At the Budokan we cater for all levels of Karate-ka, from first time beginners to Black belts and everybody in between. All classes are personally taught by our Chief Instructor Sensei Codrington (7th Dan) and sessions are geared to the individual needs and level of each student.
Adult Karate classes run for 1 hour and are held at the following times:
Day |
Advanced |
Beginners + All Grades |
| Monday* |
6pm - 7pm |
7pm - 8pm |
| Tuesday |
|
12pm - 1pm |
| Wednesday |
6pm - 7pm |
7pm - 8pm |
| Thursday |
|
12pm - 1pm |
| Friday |
6pm - 7pm |
7pm - 8pm |
| Saturday |
|
1pm - 2pm |
*closed Bank Holiday Mondays unless Special Course / Grading arranged
For a brief history of Karate and Wado-Ryu karate please see below.
KarateDo
Karate is one of the most widely practiced of the oriental mania! arts and translates as 'empty-hand'. It is a weaponless system of self defense utilising the body to strike, kick, punch, block, deflect, evade and sweep. Karate also includes some throws and restraining techniques and, at an advanced level, defenses against a knife, slick and sword are practiced.
The teachings of karate reach much further than merely technical knowledge of self defense, for the lessons learnt in karate can be applied to all aspects of one's life and path of self development.
An empty hand system of self defense is said to have evolved in the 15th century on the Japanese island of Okinawa, The Okinawans further developed their art using imported fighting techniques from China and it is believed many of these techniques may have originated in India and were taken to China as early as the 5th and 6th centuries BC. it was not until the 20th century that the Okinawan self defense system became known as karate and Gichen Funakoshi was credited with introducing it to mainland Japan, Karate still exhibits its strong links to the Chinese martial arts. Karate-do, kung fu and taekwondo and their various off shoots, can all he seen to have similar roots, Many karate styles have transplanted techniques from other Japanese- martial arts into their training programmes although styles based in Okinawa still closely follow the original forms and techniques introduced from the Chinese.
Wado-ryu is one of the four main Japanese styles of karate taught around the world, the others being Shotokan, Shitoryu and Gojuryu. The principles of Wado-ryu were developed by Hironori Ohtsuka who began his training in karate with Gichin Funakoshi goon after Funakoshi introduced it into mainland Japan. Ohtsuka had also studied many other budo arts, including jujitsu, iaido and kendo, and their influences are very apparent in the characteristics of his style.
One of the main aims of the budo-arts is, to influence and better the practitioner's attitude both within and outside of training. Wado-ryu embraces this philosophy to the full and to outwardly show aggression, even during training sessions, is greatly discouraged. The name Wado-ryu translates as 'the peaceful way'. The fundamental characteristics of Wado-ryu are that large unnecessary movements arc kept to a minimum and importance is placed on speed and relaxation, rather than the physical effort outwardly shown. Exponents of Wado-ryu place great emphasis on the co-ordination of the body to increase the effectiveness of each technique. Body rotation, twisting, leaning and ducking are all movements that are applied to techniques, whether they be to avoid, attack or counter, and they cannot be employed properly if the body is too tense.
