Shotokan Carlow

Robbie . P

Hi, new to the Boards but maybe someone can help me? I'm from Carlow and I just seen a flyer for a Shotokan Karate club opening in Milford. There are a lot of Wado Ryu clubs in the area but this one is JKS. The name of the club is in Japanese so I can't pronounce it but its in the YA Badminton hall on Saturday mornings if anyone knows of it? Anyway, I was just wondering what shotokan JKS is like to Wado Ryu and is it a good affiliation?
Also, according to Facebook the Sensei has a background in SKIF before moving I guess to the JKS?

CIARAN_BOYLE

Robbie . P wrote: »

Hi, new to the Boards but maybe someone can help me? I'm from Carlow and I just seen a flyer for a Shotokan Karate club opening in Milford. There are a lot of Wado Ryu clubs in the area but this one is JKS. The name of the club is in Japanese so I can't pronounce it but its in the YA Badminton hall on Saturday mornings if anyone knows of it? Anyway, I was just wondering what shotokan JKS is like to Wado Ryu and is it a good affiliation?
Also, according to Facebook the Sensei has a background in SKIF before moving I guess to the JKS?

There is not a lot of difference in JKA JKS and SKIF. There are good and bad clubs in all affiliated groups and very little sylistic differences between different types of shotokan.

I've never trained wado ryu but a lot of the kata are similar to shotokan.

Zen65

Robbie . P wrote: »

Hi, new to the Boards but maybe someone can help me? I'm from Carlow . . . .

Well if it's a problem you could leave Carlow, I guess

Seriously though, the JKS was set up in the '90's as a breakaway group from the JKA by Tesuhiko Asai after a legal challenge to the leadership of that group. In karate terms, although Asai introduced some interesting concepts into the Shotokan art it is at its core very similar to JKA. The lead instructor now is Masao Kagawa, and in Ireland it is headed up by Scott Langley.

Wado Ryu is a similar art to Shotokan but by comparison puts emphasis on speed rather than power. The stances tend to be shorter / higher; the movements and stances bear a greater resemblance to Okinawan arts. The lower level kata are similar, but the higher level kata are quite different. I cannot comment on the effectiveness of the art, as that's more about the instructor than anything else.

As for the Shotokan instructor in Carlow being ex-SKIF that should not be an issue. SKIF itself is a breakaway group from JKA. If he's graded by Kanazawa then he has certainly achieved proficiency in his art. You will only know if he's a proficient instructor by training with him for a while.

Good luck,

Z

Robbie . P

Thanks all, I went along and trained. It was Senotakai Aruku Dojo and the Sensei was really fast and strong. He then runs through things at your own pace and tells you what it is that you're doing and why. I really enjoyed it and to me he seems to know what he is doing so I would recommend him to any one who is looking to do karate.

Thanks again for your help.

kalmanon2

I would love to try that club myself, but unfortunately, due to no work, and no car, its kinda tricky getting out to the Badminton hall lol