Karate-do shotokai.com News

Spring School 2008 full details and directions

Fri, 14 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Details for Spring School 2008, the Black and Brown belt course held this year at Keele University are now available on our courses page.

Click here for more

An update to the SS08 form

Tue, 04 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT

People wishing to attend Summer School this year who have downloaded the application form online or indeed received it by post should be aware that a small change has been made reflecting the dates of accomodation provided.

The information should say that accommodation is provided from arrival on Saturday 16th Aug (pm) to departure on Saturday 23rd August (am).

The form has been updated and attendees should use the newer version if they have not already filled out the old one.

A new site for Abo KDS

Tue, 04 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT

A new site has recently gone live for Abo KDS in Finland which can be viewed here: www.abokds.org.

They've really pulled out the stops with a site which is both informative and well built, particularly their use of the Google Calendar interface for the courses section.

I'm sure they'd welcome any feedback.

Latest newsletter to download

Fri, 29 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT

The 2007/08 newsletter sent to clubs earlier this year is now also available in our downloads section.

It features an update from Dave Westwater as well as some words from KDS Administrator, Arnold Rothwell and Drew Hamill, Summer School Organiser.

There's also the traditional competition crossword.

The newsletter is available to all here.

Summer School 2008 forms

Sat, 23 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT

The application forms for Summer School 2008 are now available through our downloads page.

This year’s course will cost £300 for the week. A discount of £35 will be applied to all application forms received with a deposit of £135 before Friday 18th July 2008.

Due to deadlines imposed by the University, deposits will only be refundable until Friday 1st August 2008.

The cost for overseas applications will be £220.

Deadline for ALL applications is Friday 1st August 2008 but we ask that due to the administrative pressures of running Summer School that our members send in their forms and payment as soon as they can.

Click here for the downloads page.

Southampton Feb 2008 Videos

Sun, 17 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Footage of the 1st Kyu and above group from the Southampton course this February is now available to view and download from our members' area.

The videos feature the demos led by 5th Dans Tony Lima, Steve Hope, Roy Margetts and Mark Hallam.

KDS Members' area.

Videos of Ed Foss sessions

Fri, 15 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Fresh from the archives, we have added a series of videos to the downloads area taken at training sessions run by 5th Dan Ed Foss.

The videos feature regional training sessions run for experienced members across the south-east region and make for excellent reference material.

Northern region course 2008

Thu, 14 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT

The northern region course due to take place in Durham this March has now been moved to Newcastle.

The course will still run from the 29th February - 2nd March and is for all grades.

There will also be a one hour instructors' session before each session run by Marie Kellet.

The course calendar has been amended to reflect this venue change and also now features extensive details of the event, including a downloadable document with travel and accommodation information.

KDS Course Calendar 2008

We would also like to congratulate Killingworth and North Shields club member Daniel Doig for his recent grading to 1st Dan.

Turku Course Feb 14th-17th

Wed, 13 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Details have now been added to the courses page of the Turku course taking place this weekend.

Changes to course calendar

Sun, 10 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Please note there have been some changes to the course calendar:

Spain moved to 31st Oct - 2nd Nov
Portugal added on 10 - 12th Oct

International courses page

Utah course details

Sun, 10 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Details of the Utah course taking place this March have been added to the course calendar:

People wishing for more information should contact Matt Spackman matt_spackman@byu.edu

International courses page

Israel KDS course detail

Fri, 01 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT

The course calendar has been updated to feature the Israel KDS course held in Jerusalem and run by Bernard and Gladys Mathieu.

The course is free for KDS overseas participants and we recommend arriving on Friday May 30th, in order to tour Jerusalem over the weekend before the course starts.

http://www.karatedoshotokai.com/courses/

Southern Region Course 2008

Mon, 28 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Details for the next KDS course are now online.

The Southern Regions course, being held in Southampton will be run across 3 days with a different venue for each day. Times, prices and the 3 venues are detailed on the page.

Click for course details.

Wales 2nd dan course videos

Mon, 21 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Videos from the first KDS course of 2008 are now available from the downloads section. Harada Sensei gives comments and guidance on how to approach practise and the next steps for KDS development.

There is also footage of the tangible effects of the correct body condition contrasted against the absence of the correct body condition. The results are quite remarkable.

Nick Stewart receives 3rd Dan

Sun, 20 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT

We are delighted to announce that Nick Stewart, senior instructor at London KDS has been awarded his 3rd Dan.

The award was presented to Nick by Harada Sensei at this weekend's 2nd Dan and above course in Wales.

KDS Social Networking Sites

Wed, 09 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT

In this age of social networking, the KDS relies on our members to help promote our activities more than ever.

So we would like to showcase some of our ever growing family of pages appearing across the web and encourage our members to check them out and get involved.

They are mostly Facebook groups so they can only be viewed by people with a Facebook account, but we would encourage people to do this wherever possible as these pages are quickly becoming our members' own presence on the web with many groups showing photos, videos and news from around the clubs and courses.

Any more we should know about? Email us here.

We would also like take this opportunity to thank Thomas Butts, Paula McCrossan, Edd Beale, Phil Halsall and Nic Turner for the good work they are doing. Please keep it up.

Brussels course programme videos

Mon, 07 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Videos of the Brussels 2007 course programme and also the demos from Harada Sensei are available now in the secure downloads section of this site.

The demonstrations of Harada Sensei have been broken down into a series of self contained information notes providing reference material for the Instructors.

Sensei BBC video direct link

Mon, 07 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT

The BBC still has the video of their Harada Sensei feature available to view online.

We recommend anyone who has not seen it to make sure they do so and we heartily encourage members to post the video on their own club sites or social pages.

It can be seen here.

KDS 2007 news in review

Mon, 07 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT

2007 was a big news year for the KDS, so here we present some of the more important stories that ran throughout the year:

2-5th Dan Wales Course 2008

Thu, 03 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Details have now been released about the first KDS course of 2008, the 2nd-5th Dan event in Wales on 18th-20th January.

Please see the courses page for more information.

A New Year with the KDS

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Another year has begun and there's plenty to look forward to over the next few weeks for those wishing to lose the Christmas pounds in a more interesting fashion than the gym treadmill can offer.

For our seasoned members there's the imminent 2nd dan and above course in Wales being held on the 19th-20th January, details to follow soon about location and costs.

For the rest of us, our first all-grades course is being held in Southampton where the 5th Dan group will be giving everyone from novice to veteran a good new year dust off. This takes place on February 9th-10th.

And for the globe-trotting karateka, there's the option to spend Valentine's Day in a sports hall with the friendly Finnish clubs in Turku on the first of this year's international courses.

Or if you simply want to start something new or have drifted from training then take a look at clubs near you for a far cheaper alternative to the gym.

New Dan Gradings

Wed, 19 Dec 2007 00:00:00 GMT

The first of the Dan grade announcements are in so whilst we wait for the other members to be notified we are delighted to congratulate the following new black belts:

Geoff Wilcockson (East of England KDS) - 2nd Dan
Lyndon Tunmore (East of England KDS) - 2nd Dan
Simon "Beardy" Anderson (London KDS) - 1st Dan

We will update this page as more information is released.

So congratulations again to the new grades, a reflection of the hard work and dedication put in to their training.

Happy Christmas from the KDS admin and look forward to training with you all next year.

Updates and additions to KDS clubs

Sat, 15 Dec 2007 00:00:00 GMT

We are happy to announce some changes and additions to our list of clubs within the KDS.

Firstly a new group in Israel has now joined the KDS. The club, based in Jerusalem is run by Yehuda Bar Shalom with the assistance of Matan Gross, Gilead Orr, Eliezer Berger and Yossef Appelbaum-Elad.

The existing Israel group is now known as Kibbutz Mishmar Hanegev KDS.

Also, our club directory now features Alpujarra KDS, a Spanish club started in 2003 and run by Steve Pointer.

Both new groups have websites to check out and all details are now on the directory page.

2008 Course Calendar

Tue, 04 Dec 2007 00:00:00 GMT

The full course calendar for 2008 has been finalised and released by the KDS admin.

Therefore, it is now also live on this site, with details for the individual courses to be added as they are released.

There are no major differences to the calendar from 2007, with courses falling on similar dates. 2008 sees Stoke-on-Trent host both Winter School and Spring School. It also sees the return of the Hertfordshire Uni venue to the calendar with them hosting a course in October, likely to be in their new Olympic facility.

As with 2007, the UK courses are run by the Technical Exec with venues rotating around the regions hence the re-introduction of Norwich, with London and Cambridge taking a year off.

The Technical Exec have also committed to this being a final version of the dates and venues, but any updates will be notified through the news page on this site.

Click here for the 2008 KDS Course Calendar.

Winter School Friday Venue.

Thu, 29 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT

The Friday 30th nov training of winter school is for Black and Brown Belts from 7.30pm til 9pm in the dance studio same as last year's event.

Pontypool Active Living Centre,
Trosnant Street,
Pontypool,
NP4 8AT

Click for map

Winter School costs

Sat, 10 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Details are now available of the cost structure for Winter School. They are:

KDS members -- Weekend: £30 waged / £25 non-waged
KDS members -- One Day: £20 waged / £15 non-waged

Non-KDS members – Weekend: £40 waged / £35 non-waged
Non-KDS members – One Day: £30 waged / £25 non-waged

Grading fee: £20

Full course details are available on the courses page.

Attendees should note that the journey planner and venue map on the course page were incorrect and have now been amended.

Update to grading structure

Fri, 09 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Following a meeting at Summer School 2007 between the UK club
instructors and the Technical Group the belt system has been amended
to include the yellow.

Therefore the KDS belt sequence is now White (4th Kyu), Yellow (3rd
Kyu), Green (2nd Kyu), Brown (1st Kyu) and Black (1st - 5th Dan).

New starters will be assesed for grading at the end of their first
year of regular training.

Kyu gradings will be done at courses which are on the KDS Calendar
either KDS Regional or National Courses. There will be a minimum two
of members of the Technical Executive present.

Any White Belt now that was previously a Yellow or Orange Belt can now
under this revised system wear a yellow belt.

Brussels course 2007

Thu, 08 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Full details of the Brussels course being held on the 16th of November have now been added to the course calendar page.

Spain 2006 video to download

Wed, 07 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT

A full length video of the course held in Spain last year is now available to download from this site.

The open course held in San Sebastian last year features many of the Technical Exec members in demos with Sensei along with much of the course programme.

We hope to bring you a similar quality video from the recent 2007 course in the near future.

Winter School 2007

Mon, 05 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Details for the final course on this year's calendar, Winter School, have been finalised by the KDS committee and are now available online.

Hosted in Wales this year and run by the Technical Group, the course will also be an opportunity for grading to Yellow, Green, or Brown belt.

Pricing details have yet to be released but will be added here as soon as they are available.

Winter School 2007 - click here.

London 1st Kyu and above course videos

Thu, 18 Oct 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Two new videos have been added to the senior members' area of this site.

They are from the recent 1st Kyu and above course hosted by the London club and run by the Technical Executive. The videos show the course programme and training methods and feature demos by most of the 5th dans as well as Sensei.

They are also in high resolution, so you can really see what's going on in minute detail.

As always, they are accessed by logging in to the seniors' area - members without access should contact their club instructors.

Updated: Spain Course details

Tue, 25 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT

The full details (in English) of the San Sebastian course have now been added to the courses page, including details of paying for the weekend.

KDS members should also note that the dates have been changed to reflect the additional Friday night session available to KDS members only and run by the Technical Executive.

Full details here

San Sebastian Course 2007

Sun, 23 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Details of the Spanish course in San Sebastian are available on the courses page as a PDF download.

For now it is only available in Spanish, we hope to bring an English version of the schedule soon.

Course details.

Details of Spanish club now on site

Sun, 23 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Full details for the Spanish club in San Sebastian are now featured on the club directory page.

The club, run by 3rd Dan Lili González will also be running a course in November attended by Harada Sensei. Full details of which will follow soon.

San Sebastian club details

Sensei on the BBC video

Fri, 21 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Harada Sensei's feature on BBC Wales is available to view on the BBC site now:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/default.stm

Click on link towards bottom of page.

Harada Sensei on BBC Wales tonight

Thu, 20 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT

A feature recorded by BBC Wales about Harada Sensei is due to air tonight, Thursday 20th September.

It will run between 6.30-7pm unless there is some late breaking news, in which case it will be resheduled.

We hope to bring you this footage on this site for those who don't have access to the channel through digital TV or happen to live in the region.

Summer School 2007 video

Mon, 17 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT

We are delighted to present this fantastic video from Summer School, now available to download from the members' area.

Filmed during the final demo, it features Harada Sensei with Bernard Mathieu initially followed by many of the 5th & 4th dans in one group demonstration.

The video is also in high-resolution as many of the videos we are providing now are. Enjoy.

New KDS club: Killingworth

Sun, 16 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT

We are pleased to announce the formation of a new club: Killingworth KDS

Killingworth Leisure Centre is a brand new venue opened earlier this year and features all the latest sports facilities. The club is being run by Neil Gibson, 1st Dan, from the North Shields club. He will be assisted by Daniel Doig, 1st Kyu, and will of course have regular input from local 5th Dan Peter Jackson. First meeting is planned for 24th September 2007

Click here

Winter School Location

Thu, 13 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Winter School 2007 has now been confirmed as being hosted in Wales. Full details will follow closer to the event.

South east course - September 2007

Tue, 11 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Details have just been released of the next KDS course, hosted in the South East area by the London club at their usual Uxbridge venue.

The information is available through the course calendar page or by clicking here.

The course is for 1st Kyu's and above and as always will be run by the technical group.

On Saturday night there will be a restaurant meal in the Uxbridge area. Confirmation is needed in advance for the meal - please contact Martin Fitzpatrick by 22nd September if you wish to attend the meal using the contact form by clicking here.

Summer School 2007 group photo

Tue, 28 Aug 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Whether you survived the week at the KDS annual course or just want to see how your club mates looked after more than 36 hours of training then the Summer School 2007 group photo is available for all to download here:

Right-click to download

Welcome to the new site

Mon, 20 Aug 2007 00:00:00 GMT

With the new KDS site now live we'd like to introduce some of the new features.

Not just a pretty face

The site is not just a redesign, it has been completely rebuilt from scratch using the latest web technologies. We are using much better coding techniques which aside from making the whole thing more robust, it also take into consideration accessability for people using different operating systems and web browsers. The design has also been laid out with ease of use in mind so it should be even easier to find what you are looking for.

Searching for something?

The site has a new search box which uses google technology to seek out the content you're after.

All new news

The news section has had a major overhaul and now uses the latest techniques for delivering the news content to you. Sure you could keep visiting the news page like you always had but now you can get the KDS news to come to you instead. If you use an RSS reader like bloglines or Google reader or you have a custom homepage with Yahoo, AOL or many others then you can add the news to your profile and be right up to date with the KDS activities.

Digging, Facebooking and being Del.icio.us

We've added the ability to integrate with popular bookmarking sites Digg.com, Facebook and Del.icio.us on the news page. If you see something you like you can add them to these sites with a single click and spread the word. The more people who do this, the more people will know about the KDS.

Know your club

Our clubs directory has always been popular but what are they like once you've found your local venue? A new addition to the pages means the clubs have a couple of paragraphs to talk about the things they do.

Updated courses of course

Not only has the course page been simplified and easier to scan read with the inclusion of icons and a tighter layout but you can now click through to find out the details of the courses where available. Maps and supporting documents are included as standard in the new template.

Downloads gets a pickup

Our server space has increased by 3000% so we've really gone to town on the already popular downloads section. The elusive marketing CD is now there for our members, fully updated and with the ability to download individual files from letters to photos.

Because of the server increase we have added all kinds of new and old videos that were previous bumped due to space constraints. We've also added longer versions of the videos and many in high definition, up to 4 times larger than what went before.

2007-08 Committee

Mon, 20 Aug 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Following today's AGM at Summer School, the KDS management committee is now:

Chairman: Dave Westwater
Vice-chairman: Peter Jackson
Treasurer: Phil Avis
Administrator/Membership Secretary: Arnold Rothwell (non–elected, employed post)
General enquiries: Jonathan de’Claire
Summer School organiser: Drew Hammill
Martyn Gooding is stepping down from the committee but remains as a technical consultant for the website.

The new position of KDS reporter was created to assist in generating content for the website and also the KDS newletter. Volunteers are invited to contact the committee should they be interested in this role.

2007 Newsletter to download

Tue, 14 Aug 2007 00:00:00 GMT

The newsletter from the beginning of this year is now available to download here.

Though is may be a little out of date, it contains lots of useful and relevant information for KDS members and those who didn't receive it are advised to check it out now.

Updated Membership forms

Tue, 14 Aug 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Please note that the membership application and renewal forms have been updated on this site and should be used instead of any existing forms members have.

They are available to all in the downloads section.

KDS on Facebook

Thu, 09 Aug 2007 00:00:00 GMT

The KDS now has an official presence on the popular networking site Facebook

The group has been created to provide a presence amongst all the other martial arts related content, including other karate organisations and as a way to extend the reach of the KDS organisation to students and young professionals.

Facebook members can view/join the group here: KDS Facebook

2nd - 5th dan course videos

Tue, 07 Aug 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Videos of the course programme and also the demos from Harada Sensei are available now in the secure downloads section of this site.

Harada Sensei receives an MBE

Sun, 17 Jun 2007 00:00:00 GMT

We are delighted to announce that in the Queen's Birthday Honours List Harada Sensei has received an MBE for services to karate.