HARPENDEN KARATE CLUB
Miranda’s karate blog
HARPENDEN JKA
The Karate Blog
Articles and stories expanding and exploring our favourite subject – the wonderful world of karate.
Disability won’t get in the way of Adam’s karate black belt
Karate and disability - a powerful combination Adam Sharp is a 1st kyu in shotokan karate. For the uninitiated, that's one belt before shodan, his black belt. Pretty impressive for any 17 year old, but particularly for Adam as he is physically disabled. However, he...
Karate Training Outside – One Step Closer To The Dojo!
We set up our karate dojo outside throughout the summer and it felt so good! Following the government's phased return of outdoor sport and recreation in England, we set up karate training outside. Zoom karate is still very much part of our schedule but getting...
Sensei Miranda on Karate@Home
On Tuesday 21 July 2020, Sensei Miranda taught on Karate@Home as a Facebook live event. We were treated to a full-on hour of inspirational kumite insights and drills. It was a great honour for Sensei to be asked to teach and she joins some of the greats of...
Zoom karate
"Oh hello... I can't see you - just pop your video on. Now I can't hear you ... THERE you are - hello, how you doing...?! "You've gone again, oh, there you are... no, that's Mimi the dog... "OK everyone, put yourselves on mute and let's get going! Welcome to virtual...
New karate student: Emily’s first competition
Emily entered the JKA Open Championships just 3 months after joining Harpenden JKA. As you can see, her day went rather well! Read on to find out exactly how well she did, together with the rest of the club... Your first karate competition! I know! I had only joined...
New karate student: Emily’s first grading
We catch up with Emily following her first grading, together with 13 of her fellow students at Harpenden JKA. You've just completed your first karate grading - exciting? Well ... yes, but the thought of standing up in front of the examining Senseis, and a largish...
New karate student: Emily’s first few months training
Birmingham-born Emily is a PhD student, currently based at Rothamsted Research. She joined Harpenden JKA in September as a new karate student and this is how she's getting on.You've just started training as a new karate student - how's that going for you? I'm enjoying...
Karate Kicks with Sensei Dave Paulus
Sensei Dave Paulus is a great friend of Harpenden JKA. A 5th dan, with his own club (Yushikai Karate Academy) in Billericay, he's a skilled and experienced instructor. He's also awesome at karate kicks. Which is why I asked him to run a special 2 hour course dedicated...
Karate, kids and exercise
Exercise improves health - we all know that. Trouble is, that's a really boring thought for adults let alone youngsters, especially if you really don't like exercise. Kids and exercise is the hot health topic. If we don't get them into the habit of moving around more,...
Karate and mental health benefits – it’s a no-brainer
Did you know there are strong, positive links between karate and mental health? Apart from the obvious self-defence and physical health benefits, karate training is extremely good for both your brain and your mind. As a fitness enthusiast (understatement of the...