Lukes Shodan Quest

Hi
I mentioned in a previous post that my son Luke who is 12 has been attending a Shotokan Karate Club ,he started attending in Oct 2004 and his classes have been three times a week but two years ago he opted to join a far more professional organisation called the K. U. G. B. (Karate Union of Great Britain ) whose team actually defeated the Japanese for the world title in 1995 and a member of that team is now Luke's sensei a gentleman named Sensei James Brennan.Since joining he has increased his training regime and now attends five times weekly and with the result of going more and the excellent tutorial skills provided his sensei has now suggested that Luke ,who is currently 1st Kyu grade ,attends a course in Kendal on the 1st June with the intent of him taking his black grading or Shodan .His participation in this sport in no why interferes with his schooling and i ensure that this priority is strictly adhered to and as he is more computer and not sports orientated i am more than happy to be his personnel chauffeur and with the growing problems in todays world, his education in self confidence ,control ,defense and respect for others is well worth pursuing and IF he manages to achieve his goal on the 1st of June it will be achievement at the age of 12 1/2 that he will be able to treasure all his life and of course Dawn and i (and the girls) will be so proud of him.

Good luck Luke - Rosie and I will have everything crossed for you :xfngr:

Good Luck Luke I hope that you succeed, am sure you will!!

Best of luck Luke! :xfngr:

Good luck

Hi
Luke attended his two clubs last night and when training finished Sensei Brennan called him over and told him he has his permission (he needs a written form) to take his grading in Kendal ( Lake District ) on 1 st June for his black belt.We will leave home about 7.30 am Sunday morning he then has a lesson from 10.30 to 12.00 then his grading will take place about 3.00 pm to 5.00 pm and home about 7.00 pm its going to be a long very nervous day for a 12yr old ,i naturally hope he passes but I'm not sure all i can do is try and give him confidence and support .Will post in due course.:xfngr:

Good Luck Luke!!!!

Very best of luck!

Hi
Well Luke graded to day not too good ,the grading consists of two disciplines the is first Kata which is a grouping of set movements this he passed ,the next is Kumite which is like free fighting this he failed the comment was to improve on your timing and distance,So the good news is he cannot retake for three months but the part he passed is carried through for 12 months so we are thinking of Barsnley on 9 Sept for his next attempt and as well poss enroll him on a 5 day Karate summer camp from the 3-8 Aug where they breath and eat karate for 5 days.Today was a long day we left Prenton at 7.40 am arrived in Kendal at 9.20 his lesson was 10.30 till 12.00 then wait for his grading which started at 2.30 pm and finished at 6.pm then caught up on traffic on the M6 coming home at 8.30 pm.hes disappointed but determined to carry on he just had his mind set on being a black belt at 12 (hes 13 on 29 Aug )

Hi

Just picking up this post again ,three months have now passed since Luke failed one part of his Black Belt Grading (he passed 2 out of 3 ) ,he has to wait that minimum time period before he is allowed to do a re-take. There is another grading examination this Saturday but this time in Barnsley (last in Kendal) so he approached Sensei Brennan on Sunday and enquired if he thinks hes now up to the required level of improvement to do a re-take or does he think he should leave it till November at Stafford or March at Deeside as he is needs his teachers written permission to attempt his grading again. So he was advised that during his training sessions this week he will carefully watch him and advise Luke of his decision ,we go to West Kirby tonight and Kirkdale in Liverpool tomorrow so we could find out at either ,he is so eager to pass it will be his big achievement in his 13 yrs and i don't mind providing the taxi service and come October it will be 4 years since he started so we shall see what happens but i know whatever advice his Sensei gives will be the right advice ,fingers crossed .With the lesson before the exam its a total of about seven hours for him so its a very long hard and stressful day for one so young.

Hi Brian, I hope Luke can do his grading on the 9th! I wish him all the best for his grading and am crossing my fingers for him to pass this time :xfngr::xfngr:

The wonderful thing about martial arts is the discipline and perseverance that comes with success. Luke has certainly worked very hard to get to this point. I know because my own two children were in a Korean style of karate (Hwa Rang Do) for years. He will certainly achieve his goals soon I am sure!

Family encouragement and support is also very important, and your family is obviously there for him every step of the way. Good luck to Luke in the upcoming test!

Best of luck for Luke!

Good luck Luke :xfngr: