More than 100 players met at the Mountfitchet Romeera Leisure Centre for Shotokan Karate Ryu’s quarterly kyu grading, reports Bishop’s Stortford Independent.
There were also 16 karateka at the Stansted venue preparing for black belt formal test later in the year.
Kyu-grade candidates had to perform their grading syllabus of kihon (basic techniques), kumite (sparring drills) and kata (formal exercises) before SKR chief instructor sensei Michael Ring (sixth dan).
“The kyu grades did exceptionally well and if the dan grade candidates perform to the same standard for sensei Sharkey they should acquit themselves well,” said sensei Ring.
For the students attending the mock dan grade examination and aiming for black belts, the examination was to prepare them for the scrutiny of sensei Dave Sharkey (eighth dan).
⛩️ They say that practice makes perfect. 🤔
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I disagree, only perfect practice makes perfect. 😮
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Perfection is an ideal of course, but you should always give 100% into your training. 🔥👊🔥
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If you train sloppy, you encode sloppy techniques. 🥋⛩️⠀#shotokan #karate pic.twitter.com/8r2AtiU0fM— MKA Karate (@KarateMKA) March 25, 2020
“Sensei Sharkey often comments on SKR karate being amongst the highest standards in the country and our goal is to ensure that we do not let him down.”
As students progress through the grades, the syllabus becomes progressively harder and the number of kata they have to perform increases so that brown belts will have to know and demonstrate up to eight kata.
The mock commenced with kihon renshu given rapidly in Japanese by Sensei Ring, followed by kata, with 11 to remember.
