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Fighting is a skill that everyone should have but endeavour never to use

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    • Our Club
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flexible

Why We Need To Be Flexible
20 Mar 2017

Why We Need To Be Flexible

by Stephen O'Brien | posted in: Advice | 0

Modern life can mean sitting at a desk for many hours a day. Our bodies aren’t designed for this. If you exercise regularly, you’ll have heard of the importance of stretching before and after your training session. There’s lots of … Continued

body, flexible

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loughtonkarateclub

Family friendly, Wado Ryu style karate club based in Loughton.

Instagram post 2195322411838997660_4019977111 Dear Santa  All I want for Christmas is to join Loughton Karate Club.
I want to grow up to be strong like mummy and daddy, learn how to defend myself, get fit, make new friends and have fun.  There's a special deal in January saving £££'s. I could get an annual licence and Blitzsport karate suit with club badge for only £45. The class fees are just £28 per month.  Merry Christmas
Wannabe Ninja x
Instagram post 2193734775406560268_4019977111 Congratulations to Amelia for winning the Excellence Award 2019.
Instagram post 2193734387131468341_4019977111 How Much Contact Is Appropriate?  This is a grey area in karate practice which I'd like to explain in more detail. In our club, all contact is by consent. In an effort to clear up any misunderstandings, a quick chat before engaging with your opponent on the amount of contact agreed will save painful injuries and hurt feelings after.  These are the guidelines that all students should abide by:  1) Inappropriate contact. We all understand what this means. "If you haven't got it, don't touch it" is a good starting point for guidance here. This should not happen in the dojo or anywhere else. Clearly there may be an occasional accidental contact during practice but anything deliberate, or repeated as "accidental" is not allowed.  2) Using excessive force. Karate is a martial art and which requires contact to be effective. You are going to get hit when training and there are times when you just have to take it. But the force used should never be excessive. Using excessive force is just gratuitous and unacceptable. As you move up the grades, you can expect to get hit harder. You are getting stronger, fitter and more accurate. To progress through the belts, you'll need to develop resilience, albeit in a controlled environment . However, as Sensei says, "full speed, full power, full control". Any hit that incapacitates is unacceptable.  3) Deliberately targeting delicate body parts. Your karate training will teach you how to stop an attacker by targeting joints and delicate parts of the body. It's common sense that these weak areas should be avoided in practice because of the long-lasting damage that can be caused. The eyes, nose, throat, groin and knees are just a few examples of body parts to avoid contact or excessive contact. 
If any student is unhappy with inappropriate or excessive contact, you should definitely speak to your opponent or Sensei about this.
Instagram post 2191501441604916200_4019977111 The tragic death of Harley Watson, a 12 year old boy mowed down by a car whilst walking home from school, has had a devastating impact on our community. Our children should be safe from harm but many parents are now worried about their children travelling to and from school. Here are our top 6 tips for your child’s personal safety:
1. When you’re in a public place, always be aware of your surroundings and people nearby. Try to avoid distractions which will make your reaction times slower, such as listening to music with earphones, talking, texting or browsing on your mobile phone. 
2. When walking along the pavement, walk on the side nearest to oncoming traffic. These cars are closer and pose the most danger so your reaction times need to be quicker. Traffic travelling from behind would potentially have to drive across the road and through oncoming cars to reach you. 
3. When faced with a much larger attacker or multiple attackers, immediate escape is obviously your first priority. If you can’t run then compliance (giving them what they want) and de-escalation (calming an aggressor) are your safest bets.
4. If this doesn’t work and violence is unavoidable, be aware of what you have to hand that can be of use to protect yourself. Everyday items such as bags, belts, drinks, keys, coins and clothing can be used to stall an attack giving you precious time to escape. 
5. Regular training in martial arts improves your confidence. This oozes out of every pore when you walk, talk and breathe. Bad people like to pick on weak people. This is because they want easy victims and not to get hurt themselves. If you have confidence, bad people tend to avoid you.
6. Always report anything suspicious to your parents or the police. If bad people aren’t caught, they continue to do bad things.
Instagram post 2189898274354110098_4019977111 Some action shots from yesterday’s dan grading @thosefromheavencametoearth #davenantfoundationschool
Instagram post 2188532957182787030_4019977111 Good luck to our students taking their black belt grading tomorrow.
Instagram post 2179358094138877809_4019977111 Great day in MK attending the Iain Abernethy seminar with #tribe
Instagram post 2174730180298620336_4019977111 Congratulations to the 26 students who successfully graded over the weekend. The highlight had to be Krish v Wilf sparring. Awesome!
Instagram post 2174060008046935252_4019977111 Grading day! Good luck to the 24 trying for their next belt.
Instagram post 2169988053530456832_4019977111 Club t-shirts in stock ready for Christmas. Hoodies available to order.
Instagram post 2164784536957677783_4019977111 With knife crime out of control in London and the suburbs, read our latest blog: How to Survive a Knife Attack by subscribing to our newsletter at https://loughtonkarateclub.co.uk/contact/
Instagram post 2164237562435558240_4019977111 Sunday padwork drills following by syllabus practice for the upcoming gradings.
Instagram post 2161615172979366691_4019977111 Karate for self-defence.  Tuesday, 6-7pm, Davenant Foundation School.  #thisgirlcan #davenant
Instagram post 2160945991917226537_4019977111 It's great to see more ladies joining our club especially as we only teach practical karate techniques for self-defence. With regular practice, you'll gain confidence & learn to deal with conflict  #thisgirlcan #davenant #loughtonmums
Instagram post 2160529980587928359_4019977111 With the new grading date of Sunday 10th November nearing, it's time to practice those katas  #davenant #thisgirlcan #loughtonmums
Instagram post 2158075616652877090_4019977111 We had a mini grading last night for 3 of our Friday students. All 3 have an abundance of 2 of the best things you can bring into the dojo: Effort and Attitude.
Instagram post 2157255592874810628_4019977111 Excited to be teaching karate at Wanstead High School as part of their Wellbeing Day. #wansteadhighschool #rodingvalleyhighschool #davenant #westhatch #forestschool #bancroftschool #trinitycatholichighschool #mentalhealthawareness #mentalhealthmatters #wellbeinginschools
Instagram post 2155196640892650108_4019977111 All classes and after school clubs are on this week. Due to illness, we've had to cancel this weekends grading and master classes. A rescheduled grading will be announced soon.
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Lopping Hall,
189 High Road,
Loughton,
Essex IG10 4LF

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