We have added a new Karate kids training session in St Clears that is run at a slower pace with more fun. This has been very successful, doubling the numbers training in St Clears over the last year. St Clears has also been successful in competitions, bringing home medals from the Welsh and British Championships. One highlight was a student receiving his black belt. The karate club has also raised over £860 for charity through training fees donated to the local hospital stroke unit.

1. We have added a new Karate kids training session to our existing mixed training
session in the Leisure centre at St Clears. This new venture is a huge success and it
provides the little members a starting point, which is run at a slower pace with a little
more fun atmosphere. The adult group has a very high level of discipline, which to
little ones can feel a bit intimidating. It provides a good feeder for our main group
and the numbers training in St. Clears has doubled over the last twelve months.
We have at St. Clears been active in competition at national level sending an
accomplished squad to the four Welsh Championships during 2009 bringing home 1
gold 2 silver and 6 bronze, with one of our junior members Jordan Evans stepping up
to the British Championships in Scotland and achieving last eight placing in a very
tough category. Well done to him, a lot of hard work and dedication from one so
young (10 yrs at the time). At association level we remain unbeaten as once again we
took a large squad to Port Talbot and again top of the medal table for the fifth year
running with 10 gold, 9 silver and 10 bronze, what a result.
One of the highlights of 2009 was welcoming Alan Jones to the rank of 1st Degree
Dan grade, Alan started training with us at eight years old and it was a very proud
moment to see him receive his Black belt from Hanshi Peter Spanton (London).
Under Carmarthenshire Karate of which St.Clears is a large part have adopted a
charity to support, our chosen charity is the physiotherapy department in Glangwilly
Hospital Carmarthen and specifically the stroke unit, we feel that this a very worth
while cause and proud to say that fees from training across our clubs have been
donated on two occasions over the last 14months, total to date is £860.00 and we
intend to make this an annual event during the month of May where we encourage all
our members to train as much as possible during a special time scale for the donation
of their fees to be as much as we can make it.
This May has also been a momentous time for us in St.Clears where I (Mair Phillips)
travelled to Warsaw in Poland to attempt my European Judge in Kumite (competition
fighting). 160 were there from all over Europe and at the end of four hard days of
theory and practical examinations and scrutinised by the European Commission we
waited to get our results, what an agonising time waiting to know our fate, several
coming out of the conference room with fail papers. To my absolute joy and pride I
came away with a pass, the first female European karate judge in Wales and only the
second in Britain ever!!! To say my Governing Body is proud of me is an under
statement and I still can’t quite believe it myself yet. The journey home needless to
say was a haze; my first duty will be in Serbia in February and Turkey in May/June
2011.
Back at club level we have a great deal of work ahead of us during June and July
where we have big courses with senior Instructors and grading for Senior students,
followed by juniors and finally the Karate kids group, a lot of preparation work to get
students up to the required level for their next upgrades.