The event went well with a good showing of the syllabus. The skills displayed by the selection of Karate-kids served their instructors well. The April-June 2010 syllabus for the Karate Kids martial arts classes, at the macclesfield academy, focused on flowing hand combinations integrated with kicks and foot-work. When we embarked on this route, Master Palmer for one, was in two minds about how well this would work out.
Fluidity in the more creative sections of the class was the goal, after some nail biting, it was clear we'd got it right......
On paper, these combinations, five and six moves at a time, seemed simple and straight forwards, in practice, there was a steep learning curve for the ninjas, but as ever, challenge them and give them a chance to grow was our goal. And we were well rewarded. This kind of syllabus makes it hard for the lower grades to shine well in line work, but, encourages fluidity in the more creative sections of the classes.
Decisions decisions..
One or two conversations occurred between instructors in April, but the decision was made to stay the course and take the pain. The result? An improved culture of flowing hand and foot combinations in sparring sessions, less "hunt and peck" or "strike and run" and an improved showcase of the kickboxing defensive guarding and evasion from close and medium range. This added to the clear demonstrations of progressively better skills within this syllabus, meant to Nev's mind at least, we'd got the balance about right, and that we now had a more solid base to build on towards the summer and fall training cycles.
Top ninja skills to the following Macclesfield Karate-Kids
Particular mention needs making of Fin Lonyon's excellent sparring, Christian Beeston's all round performance, Alex's first belt testing since graduating from the Karate-kids little ninjas course, and new-commer Georgie's never give up spirit with an unfamiliar syllabus. Ewan Skidmore's superb kicking skills make us wish we'd had the HD camera recording his line work.
The photos can be downloaded from the slideshow, alternatively, you can request the 10 mega pixel raw file to any or all of the images from Nev at the academy, or email the request direct to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it (probably simpler).
