Luton Higash Karate Kai

Ogwen Bank, Wales - 3rd-7th May 2004

Here we go again - it's the karate version of running the marathon. This year, the Luton Lunatics were five strong - John, Alex and Sam were the veterans who should have known better, and Ernesto and Enrico who were Ogwen virgins, hoping to be broken in gently.

The Luton Lunatics - Ernesto, Sam, John, Alex and Enrico

We all met for an excitable night in the pub where we said hello to old friends. Conversations invariably ended with 'see you on the battlefield'. And I thought that Wado Ryu meant 'Way of Peace' . . .

The Monday morning session started with some exercises on the picturesque riverbank followed by some 'light' sparring. Everyone seemed to have their targets picked out, as perversely, we do miss hitting some of our friends and like to benchmark our progress against theirs over the previous year.

The day sessions were devoted to basics and kata, especially the application of the katas where we found ourselves faced with up to three opponents. It's times like this when you need to perform the kata correctly to avoid getting bruised. But it is a very quick and effective way of learning!

Alex performing kushanku with three attackers

The morning sparring sessions varied from one-on-one fighting, to two-on-one as well as linked arm fighting and fighting on your knees.

It also didn't go unnoticed that a little Gracie ju-jitsu was creeping into the morning sessions from our friends in Sligo, who took great pleasure in trying to lock us up. The most effective defence against this was the 'Swindon Finger' where you put off a would be attacker by jabbing a finger where . . . where they don't want it basically. To my knowledge, this technique is not in any formal kata, but cannot be discounted due to its devastating effect. This all goes to show that the morning sparring has been developed to be as realistic and effective as possible with elements of other styles, including boxing, Thai boxing and judo clearly evident on the battlefield. Despite all this, control is paramount and injuries are few and minor.

Alex demonstrating how to take a kicking!

Sam is so impressed, she wants to try it

John enjoying the best seat in the house!

Other favourite attacks included 'piling on' where a prone fighter could expect a deluge of unsympathetic bodies piling on, reminiscent of schoolyard bundles, but with far more effective and skilled punches and kicks. The message is clear, get up quickly! The Malden club showed special creativity with a number of aerial attacks possibly taken (and heavily modified) from Pinan Godan.

John (right) trying to tie his shoelace

The evenings were packed with entertainment, including a quiz on Wednesday. When it came to answering the questions correctly, the Luton Lunatics started off weak, tailed off towards the middle and, well, the less said about the end the better.

We also went to the sauna in town to ease the pains in our muscles. This sort of exercise really does take it out of you!

Thursday saw the 7th-1st Kyu kata competition where, despite more cometition than last year, Luton once again walked away with a placing. Congratulations to Sam Wright on gaining her bronze medal with her performance of Chinto!

Thursday night was pool competition night. It was a good opportunity for the different grades to mix as we are all paired up randomly. True to form, the Luton Lunatics started off weak, tailed off towards the middle . . .

The weather was changeable during the course, from raining lightly to raining heavily. When the sun did slyly peek through the clouds, Sensei Spanton told us to ignore it as it was only an illusion.

Alex holding back the attacker while John punches. That's co-operation, kids!

John about to put a side kick in

Alex putting in a front kick

As ever the course was challenging and helped us to grow as karate-ka and as people. Spirits were high throughout and everyone left having learnt a few new katas as well as gaining a deeper knowledge of the applications of existing katas.

Ogwen course blackbelts

Ogwen course virgins - now they are all veterans!

A special mention must go to Colin Noone of Sligo for an exemplary performance in a solo grading where he earned his 2nd Dan.

Come Friday evening, everyone from the course met in the pub for the awards ceremony. Luton was proud to walk away with Sam's kata award and then an exhausted set of lunatics made their way back to Luton to enjoy a life of peace for another year!

Many thanks to Sensei Peter Spanton for another fantastic course!

Alex Buxton
Luton Higashi

Reporter's note - Although every effort was made to ensure this report is as accurate as possible, I was hit on the head a few times in Wales so if my memory of events doesn't tally up with anyone else's, please accept my profound apologies. And all the photos on this page have been unashamadly stolen from the report on our parent site www.higashi.org.uk. Please check it out to do them justice.