Shoto Budo Organisation

Junior National Course 2005

Course Title: Junior National Course
Course Date(s): 01/10/05– 02/10/05
Venue: Inverclyde National Training Centre

Course Reporter: Lyle McDermid, Junior Blackbelt from Greenock Shoto Budo

Q: What did your group practice this weekend?
A: There was a revision of kata, breakfalls, throwing and kicking techniques. We also learned some new moves.

Q: What were the best bits about the course?
A: Parrying and mat-work practice. It was good to meet people I had not seen since last year.

Q: Anything else you'd like to say about this year's junior national?
A: I would like to thank the instructors for their patience! I really enjoyed meeting more people with the same interest.

Diary Extract:
Lynsay Salmon, Green Belt one blue stripe, Balornock Shoto Budo, 14 years old.

On saturday we started of with playing games to help us look at everyone, to see where they where comeing from. Then we moved onto the mats and did back to back from standing up. After doing that we learned a head lock and practiced some take downs. When we came back from lunch we were doing Kanku dai for the rest of the practise.

On the sunday after the grading we were to do a demo. Our group did a demo of kanku dai - we were very good! I liked doing kanku dai for the demo, i was asked to do it my self and it was very nerve racking! I am glad i did it on my own, it has help my confidence.

Course Reporter: Shaun McMillan, Brown Belt one Black Stripe from Balornock Shoto Budo

At this course the group of one green stripes to blue belts mainly practised Heian Godan - which I loved as kata is my favourite part of my practise along with sparring and mat work, which we also practised!

The main practise was around Heian Godan we got this kata looking as good as we could and we worked on every little step when he had done that we moved on to some application of the kata. We didn’t go through the whole application of the kata but we broke it down and took out some parts of the application and once we had done this and got used to these moves we then introduced these techniques in sparring which was really interesting as I had never really thought to use a application of kata whilst sparring.

Along with doing the eighth kata when we were on the mats we practised some takedowns which I thought was really interesting too because when your own instructor shows you a takedown you get used to how they have done it but when another instructor does the exact same takedown it looks the same but when you look closely it can look very different because they may have a different stance they might have added in little extra bits as distractions but these are barely noticeable unless you pay very close attention.

The part of the practise I enjoyed most was on the Saturday evening when Graeme Muirhead, a fantastic instructor from my point of view, introduced us to chi which at first was quite unbelievable but then as he described what it was and how it happens I got more and more interested, as we started to practise some chi it was very relaxing and very calm and peaceful so then Graeme decided it would be a good idea to use this skill whilst practising the eighth kata I’m not sure if this is mind over matter or what but it worked and I felt more in control as I practised and I was very relaxed all the time although we had demonstrated Heian Godan to Graeme about 18 times one after another I didn’t feel a bit tired or a little pain but I still put everything I had into the kata, sparring was then introduced again using this motive which I thought worked really well.

I would like to give a great big thank on behalf of everyone in the group to Graeme Muirhead, Pauline Sharp and Jim Cloughly for there help over the weekend. I would also like to thank the instructors who attended this course as it was them who had made it possible and another great big thanks to all junior grades that attended if it wasn’t for them I would have had no one to practise with. The person I would like to thank most of all though is Paul Hanlon my instructor as if it wasn’t for what Paul has taught me whilst my first two years of training in martial arts there is no way I would be where I am now.

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