Grading (updated)

Results of gradings held over the weekend of 28/29 October, 2006 at Parcroft School, Yeovil.

More Somerset Karate In The Press

The tournament report appearing in December’s Combat magazine (see below) also appears in the December edition of "Traditional Karate". Look out for a copy of the article on this web site in the near future.

The Western Gazette will also be publishing an article on Somerset Karate’s successes at the Combat Champions League tournament shortly.

Somerset Karate In The Press

The December 2006 edition of Combat magazine contains a report on the Combat Champions League tournament (see News item for 7 Aug 2006) in which a number of our members are highly praised and our team is credited with putting in a "very spirited performance indeed". Reporter Matthew Sylvester, referring to the offer of places on the WPKA England team to all of our competitors, comments:

"If Somerset Karate can impress the talent spotters in only one tournament, imagine what will happen as they grow in experience and start to win more categories".

More New Classes in Yeovil

We will be starting new classes at Grass Royal Junior School, Yeovil on Tuesday, 7 November.

Classes will run from 18:00 to 19:00 for Chop-a-diles (5- to 7-year olds) and 19:00 to 20:30 for students aged 7 and above.

New Classes in Yeovil (updated)

Following the closure of our classes at Yeovil College, we will be starting new classes at Parcroft Community Junior School, Yeovil on Monday, 2 October.

Classes will be in the school gym and run from 18:00 to 19:00 for Chop-a-diles (5- to 7-year olds) and 19:00 to 20:30 for students aged 7 and above.

Yeovil College Lessons Cancelled

There will be no lessons at Yeovil College on Sunday, 27 August, or Monday, 28 August, due to the Bank Holiday.

Shihan Stoddern Visit

Shihan Ian Stoddern, 6th Dan Tsuen-Mo-Luen, will be paying us his annual visit at the end of October.

Shihan Stoddern will officiate at two Somerset Karate gradings over the weekend of 28 - 29 October. The first grading, on Saturday, 28 October, will be exclusively for black belts (ie those going to 1st Dan or higher). All other students, including those going to black belt, will grade on the following day, Sunday, 29 October.

He will also be teaching a series of special lessons covering weapons, kata and self-defence. Full details to follow.

Bucklers Mead Lesson Cancelled

There will be no lesson at Bucklers Mead this Friday, 25 August, as the school will be closed.

Combat Champions League

Sunday, 6 August 2006, Guildford

Kata

Seito Steven Moffatt. This was Steven’s first competition but it did not show and he performed very competently. Despite being the lowest grade in the category and up against higher grades with superior experience, Steven was just out of the trophies. This should not be the last we see of him.

Sempai Matthew Biss. Another good performance from Matt. Although not his best result to date, Matt keeps growing with confidence and technical ability.

Sempai Heidi Silcox. An outstanding Kata from Heidi this time: she is getting better each time she competes. Heidi was placed 2nd and narrowly missed 1st place to a very good young man doing a Chinese form.

Sensei Mike Scoble. Put in a good performance of Seienchin to claim 2nd place, losing only marginally to a superior Drunken Monkey Chinese Form.

Kumite

Seito Aaron Scoble. Aaron was initially faced with a good opponent who was quick with following up with his hands and lost the fight. Disappointed, he had a second chance in a fight-off for 3rd place. We saw a determined Aaron come out this time. His timing was impeccable and, after going down one point in the first few seconds, he increased the pace and caught the opponent with lightning hands to level the score. Then came a fantastic roundhouse to the head. Aaron increased his lead but, not giving up, his opponent kept on and at time it was level at 5-5. 30 seconds were added after which it was again level at 8-8. Next to score would win and Aaron’s opponent came over the top catching Aaron with a uraken making the score 9-8.

Sempai Heidi Silcox. Heidi was faced by a very experienced fighter who came in as she meant to go on. Although Heidi was quick, it was on the counter attack and she was scoring second. She is getting faster each time and should not be disheartened as the opponents she has been fighting have been of a higher standard this year.

Sempai Matthew Biss. Matt was the only competitor in his original category so he was offered entry into the men’s Black belt plus category which he accepted. Matt’s opponent was Alex Campbell (of "Fight School" fame) but Matt was not deterred by this. Although losing, Matt made it very difficult for Alex to score convincingly and also had a fight-off for 3rd place. This second opponent was very competent and rushed in scoring a point. Matt didn’t panic and kept on, scoring the second point. He surprised his opponent and generally kept him at bay. Although eventually losing, he has gained in confidence and his techniques are starting to flow.

Sensei Mike Scoble. After a mix up with the entry forms on arrival, Sensei was entered into the semi-contact Black belt plus category. Although he was in two minds whether to fight, he decided to leave his entry in. His opponent was much taller and Sensei lost to the superior reach, although he did manage to get in with his legs a few times.

All the above were asked to complete a WPKA England Team form. CONGRATULATIONS

Grading

Results of grading held on Sunday 25 June, 2006 at Yeovil College.

Cimac World Cup 2006

The 5th Cimac World Cup was held at Windsor Leisure Centre on Sunday, 16 July. Despite the heat, attendance was high with competitors coming from as far a field as India.

Seito Aaron Scoble
Boys under 5' 2" semi-contact: went two points down from two hand combinations to the head, but he never gave up and surprised his opponent with a spinning hook kick to the head, making it 2-2. However, the other fighter upped the pace and rushed Aaron with more hands, eventually winning 4-2.
Kata: performed Tsuki-No-Kata with an emphasis on techniques, but failed to place in a very large category.

Sempai Matthew Biss
Boys over 5' 5" semi-contact: faced a very experienced fighter in a category with in excess of 20 fighters. Matt started well, keeping his opponent on the back foot, but a split decision on the first point which went against him proved the turning point. His opponent gained in confidence and kept Matt at bay with lightening pace and near perfect techniques. Matt's movement has become more fluid and he will be a force to be reckoned with in the future.
Kata: performed Sanseru with very good technique but not quite well enough to get into the trophies.

Sensei Mike Scoble
Traditional open hand Kata: pulled out all the stops and did what he believed to be his best ever performance of Uke-no-Kata to achieve third place.

Grand Champion

Sensei Mike Scoble has won the 2005 Grand Champion Award for traditional open-hand kata in the British Sports Martial Arts Premiership (BSMAP).

Cimac Super League

The tournament, held on Sunday, 11 June, at Horfield Leisure Centre, Bristol was very professionally run with a high standard of competition.

Sensei Mike Scoble, despite having to perform a quick-change at mat-side, achieved first place in open-hands kata without music for his powerful performance of uke-no-kata.

Sempai Matt Biss competed in boys over 5' 5" semi contact sparring and kata. He started well in sparring, but then over-stretched a kick, causing himself some pain, but carried on. He was again put to the test and, though he showed some good work, he failed to win. His kata was very controlled but he didn't quite make it into the trophies.

Seito Aaron Scoble took part in boys under 5' 2" semi contact sparring and kata. In sparring, he was really pushed by a very good opponent but did get in a roundhouse / hook kick combination. He did well in kata, though again not quite enough to get a trophy.

New Look for Web Site

As you will already have noticed, the format of pages on the web site has changed - we hope you like the new style.

Most pages can now be accessed directly from the dropdown menus at the top of the page. All of the old pages are still here and there are a couple of new pages: "Black Belts" and "Site map". If you can't find a page you're looking for, try the site map (on the 'About' menu).

The changes have been tested in Internet Explorer 6, Firefox 1.5 and Opera 7. If you use a different browser and experience problems or notice something that doesn’t look right, please inform the Webmaster, giving details of your browser including version number.

Ju Jutsu Course

We have once again been invited to train at Yeovil Martial Arts Centre with Ross Iannoccaro, 7th Dan, Ju Jutsu. The course will run from 11:30 to 13:30 on Saturday, 20 May and costs £10.

World Tai Chi & Qigong Day

Saturday 29 April is the 8th World Tai Chi & Qigong Day. Our old friend Patrick Harries - "The Tai Chi Man" - will be holding "participative demostrations" (have-a-go sessions) in Yeovil's Quedam Shopping Centre from 10:00 to 10:45. Somerset Karate students are welcome to attend: anyone interested should contact Sensei Scoble as soon as possible.

Easter Closures (update)

Bucklers Mead School will be closed on Good Friday, 14 April and Yeovil College will be closed on Easter Sunday and Bank Holiday Monday, 16 and 17 April so there will be no lessons on those days. Other classes will continue as normal over the Easter holidays.

Midsomer Norton Lesson Cancelled

Due to strike action by local government workers, Somervale School is closed today, Tuesday, 28 March. Consequently, tonight’s lesson has been cancelled. We apologize for any inconvenience or disappointment.

Bucklers Mead

Due to school exams, lessons at Bucklers Mead will be in the sports hall from Friday, 21 April to Friday, 30 June

The WON - Watford Open Nationals

The Watford Open Nationals on Sunday, 19 March proved to be a well run tournament with a high level of competition. A number of our members took part and Sempai Natalie Hughes came away with trophies for 2nd places in kata, semi-contact sparring and light continuous sparring while Sensei Mike Scoble also achieved 2nd in kata and our team came 2nd in team sparring.

Our other students performed well and were in some cases very unlucky not to achieve higher placings.

FEKO Squad Training

Sensei Scoble will be taking students to FEKO squad training in Wolverhampton on Sunday, 5 March. Training is free for students with FEKO insurance. Minibus leaving Yeovil College at 07:00, cost £10.

Contact Sensei Scoble for further information or to book your seat on the bus.

Grading

Results of grading held on Sunday 26 February, 2006 at Yeovil College.

New School

Our Radstock school will close at the end of February to be replaced by a new school at Somervale School, Midsomer Norton. Classes will be on a Tuesday evening from 18:45 to 20:15.

Click for map or contact us to request further information

Karate Party

The "Karate Party" scheduled for 14 January 2006 has unfortunately had to be cancelled. Anyone who has paid for tickets can obtain a refund from Sensei Scoble.