You may not know too much about Kyokushin. It’s the largest and strongest Karate on the planet. It’s considered by most, including myself, to be the toughest martial art on earth. In Kyokushin, Black Belts aren’t “given” they are “earned the hard way”. After fighting for two hours without rest, Bartek has been awarded his Kyokushin Black Belt during a grading in Krackow, Poland, this weekend. Please join us in congratulating Bartek on this HUGE achievement.

Congratulations Bartek. You truly understand the spirit of Kokoro and Kyokushin. You deserved your black belt LONG AGO! Welcome to the ranks of Kyokushin Yudansha! OSU!

Anyone that wishes to truly get mentally and physically tough whilst improving their striking skills should consider training with Bartek at the Kyokushin Training every Friday at 19:00.

OSU!

Bartek’s Report:

Record number of 400 participants entered The 36th East European Summer Camp, that was held in Cracow, Poland on July 22-26.

There were participants from 11 european countries: Belarus, Belgium, Czech Republic, Lihuania, Latvia, Moldova, Germany, Russia, Slovakia, Ukraine and Poland. On the last two days of the camp the examination took place. Organiser of the camp was Polish Kyokushinkai Organisation, led by Shihan Andre Drewniak.

I Am very proud and happy that I passed the exam and I could join that camp! It was hard but good experience for me! I would like to thanks everyone who help me, especially Sensei Zbigniew Romanowski and Sensei Shane Thomas! Osu!

Most of us will welcome the break! The 2009 schedule isn’t 100% complete but I can confirm the following sessions (effective January 2009);

K1-MMA: Mixed Martial Arts for beginners and those with less that 1 year training at Kokoro
19:00 – 20:30 – Tuesdays & Thursdays

K2-MMA: Mixed Martial Arts for Yellow Belts and Above (typically those with more than 1 year training)
20:30 – 22:00 – Tuesdays & Thursdays

Youth MMA: Mixed Martial Arts for 12-15 year olds
10:00 – 11:00 – Saturdays

Fight Training: Sparring Based MMA for Competitors (by invitation only)
11:00 – 13:00 – Saturdays

Kyokushin: Full Contact Striking for All Levels
19:00 – 20:30 - Mondays & Wednesdays

The full schedule will go up on line as soon as we’ve finished making it look pretty!!!

If we start on time; we can all finish on time (before 22:00) and get ourselves home at a fairly reasonable hour. Hope to have everyone’s support. Thanks.

In the meantime – make a mental note that Kyokushin starts at 20:00 from now on. Shane is also back in the Kyokushin business and the sessions will be run by both Shane and Bartek from Monday. We’re growing stronger by the week. Up to 13 people this week. We’re expecting more since a fair few have said they’d love to give it a go but can’t make it for 19:00.

Cheers for the support!

It felt great to be back at Kyokushin though; and I’m going to spend some time building out this side of the club. If you’ve not tried it yet – you should.

Really you should.

I still hold the opinion that there is no better martial art out there for conditioning the heart, mind, body & spirit. St. Pierre, Bas Rutten, Semmy Schilt – all Kyokushin fighters and all about as focused as it gets! Have a nose at the videos (click “Kyokushin” in the menu on the left).

See you there next time? Certainly hope so.

The UFC finally credits George’s standup game to Kyokushin. Something that George has been doing for years.

His MMA record is impeccable.

His “kickboxing” game is pure Kyokushin. GSP consistently puts himself forward as “Kyokushin Karate to the Core”. Arriving to the cage wearing his Kyokushin Black Belt.

GSP directly attributes his clinch, takedown and ground game to training with the Canadian National Wrestling team. Wrestlers are the dominant ground players/grapplers in the UFC.

Mixed Martial Arts Perfection.

Congratulations to GSP!

I’m one of many fans walking around with a huge smile on my face today.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year Everyone!
Our doors will open again for training on Monday 7th January, 2008.

Last Training 2007: MMA, Thursday 20th December, 2007.
First Training 2008: Kyokushin, Monday 7th January, 2008.

There are no training sessions scheduled between the dates above.

Davide walked in through the doors at Kokoro some six months ago and quickly became a well respected member of the club. His clean techniques are a joy to watch. Since joining Kokoro he’s been heavily focused on improving his fighting skills in both Kyokushin and All Round Fighting. We’ve enjoyed helping him out and this weekend his efforts paid off!

The full contact fighters of Kokoro MMA and Kokoro Kyokushin are going from strength to strength. Kokoro have taken 4 MMA victories and a Kyokushin National Championship Gold within the last week! A great way to celebrate the new dojo and gym; and the perfect way to end 2007!

Congratulations Sempai! OSU!

This weekend, Semmy proved to the world (once again!) that he is a phenomenon of fight sports by winning the K-1 World Grand Prix for the THIRD TIME IN A ROW against the best of the best! Unprecedented!

Look closely; there’s Hanshi Jonkers and Kancho Kuipers behind him calling the world to let them know the result.

“I’m very glad to win tonight and to make history by winning the Championship three years in a row,” said a beaming Semmy in his post-tournament interview. “It was a good final, there were no easy fights. I think the first fight [against Feitosa] was the hardest, but the first fight is always the most difficult, it decides what happens in the other fights.”

Semmy took on legends Aerts and LeBanner on the same night to win the tournament. Fantastic! Congratulations from Kokoro Shihan! OSU!

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Matches will be only with club members and will be in Tournament format with Amateur MMA Rules (plus the inclusion of kicks to the head). No striking of any kind to the head on the ground. Kicks to the head (not punches) are permitted when standing.

This system of competition (full contact standup & ground work) is known as Kyokushin Budokai and it’s the self defence system practised at Kokoro. All members should be willing to give this a try. It’s great crack and there’s no risk of being punched in the face (since it’s not permitted)!

After the tournament; we’ll get home – get changed and meet in town for drinks. Great stuff!

Sign up using the comments field below and make sure you specify tourny, night out or both.

I will arrange the tournament format and times/weights based on the number of entries.

There will be prizes and awards on the day!

OSU! And… …a Merry Kokoro Christmas!

Please specify if you are in for the “Tourny”, “Night Out” or “Both”

Need to know if you’re bringing a partner to gauge numbers (to help us decide a place).

Tournament Participants:

1. Leo Burdock
2. Junior Charlie
3. Cathal Pendred
4. Barry Lorton
5. Steven Mulligan
6. David Dempsey
7. Denise O’Callaghan
8. Wes Doherty
9. Jonny Origan
10. Johnny Bowden
11. Josh Caffrey
12. Fergal Downes
13. Thomas Nolan
14. Colin Campbell
15. Bryan Kelley
16. Will Burdock

—————————————-
Reserve Group:

17.
18.
19.
20.

Night Out Roll Call:

1. Shane Thomas + 1
2. Jonny Origan + 1
3. Junior Charlie
4. Cathal Pendred
5. Barry Lorton
6. Steven Mulligan
7. Leo Burdock
8. Will Burdock
9. Denise O’Callaghan
10. Wes Doherty
11. Seamus Cassells
12. Ronnie Jansen
13. Noel Gilchrist + 1
14. Neno Platisa
15. Josh Caffrey
16. Dave Eklund
17. Fergal Downes
18. James Finnerty
19. Colin Campbell + 1
20. Tristan Jacobs
21. Bryan Kelley
22. Thomas Cryan
23. Bartosz & Patrycja
24. Javier Garnica
25. Johnny Bowden
26. Thomas Nolan

We’ll get some photos up later in the day but I just want to say a huge THANK YOU to the 20 people that showed for the day. We got started at 9:00am, trained in all ranges up until 17:30 and then got cracking with fights in Boxing, Kickboxing, Full Contact Karate (Kyokushin), Judo, Submission Wrestling and MMA. The promotions handed out at the end of these fights were WELL DESERVED.

Kokoro = Heart, Mind & Spirit

Yesterday, you ALL lived up to that name and I thank you for making me a very proud man. I hope you enjoyed the day as much as I did.

Photos soon…

OSU.
-Shane.

Click Here for Full Photo Album

We intend to gloss over the fundamentals of a good range of stuff throughout the day including Kyokushin, Judo, Submission Wrestling, Kickboxing and MMA. It’s a great way to “put the pieces together in your head” and get a good training session in at the same time. We’ll be sure to throw in some funky stuff just for the fun of it!

More importantly, it’s a great excuse to get together for a beer afterwards! Andy, my training partner from Germany, will be visiting to assist with instruction and I know we’ll make him welcome on the mats and in the pub! More info as soon as we get things sorted but make a note in your diaries (yeah right!).

The entire day of training will cost only 10€ each towards the running costs of the gym!

Here goes with just a few photos to give you a feel for the new place. It’s also got a fully stocked shop for all training needs (equipment, nutrition etc). Hope you like the photos and hope to see you at the gym sometime soon!

- My opponents included 6th Dans, 5th Dans, 4 th Dans, 3rd Dans, the East German Knockdown Team, former champions, current champions and I am proud to say my own students.
- Each round was 1m 30sec with about 10-15 seconds to change opponent.
- At times I gave up m ore than 40 kilos.
- There were times I wanted to quit but Shihan Eric made me believe I could succeed. He NEVER failed me. He stayed at my side.
- Many times I couldn ‘t breathe. My lungs failed me. But Shihan Lionel Bricnet (6. Dan) NEVER failed me. He fought me and he guided me.
- During the twenty-seventh fight; I saw Lynn Peene screaming in pain – yet she continued!!! She succeeded in fighting her 30 man !!!
- SEEING LYNN SUCCEED IS THE REASON I SUCCEEDED THE FIFTY MAN KUMITE.
- Lynn is the PERFECT example of Kokoro. I am DWARFED by her skill, her heart and her dedication.
- During my last fight, number 50; I was not able to counter with strikes and I simply accepted the attacks. My body could not continue.
- During my last fight, number 50; I was knocked down three times and stood up each time in less than 1 second. My mind refused to stay down.
- I survived, I’m alive and I’m happy.
- The 50 man is usually a test for 4 th Dans.
- I completed this test as a Shodan with just one week’s notice – but I’m glad I did it.
- I did it with the support of my wife.
- I did it with the support of my Budo family.
- I did it with the support of my teachers.
- I did it with the support of my students.
- I did it because “without Kokoro, Budo is an empty shell”.

As a result;

- I’ve now achieved something that I’ve been dreaming about since I was 14 years old.
- Kaicho Bluming (10. Dan) decided to promote me to Nidan (2nd Dan) in Kyokushin and All Round Fighting.
- Shihan Eric Van Vaerenbergh (6. Dan) decided to promote me to Nidan (2nd Dan) in Ronin All Round Karate.
- Shihan Lionel Bricnet (6. Dan) of the World Sei Budokai decided to promote me to San Dan (3rd Dan Sensei) of the World Sei Budokai

Great fun… I’m bruised (see photo of my blocking arm) but happy! ))))
Thank you for supporting me.
OSU & Always with Respect,
Shane.

One Year Ago;

Doctor: ” Shane, you have a condition called Atopy. Your respiratory system is genetically dysfunctional. I’m sorry but this cannot be cured “.

Shane: “What can I do about this? I run out of breath when I lift my daughter into my arms!”

Doctor: “Nothing. If you have this condition, it always wins in the end. These drugs will help your breathing a little. ”

I was devastated.

Two Days Later;

Shane: “Shihan, the doctor says I cannot fight or train. Please give me the 30 man kumite.”

Shihan Eric: “No. It will kill you. Train… lose 20 kilos … and come back.”

Shane: “I can ‘t believe this is happening to me.”

Shihan Eric: “You already have the skill for 50 men but your body will break, you cannot survive three men . Learn to breath again – come back in one year.”

I was imprisoned.

Two Weeks Ago (one week before Kumite) ;

SMS from Shihan Eric: ” 50 man kumite in Croatia?”

SMS response from Shane: “Kokoro. Always ready to fight.”

I was frightened.

1 Minute before the Kumite (26 th August, 2007);

Semmy Schilt; ” You are Shodan! Why are you fighting 50 man kumite? It’s not necessary for Shodan! ”

Shane; ” I am doing it for me.”

I was free