Newspaper article
Wells Karate Group Grading March 2013
On Saturday 23rd March Wells Traditional Shotokan Karate Group held its first coloured belt grading of 2013. The grading was overseen by husband and wife team, Paul and Chris Mitchell. Paul Mitchell (5th dan) has headed the Wells based class since 1990.
Despite the usual nervous tension there were thirty successful entrants from seven years old upwards. Shotokan Karate is a fantastic family activity, and the student base at the Blue School reflects this. Although the minimum age for children to start training is seven, there is no upper limit. Martial Arts as well as being an interesting lifestyle choice are also a great way to get and stay in shape, regardless of age or physical ability.
Wells Traditional Shotokan Karate was started in the early 1970s, making it one of the oldest Martial Art groups in the Westcountry.
New year 2013 Message from Sensei Paul Mitchell
Here we are again – Another year gone by. I am definitely getting older and the years are most certainly passing by much faster. As I often state in my classes I am not a Christian, but I do choose the Christian New Year as a threshold for renewal of my commitment to the concept of “training” as a way of life.
For me, this idea of a lifestyle centred around my training is pivotal to my existence. The notion that we as individuals come into this physical realm and by our efforts either rise or fall from the level of our birth has always been an uplifting concept for me. In this way all people are truly born equal.
There is a saying in Karate that “training is like pushing a cart uphill”. Life as training is certainly like this, if we don’t constantly push (ie. We stop or give up) we slip backwards. As I have gotten older I have realised that there are most definitely times that we must find a plateau on our personal hill to stand and appreciate the view and what we have gained from our efforts. Our Katas teach us this – They are mostly hard and fast but every now and then they slow down, they chill right out, to remind us that life is not to be rushed and that poise must play a large part in our development.
I started out to write this New Years message in order to encourage my students (and also anyone else that may read it) to continue and also increase their efforts in their training, as most certainly the more you put into your training the more you get out of it. Some people are like “tourists” and in the beginning this is fine, but at some stage one must dig in deep in order to reap the benefits in terms of body, mind and spirit that a life of training has to offer.
As I started to write I realised that all I can really say in terms of encouragement is to explain what training means to me. No two people are living the same life – As a teacher of Martial Arts my responsibility is simply to assist my students to reach their full potential as human beings and to help them develop the strength and tenacity to find their own concept of reality.
I should imagine that like me, most people that read this are feeling that we are living through pretty negative times. Modern living has bought us to this point. Please don’t get me wrong, I do not hanker for a time when things such as sexism, racism and homophobia were the norm and as a culture we have most definitely progressed, but as I stated in my last New Year’s message I do feel that our love of materialism has had a seriously detrimental effect on our young, who in turn will become the inheritors of society. Again my message is that through constant training we can have the best of both worlds.
In reality there has never been a better time to be alive. Our technological age and achievements have given us a much greater understanding of the nature of reality, but knowledge without ability is Yin without Yang. Only half the story. In my teaching I often refer to energy. In fact, I often state that everything is constructed of energy. This lies at the heart of our training. To change even our smallest element in a positive manner, to me is the entire point.
Obviously what I am talking about is a relatively high level of practice that has the possibility of lifting the trainee beyond the merely physical levels of fitness and self defence. Karate and indeed all training is only special if the teacher and the trainees treat it so, otherwise it is just like everything else.
So my message for 2013 is that I promise to teach to the very best of my ability and I expect my students to train in the same way. Oh, and of course we will try to enjoy ourselves along the way!
Happy New Year,
Paul
_______________________________________________________________________
Congratulations to Wells members that sucessfully passed their grading on 15th December 2012. Picture below.
__________________________________________________________
Congratulations to Sensei Paul Mitchell on obtaining his 5th Dan.
Picture below shows Sensei Mitchell being awarded his certificate by Sensei Peter Manning 6th Dan, head of the TSKA organisation and chair of the NAKMAS technical comittee on 28th March 2012
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Congratulations to our three members who sucessfully took their Shodan grading on 17th December 2011 under Sensei John Euden 5th Dan.
A good grading - Well done all!
New Dan grades
Harry Dukes – Cadet Shodan
Geoff Holloway – Shodan
Dave Baker – Shodan
New black belts with Sensei John Euden 5th Dan and Sensei Paul Mitchell 4th Dan
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
New Year message from Sensei Paul to all our members
So here we are at the start of another year – 2012. I would like to say that this new year is full of promise but I think you’ll probably agree that socially and economically our society is in a pretty bad shape. My feelings on this matter are mixed to say the least, firstly it saddens me that the most vulnerable in our world suffer the most but the positive side of this situation is that it can cause many people to re evaluate the things which are important to them. Do we really want to go much further down the road of materialism? The question to me is, does this desensitise and cause our young people to become selfish and lazy and does this in return make for decent caring, responsible adults? You may at this point be wondering what does this all have to do with Karate training. I have to say absolutely everything. To me Karate Do is the antithesis of modern living. This is why I feel that to truly train, one must feel for the past and live in the present whilst looking to the future. It is all too easy whilst training to get caught up in the movement of Karate and to think that it is purely a physical exercise but these movements are just your tools, they must be sharp and they must work. But all said and done karate training is about perfecting your inner nature by using your outer form.
In 2012 our pledge to you is:
- To do our best to keep all of our classes running.
- To continue to charge by the session rather than charging monthly by Direct Debit as is practised by most Martial Art schools.
- To ensure that the high standard of tuition and personal guidance will continue throughout the year.
- To offer Nationally recognised Kyu and Dan gradings.
- To ensure that you have access to extracurricular training sessions both at Local and National venues.
All we expect in return from our students:
- Train hard
- Train regularly, please remember that all students are required to train at least twice a week between gradings.
- Practice!
- Keep your Licence up to date – out of date = no Insurance.
Remember superficial training has limited purpose. In Karate, as in life – one should strive for high ideals.
Happy New Year and good training
Oss
Sensei Paul
Gichin Funakoshi (the father of modern Karate) once said:
‘ The ultimate aim of Karate lies not in victory or defeat but in the perfection of character of its participants’
