Welcome to the Nottingham University Karate club! Whether you are an experienced international fighter, or have never set foot in a martial arts club in your life, your University karate club has something to offer. Our style is Shotokan, but our membership represents a broad range of styles and all are welcome. For those just beginning their Karate training, we hold several grading throughout the year, offering members the chance to progress right from white belt through to black belt.
We are primarily taught by Sensei Ian Staples, meaning that beginners can start fresh knowing that they are in good hands while senior grades will find that there are still opportunities to push themselves and discover new techniques. In order to cover a broad range of techniques we hold several classes a week each focusing on a different area.
Tuesdays cover the more traditional ‘core’ of Karate with emphasis on basic drills, and the training technique we call ‘Kata’, a pattern of blocks and strikes in response to a set of preset moves by an invisible opponent(s). For higher grades we regularly limit the second hour of training on Tuesdays to brown belt and above in order to focus on more advanced techniques.
Thursdays focuses on fitness and self defence ranging from traditional defence techniques against grabs and chokes to defence against knives and bottles. For those who wish to push themselves we begin Thursday sessions with a challenging 30 minute circuits workout, and we frequently do large amounts of training with focus pads and bags.
Fridays are a little different, unlike the other sessions it is student lead and offers an opportunity for people to work on areas which they want to improve. Although there is no formal instructor during Friday sessions, you will find that the senior grades within the club are always open to helping members develop their techniques and skills.
Sundays are devoted to training for those competitions we take part in throughout the year, the most important of which is the British University Karate Championships in March every year. We have always taken pride in sending a strong team to represent our University, and the chance to be a part of that team is open to all members, from beginners through to senior grades. Every year we aim to do better, but those who don’t want to fight competitively are more than welcome to come and train on Sundays nonetheless.
Whilst we take what we do very seriously we are just as serious about having a great time. The social side of the club is important and in addition to drinks after each Tuesday session, the occasional pizza after training, and a Christmas meal, you can guarantee that the clubs excellent social secretaries will put on a range of brilliant social events throughout the year.
If you have any questions please feel free to get in touch with any of the committee members, and we hope to see you training with us soon!
Email: sukarateclub@nottingham.ac.uk
and like our facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/NottinghamUniversityKarateClub