Author: Ash Prime

Greetings all. Welcome to Week 5.

Please be advised that there will be no Saturday class this week 8/11/25.

Grading Festival!

Grading will take place over weeks 8 and 9 with belt presentations in week 10 along with Tameshiwari (board breaking). 

Week 8, starting 24/11/25

Grading Part 1

Kata Trials 

Students will be tested on their kata and self-defence applications.

Week 9, starting 1/12/25

Grading Part 2

Kumite Trials

Many rounds of sparring under different conditions.

Week 10, starting 8/12/25

Grading Presentations

Tameshiwari (board breaking)

End of Term 4

Grading application forms will be available from Monday 3 November. Applications for this grading must be returned by week 7. 

Please check the requirements for your next belt to make sure you can confidently demonstrate them before returning your application.

Students will be graded based on their performance of kata, demonstration of self-defence applications and sparring skill. 

Students may be awarded full belt promotions or silver stripes. 

Please let me know if you have any questions. 

End of year grading is approaching. Application forms will be available shortly. Before submitting an application, I want students to think about the purpose of grading and belts. They are recognition of your hard work and improvement. They are a sign of your knowledge and skill level in Karate. 

Grading isn’t just putting your hand up, saying you want to grade and getting the belt automatically. It is making the choice to do the work needed to meet the requirements. Demonstrating your commitment. Just pause and think about that for a moment…. What do you need to do? Know your requirements. Ask questions if you need to. Be confident in your ability to demonstrate the requirements without watching someone else! Test yourself. Take a video of your all of your kata and see if they’re correct. If you are not at that point just yet, wait. Keep practicing and you may be ready next time. There is no rush and no competition. Karate is a personal journey and each individual takes as long as they take. 

End of year Grading

In the final weeks of Term 4, students will have the opportunity to test for their next belt. Whether they have recently graded or haven’t for some time, this is a good time to start preparing. Effort will be rewarded. 

Kata requirements increase for each colour belt. 

Yellow – Kihon Kata

Orange – Kihon and Sanchin

Red – Kihon, Sanchin and Tensho

Purple – Kihon, Sanchin, Tensho and Saifa

Brown – Kihon, Sanchin, Tensho, Saifa and Rohai

Black – Kihon, Sanchin, Tensho, Saifa, Rohai and Kusanku

This week I will take names of those who are keen to grade this term and go through their requirements.

Check out my video in the facebook group about why kata is important.

https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1G6M87gr15/?mibextid=wwXIfr

If anyone needs uniforms or other gear (gloves, mouthguards etc) come and see me after class.

Finally, please ensure term fees are up to date or let me know if you need time to pay. Thank you all.

Welcome to term 4 everyone.
It’s heating up but let’s train hard with respect for one another, great effort in every session, courage to do the things we find hard and kindness towards all.

Enso Karate opened on this day, seven years ago. Thank you to all who have been a part of this journey. Many have come and gone, as is the way in martial arts, but we still have a few members who started on day one and many more not long after. To truly experience the value of Karate takes many years and I commend those who have stuck with it. Keep going. The best is yet to come.

Term 4 starts Monday October 6.
See you soon.

Greetings all. 

I hope everyone is having a nice break.

Term 4 will begin on Monday October 6 (yes it’s a public holiday but class will be on). 

CLASSES

Monday Harrisville

4:30-5:30pm Age 8+

Wednesday Ipswich

9:30-10am Age 4-8

10-11am Age 8+

Saturday Ipswich

2-3 pm Age 8 +

FEES

Term 4 will see a small increase in term fees. I’m sure everyone is feeling the general cost of living increase of late and I’m reluctant to raise prices but it’s been three years since the base price has incresed and running costs have risen. 

Junior class remains the same. 

Open class, please refer to the price list image. 

As always, fees may be paid over the duration of the term. Please let me know if you have and questions or concerns. 

GRADING

The next opportunity to grade will be at the end of term 4. Please refer to your grading requirements manual to see what you need to know for your next grading. See me in class if you don’t have one. 

MOUTH GUARDS

Brown belts and up require mouth guards in all training sessions in order to grade further. A requirement of black belt is effective self-defence against a wide range of techniques. A mouth guard is essential to learn this safely. I recommend all students wear a mouthguard during sparring. While we take care and avoid certain techniques at early levels, accidents can occur. Mouth guards are available from Rebel Sport or various online retailers. Reach out if you require assistance in purchasing one. 

Please do try to get some practice in over the break. Stretching, pushups and kata are great for home practice. We train hard to advance but these improvements can be easily lost in a short time without practice. 

“Karate is like boiling water, without heat, it returns to its tepid state.”

• Gichin Funakoshi

See you all soon. 

Ash

Congratulations to all who passed their grading this week. Great effort from all participants. 

Here are the results:

Harrisville Dojo

Vanessa – yellow

Travis – yellow

Peter – orange

Ipswich Dojo

Riley – white yellow stripe

Cadence – white yellow stripe

Holly – white yellow stripe

Lillith- white yellow stripe

Yuki – yellow

Piper – orange black stripe

Mason – red black stripe

Ari – red black stripe

I was impressed with various aspects of everyone’s performance. 

Feel free to share any grading photos with the Facebook group. 

There will be another opportunity to grade in term 4. 

With just this Saturday’s class remaining, we come to the end of term 3. The junior class has been a successful and fun addition to Enso Karate and I look forward to continuing with that and seeing the little ones progress. They bring so much energy!

Thanks to all for your continued support and effort in training. 

We’ve had some new members join in the last few weeks which is always great to see. Welcome.

Next week will be the last week of term 3. These classes will be gradings for a few students at Harrisville and Ipswich dojos inluding our first junior class grading. Everyone else will participate in support of those grading.

There will then be a two week break.

Students practicing Kobudo (traditional weapons of Karate) need to be aware of the laws around weapons and self-defence. 

In Queensland it is illegal to carry any item for the purpose of self-defence. This includes martial arts weapons such as those we use in class and other items such as self-defence pens and sprays, knives, chains etc. Even carrying a stick for the purpose of self-defence is not allowed. We have very strict laws about self-defence items. New laws allow police to check anyone at any time for weapons. This is why unarmed self-defence is important. We can’t use anything else. 

Our use of Kodudo weapons is strictly for training, fun and historical preservation. You can not use these for fighting or self-defence. Small weapons such as sai and kama should be carried to and from class in a bag where they are not visible. Don’t take your weapons out in public. You can use them at home and in class and carry them to and from class. Nunchaku in particular are classed as a restricted item. They are illegal to purchase or own unless you have a reasonable excuse such as training in martial arts. If you are ever questioned about your Kobudo weapons, you can say that you use them in your martial arts class. 

If you have any questions or concerns about this topic please contact me. 

Karate for All.

Since the creation of Enso Karate, being inclusive, accessible and adaptable has been a core value of mine. I’ve been somewhat experimental in various areas from class etiquette to grading requirements, trying to find the best way for all (there isn’t one). It’s an ongoing process and you will continue to see changes in how things are done. While there are going to be certain standards for specific things like black belt (also adaptable to some extent) I don’t want anyone to miss out on achieving their potential because of problems with the system.

I have certainly faced my own challenges in martial arts and study in general that were not always met with appropriate accommodations.

If there is anything about classes or grading that anyone is finding to be a barrier, please reach out either in person or by message/email so we can look at options moving forward.

Nothing fits everyone just right, but with an open approach and willingness to change, we can try to fit everyone.