History and aims of Meiyo Karate Club
This Dojo was set up
in 2012 in an area of Nottingham at the request of a local business. The key issues were to setup a Dojo that reflected
the cultural diversity in the area but with the flexibility towards potential
students in an area of high levels of poverty and I was asked if I would
consider taking on the task. In 2013, we
formerly setup a constitution and operated as a Not-For-Profit
organisation. Instructors have never
been paid at this Dojo … and never will be.
This is our Service to the Communities that we live with, our way of
giving something back and helping others along their path.
The club funds are used to pay for required training needs (First Aid courses,
Instructor courses etc), DBS registrations, equipment for the Dojo and our
day-to-day running costs.
We have an aim: to save funds to allow
us to send people that grade to Shodan or higher within the club on a trip of a
lifetime to train in Japan.
Wolf
Photography funded the setup of Meiyo Karate Club and set up 2 awards that are
awarded annually and 1 that is awarded on a monthly basis, to students for
their efforts in their training.
We are
currently affiliated to the Japan
Karate Do Ryobu-Kai (JKR) via the JKR-UK.
Management Committee
I’d like to begin by
thanking the members of the Management Committee, old and new, for their work
in keeping the Dojo operational behind the scenes in their various tasks. We keep the committee small and functional
which allows us to deal with any necessary tasks.
Policies
Meiyo Karate Club operates open and clear policies that apply to all members of
the Dojo at any level. This year we’ve
produced our Equalities Policy, Grievance Procedure and Child and Vulnerable
Person Policy. The Management Committee
will be officially ratifying the policies at our AGM in early 2018. I’d like to thank the Management Committee
for their input into the documents.
Karateka
I’d like to congratulate all of our Karateka for their hard work in the Dojo
throughout the year and for working hard for their gradings, as well as
attending external courses. I have no
doubt in saying that good Dojos turn out a good level of citizen in terms of
people that are motivated and hard-working.
Ours are no different and it’s a joy to watch these people develop as
they grow older.
We’d like to
thank Sensei Oliver for grading our Students; they enjoy going over and
training with him. As you progress through
the grades, you will be expected to train with Sensei Oliver on a regular
basis, particularly for his Kumite training.
Meiyo Karate Clubs Annual Awards
Congratulations to Marja for winning the Wolf
Photography Karateka of the Year Shield; to Benjamin for winning the Tiger of
the Year Trophy; and to Jake for winning the Student of the Month Trophy.
Venue
Last year we moved venue to Tesco Bulwell Extra, thanks to Chris Tilley (Store
Community Champion) and we’ve been steadily growing our membership again, as
some of our Karateka couldn’t get to Bulwell.
The new venue allowed us to reduce our training fees across the
board. Young people under 8 can now
train for £5 a week, Under 16s for £10 a week and adults for £10 a week. The usual cost was £5 a person per session of
any age at the last venue; now, people that train 3 times a week get at least one
lesson free.
We wanted a
considerable discount for 5-7 year olds and we still offer the family
discount: if 3 members of the same
household train together, the youngest trains free.
Minimum Training Commitment
There is a minimum training requirement for acceptance into this Dojo: you must be able to commit to training a
minimum of 2 sessions per week or your application won’t be accepted. As you progress through to senior grades,
you’ll be expected to train more because of the skills that you’ll need to
develop to attain Shodan (the first Black Belt grade). There is also a requirement to attend the 3
grading days plus the annual visit of Kaicho Yamazaki as compulsory training
days if you are aged 8 or over.
This only applies to our club members.
Visitors from other clubs/areas can train as and when they like for a
flat fee of £5 per session but must be licensed and insured through their own
organisation.
Monthly Social Meet-Ups
We have the use of the Community Room in the store, so every 4 weeks we hold a
social event that brings Meiyo Karate Club together all of the groups and projects managed by
Wolf Photography. This gives our
Karateka access to arts events and allows them to form stronger bonds with each
other as well as taking part in various cultural events. I feel that involving them in arts and crafts
promotes a sense of balance within and can have unseen benefits.
Sponsorship for Art
Meiyo Karate Club donated £300 towards the setup of the Disabled Artists’
Network space in the store. As a result,
the club is featured on exhibition posters alongside other sponsors which has
been helping with recruitment.
Recruitment
We recruit through the usual channels as well as our in-store presence which is
working very well. We continue to share
news and events about the club through Social Media channels, our main outlet
being Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/meiyokc/.
We’ve been
getting some great reviews from visiting instructors, visitors attending our
events to facilitate various functions and our Karateka. Thank you for all the positive reviews.
Our target
for this year is to get back up to 20 members, so please distribute the club
flyers, share posts from Facebook and invite people along for a week of free
training.
Kaicho Yamazaki
One of the benefits of training with us is that we have the opportunity to
attend training from some of the legends in the Karate world. Once a year, Kaicho visits us and puts us
through our paces. Don’t forget to pay
close attention to his words as well though as he has a lovely way of
expressing himself and empowering those with open ears with his wisdom
regarding Karate and Life.
I guarantee
that, whatever your style of martial art or your experience, you’ll take away
something useful from training with Kaicho.
We look
forward to seeing him at the next course in Autumn 2018.
Sensei Terry O’Neill
Another one of those legends is Sensei O’Neill.
He regularly instructs at the JKR-UK Hombu in Nottingham. If you appreciate insightful teaching
peppered with humour and anecdotes of the past, you’ll enjoy attending these
courses.
Japan Karate Do Ryobu-Kai (JKR)
Instructor Course
I was grateful for the opportunity to attend an Instructor’s Course in the USA
in November 2017. It was good to meet
the faces that I’d only seen through videos on Social Media etc, including
Sensei Mina Yamazaki (who will be teaching in Nottingham at the JKR-UK Hombu in
January by the way).
Sensei
Mina’s Kata performance is second to none in my eyes. I was very grateful for her taking the time
to breakdown some of the JKR specific katas for me that I’ve been passing on to
our dojo members since returning.
Sensei Howard High, who developed the Kumibo Drills, has been helping me to
improve the way that I perform those drills, following their introduction into the new grading syllabus which we are gradually rolling out.
Our Presence at Tesco Bulwell Extra,
Nottingham
Chris Tilley gave us the go ahead to have our Dojo Banners and art work
permanently on display at the store. We
commissioned artist Julie Genner to produce a lovely 3D version of our Dojo
Crest.
In addition,
we have the Meiyo Tigers’ and the JKR Grading syllabus on the wall together
with the short, humble history of our Dojo, including honouring two Senseis
from our KUGB days that have passed away, Sensei Enoeda and Sensei Stark. One should never forget one’s roots.
All that’s
left is for me to wish you happy time at the end of this year … a Happy
Christmas if you celebrate the festivities or a happy and peaceful time if you
follow a different path … and a Happy New Year.
I look
forward to working and training with you in 2018.
Respectfully,
Villayat
‘Wolf’ Sunkmanitu
Chairman
Meiyo Karate Club.
