The KUGB Spring Karate Course
The KUGB Spring Karate Course took place in Torbay, Devon, at the Torbay Leisure Centre in Paignton, bringing together karateka from across the country for a week of intensive training, learning, and shared experience. Set just a short walk from the beach, the course offers a balance of focused karate development and time to enjoy the surrounding coastal area.
As one of the key events in the KUGB calendar, the course continues to provide students of all grades with the opportunity to train in a disciplined environment under some of the organisation’s most senior instructors.
Leading the course were Sensei Billy Higgins (8th Dan), Sensei Jim Brennan (8th Dan), Sensei Frank Brennan (8th Dan), and Sensei Garry Harford (8th Dan) – all former international champions whose experience and knowledge continue to shape KUGB karate at the highest level.
Since 2022, the senior instructor team has been joined by a Guest Instructor, adding further depth to the course. This year, the role was taken by Sensei Jane Naylor-Jones (6th Dan), whose sessions were well received and reflected both her competitive experience in both Kata and Kumite, and her long-standing commitment to the development of Shotokan karate.
Throughout the week, training covered all aspects of KUGB karate, from kihon and kata to kumite, with an emphasis on technical accuracy and continuous improvement.
As well as classes each day, the course also included a social evening on Monday night, held at the Hyde Dendy, featuring a quiz led by quizmaster Sensei Billy Higgins. As always, this provided a relaxed opportunity for members to come together away from the dojo.
There were also a number of additional opportunities during the week, including an introduction to first aid delivered by Dr Tim Baker, a kata competition, and attendees were also able to work towards KUGB Instructor qualifications, supporting the continued development of teaching standards within the organisation.
After the final class on Friday, a Kyu Grading was held with Sensei Jim Brennan and Sensei Garry Harford followed by a Dan grading with our Senior Instructors.
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Well done to everyone who attended the First Aid Course with Dr Tim Baker. It was a very informative class based around CPR refresher and pressure points. Dr Tim and his son Tomas guided our members through basic CPR. We got to have a practice using CPR dummies. We then moved on the The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, all about acupressure points and how they can be used to relieve pain, and in other interesting ways.
Congratulations to Myles Ponsonby (Vale of Belvoir) who passed his Assessor qualification and Ian Cheale (Ely) who passed his Instructor qualification under Sensei Trevor Jarrett.
On Thursday afternoon we held the Kata Competition for all course participants. Well done to everyone who took part and congratulations to those who were successfully placed.
Here are the results :
Kyu grades
1 Toby Lucas levitt
2 Sedou Doumbouya
3 Quinlan Jones
4 Richard Pryor
Brown belts
1 Sophie hedges Quinn
2 Lily hedges Quinn
3 Erica Abbott
4 Richard Clarke
Black belts
1 Anna Purcell
2 Rosie Lau
3 Hazel Moore
4 Ruan Welsman
Thank you to everyone who contributed to another successful Spring Course. More photos can be found on the KUGB Facebook page under photos/albums.
