Flickr album here.

Richard Amuzu, 3rd Dan BHSKC.

Competitions

Spring Championship 2013

14th April 2013
by Richard Amuzu

SUNDAY 14TH APRIL 2013

The Spring Championship 2013 was a roaring success with competitors from many different styles, clubs and associations.We thoroughly enjoyed it and hope you all did to. Thanks to all those who attended for creating a great atmosphere. Congratulations to all those who competed and to those who won medals. It was great to see so many different clubs and styles. I’d also like to thank Sensei Cummins and all the officials and helpers for their efforts on the day.

The final results were as follows :-

Kata Events :-

Category	Medal	Winner(s)	Club
Junior Individual Kata Beginner to 1st Kyu	Gold	Tylan Johnson	Adaptive Karate Club
	Silver	Arvin Corotana	Adaptive Karate Club
	Bronze	Millie Thompson	Ippon Ken
Senior Individual Kata Beginner to 1st Kyu	Gold	Lyndsay Smylie	BHSKC
	Silver	Sophie Stoll	BHSKC
	Bronze	Melissa Smylie	BHSKC
Junior Individual Kata Dan Grades	Gold	Conner Stowe	Ippon Ken
	Silver	Calib Stowe	Ippon Ken
	Bronze	Lucy O’Neil	Shidoshinkai
Senior Individual Kata Dan Grades	Gold	Matt Russell	BHSKC
	Silver	Bryn Pickett	Shidoshinkai
	Bronze	Terry Povey	Ippon Ken
Veterans Kata	Gold	Sue Hession	BHSKC
	Silver	Austin Birks	BHSKC
	Bronze	Barry Gregory	BHSKC
Junior Team Kata	Gold	Calib Stowe, Conner Stowe, Millie Thompson	Ippon Ken
	Silver	Bethany Dean, Lucy O’Neil, Bethany Wood	Shidoshinkai
	Bronze	Jack Todd, Katelyn Todd, James Grant	BHSKC
Senior Team Kata	Gold	Matt Russell, Sue Hession, Austin Birks	BHSKC
	Silver	Christie Price, Holly Wells, Lyndsay Smylie	BHSKC
	Bronze	Sophie Stoll, Melissa Smylie, Yvonne Skalban	BHSKC
Pairs Kata	Gold	Matt Russell, Austin Birks	BHSKC
	Silver	Lyndsay Smylie, Melissa Smylie	BHSKC
	Bronze	Christie Price, Holly Wells	BHSKC
Special Award for Outstanding Spirit	–	Nathan Meir	BHSKC

Kumite Events :-

Category	Medal	Winner(s)	Club
Junior Female Individual Kumite	Gold	Bethany Wood	Shidoshinkai
	Silver	Holly Millinson	BHSKC
Junior Male Individual Kumite 15 years old and under	Gold	Jake Phipps	BHSKC
	Silver	Lewis Millinson	BHSKC
	Bronze	Oliver Fachiri	Ippon Ken
Junior Male Individual Kumite 16 years old and over	Gold	Brett Mitchell	Shidoshinkai
	Silver	Calib Stowe	Ippon Ken
Senior Female Individual Kumite Beginner to 3rd kyu	Gold	Melissa Smylie	BHSKC
	Silver	Lyndsey Smylie	BHSKC
	Bronze	Yvonne Skalban	BHSKC
Senior Female individual Kumite Dan Grades	Gold	Christie Price	BHSKC
	Silver	Tanya Mitchell	Shidoshinkai
	Bronze	Lucy O’Neil	Shidoshinkai
Senior Male Individuals Beginner to 1st Kyu	Gold	Osvaldes Pack	Brigg Wado
	Silver	Nigel Chaney	Ippon Ken
	Bronze	Jason Wood	Shidoshinkai
Senior Male Individuals Dan Grades	Gold	Matt Russell	BHSKC
	Silver	Gary Wright	Brigg Wado
	Bronze	Richard Amuzu	BHSKC
Junior Team kumite	Gold	Calib Stowe, Conner Stowe, Oliver Fachiri	Ippon Ken
	Silver	Lucy O’Neil, Bethany Wood, Ellie Price	Shidoshinkai
	Bronze	Otto Galvin, Calum Gratton, Josh Price	Shidoshinkai
Senior Female Team Kumite	Gold	Christie Price, Lyndsay Smylie, Melissa Smylie	BHSKC
	Silver	Yvonne Skalban, Jodie Wood	BHSKC
Senior Male Team Kumite	Gold	Wayne Ricketts, Jason Elliman, Matt Russell	BHSKC
	Silver	Dave Rollason, Steve O’Reilly, Richard Amuzu	BHSKC
	Bronze	Paddy Howtin, Nigel Chaney, Nick Bailey	Ippon Ken

Articles

Choose a Kata Friday – Jitte

29th March 2013
by Richard Amuzu

Friday 29^th March 2013

Nuffield Health Fitness and Wellbeing Centre

The second of the Choose a Kata Friday nights took place on Friday 29th March with Matt Russell selection Jitte as his chosen kata. This is a preview of the night with a few photos of Matt performing the kata with Matt’s review of the night to follow.

More pictures from this session can be found in our Flickr Album here.

Articles

An interview with Sensei Cyril Cummins 2

5th March 2013
by Richard Amuzu

Interviewed by Steve O’Reilly 2^nd Dan

at the Halesowen Dojo on Tuesday 5^th March 2013

Over the years, you have trained thousands of fellow karate ka, visiting many different countries. What do you consider to be your most memorable experience over this time?

“Taking my 5^th Dan examination at Crystal Palace under the Japanese Sensei. It was a very very hard grading and I prepared for it all the week by training every day with the Japanese Sensei. So at the end of the week I took the grading and I passed it.”

How do you think karate has changed over the years that you have been training and teaching?

“Traditional Karate goes on and on forever and there are many other types of martial arts coming out now like mixed martial arts etc. but traditional karate goes on and on.”

What is your favourite Kata to perform and why?

” I don’t have any favourite Kata. All Kata are important and so I practise them all.”
As one of your students, I have always been amazed by your vast knowledge of the history and origins of karate. How did you gain all of this knowledge?

“Research and training. Thinking about it and working out the bunkai etc. A lot of research!!

Cookie	Duration	Description
_GRECAPTCHA	5 months 27 days	This cookie is set by Google. In addition to certain standard Google cookies, reCAPTCHA sets a necessary cookie (_GRECAPTCHA) when executed for the purpose of providing its risk analysis.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-advertisement	1 year	Set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin, this cookie is used to record the user consent for the cookies in the "Advertisement" category .
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional	11 months	The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
PHPSESSID	session	This cookie is native to PHP applications. The cookie is used to store and identify a users' unique session ID for the purpose of managing user session on the website. The cookie is a session cookies and is deleted when all the browser windows are closed.
viewed_cookie_policy	11 months	The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.

Cookie	Duration	Description
_ga	2 years	The _ga cookie, installed by Google Analytics, calculates visitor, session and campaign data and also keeps track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookie stores information anonymously and assigns a randomly generated number to recognize unique visitors.
_gid	1 day	Installed by Google Analytics, _gid cookie stores information on how visitors use a website, while also creating an analytics report of the website's performance. Some of the data that are collected include the number of visitors, their source, and the pages they visit anonymously.
CONSENT	16 years 3 months 20 days 11 hours 3 minutes	These cookies are set via embedded youtube-videos. They register anonymous statistical data on for example how many times the video is displayed and what settings are used for playback.No sensitive data is collected unless you log in to your google account, in that case your choices are linked with your account, for example if you click “like” on a video.

Cookie	Duration	Description
IDE	1 year 24 days	Google DoubleClick IDE cookies are used to store information about how the user uses the website to present them with relevant ads and according to the user profile.
test_cookie	15 minutes	The test_cookie is set by doubleclick.net and is used to determine if the user's browser supports cookies.
VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE	5 months 27 days	A cookie set by YouTube to measure bandwidth that determines whether the user gets the new or old player interface.
YSC	session	YSC cookie is set by Youtube and is used to track the views of embedded videos on Youtube pages.

Related posts:

Related posts:

Related posts:

Related posts:

by Melissa Daly, 3rd Kyu

Related posts:

Related posts:

Related posts:

Related posts:

Friday 29th March 2013

Nuffield Health Fitness and Wellbeing Centre

Related posts:

Interviewed by Steve O’Reilly 2nd Dan

at the Halesowen Dojo on Tuesday 5th March 2013

Related posts:

Contact Us

Friday 29^th March 2013

Interviewed by Steve O’Reilly 2^nd Dan

at the Halesowen Dojo on Tuesday 5^th March 2013