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Easington Kamishin Kai Karate Club

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Welcome

Easington Kamishin Kai karate club mentors its students in the art of shotokan karate, established in 1993 the club has been a strong contender in the Isle of man Karate Federation tournaments. We meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays at Easington Colliery Primary School, 5:30pm to 6:30pm. We work with most ages starting from 5 years and only costs £1.50 per person, per session (first session is free!), everyone is welcome to come along even if its just to watch. Our Chief instructor Sensei Denis Routledge 4th dan renshi (accomplished instructor) has been training in karate for over 35 years

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Our club is affiliated to the Isle of Man Karate and Kobudo Federation which anually holds a national open tournament (at Easter) which is hosted in turn by various clubs around the U.K. At thetournament junior and senior karateka can choose to compete in Kata (basic and advanced forms), Kumite (light contact sparing), Kobudo (weapons kata) and Goshinbudo (locks and throws). The federation and tournament is open style making some of the martial arts demonstrated very interesting.

Chief Instructor

sensei Denis Routledge 4th Dan Renshi, established the club in 1993. Sensei Denis's philosophy in starting the club was to teach karate to a high standard while keeping costs low so that karate can become an affordable family passtime. When we hold a demonstration to attract new members he suggest's to people to join a club whether it be football, boxing, cricket, karate etc his message especially to younger people is "good people join clubs" he truly believes that if you give a young person something to direct their attentions on they turn out better people for the experience especailly if it is something that they can enjoy with their family. He also considers discipline within the club to be very important for safety and personal improvement. Denis has been training in Karate for more than 35 years..

Gichin Funakoshi

Present day Karate can be traced directly back to the time of Daruma, the founder of Zen Buddhism. About 1400 years ago, he left Western India on foot for China to give lectures on Buddhism. His journey of several thousand miles was perilous to say the least, for he had to cross the Himalayas, unbridged rivers, as well as vast stretches of wilderness. He made his journey alone, which gives us a clue to his spiritual as well as physical strength. In later years, Daruma introduced to his many followers a system of physical movements to improve their strength, following a journey to the Shao-Lin Temple when most of them fell by the wayside from exhaustion. With this system the Monks of the Shao-Lin Temple became known throughout China for their courage and fortitude. .


In later times it came to be known as Shorin-Ji Kempo, and this method eventually reached the Ryukyu islands and developed into Okinawa-Te, the forerunner of present day Karate. The two Okinawan Masters, AZATO and ITOSU were most responsible for teaching and influencing FUNAKOSHI- the father of modern day Karate. Karate was first introduced to the Japanese public in 1922, when Funakoshi, who was then Professor at the Okinawa Teachers College, was invited to lecture and demonstrate at an exhibition of Traditional Martial Arts sponsored by the Ministry of Education. His demonstration so impressed the audience that he was flooded with requests to teach in Tokyo. Instead of returning to Okinawa, Funakoshi taught Karate at various universities, and in 1936 established the shotokan style. .


Karate has spread to almost every country in the civilised world. It is gaining in popularity everywhere, not only as a Martial Art and Self Defence, but also as a Competitive sport. When the J.K.A. arranged and held the first All Japan Karate Championships in 1957, thus putting Karate as a sport on the map.