Congratulations are in order for Swords local Szymon Kupiec on the award of his JKS Shodan Diploma recently. He was presented with his Diploma by the head of JKS Ireland Dermot O Keeffe Sensei 6th Dan in front of JKS Ireland Brown & Black Belts at this month’s National training session. Szymon took his Black Belt examination in December 2021 after 10 years of training. He had to complete a series of Kihon (Basics), followed by several Kumite (Fighting) matches with other examinees. He finished the examination by performing his Katas (Forms) Bassai Dai, Junro Nidan and Heian Godan. Szymon is continuing his training and working towards his 2nd Dan Black Belt.

We hosted JKS Ireland National Brown & Black Belt training this month. We covered our grading syllabi for 1st and 2nd Dan Black Belt and then studied the Kata Unsu. This is an ancient kata with a lot of complex and demanding moves. The name Unsu translates from Japanese to English as Cloud Hands and explains some of the stranger hand movements of this Kata.We welcomed Makita Sensei 6th Dan JKS Honbu Dojo Instructor from Japan and Jesper Marksvarden Sensei 7th Dan JKS from Denmark for our Spring/Summer Seminar in mid-May. This is the first time since the pandemic began that we have had visiting Instructors and it promises to be a very exciting Seminar over two days. Full report in the next Club News. Class reports: Tigers and Juniors are on course for the summer grading examinations. Everyone is working hard learning their Kata and practicing their Kihon. Seniors continue to work on the technical aspects of Karate with a focus on exploring how it translates into real world self-defence.We take new members (Children, Young People & Adults) all through the year. Contact Dermot on 087-98073885 for details on how to join. Contact us on Facebook: JKS Swords Karate Club or on Instagram: @jks_swords_karate_club