Do you find that you have a favorite time of the day for doing Karate? Some people are night owls and love nothing more than popping on the gi after a long hard day at work. Whatever shape work happens to be, there is no doubt about it that after a particularly tough and stressful day, you cannot beat that great feeling of having gone to the dojo, been pushed as hard as you could, and then a bit harder again, until you step off the dojo floor with your gi wringing wet, knowin

Can you ever remember a time in your Karate journey when you thought to yourself: "God, this is hard. I am not sure that I can ever do this?" No? Well, lucky you. To be honest, I have thought that more times than I can care to remember. And what is always really interesting for me is this; whenever I watch or indeed teach people who have never done Karate before, they struggle a lot. Simple things like punching with the correct arm (remember, it is a 50/50 choice: is it left

As a result of changes at Bartley Green, we've just been advised that Tuesday nights are no longer available with immediate effect. There is no training tonight, 16th of January 2018! The class will now take place on Wednesdays, 6.30-8pm instead. Apologies for any inconvenience caused.

It has been quite a week already in the very short life of the Enso Shotokan Karate Club, since opening its doors for the first time on Sunday, 7th. We enjoyed some full-on training on Tuesday and I have been really pleased at the number of messages that I have received from Karateka across the UK and indeed beyond these shores, who have been kind enough to send messages of goodwill and support. What has also struck me has been the number of like-minded souls who have advocat

So yesterday, Enso Shotokan Karate Club opened its doors for the first time, on the 7th of January 2018. Exactly one year to the day that Bartley Green dojo hosted a special course with Shihan Cyril Cummins, 8th Dan and Sensei Ronnie Christopher, 6th Dan, a former world Karate champion. It was a good day, it was a moving day, and for me personally it was an important day. This particular dojo at Adams Hill School Bartley Green Leisure Centre is a place of special significance

One of the great mysteries, and indeed often discussed post training with those who have been training a few years, is around the complex debate of how the Karateka generates power when making certain techniques, and arguably the most quoted is the gyaku tsuki (basic reverse punch). Over the years of training, I have been exposed to different schools of thought from many learned and respected instructors and looking back, I believe that my perspective has changed at different

Obviously, they do. How do I know that? Because in my career, I have at different times interviewed many people for jobs. We may not choose to believe it, but we are always, even if we do not realise it, making judgements on what we see or hear. Nothing wrong with that - it is the human condition. So back in the day, when I was Mr. Manager looking to recruit people for various jobs, the first thing that you notice is if the person applying actually made any effort. Did they a

When I was a teenager, there used to be a program on the telly which back in the day was very popular. It was called "Record Breakers" and there was a very nice man called Roy Castle. He was the host and to be fair to him, he actually went on to break 9 world records, all of which were confirmed by the genius that was Mr Norris McWhirter from the Guinness Book of World Records. At the end of each show, Roy would sing the theme tune. It was called "Dedication" and the chorus,

Well, along with the rest of the world, I welcomed in the new year at midnight where I upheld a long tradition in our family where I stepped outside at one minute to midnight, and on the witching hour as the fireworks announced the start of a new year, I knocked on the door holding a piece of coal and a slice of bread where the door was opened and I was given three shiny pound coins. This tradition is old and is known as the first footing. The custom required a dark-haired pe