Welcome Back

Dear Parents and Karateka,

I hope you all had a great summer holiday and we are very exited about resuming our classes!

Autumn Term will start on Monday 11th September. All classes will resume at the same times as last term from this date. 

Term Dates:

Start Date – 11th September

Half Term – 23rd-30th October

Term Ends – 11th December

Please note that there are no classes at Orleans on Monday 30th October as the school has an inset day. 

New Prices:

It has been a very difficult decision to make as I want to continue to keep the prices to a minimum, but it has become necessary to increase some of our fees. It has been 6 years since the price of our term fees have changed and last year I mentioned that our costs have gone up to such a level that it will become necessary to increase our prices. 

30 minute sessions will remain at £90 per term.

45 minute sessions will now cost £100 per term.

1 hour sessions will now cost £110 per term.

If you train twice a week the second session will remain at a 50% discount. 

Grading fees will remain at £25

Licence renewal fees will now cost £25

I hope that you will still find our classes great value and we will be doubling our efforts to provide quality tuition and a professional service. 

Class Times:

Class times will remain the same as last year and unless I get in touch with you individually this week then please just assume that your child’s class time will be the same as last term. If you can no longer make the class time and wish to change sessions then please let me know and I will do my best to accommodate your request. 

Notice:

If you are receiving this email and you are not planning to attend classes this term, whether you have given notice or not, could you please let me know asap so that I can offer your space to someone on a waiting list.

I will be in touch again soon with news of upcoming gradings, tournaments and courses.

Looking forward to seeing you all at your dojo next week!

Yours sincerely,

Sensei Ben Pethick

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June Newsletter

Dear Parents and Karate,

I would like to thank all the children that took part in the Kew Fair Demonstration last Saturday. Despite the intense heat there was a fantastic energy from the group and we all enjoyed the water fight at the end 🙂

Please read below for information on upcoming tournaments, gradings, holiday clubs, holiday classes and demonstrations. The tournament only applies to children over 9 years old and the gradings are only for those who do not have gradings within their classes so please skip those bits if they do not apply to your child. 

Tora Karate Friendship Tournament:

We have arranged a tournament with our friends from Tora Karate Academy in Twickenham on Sunday 9th July starting at 9:00am in St. Mary’s University in Twickenham.

This will be a good chance to gain tournament experience with another club but in a more informal and celebratory atmosphere than a public tournament.

The full details are included in the attached registration form. Their youngest members are around 9 years old so this will only be open to 9 year olds and over of all grades (including adults).

Spaces to this tournament are limited as we want to match the entry numbers from their club. If you would like to enter then please note that you only have this week to either let me know by email or fill in and return your registration form. Deadline for entries will be Sunday 25th June and all forms must be completed, signed and returned by Sunday 2nd July.

Spaces will be allocated on a first come first served basis but we will give priority to those who attend the tournament preparation class or those who have attended previous tournament classes.

Gradings:

There are two Gradings scheduled for the weekend of 1st /2nd July. If your child has been selected and you intend to come to one of these gradings then please let me know in advance which one you are planning to come to.

Saturday 1st July – 3:30-4:30pm – Duke’s Meadow Community Hall (Alexandra Gardens, W4 2RX)

This Grading is for all grades.

Sunday 2nd July – The Old Powerstation, 121A Mortlake High Street, SW14 8SN

9:00-10:00am – White Belt-Green Belt (White, Red, Yellow, Orange, Blue and Green Belts)

10:00-11:00am – Green Stripe and Above

The belt colours refer to the belts that they have now rather than the ones they intend to achieve.

Tournament Preparation Class:

There will be a 90 minute tournament preparation class in The Old Powerstation in Mortlake on Sunday 2nd July from 11:00-12:30pm.

The first half will concentrate on Kata and the second half will concentrate on sparring .The cost of this class will be £10 and we would highly recommend it to anyone who plans to attend the Tora Karate tournament.

Holiday Clubs

Venue: Duke’s Meadow Community Hall (Alexandra Gardens, W4 2RX)

Date: Tuesday 25th July and Wednesday 26th July

Time: 10:00am-2:00pm

Cost: £30 for one day or £50 for both days

We will be running our usual 4 hour intensive training camp in the Duke’s Meadow Community Hall venue. All students above 6 years old are welcome. Please email me if you would like to book a space at these clubs.

Holiday Classes:

Sensei Tom will be running a 90 minute class in Kew throughout August every Wednesday afternoon for those who are around over the summer and wish to continue training.

Venue: St. Luke’s House, 270 Sandycombe Rd. Kew. TW9 3NP

Dates: 2nd, 9th, 16th, 23rd, 30th August and 6th September

Time: 4:30-6:00pm. 

Cost: £10 per class or £25 for 3 classes or £45 for all 6 classes

It is fine to just turn up on the day but it would help if you let us know in advance so that we have an idea of the numbers.

St. Margaret’s Fair:

We will be doing a demonstration at the St. Margaret’s Fair on Moor Mead (TW1) 4:10pm on Saturday 8th July.

All students regardless of age of experience are welcome and if you would like to come then please meet by the performance area (usually in the middle of the field) at 4:00pm.

Term Dates:

Last Classes of Summer Term: Wednesday 12th July

Autumn Term Start Date: Monday 11th September

The Thursday morning East Sheen class will run on Thursday 13th July to make up for the class missed on the election

Term dates at Ravenscourt Park and Kew Green Preparatory Schools have different term dates to those listed above.

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions. I usually only manage to do my emails on two or three days a week so I apologies if I do not get back to you straight away.

Yours sincerely,

Sensei Ben Pethick

020 8560 5267

07734 655 057

ben@crouchingtigerkarate.co.uk

www.crouchingtigerkarate.co.uk

Term Dates

Summer Term 2017

First Class: Thursday 20th April

Half-Term: 29th May – 3rd June

Last Class: Wednesday 12th July

 

Autumn Term 2017

First Class: Monday 11th September

Half-Term: 23rd-28th October

Last Class: 9th December

March Newsletter

Dear Parents and Karateka,

There are some changes to the term dates for next term as well as the timings for the gradings and tournament classes this weekend so please read carefully and make a note of any changes that apply to you. 

Gradings:

The Grading this weekend will be split into two time slots and I have scheduled another grading at the end of this term. All of these Gradings will take place in Kew (St. Luke’s House, 270 Sandycombe Road, TW9 3NP).

Saturday 11th March:

9:00-10:00am – White Belt-Green Belt inclusive

10:00-11:00am – Green Stripe and Above

Wednesday 29th March:

5:00-6:00pm – All Grades

These Gradings are on a selection basis so you must be ‘invited’ to come and attempt it rather than just turn up. Please email me to book a space in whichever Grading you plan to come to. If you are not sure whether your child has been selected for a grading then please reply to this email and I will keep you updated. 

Tournament Preparation Class:

There will be a tournament preparation class in Kew (St. Luke’s House, 270 Sandycombe Road, TW9 3NP) this Saturday from 11:00am-12:30pm. Equal emphasis will be placed on Kata and Kumite (sparring) and the focus will be on preparing for the Inter-Dojo Cup but students are welcome to attend even if they are not attending the tournament. The cost of the 90 minute class is £10 per student. Please email me to book a space so that we have an idea of the numbers. 

Inter- Dojo Cup:

The closing date for entries to the Inter-Dojo Cup is this Sunday 12th June. Please bring your completed forms to the class this week and ideally at the beginning of the class so that we can match up potential teams within the classes this week. I will have some printed forms with me or you can print your own one using the attached document.

The start times will be updated on Monday next week when I have a final list of competitors so please note that they are subject to change in order to make the day go as smoothly and as quickly as possible. 

Black Belt competitors who help judge in the morning will not be charged an entrance fee and any help will be greatly appreciated. Please let me know asap if you will be able to help us out. 

Term Dates Change:

The Summer Term was due to begin on Wednesday 19th April but it will now start on Thursday 20th April. We will be finishing Summer Term on Wednesday 12th July (one day later than originally planned). The changes will only affect students whose class is on a Wednesday; I apologise if the change is inconvenient for you. 

Revised Summer Term Dates:

First Classes: Thursday 20th April

Half Term: 29th May-3rd June

Last Clases: Wednesday 12th July

Please note that Term Dates for Ravenscourt Park and Kew Green Schools are different to those listed above. 

Happy New Year!

All classes resume from Saturday 7th January. I hope you all had a great Christmas and New Year. We are looking forward to resuming the classes!

15 Black Belt Promotions

We are pleased to announce the promotion of fourteen 1st Dan Black Belts and one 2nd Dan Black Belt! The candidates have all been training very hard for a long time in preparation for this Grading and all the hard work paid off. The Grading took 3 hours and there was a panel of four Black Belt examiners including two external examiners: Sensei Robert Herincx (5th Dan) and Sensei Phillip Wardle (3rd Dan) from Tora Karate Academy. Crouching Tiger Karate are very honoured to have such experienced examiners as guests of our club and they were kind enough to share their knowledge with us and give us ideas for how we can improve in the future.

The candidates all performed their Kihon (basic techniques) and Kata first. this was followed by rounds of individual Kumite (sparring) and also rounds of two against one sparring. This was followed by a demonstration of self-defence techniques and kata applications. The testing process was very stringent and we would like to congratulate all the candidates who have all shown fantastic dedication for many years and in particular the last 6 months in the run up to the Grading.

 

2nd Dan Promotion:

Robert Bright

 

1st Dan Promotions:

Anna De Rosa

Francesca Wigington

Ethan Cox

Joel Wisely

Archie Henry

Alexei Newton

Joe Larvin

Mateo Santos-Thomas

Takumi Nakamigawa

Harry O’Brien

Kai Jewson

Ruben Ward

Max Hamlyn

Nico Charalambous

 

 

October Newsletter

Dear Parents and Karateka,

Half-Term Clubs:

We will be running Half-Term Clubs on Wednesday 26th and Thursday 27th October from 10:00am-2:00pm in St. Luke’s House, Kew (TW9 3NP).

There will be a wide range of material covered as well as keeping a good focus on the grading syllabus. There will be some students preparing for their black belt grading so it will be highly focussed training, but enjoyable nevertheless!

The Half-Term classes are open to all students from 7 years old and over.

Please remember to bring a packed lunch and a drink as well as all Karate equipment

The clubs cost £30 per day or £50 for both days. If you would like to book a place then please reply to this email. 

Gradings:

If your child has been selected to take part in a grading then you can choose whichever Grading is most convenient for you from the following:

Saturday 22nd October – 3:00pm – Duke’s Meadow Community Hall, Alexandra Gardens, W4 2RX

Saturday 19th November – 9:30-10:30am – Venue TBC

Sunday 4th December – 10am (lower grades) and 11am (higher grades) – Old Powerstation, Mortlake 

We will be checking all students in their classes over the next week and if they are ready we will be handing out grading envelopes. If not then we will explain to them what is needed to improve so that they can hopefully book in for one of the later gradings this term. 

‘In Class’ Gradings:

The classes with younger children will continue to have gradings within their class at the usual time and venue during the week commencing 28th November. Parents are welcome to come and watch these gradings and also to see the belt presentation the following week. The following classes will have ‘in class’ gradings:

Monday 3:15-4:00pm – Orleans – 28th November

Tuesday 4:00pm – Putney Methodist Church – 29th November

Wednesday 8:00am – East Sheen Primary School – 30th November

Wednesday 3:45pm – St. Luke’s House, Kew – 30th November

Friday 4:00pm – Duke’s Meadow Community Hall – 2nd December

Saturday 12:00pm – Mortlake Powerstation – 3rd December

Tournament:

We will be hosting a Friendship Tournament on Sunday 11th December at 9:00am in The Old Powerstation in Mortlake. I will be handing out registration forms for this after Half-Term. 

Tournament Preparation Classes:

Sensei Tom will be running tournament preparation classes in the run-up to the Tournament on 11th December. There will be two Kumite (sparring) workshops and one Tournament Kata class.

Saturday 19th November – 10:30am-11:30am – Sparring – Venue TBC

Sunday 4th December –  12:00-1:00pm – Kata – Old Powerstation, Mortlake

Sunday 4th December – 1:00-2:00pm – Sparring – Old Powerstation, Mortlake

Each class is £10 per student but if you attend all 3 classes then the third class is free. If you would like to book a space for one of these classes then please feel free to email me or just turn up on the day. 

Term Dates:

Half Term: 24th-31st October

Last Class: Monday 12th December

First Class of Spring Term: Monday 9th January

Yours sincerely,

Sensei Ben Pethick