Sensie Greg Reid and the karate class at King's
A new sporting discipline has joined the wide range of activities already on offer at the King's Sports Centre.
The Cayman Associated Schools of Karate (CASK), under the direction of Sensei Greg Reid, are now teaching Wado Karate at the centre. Greg is an eighth dan and technical director for Wado Canada.
Karate means "open hand" or without a weapon, Wado translates to the school, or way of, peace.
Wado Karate is a defensive art and one of the four major styles of karate practiced in the world.
According to Sensei Greg, "Wado karate is suitable for men, women and children of all ages. The training recognises each person's limitations and helping them to achieve individual goals."He added that, "Karate is 90 percent mental and 10 percent physical. Amid the noise and rapid changes of modern society one can find in Karate-do a peace of mind that will never be shaken."
CASK runs beginner, intermediate and black belt programmes throughout the year. Sensei Greg uses a traditional approach to the training with emphasis placed on mental and physical discipline in a safe and enjoyable learning environment.
Each class begins with callisthenics, starting with an aerobic workout then a full stretch routine and strength exercises.
Geri means kicking. Beginners learn three basic kicks then, as they progress, move on to practice a wide variety of geri skills.
Kihon means basics. These train students to deliver a multitude of techniques while developing strong stance and precise movements.
Kata is a series of defence and attack exercises performed against imaginary opponents. Kata develops techniques, speed, strength, timing, rhythm, breathing, concentration and focus.
Adult students will be introduced to Kumite or sparring. This is practiced at intermediate level and above and is a controlled exercise, with participants striving to score points but avoiding full contact and possible injury. Kumite is preparation for competition at national or international level.
The beginner's programme is an introductory course designed to break down the misconceptions about karate and prepare students for the intermediate class. The class teaches proper stretching, basic callisthenics, the three basic kicks, how to block, how to punch and strike and how to stand. At this stage only limited self-defence skills are taught and the emphasis is on getting away from an attacker.
The intermediate programme introduces students to the belt ranking system, this starts at white and progresses through the colours to black. At black belt the rankings progress from 1st Dan upwards.
The black belt programme is exclusively for senior brown belt and black belt holders. It teaches very advanced techniques.
During King's Sport Centre's recent Art of Fun summer camps Sensei Greg offered his services to introduce the children to the basics of Wado Karate. The classes started with the history of karate and some simple exercises to instil discipline. They then taught how to count to ten in Japanese and introduced basic words like do jo, meaning training hall.
At the end of the week Sensei Greg applauded the youngsters' efforts saying, "They have learned a great deal in a short while."
CASK can be contacted on 928 3366 or anyone interested can get details of the classes from the King's Sports Centre reception.
Caps
Sensei Greg Reid and the karate class at King's.
