Our annual Cornwall MayoShinDo Summer Karate grading took place this past weekend at Sennen where karatekas from Sennen and Marazion karate clubs were attending.
The grading lasted just over two hours with karatekas having to impress a grading panel of Cornwall Area Coach and 7th Dan Black Belt Clive Double, Sennen Club Instructor and 4th Dan Black Belt Luke Jackson and Marazion Instructor and 4th Dan Black Belt Denzil Searle.
The grading was structured in 3 phrases, the first phrase saw students standing in lines in front of the examiners performing a plethora of techniques from their syllabus, these includes basic blocks, punches, kicks and movement. This gave the examiners a chance to see if the students not only understood what was being asked of them but that they were doing it correctly to a standard expected of their grade.
The second phrase of the grading saw students pair up and put their techniques to the test. Each karateka had to assume the role of the aggressor and of the defender, having to perform a set number of attacks/counters given to them by the examiners. This is a great way to ensure the technique is being done correctly and has the desired effect.
The third phase of the grading saw the karatekas split in to three groups with each group being assigned an examiner. The examiner stood in front of their respective group with a focus pad and each karateka took it in turns to strike the pad with the given technique. This gave the examiner a great way to see how correctly focused and strong the techniques were.
The grading finished with some sparring for the higher grades and then kata.
The examiners were impressed with the overall standard of the karatekas, especially from those karatekas who were attending their first ever grading today. Gradings can be a daunting event for most karatekas especially if you’ve not attended one before. However they showed no signs of nerves and put in a good showing. As always there are some things that need to be worked on which we will be addressing in class.
The results are as follows:
- Henry Golding, +2 Yellow Tags (White Belt, 2 Yellow Tags)
- Caitlin Barnicoat, +1 Yellow Tag (White Belt, 2 Yellow Tags)
- Emlyn Baker, +1 Yellow Tag (White Belt, 2 Yellow Tags)
- Cooper Hitchens, +1 Yellow Tag (White Belt, 3 Yellow Tags)
- Sam Castle, +3 Yellow Tags (White Belt, 3 Yellow Tags)
- George Rimmer, +2 Orange Tags (Yellow Belt, 2 Orange Tags)
- David Kirk, +3 Orange Tags (Yellow Belt, 3 Orange Tags)
- Ivy Kirk, +3 Orange Tags (Yellow Belt, 3 Orange Tags)
- Enid Kirk, +3 Orange Tags (Yellow Belt, 3 Orange Tags)
- Phillippa Gopsil, +2 Green Tags (Orange Belt, 2 Green Tags)
- Tommy Barnicoat, Brown Belt
Well done to all, keep up the training and see you soon!
