Dokan Karate Club

DOKAN ASSOCIATION SQUAD TRAINING SESSION 12.6.2016.

 Dokans first association squad training session was held today aimed not only at our current squad but at our squad for the future.

After 3 separate introductory refereeing sessions ran by Dokan Chief ref Brian Graham it was time to bring in England’s top refereeing official, Mr Dale Gamble who is The chief ref of Britain and a world recognised refereeing authority.

The second tournament of the year for Dokan but the first one the full squad could attend - and most did. With a massive entry of 39 students we arrived at Barnsley Metrodome to find there were 900 entries and the place was bursting at the seams.

Twenty seven Dokan students entered this year and after watching this squad in action I was hopeful of some good results. As usual the day did not pan out as expected, aside from my usual bad luck of not being able to park and quarrelling with carpark attendants etc things got off to a terrible start as we lost virtually every decision in kata 2 flags to 1.

Another huge turnout for another great competition, this time in Gloucester city centre. Dokan made the long journey on the Saturday stopping for the night at a Premier inn before entering the tournament on the Sunday. As we arrived in Gloucester at 1.30 we had a bit time to spare before our evening meal.

This is the fourth fight night we have hosted and each one is different from the last. This one amounted to 33 bouts with an age span from 5 years old to over 40 years old and was, yet again, hugely popular with the students.

A weekend of pure stress. So why did I enjoy it so much? The answer is simple it was because this tournament is the ultimate test for English athletes however old or young and we are there like everyone else to win. In hindsight there were many mistakes decision wise, by me and the squad but hindsight is a great thing so they say.

This year our spring grading was a smaller affair than usual but the standard of the students was higher than usual. The fact the date clashed with the Easter holidays caused a few problems but this was the only Sunday free till late May.

No rest for the Dokan squad as we set off once again on the six hour journey to Somerset. This has become a firm favourite with our kids as the two night stop over appeals as a short break and the fifty-eight seat coach along with a couple of families driving meant we had a decent sized squad of 23 students entering.