SKE Celebrating 25 Years - Shotokan Karate England

celebrating
25
YEARS
Shotokan Karate England – 25 Years of Karate
Published in 2010 by Karate-London
PO Box 566
Waltham Abbey
Essex
EN9 3WU
England
Copyright Rod Butler ©
The right of Rod Butler to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of
the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 0-9546947-3-2
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission of the publishers.
www.karate-london.co.uk
www.shotokan-karate-england.co.uk
Dear M embers, Parents and Relatives
It is with great pride I welcome you to the celebration of our 25th Anniversary. It is hard to believe that I have
been seriously teaching Karate for 25 years and even more difficult to remind myself that I started my own
Karate 35 years ago. To celebrate our special 2010 Anniversary we have some special courses with some of the
leading figures in Karate today. There will be weekend courses with Sensei Dave Hazard, Paul Herbert, Scott
Langley and our own Sensei Kasajima. I hope that you will all take advantage of these opportunities and enjoy
training with these wonderful instructors.
Things are a lot more organized and professional now than they were in years gone by, although we certainly
have to deal with much more administration and paperwork than we did when I first started. Karate technique
has improved although karate itself is not really much different. The standards of teaching however have greatly
improved and we are now aware of the dangers in teaching Karate techniques incorrectly; we also understand
how to encourage children and less able students to achieve success. We have held dozens of courses,
championships and gradings and the high standards of our members would be difficult to find in most others
clubs and associations.
During these years there have been some fantastic successes and I have felt so much pride in the achievements
of many of our members Nationally and Internationally. We have even managed to help severely disabled people
to enjoy karate and experience the pleasure that karate brings. However, I am a great believer of balance in life
and believe that what we receive in pleasure and enjoyment has to always be paid for in some way, therefore the
disappointments that we have all experienced at some time, balance our fulfilling lives and the Karate that we all
enjoy and sometimes take for granted.
I hope you enjoy reading and looking at this little book which contains all of the highs and lows, the successes
and the disappointments, of the last 25 years. The strong roots of SKE as you can see here, have now been well
and truly established and I hope that all of the SKE instructors will pass on their skills to the younger generation
of Karate students so that they can carry on with the success and the work that has begun.
Lastly I would like to thank you all for helping with the success of SKE. Without the parents, children and adult
members, we would not be able to be part of your lives and share your enjoyment of Shotokan Karate.
Rod Butler – April 2010
In The Beginning
The KUGB
April 1st 1985
a fantastic reputation for being hard
working and successful.
Sensei Enoeda had been watching the
Chingford Club and had not missed
any of the activity and excitement that
was happening. He decided to visit
the club on a regular basis and greatly
enjoyed his visits to the club now based
at Rushcroft School. Later on when the
Wanstead club opened, he gave an
opening celebration course and also
made regular visits there as well.
The roots for SKE were started 25 years ago in Chingford. Sensei Rod started a small
class while he was recovering from an operation on his leg. It was never envisaged
that the club would grow to the extent that is has or that it would develop into such a
successful entity. This is where it all started; The Judo Bay at the Waltham Forest College
Annex in Chingford, now demolished to make way for a housing estate.
The posed kneeling picture shows the class just a few months after starting, with founder
member Sensei Chris Lafbury on the far left of the
shot (with a moustache). Some members had
taken their first gradings and are actually
wearing their orange or red belts. In the
action shot you can see sensei Rod leading
the class in Kihon. The dojo was a small
matted area used for Martial Arts called the
‘Judo Bay’. There were no windows, no air
vents and no heating. Everyone worked so
hard in that small matted area just to keep
warm in the Winter.
In those early days Karate and Martial Arts in
general were not allowed in schools and so
moving to a larger and more suitable premises
was virtually impossible. However, Rod made
friends with the councilors of Waltham Forest
and subsequently joined the Sports Council.
Rod encouraged some of the councilors to
come along and watch a Karate class, so that
it could be seen that Karate was a respectable
pursuit and suitable for schools. One of the
councilors actually joined the Karate Club, and
the Mayor of Waltham Forest became involved and gave his support too. This was really
the start of Karate in Chingford and Waltham Forest and councilors eventually agreed to
allow Karate classes to take place in schools within Waltham Forest.
In 1988 it was decided to move to a
larger organisation. As a club, we were
not allowed to take part in open courses
and competitions were not organized
particularly well. After checking a few
of the larger Karate organisations we
decided to join the KUGB. This was not
quite as easy as it sounds. Rod had been
a Black Belt for 8 years and a Nidan for
3 years. The KUGB insisted that Rod go
back to 1st Kyu and re-take his Shodan
if the club was to become part of the
KUGB! This was the price of joining but
in typical Rod fashion he signed the
club up to join the KUGB and re-took
his Shodan under Sensei Enoeda. Rod
was not interested in ‘chasing gradings’
so didn’t worry too much about moving
down ‘the ladder’. It was a good move.
The club had access to competitions,
courses and events such as instructor
and referee courses. Rod went on to
retake his 2nd Dan and during the next
fifteen years his 3rd and 4th Dan.
The club soon made an impact on the
KUGB. Medals and trophies were won at
the Southern area Championships and
the Nationals. It was not long before the
club had quite a few members on the
National Squad too. Tony & David Ives,
Tim Ahmet, Tony Aidoo, Billy Merrifield,
Holly Sterling, Donna Kilroy and Jason
& Samantha Plumb were all Black Belts
recommended by Rod for the National
Squad and all were accepted.
The club was always an avid fundraiser
raising in excess of £80,000 for various
charities. The KUGB followed this
creating its own charity. Chingford
again pulled out all the stops and raised
£3,500, more than any other KUGB club
in the UK.
Rod took instructor, judge and referee
exams and soon the club had gained
A bond had started. Club members too
enjoyed these visits greatly. The courses
usually finished up in the local Indian
Restaurant with drinks and curry and with
everyone being a little ‘worse for wear’
Rod had to often drive Sensei Enoeda
home in the early hours of the morning.
Rod recalls with horror the time when
Sensei Enoeda arrived at the Chingford
club to give two one hour courses. He
was injured and said Rod would have to
take both sessions. Rod nervously got
on with the job while sensei Enoeda
sat for the whole two hours watching
proceedings. Rod sweated for the whole
two hours but was later on enrolled by
Sensei Enoeda as a regular instructor at
the Marshall St Dojo in London’s West
End.
The First Black Belt
Chingford Karate Club’s first black
Belt was 10 year old Michael Gallop,
the date; 22nd October 1989.
Although the club had many Black
Belt members, Michael was the
first Chingford member to go from
beginner to Shodan. He was aged
just 10 years and it has to be said
that he was a star pupil from the
very beginning, passing each Kyu
grade with a distinction. Michael
was also the star of the ‘Karate
Kid’ team and was always the first
to volunteer for Karate displays,
competitions and events. Michael
passed his black belt – again with
a distinction and unfortunately
packed up Karate two weeks later!
That’s children for you.
Since then over 200 students who
started as beginners have gone on
to reach Black Belt level and many
more have gone on to reach Nidan,
Sandan, and in 2009, Godan.
Michael Gallop made a social visit
to the Chingford club in 2005. Now
a six foot adult he lamented ‘I wish
that I had carried on with my karate!’
Competitions
SKE is continuing to produce a high standard of competitors. The habit started in the early
days of the Chingford Club, and now there are not just champions from Chingford and
Wanstead, but some excellent talent coming from Harlow, Tring and the other SKE clubs.
Many Chingford members went on to achieve exceptional success in National and even
International Championships. Tim Ahmet competed Nationally and Internationally, he was
a member of the England Junior squad and became the Great Britain under 21 Champion.
Tony and David Ives together with Billy Merrifield were all in the England senior squad and
are still achieving some very good results. Holly Stirling started as a very young junior and
now always places in the finals of the ladies kata and Kumite events. Brother and Sister
Jason and Samantha Plumb also still achieve good National results. Daniel Jenkinson
worked his way up gradually through the ranks and ended up the Great Britain under 21
Champion, representing England in the world Shotokan Championships in Japan.
Grand champion of 2009 is new Shodan Deimante Jodokevicute from the Wanstead
club. Look out also for Raman Seehra from Wanstead, Michele Vaccaro from Harlow and
Niall O’Reilly from Tring. There are some great competitors coming through – too many
to include all of the names.
OS
T
U
A
S
C&
For all
car body repairs
and garage services
Special rates for all SKE members and families
52 Burnt Mill,Harlow CM20 2HU
Contact Erik Thorpe 01279 432260
Charity Fundraising
Over the years the Clubs raised money for various charities. The fundraising events
started in 1985 with The Mayors Appeal for Mentally Handicapped People. Subsequent
events raised funds for the Emma Killingback Memorial Fund, Whipps Cross Hospital
Baby Unit, Age Concern, the Barbara Hunt Minibus Appeal, Dreams Come True, Action
Research into Multiple Sclerosis, Great Ormond St Hospital, and many, many more. Over
£80,000.00 has been raised to date for literally dozens of charities.
The fundraising activities became serious when Mr. and Mrs. John Killingback lost their
young daughter to a children’s cancer called Neuroblastoma. The story brought to the
club’s attention by Sensei Chris Lafbury, inspired everyone to try to do something to help.
A Kata marathon was organized which later became a regular annual event. The Guinness
Book of Records recorded the marathon and gave the club a ‘First’ in this new range of
Guinness recorded activities. 7,715 katas were performed between 7.00 and 10.00pm
raising £7,331 for charity. The Mayor attended and the ladies champion body builder
Carolyn Cheshire performed a body building display and made presentations.
Sensei Chris Lafbury 4th Dan
I started Karate on the 1st of April 1985.
I was doing Aikido (another martial art) at
the time. Our Aikido dojo was in a school
at Barking and it had closed for a couple
of weeks. I had seen advertisements in the
local paper for karate beginners’ classes.
My son said he wanted to start and as I
had a couple of weeks spare (it turned out
to be 25 years!), I said I would go along
with him.
That first Dojo was in the old Territorial
Army barracks in Chingford Mount Road
– It’s gone now and there are houses in its
place. The room we used was formerly a
store room. It had no windows and only
a small door. It used to get very warm
on some nights and I’m sure we used
to shrink a couple of dress sizes with all
of the sweating we did. There were big
holes in the mats on the floor that used to
catch our feet – training was a challenging
experience!
We moved dojos a few times and trained
in some strange ones. I can remember one
school hall where we had to get changed
on the stage. Another time we had to train
in the local park as our usual dojo had been
double-booked. It was lucky that it was in
the summer and not cold, but unlucky that
I got savaged by mosquitoes.
I passed part of my black belt grading at
Crystal Palace where we used to go every
year for a Spring course. I had to go and
grade again for ‘Kumite only’ at a course
in Slough in December 1991. I was so
‘psyched up’ up by the time I got up to
fight that I got warned by Sensei Enoeda
who shouted at me: “more control!”
I enjoy teaching although it can be
frustrating at times. I like to try and think
of something a bit more interesting and
challenging for a lesson, although I also
try to ensure I cover the syllabus for the
grades I am teaching. I enjoy going to
gradings and watching the students that
I have helped teach when they pass their
gradings. Sometimes I have to bury my
head in my hands and groan when they
still do things that I’ve told them a hundred
times they are doing wrong!
In those days, once we reached brown
belt, we were encouraged to help out in
the lower grade classes by going around
and correcting the students. One evening,
Sensei Rod asked me to do the warm-up
as he said he had to speak to someone
outside. The warm-up came and went
and he still wasn’t back, so I thought I
had better do something else. I took
them through some basics and katas. He
eventually came back about 10 minutes
before the lesson ended. That first time
was a bit nerve-wracking – thrown in at the
deep end!
There have been many memorable
occasions over the years. For me these
include passing my black belt and, more
recently, passing my 4th Dan. The 4th Dan
grading seemed to go on forever and I
thought I was going to die if I had to do
any more basics!
We used to do Karate ‘Marathons’ each
year for different charities. They were good
because, over the years, we raised a lot of
money for some very worthwhile causes,
although we suffered after with blisters and
aching legs.
The Karate Kid
In 1989 the film ‘Karate Kid’ was
released. Chingford Karate Club was
requested to assist with the promotion
of the film in the London area. A team
of keen youngsters was organized and
rehearsals were started in the open at
Chingford Memorial Park.
The Karate Kid team had to visit all of
the cinemas in the area and perform their
Karate Kid display on stage and under
spotlights before the actual film began.
Some of the moves had to mimic the
techniques used in the film performed
by Daniel La Russo, particularly the one
legged flying kick (Mae Tobi Geri) which
was seen at the very end and climax of
the film. The main part of the display was
choreographed by Rod to demonstrate
a small young boy being attacked
by a bunch of thugs. Also included
was a special version of Tekki Shodan
performed in synchronization.
A background music tape was put
together and this went to the control
booth in each cinema to build up the
atmosphere and excitement. Karate
Kid Headbands were given by the film
company to make the children look
more authentically part of the film.
The music started and the Karate
display began. The audiences loved
these displays and often the children
got a standing ovation. Pop corn
and ice creams were liberally given
to all who took part by each cinema
manager, and everyone generally
had a great time.
After the film had finished its run, the
team stayed together and performed
their display at various school fetes
and open days. David Ives, Michael
Gallop and Arbind Gupta were
members of the team and all went
on to later reach Black Belt level.
David Ives in particular went on to
achieve some spectacular National
championship results.
Karate Displays
Throughout the year the
clubs would take part in
various Karate Displays
at Schools, Churches and
Fetes. Many students
enthusiastically took part
in these displays and it was
impossible to fulfill all of
the requests from various
organisations for Karate
displays.
The highlight was often the
ladies self defence section
where ladies enthusiastically
kicked, punched and threw
the men around. Mike and
Barbara Ives were always
very enthusiastic with their
demonstrations to the delight
of the audiences. Liz Lafbury
was also a star of the ladies
self defence team together
with Laura Aghassi and Lucy
Traettino. The kiai of Laura
would strike fear into the
men who were taking part in
the display and most of the
spectators became pretty
frightened too!
The Ives Family
Mike and Barbara Ives together with their three sons, Steven, Tony and
David, were all keen and integral members of the Chingford Club. Barbara
was the last one in the family to achieve her black belt and this meant
that the Ives family was the first family of five black belts in England. The
event became a news item and was covered in all of the local papers and
on TV, the story created a lot of interest locally and nationally.
Courses & Visiting
Instructors
The Chingford, Wanstead and Enfield Clubs
were gaining a reputation for producing
good quality students and instructors
and for organizing successful events with
visiting instructors. Many of the top names
in the world of Karate visited these clubs
and enjoyed teaching on courses. Sensei
Keinosuke Enoeda, Soon Pretorius from South
Africa, Jim Wood, Frank Brennan, Ronnie
Christopher, Andy Sherry, Paul Herbert, Jim
Mullin from the USA, Sean Roberts, Bob
Poynton, Emma Reece, the late Charlie Naylor,
Yoshinobu Ohta, Tetsuo Otake from Greece
and Keiichi Kasajima from Luxembourg all
visited and were excited by the attendance
and the enthusiasm of the students.
More recently the legendary Ticky Donovan
visited us for a special Kumite course. We
organized the course at the Enfield Dojo
and once again students travelled from
miles around to take part. Willy Ortiz the
Chief Instructor of Finland paid a visit to the
Chingford dojo after Sensei Rod had taught
on one of the National Finland courses. Sensei
Dave Hazard has given two courses for SKE
and both were a resounding success. For
our 25th Anniversary we are very pleased to
welcome Sensei Keiichi Kasajima for a special
week end celebration course.
• Extensions
• Renovations
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27 Meadow Close, Tring, Hertfordshire, HP23 5BT
Tel: 01442 823095
Mobile: 07976 244 815
Tim Ahmet
After starting as a very young child Tim
showed great ability at competitions.
There were of course disappointments,
but he persevered and pushed himself
hard. As a Kyu grade he put in 100%
effort and by the time he reached brown
and eventually black belt his years of
perseverance paid off. Starting with
reaching the finals, Tim went on to win
many junior categories. Sensei Rod
recommended him for the National
squad and he was accepted. Shortly
after this Tim went on to become the
National under 21 Great Britain Kumite
champion. Tim still officiates at the SKE
Championships and assists with the squad
training. He has also become a proficient
judge and referee. Tim now works for the
Audi car company.
In June 2003 the KUGB organized a memorial event at Crystal Palace with photos
and memorabilia covering the years that Sensei Enoeda was based in England.
Instructors came from all over the world to pay their respects and be part of the
memorial. It was a tasteful and kind tribute but of course a very somber affair.
Sensei Rod had to perform a very sad duty at the memorial course when he was
asked to provide a table with framed pictures of Sensei Enoeda and Sensei Tabata
who had also recently passed away. There were memorial courses up and down
England and Karate students wore black armbands on their Gis whilst attending
courses and championships. A posthumous 9th Dan was awarded to Sensei
Enoeda by the JKA. Sensei Enoeda’s Marshall St team won the KUGB National
Championships as a giant picture of the late master looked down on them from
the wall of the great Birmingham Indoor arena. Paul Herbert scored the point that
secured the Marshall St triumph.
Rod was in shock and started compiling all of the book pages he had worked on for
many years covering the life of Sensei Enoeda. Originally the project was meant to
become a single book to be presented to Sensei Enoeda as a gift, but as more and
more people became interested and involved, it became clear that it was going to
be more than just a one off book. The book was professionally designed and went
into production. Mrs Enoeda sanctioned the publication of the book and wrote an
introduction that appears in the front of the book. Rod remembers; ‘The book had to
be good, I felt as if Sensei Enoeda was looking over my shoulder watching me work
and waiting for me to make a mistake.’
Sensei Enoeda
Sensei Enoeda was booked to
attend the Chingford Club in
December 2002 for the annual
Christmas course, something
that he always loved doing. Sensei Enoeda’s secretary rang to explain that he
had to return to Japan for some hospital treatment and Sensei Otake from
Greece would be standing in to take the Annual Christmas Course. We were all
upset but excited at the same time; of course none of us really understood just
how ill Sensei Enoeda was.
The course went well but then in the New Year 2003 the bombshell hit us when
the news broke that Sensei Enoeda had died in
hospital in Japan. The whole karate world was
in turmoil, nobody had expected to lose ‘The
Tiger’ whose strength and power had inspired
so many in the UK and all around the world.
We were all in deep shock.
’Keinosuke Enoeda ~ Tiger of Shotokan Karate’ was published in August 2004. A
course and a book signing were organized and took place at The Peter May Sports
Centre in Walthamstow. Mrs Reiko Enoeda attended the
event and signed dozens of books with Sensei Tomita and
Rod the author. Two of Sensei Enoeda’s assistant instructors
Mr Tomita and Mr Ohta had been booked to provide a karate
course for students who had travelled from all over the UK
and abroad to get a copy of the book. A buffet and bar was
organised for everyone in attendance and karate videos
featuring Sensei Enoeda were played
during the book signing and lunch. The
whole event created quite a stir in the
international world of karate, but was
tinged with sadness and foreboding
about the future of Karate in England.
The Birth of SKE
Although SKE itself was
formed in 2005 the roots of
its formation started in 1985
when the first ever Shotokan
Karate Club in the Chingford
area began.
The death of Sensei Enoeda
in 2003 brought out some
unpleasant rivalry and
backbiting as the various
political factions vied for
power. The KUGB who were
the natural successors to the
lead that Sensei
Enoeda had
given, were
ousted
by the
JKA who
wanted a
Japanese
instructor to
head the new association.
There was a bitter dispute
which ended with the KUGB
resigning from the JKA. Most
clubs were not sure of what
was happening and aligned
themselves geographically to
either the North or the South
of England. Most clubs in the
Central and Northern part of
England aligned themselves
to the KUGB. Most clubs in
the South aligned themselves
to the JKA.
In 2003, Karate-London
comprising of the Chingford,
Wanstead, Larkswood and
Enfield Clubs affiliated to
the new JKA group in the
South. There were naturally
strong links to the KUGB and
some club members chose to
stay in the KUGB rather than
affiliate to the
JKA. Some
long time
friends,
families
and
students
stayed out of the JKA
subsequently taking a
different path to that which
was now developing. This
time was the most upsetting
and traumatic in the history
of the Chingford Karate Club
and its associated clubs.
Some long time friends,
students, squad members and
instructors were lost because
of this allegiance to either
the JKA or the KUGB. The
unfortunate split in loyalties
affected families and just
about everyone.
It soon became evident
that the affiliation to the
JKA was a disaster and Rod
who was part of the JKA
organizing committee, was
bitterly disappointed with
the way things were going.
There was back biting and
jealousy, nastiness and lies
spread by those who were
supposed to be leading and
carrying on with the legacy of
Sensei Enoeda. Rumours were
spread about people who
were genuine in their karate
pursuits and many of the
senior Black Belts in London
and the South subsequently
resigned from the JKA.
Things went from bad
to worse when Chingford
member 16 year old Daniel
Jenkinson who was the
National Under 21 Champion,
was accused of manipulating
a newspaper article about
his journey to Japan to
represent England in the
World Karate Championships.
Daniel, who was innocent
of any wrong doing, was
suspended from all of his
squad activities by JKAE. At
the same time Sensei Rod
was also falsely accused of
hijacking a news paper article.
Yoshinobu Ohta the new chief
instructor of JKAE, who was
a regular visitor to the clubs,
supported and endorsed all
of these accusations and this
behaviour, and seemed to
be encouraging it. Everyone
was missing the leadership
skills of Sensei Enoeda. The
clubs stayed on with the
JKA during 2003, but when
a JKA committee member
general administration. All of
the senior Black Belts worked
hard to get things going and
on Sunday 6th February 2005,
SKE had its inaugural meeting
and the name ‘Shotokan
Karate England’ was adopted.
impersonated Rod
on a popular Karate website
forum, that was the final blow.
Rod called a meeting with
all of the senior Black Belts
and Instructors and there
was a unanimous decision
to resign from the JKA.
The tremendous losses that
Chingford had endured by
following Mr. Ohta and the
JKA had been a complete
disaster and the sacrifices that
had been made were in fact
regretted.
There were many losses on
both sides at this time due to
this fragmentation of Karate
associations; the JKA losing
the star of the nationals – Paul
Herbert and his Dartford
Club, Tony Denham, James
Marshall, Tony Aidoo,
Ahcene Moussaoui and Craig
Raye. The KUGB suffered
similar losses losing Ronnie
Christopher, Greg Heggarty
and Cyril Cummins who had
around 45 years of dedicated
Karate service. Karate
fragmented and Sensei Rod
had the unenviable position
of having to make the right
decisions with the right kind
of people.
It became very clear that
clubs and instructors had
become disillusioned with
the big associations and
the way that karate was
going in the UK. They
wanted a simple system of
affiliation, insurance, access
to courses, gradings and
championships together with
an open minded, honest and
professional attitude towards
training in general.
Rather than join another large
karate group with all of the
inherent problems that had
been experienced, it was
decided to form a Shotokan
group with clubs and
instructors who had karate
as their main motivation.
A lot of work had to be
done; insurance, licensing,
registration, gradings,
championships and lots of
Straightaway there were
enquiries from individual
students and clubs who wished
to join SKE. The first was
Sensei Rosemary New and
the Tring Club. Negotiations
began and the Tring Club
affiliated in 2005. One of
Rod’s early training partners
Sensei Steve Wilson made
contact, resigning from his
organisation to bring the long
standing Harlow Karate Club
into SKE. The Portsmouth Club
under Sensei Tony Denham
enquired about affiliation after
also experiencing the JKA
nastiness and bad treatment.
The Portsmouth Club affiliated
in 2006. SKE ‘ticked all
the boxes’ for many karate
instructors and clubs, and has
steadily grown in numbers and
in reputation at home here and
throughout the rest of Europe.
There is not a week that goes
by without visitors to the clubs
from abroad or enquiries about
membership.
Throughout this traumatic time
SKE instructors built up their
own thriving and successful
clubs; Roger Rayner – the
Highlands Club in Ilford, Senel
Dervish – the ‘Score’ Club in
Leyton, and Tony Aidoo – the
‘Ashi’ Club in Whitechapel.
Two of Sensei Enoeda’s long
standing senior grade students
and instructors Sensei Harry
Wilson and Sensei Jim Kelly
affiliated to SKE together with
Sensei Olusegun Akinola who
was a leading light for karate
in Nigeria. Olusegun was a
National team member, team
coach and assistant Chief
Instructor in Nigeria. Enquiries
started coming from various
other countries and now SKE
has members in Norway,
Holland and Africa.
Chingford member and
good friend Mike Woodward
relocated to live in
Luxembourg and close links
developed with his club and
Sensei Kasajima. After club
exchange visits to Monaco,
similar close links were
established with Sensei Sato
and the Monaco club. These
links have endured and club
members meet up each
year for enjoyable exchange
courses and social activities
together. We are very happy
to welcome and train with
Sensei Kasajima, the Chief
Instructor of Luxembourg
on our 25th Anniversary.
New Clubs
The Wanstead club was originally opened as an extra venue
for the Chingford Club which was closed throughout Summer
Holidays and other educational breaks. It was important to
have a dojo that students could come to when Chingford
was closed. However, Wanstead became a success in its own
right and Chingford subsequently moved to Rushcroft School
where there was an excellent dojo available all year round.
The move to Rushcroft took time and the club trained in just
about every school and available hall in Chingford before its
residence at Rushcroft School began. Longshaw School, Chase
Lane School, William Morris School, Sir James Hawkey Hall in
Woodford and many other venues were used by the Chingford
club as a base. At one point the club moved out of Chingford
and trained at Galliard School in Edmonton because all of the
schools in Chingford closed for Summer holidays! The club had
classes in corridors at Kelmscott Leisure Centre, a cloakroom
at Larkswood School and even in a park at Walthamstow. In
those open air park sessions the students ran to the park and
ran back again after the class. The second class of the evening
would then repeat the exercise. Nothing ever stopped the
Karate classes. Many venues were used until in 1987, the
residency at Rushcroft School began.
The new dojo at Rushcroft School was probably the best in
the London area. A wonderful genuine sprung wooden floor
which together with pine wooden cladding all around the
walls gave the dojo a beautiful golden appearance, especially
when in Summer, the doors were open and the sun shone in.
Unfortunately the school decided to erect a large sports hall in
the playground and do away with the dojo. It was sad to see
all of the beautiful wooden floors and walls being ripped out
and lines of bookshelves and computers being installed. The
new and much larger sports hall built in the playground was
no comparison; it was often used for exams and soon became
dirty and badly maintained. Another move was contemplated
and an invitation was received from Forest School to use the
Forest venue for a course. The course was successful and in
2008 the Chingford club left Rushcroft and restarted classes at
Forest School.
The Wanstead Club is now managed by Sensei Tony Aidoo
4th Dan and Sensei Gary James 3rd Dan. Both instructors
have taken the
Wanstead Club to higher
and higher
achievements in
both National
and International
Championships.
Sensei Tony
Aidoo is also the
Chief Instructor
at the Ashi
Shotokan Karate
Centre based
in Whitechapel,
East London.
LARKSWOOD KARATE CLUB
Mr. Chris Cowling, the branch manager at Lexus Cars in Woodford had links with the management of a new sports centre being
built in Chingford. Chris recommended the Chingford Karate Club to the management of the sports centre and subsequently a
new venue had been found for the club. Although small, the club was managed well by Tony Ives who took classes there every
Sunday. The Larkswood Club still thrives today and is managed now by Senel Dervish. Lexus also started to sponsor the clubs
and organised team clothing, poster sites and information leaflets. The clubs attended Lexus events adding to the interest of
the day by providing Karate displays.
POOL & TRACK – WALTHAMSTOW
More training days and times were needed for the members of the
Chingford club which had limited access to its own venue at Rushcroft
School because of other sporting activities and school exams. The Pool
and Track had been used in the past for various karate events and so
it was a natural choice to use for further extra classes, particularly for
children. The Pool & Track Karate Club started in 2004 and is thriving with
its resident instructors Sensei Salem Tedj, Roger Rayner and Liz Denton.
THE PETER MAY SPORTS CENTRE
Chingford karate club was involved with the Peter May Sports Centre well before
the small embryonic club started in April 2009. ‘Active Angels’ a girl’s only karate
venture was started by the Waltham Forest Council and Rod was booked to take the
classes. The Sensei Enoeda Course and book signing took place in the main hall and
bar in 2004, and so when the sports centre made enquiries about starting Karate,
the club began efforts to get a new Karate club started.
WALTHAM ABBEY KARATE CLUB
The Waltham Abbey Karate Club began in 2008. Although small, there is great
enthusiasm and many of the members travel to different clubs for extra classes or
squad training. No Black Belts have yet been produced but there is a good Brown
Belt section. In 2009 the Waltham Abbey Sports centre was threatened with closure
and so the Saturday classes relocated to Waltham Abbey Pool. The problem of
closure has now been resolved and the club now uses two venues
– one at the Waltham Abbey Sports Centre and one at Waltham
Abbey Pool. Resident Instructors are Sensei Lucy and Rod Butler.
Daniel Jenkinson
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Daniel started karate as a fairly weak child but went on to get
stronger and stronger. He competed in many Championships
before he found success and worked his way up to win the
National Junior Kumite championships in the JKA. His skill
at kata and Kumite was noticed and Daniel was selected to
compete in the World Shotokan championships held in Japan.
He did not reach the finals but had a very successful trip to
Japan competing against some of the very best in the world.
Daniel is now at University studying law.
Enfield
Karate Club
The success of Chingford and Wanstead
clubs was noticed by the Sports
development team on Enfield council
and Rod was approached to assist in
opening the new Southbury Leisure
Centre in Enfield. A group of club
members living in the Enfield area
formed the nucleus for a club and
performed a karate display on the
opening day of the new sports centre
on 28th April 2002. The Mayor together
with Sharon Davies was also there to
perform the opening ceremony. Enfield
Karate Club was born and Wanstead
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Edmonton
Karate Club
Black Belt
Massoud Aghassi
assisted greatly in setting up
and running the new club. Within one
month, four other karate clubs had
applied to start up at Southbury in Enfield
following the example of the small but
successful new Enfield Karate Club.
The Club at Edmonton began as an overflow for the Enfield Club. The
Southbury Leisure Centre had become bankrupt and went into liquidation. The
liquidators were trying to force a 100% increase in the fees charged to clubs
using the centre. Continuing at Southbury looked distinctly unlikely and the club
had to find an alternative venue. After long negotiations, demonstrations at the
Enfield Civic Centre and a petition to Number 10 Downing St, the problems
at Southbury gradually receded and the Edmonton Club, now established,
continued as a sister club to Enfield which is still based at Southbury Leisure
Centre. Edmonton instructors Massoud Aghassi and Kristina Baraskeva now
manage the Edmonton club.
St Ann’s
Oriental Foodstore
162 St Anne’s Road
Seven Sisters
London
N15 5RP
Congratulations on your 25th Anniversary
We wish SKE every success fo r the future
The Olympic
Torch Relay
The Tring Club
Sensei Rosemary New was a student of Sensei Enoeda
when she was living nearer to London. She was in the ladies
team at Sensei Enoeda’s Marshall St Dojo and trained in the
club on a regular basis. The Tring club in Hertfordshire had
thrived whilst affiliated with another karate organisation but
when the chance came to affiliate with SKE Sensei Rosemary
jumped at it. The links back to Sensei Enoeda
were important to Rosemary and she often
stresses how happy the club is to be part of
SKE. The club has two venues and its members
are enthusiastic and very wide ranging in terms
of age and grade.
The Olympic Flame came to England
as part of its round the world travels to
celebrate the start of the Olympic Games.
On June 26th 2004 Sensei Rod was chosen
to run with the torch in a section of the
London relay. His run was only for a couple
of miles in the South London area of Lords
Cricket ground but the roads were packed
with spectators cheering and waving Union
Jack flags. Crowds lined the route and
cheered as the torch cavalcade of police,
ambulance, and TV crew in a helicopter
escorted the torch around the streets of
South London.
The Tring club has hosted many successful SKE
courses during the last 4 years including Self
Defence, Instructor Qualification, Health & Safety
and Child Protection courses which have all
benefited SKE members and instructors greatly.
Sensei Rosemary New 5th Dan
I was born and brought up in Rhodesia
(now known as Zimbabwe) and it was
there that I first started training in
Shotokan Karate aged 16 in 1970. I had
been encouraged by a family friend and
imagined myself to be similar to Emma
Peel in “The Avengers.” Sixteen-year-olds
were a bit different then!
Circumstance forced me to change my
karate style to Shukokai (also known as
Shinkokai) in 1972 when our 1st Kyu
Shotokan instructor moved away. This
meant Black Belt instruction for the first
time and I thrived on it. I was a 5th Kyu at
this point and by July 1974 had attained
Shodan. Two weeks after this momentous
event I emigrated to the UK.
I found a job in London and settled down
but finding no Shukokai organization
closer than Glasgow I decided to set up
my own club. It took about a year but I
began to realise that training was more
necessary than teaching at this point in my
career, and that I still had a lot to learn.
Faced with images of Enoeda Sensei
plastered all over the tube station on my
journey to work each day, I decided that I
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Sensei Enoeda allowed me to
recommence my Shotokan career where it
had left off – 5th Kyu. Feeling myself to be
very fortunate I applied myself to training
three times a week until in May 1979 I
was once again rewarded for my efforts
by achieving Shodan. During my time at
the Marshall Street Dojo, Sensei Enoeda
gave me the great honor of choosing me
to represent the club in the Ladies Kata
team. I trained at Marshall Street until
1981.
A gap of ten years in my Karate career
then followed caused mostly by getting
married and having children. In 1991
karate called me back and I began
training in a small club in Berkhamsted.
The club was close to where I lived and
was part of an organization known as
TASK with Sensei John Van Weenen at its
head. Sensei Van Weenen encouraged
all of his Black Belts to set up their own
clubs, which I did in my hometown of
Tring in 1994.
students progress and gain in confidence
and that I loved teaching karate. I also
found that I had an interest in self-defense
techniques and how these relate to Kata
Bunkai and basic training. During the
fourteen years that I trained and taught as
a member of TASK, I graded to 2nd, 3rd
and finally 4th Dan in 1999. Sadly by 2005
relationships had become strained and
political wrangling within TASK caused me
to part company from Sensei Van Weenen
and his Association.
Happily, this led me to Sensei Rod Butler
and Shotokan Karate England. Finding
that we had many happy memories of
Enoeda Sensei in common, Sensei Rod
and his Senior Instructors welcomed
me and my students into SKE. In the
ensuing 5 years, my club has gone from
strength to strength. I serve SKE as Child
Protection Officer within the Management
Committee and I am also on the Technical
Committee. I am delighted to be a
member of an Association based on
the original principles and traditions of
Shotokan Karate.
I discovered the rewards of watching
Traditional Karate Magazine
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After the untimely death of Sensei Enoeda
there were other repercussions in the karate
world. The English Karate Governing body
to which most clubs English clubs were
affiliated, went into liquidation. A new
representative organisation was hastily put
together sponsored by the government
supposedly representing all karate clubs
and groups. The new organisation called
‘Karate England’ went into debt, and within
one year all the money that had been put
in by the government via ‘Sport England’
was gone. Karate clubs and students also
had nothing to show for the thousands of
pounds that they had contributed to both
Karate England and the English Karate
Governing Body.
The magazine ‘Traditional Karate’ carried
regular news regarding the financial scandals
that surrounded the karate governing
bodies in England and contacted Rod for
an interview. The interview in 2006 went
ahead and the magazine included a
picture of Rod on the front cover.
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The Wanstead Club
The Harlow Club
Sensei Enoeda was a regular visitor to
the Chingford Club and in 1992 when
the Wanstead Club opened it was Sensei
Enoeda who came along for the opening
celebration course at the club. The dojo
was packed and some of the students
had never seen Sensei Enoeda before,
consequently it was a real surprise for
many who were there.
In 2006 Sensei Rod was
pleased to hear from an old
karate friend from many years
ago. Sensei Steve Wilson,
who had been running the
very successful Harlow Club,
contacted Rod with a view
to his club joining SKE. Rod
provided all of the necessary
information and the rest
is as they say, history. Rod
remembers training with Steve
from those early days and
remembers him as a formidable
opponent with excellent karate
technique. The Harlow club has
been running for well over 30
years and has a strong black
belt membership. Sensei Erik
Thorpe took over as Chief
Instructor of the Club when
Steve retired in 2007 and has
made a brilliant job of carrying
on with the Harlow karate
legacy and success.
There has been a karate club at
Wanstead since the Sports Centre was
built in 1973. The original Wanstead
Karate Club was formed by Phil Gautier
who was also an early Enoeda student.
Phil used to sometimes train at the
Chingford Club but had to stop training
and teaching due to an ongoing health
problem. It was at this point that Phil
gave his blessing for Chingford to take
over the Wanstead Club and so Rod
tried to carry on and build the Wanstead
Karate Club up once again.
The Wanstead club went from strength to
strength and won many trophies in Kata
and Kumite at various championships.
Sensei Tony Aidoo is now the main
instructor at Wanstead together with
Sensei Gary James. Both instructors have
inspired and encouraged the Wanstead
members to do well and succeed in their
endeavors. In later years, the SKE Team
Kumite trophy went to the Wanstead
club on many occasions and Wanstead
members have also done well in National
and International Championships.
Sensei Erik Thorpe
3rd Dan
I first started training in 1984 at a small club linked to Harlow Shotokan Karate Club but,
as this club didn’t carry out grading examinations, I joined Harlow Shotokan in 1985. I
passed my black belt exam in September 1994 at Watford. This was the Honbu dojo of
my association, Seishinkai Shotokan Karate.
There were often Karate social events
at the Wanstead club. The bar which
has now gone, was popular with the
students and was often used by the club
for birthday parties or celebrations. Sadly
the bar has now been converted into the
upstairs gym and there is nowhere for
social activities.
I first got into teaching by assisting my Sensei, Steve Wilson, during the junior class at
Harlow and things progressed from there. When he sadly retired from training in 2007, I
then became the Chief Instructor to Harlow Club.
S
H
KARATE
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WANSTEAD
KARATE CLUB
JKA England
Saturdays – 12.00 to 1.00pm
Black and Brown Belts
1.00 to 2.00pm Beginners and
Kyu Grades
Mondays – 7.15 to 8.15pm
Beginners and Kyu Grades
8.15 to 9.15pm Black and
Brown Belts
website: www.karate-london.co.uk
email: info@karate-london.co.uk
TEL: 020 8364 3606
Classes also in Chingford and Enfield
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Although I find teaching a great responsibility, I get great pleasure from seeing students
grow in confidence as they progress with their training,
and this transfers to their life outside of karate. I
am also extremely proud when a student
performs well in gradings and competitions,
exceeding what they thought they could
do.
Some memorable moments in my
training include when I passed my Nidan
exam, as I think that was the best grading I
ever did. Some of my early competitions bring back great
memories and I was always proud to represent my club in all
events. A certain course always sticks in my mind
as well. This was held at Enfield by Sensei Butler in 2006
and I remember attending with my Sensei as guests.
The training was fantastic and about ten minutes
into the course we glanced at each other with a
big grin as we both knew we had found our
new association. I am proud and
honoured to be part of the SKE family
now.
Sensei Tony Aidoo
The Portsmouth Club
4th Dan
Tony is the resident instructor at the Wanstead Club. He also runs his own successful
Ashi Shotokan Karate Centre in Whitechapel, East London.
Tony was a member of the England squad and competed successfully in all levels of competition.
A year after attaining his Sandan he started the instructor’s qualification program and after successfully
qualifying he decided to teach, as this was what he had wanted to do all along. Prior to attaining his full
instructor’s certificate he was an assistant to his club instructor, Sensei Rod Butler at the Wanstead dojo.
Tony works as a senior biomedical scientist in the haematology department of the Royal London
Hospital situated in Whitechapel.
Sensei Senel Dervish 3rd Dan
I started training with Sensei Butler together with my son Timmy 25
years ago and haven’t really looked back since. I came into teaching
by assisting Sensei on a regular basis at the Chingford club and
with his encouragement I qualified as an Instructor and now run a
number of Clubs for him in the Chingford and Leyton area.
Sensei Tony Denham has taught students at the Portsmouth Club for
many years. Tony was a regular at the Crystal Palace courses hosted by
Sensei Enoeda and was often in the Kumite team when Sensei Enoeda
wanted to win an important match. Tony and the Portsmouth club have
always done well in the Kumite events at various championships. The
club, like Chingford, was affiliated to the KUGB and after the death of
Sensei Enoeda, the JKA.
As things went from bad to worse in the JKA, Portsmouth like Chingford
and many other clubs resigned, and that was the point when Tony
affiliated the club to SKE. Many of the old KUGB and JKA members
remained with Tony at Portsmouth and now the club is growing again after
the upheaval of the last few years.
The most pleasurable things about teaching is watching my students
gaining an understanding of what they are practising and watching
them gain the confidence to try out what they have learnt on the
mat. Also, the confidence and ability to think for themselves and try
out new and fresh ideas. I have always been taught with passion by
Sensei Butler and try to instil that same passion into my classes.
I have so many fond memories and it is impossible to mention them
all. The ones I will always treasure are the many training courses we
attended every year at Crystal Palace with Sensei Enoeda. In 2001
my son Timmy became the under 21’s National Champion and
that put the biggest smile I have ever seen on Sensei Butler’s face.
Timmy stood on the podium and held up the 1st place National
trophy which sits pride of place in my living room.
Sensei Gary James 3rd Dan
I started Karate around 23 years ago,
the style I started in was freestyle sport
karate, it was very competition and self
defense orientated. The training was at
times very physically tough, I remember
coming home with lots of bumps and
bruises and at times questioned why
I was putting myself through this, but
I believe It gave me good foundation
to move forwards and always train
hard. I originally started training to
encourage my children to keep training
but eventually they gave up and I kept
going.
My first competition was at Crystal
Palace fighting under the WUKO rules,
this meant you fought continuous for
3 minutes and the one with the most
points won the fight, I lost my first fight
32 - 3 I had met the European champion
in the first round!
I have been involved with the SKE
around 21 years and have never looked
back. As soon as I started training I could
see the standard was very high and I
knew then that this was the organization
for me. I have enjoyed great success
both in competition and personally with
the SKE. I took my Black Belt at the
infamous Crystal Palace Course in front
of Sensei Enoeda and remember being
very nervous but fortunately everything
went well and I’m proud to have his
signature on my Shodan certificate.
I started my teaching at Wanstead when
Sensei Rod asked me if I would like to
start helping him. I was very proud to be
asked and also very nervous questioning
myself as to whether I would be good
enough. I have since found out the best
way to start teaching is to simply get out
there and do it, you will make mistakes
(and I still do) but that’s the learning
curve. What I enjoy about teaching
Karate is seeing a student come into a
class who knows nothing about karate
and then seeing them grow and develop.
I now see these students in my squad
training sessions going from goal to goal.
Some of my memorable occasions were
when Sensei Enoeda used to come
to our dojo and take the training and
grading sessions, the atmosphere was
electric. Also I remember the Crystal
Palace courses which were spread over
5 days, training in the morning and
afternoon with some of the legendary
Japanese teachers. I also remember as
a brown belt when we used to perform
the kata marathons to raise money for
charity, they seemed to go on for ever!
Also A highlight was training with Sensei
Dave Hazard he has to be one of the
best teachers in the world.
My goals for SKE are to keep the high
standards set by our teachers, to keep
training as hard as possible, and to
keep pushing the students to produce
their best; life is too short not to train
hard. Reaching your black belt is a good
achievement but don’t think that’s it! I
remember Sensei Rod saying; “Grading
through the colour belt system is the
path to the mountain, when you get your
black belt then you have to start to try
and climb the mountain.” Never has a
truer word been spoken.
Sensei Tony Denham 3rd Dan
I started training
by chance in
1975, as my
Mum suggested
taking my young
brother along to
karate lessons.
At the club I was
informed that
they couldn’t take
children under
16. He was so
disappointed
that I promised I would train, then come
home and show him what we had been
taught, believing that he would most
probably become bored after a couple
of weeks. He didn’t - and I soon became
hooked!
When I reached 4th Kyu, I arranged with
the club I was training at to allow me to
start a junior club twice a week. After
starting the junior club in Portsmouth,
we ended up with six British champions
under 16yrs. Darren Ward one of our
juniors was presented with the Enoeda
Trophy for fighting spirit. I do believe
that no other junior had ever won this
trophy before. I have always enjoyed
knowing that I have passed on the
knowledge to others that Sensei
Enoeda gave to me. I gained my Black
Belt in 1977 under Sensei Enoeda at
Basingstoke.
I remember well training up at Crystal
Palace on the first Monday of one of the
Summer courses. During the session
Sensei Enoeda came up to me and said,
“You fight Friday!” You just didn’t say
no to Sensei Enoeda! He made myself
and all of the other team members from
Marshall St train everyday twice a day
up until the Friday and we paid for every
session on the course. We were battered,
bruised and tired after 5 days of heavy
training and travelling from Portsmouth
to Crystal Palace every day. We won
the competition and at the end of the
Championship Sensei Enoeda had a
photo taken of us five team members
together with himself standing in the
middle holding the trophy. He then
turned to us and said “Thank you very
much” and walked of with the trophy!
Priceless! We all shook hands and went
off empty handed.
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Visits to Clubs Abroad
Since its inception, SKE has made many friends at
home and abroad. Especially notable are the strong
links to the European Investment Bank Karate Club
in Luxembourg, the Brussels club of Sensei Kasajima,
the Monaco club of Sensei Sato and the ISKF clubs of
sensei Okazaki in the USA. Each year there have been
visits abroad and the links already strong, have been
renewed and reinforced. SKE is particularly proud
to have been invited to the personal dojo of Sensei
Kasajima in Belgium and Sensei Sato in Monaco. It is
extremely pleasing to see such strong and friendly
links that emphasize the karate and not the political
posturing that we saw during the last decade.
Sensei Sato made a wonderful presentation to Sensei
Rod when a large number of SKE students travelled
to the Monaco dojo in 2009. He presented Rod with a
beautiful piece of Japanese calligraphy created for the
event especially by his wife. The calligraphy now hangs
proudly in the office of SKE.
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