Old News

Grading Results

We have three new Nidans! C0ngratulations!
See the Gradings Page for more details.

Day Course and Gradings - 21st May 2023

It will shortly be that time of year when the organisation holds the senior gradings (1st kyu and above). This year due the smaller number of candidates, there will also be a morning training session open to all grades.

The schedule is as follows :-
10:00 to 10:30 Registration
10:30 to 12:45 Morning session
12:45 to 13:30 Lunch
13:30 to 15:30 Gradings

Venue:- Meadowcroft Community Centre
Address:- Bowlers Field, 147 Meadowcroft, Aylesbury, Bucks, HP19 9HH

As usual will need a good supply of Uke’s for the gradings and we encourage those of you 2nd kyu and above (especially those who are considering grading in the future) to attend and participate if possible.

The remaining course dates for your calendars are:-
23rd July Stuart Jeffs, Steve Lindsey
17th September guest Instructor - Nick Regnier
19th November Martyn Tyas, Jason Turvey

For the courses run by the training panel instructors, if there are any subjects/techniques that you would like us to cover, please feedback your suggestions, either via email or in person.

Regards

Steve/Stu/Martyn & Jason

Training Panel

New Courses Instructor

Hi all
I was rather surprised and happy to receive the invitation to replace Brian on the training panel who has stepped down from the role due to personal circumstances.

One of the objectives of the training panel is to encourage more of us to turn up to our courses. In this respect I think I can help because I have a wide range of Aikido experience under several different organisations and teachers, so I’m sure I can bring some of the interesting things that I have experienced over the years to our courses. That is one of the reasons why I accepted the role on the training panel my other reasons are:- the challenge of doing something new and having the opportunity to improve my teaching skills.

A little bit about me, I started my Aikido journey in 1993 under Fred Mills Sensei at the Reading club and was promoted to 3rd in 2016. Presently I’m training around 3 to 4 times per week at 3 different dojo’s in the Reading Area, (the KSK club under Craig Hargreaves, Reading Zenshin under John Garmston (Iwama) and Wokingham Aikido under Ivor Cinderby (Aikikai)). Then when I visit my partner, who lives abroad, I also tag along with her at the two dojos where she trains. I also try to go to as many external organisation seminars as I can fit in during the year (some of my favourites are Jan Nevelius/Miranda Saarentus/Lewis Bernaldo de Quiros & Yoshi Shibata). In general I’m heading toward the internal and softer side of Aikido and am aiming for the precision of the iwama style, the flow of aikikai style and softness of Endo’s style. Currently in my personal development I’m looking at improving my Taisabaki footwork and experimenting with Kokyo breath work.

In a semi official capacity for the organisation I also manage the Kai Shin Kai Archive YouTube channel. The channel is primarily aimed at preserving old footage and for sharing gradings. If anybody has any old video’s of club training sessions/seminars or are happy for me to share their gradings on the channel, just get in contact.

Hope to see you on the mat.

Cheers
Jason

2023 Day Courses

Dates for the 2023 Day Courses are now posted. Instructors will be added as details become available.

Gradings

I have listed the clubs who attended and provided ukes and took part on grading panels – my thanks to all who helped make it a successful day on the gradings.

Aylesbury, Bicester, Chippenham, North Cotswolds, Pinner, Towcester, Newport Gwent, Newport, YuJo Aikido Iitaly.

Attending members – there were 28 attending members.
A full list of successful candidates will be posted shortly.
My congratulations to all candidates in achieving their grades.

Bill
Chief Instructor

Gradings Update

A list of the candidates grading and the members of the grading panels have now been posted in the Senior Gradings page.

November Gradings

A reminder that your grading applications must be with the Chief Instructor no later than October 20th 2022

Membership renewals by card

The MemberMojo application has been upgraded to use Stripes and can now accept card payments.

November Gradings

A reminder that your grading applications must be with the Chief Instructor no later than October 20th 2022

July 24th Day Course

On the 24th July course, we will also be having a BBQ after the event. It will be basic; sausages,burgers etc, but you can cook what you bring if you like! See you there Brian

June's Day Course Review

I would like to thank everyone (especially the kyu grades) who attended the course and the hog roast afterwards.

Everyone enjoyed the course which was a different take on usual aikido through the use of Escrima. Hopefully everyone saw the relationship of the principles of movement and of "don't get hit" just as we do when we train in our aikido.

I would recommend as many of the kyu grades as possible to attend the next two courses, as well as those that are looking to grade in November.

We are both fortunate and lucky to have a wealth of experience within our organisation with our two senior instructors. Their knowledge really is invaluable, so make a note of the dates and keep them free: July 24th 2022 and September 18th 2022.
See you then!
Brian

June 19th Day Course

The next course will be on June 19th and our guest instructor will be Erick Cruz who is coming over from Las Vegas. The course will run from 10:30 - 1:30pm followed by a Hogroast!

Club Registration for Insurance

A reminder to all club instructors that under our new insurance policy arrangement, there are no longer any Club Registration fees!

November's Gradings have changed date

The date of the Gradings has been moved to 27th November. The Application Form for the gradings has been updated and can be found in the downloads section.

April's Day Course Review

I'd like to thank those who attended the April course, especially the lower grades. Also a big thank you to the various dan grades who taught on that course, especially the ones who didn't realise they were going to be picked on!
Everyone who attended put in 100% effort to train as it was being taught on the day, even when it wasn't something they were very familiar with from training at their own clubs.

Remember, on the various courses, everyone is evaluated on their attendance and training, to improve their performance when grading.

As we keep saying - the courses are free to attend!

So, can we get as many as possible of you to attend the June course please. It's going to be a bit different, but a lot of fun. Also, there is going to be a hog roast in the afternoon!!!!!

See on the mat.

Brian

Deputy Chief Instructor

Martyn Tyas has been promoted alongside Steve Lindsay to Deputy Chief Instructor. He replaces Nigel Vaughan.

Senior Gradings 2022

There will be an opportunity to take Ikkyu and Dan gradings later in the year. It's been put back to November to give candidates the chance to get some practice in after the upsets caused by the pandemic. Candidates will still be required to attend day courses in order to be eligible.

Insurance FAQ's

Details can be found by clicking on this link

Most Clubs are Open for Training

At the last count only one or two clubs remain unable to train. The majority of halls have re-opened their doors and it's business as usual. Check with your local clubs about joining or resuming training. Association Day courses are also being run.

Next Year's Day Courses

Dates for the courses in 2022 have now been added.

September Day Course

It was a very good course enjoyed by all. In addition to our friends from Barnstaple, the KSK was represented by members from a good range of clubs including; Aylesbury, Bicester, Carterton, Devizes, Milton Keynes, Northampton, North Cotswolds, Pinner, Portsmouth, Towcester & Wales.

The next Day Course is on November 14th at QMCA. The Instructors will be Martyn Tyas and Bob Salloway.
As usual, the courses are free to all KSK members!

The issue of whether to hold senior gradings next year is still being debated but clearly all those who are interested should attend as many courses as they are able to get as much training in as possible. Numbers attending courses will be a factor in this decision.

Day Course News

Chief Instructor Bill Harris has reviewed the courses team and Day courses will now be organised by the following senior instructors;
Deputy Chief Instructor Steve Lindsey, Stuart Jeffs, Martyn Tyas and Brian Horsler.

Extracted from the latest BAB Covid-19 advisory email

Supplement 33 to the Coronavirus Guidance – England

Steve Billett the BAB Covid-19 Officer attended an online meeting with Sport England at 12:30 pm today (13th July 2021) where they advised the latest information prior to the government guidance and Sport England FAQs being published later this week, hopefully before the 19th July 2021.

Information Received from Sport England.

• Full Contact Aikido can resume for both Adults and Juniors as of 19th July 2021.
• There is no limit on class size or who you can train with.
• The use of face covering is at the choice of the club leader, but is NOT a legal requirement.
• The use of the NHS Track and Trace QR code to register at your club is suggested, but is not a legal requirement.

Based upon this information the BAB expects that in England, clubs will be able to train with full contact aikido as of the week commencing 19th July.

Please ensure your KSK membership is current & valid as it includes your person to person and public liability insurance.

Important Announcement

The KSK ceased to be a member of The BAB on July 1st 2021, and have formed our own association together with Tenchi Ryu.

The reasons are, in general, due to dissatisfaction with the way the BAB is presently run and the fact that it appears to be a dying organisation that is going nowhere as a National Governing Body.

Kai Shin Kai has teamed up with Tenchi Ryu, run by Brian Stockwell and Sue Ward in Barnstable.
Sue Ward has many Sports-orientated qualifications and will be our lead Safeguarding Officer.
If you have any juniors in your Club you will therefore need to let her know.

For the purposes of those areas of joint interest – that is, insurance and child safeguarding – our two organisations will operate under the title of the ‘Aikido Alliance UK'.
In all other respects we will be autonomous for grading and membership operations, and have our own constitutions, saving that our respective constitutions will not contradict each other.

One of the benefits of this will be a saving in insurance and membership costs. This will be passed on to our membership giving you better value for your money.

As Clubs re-open from July 20th', leisure centres, etc may require some proof of civil liability cover. Insurance documentation can be found in the Downloads section.

Next Day Course

Hopefully while sending this out we would have started back to training. So with a sigh of relief we have a course on the 25th July.(government depending).

We will carry on with government covid guide lines.

As this will be our first course in a long time, we will be taking it easy! So as a recommendation, can we have all grades (especially kyu grades) to attend. As we keep reminding everyone the courses are FREE !

See you there Brian

Please read the Covid-19 notice at the top of the Day Courses page.

Day Course Update

Please note that the July 18th course has now been moved to July 25th with the hopes that all restrictions will have been lifted.

Corona Virus Update

Providing that the covid variants of interest don't cause another serious wave, the government should allow us to restart adult training from June 19th when the social distancing restrictions are expected to be lifted.
The government will lay out it's position on this on June 14th.
There will still be protocols to follow and these will be issued nearer the time.
Please ensure that the names of those anticipated to recommence training are sent in, so that blue insurance slips can be issued ahead of time.
Day courses are expected to be run at Meadowcroft from July.

Read the latest BAB Aikido Times newsletters

Aikido Times - December 2020
Aikido Times - March 2020

Corona Virus Update - BAB Suspends Insurance Cover

Read about the BAB Insurance Suspension

Promotion to Assistant Chief Instructor

Both Vince Sumpter and I have made a decision to make Steve Lindsey Assistant Chief Instructor together with Nigel Vaughan. Both of us felt it sensible and prudent to have two ACI’s as a result of current events to cover any future circumstances.
This effective from today.

Bill Harris
Chief Examiner

Corona Virus - Temporary Club Closures

The following clubs have notified me that they have closed for the time being, because of the Virus restrictions currently in place. Closures are currently expected to last for 6 weeks, so until the end of the first week of May.

Aylesbury
Bicester
Chippenham
Devizes
Harrow
Newport
North Cotswolds
Pinner
Reading
Towcester
Witney Carterton

The gradings on April 26th have been cancelled

See the Senior Gradings page for more details.

Senior Gradings

Owing to the ongoing Corona virus situation, the Government or local councils may order halls to be closed and there is therefore the possibility that gradings will not be able to take place in April as planned. It was therefore decided, without notice, to run gradings at the day course on 15th March.
Those of you who applied to take a grading in April but couldn't take it at the March course will be able to take it at the next day course.

See the Grading results in the Senior Gradings section

2020 Senior Gradings

The grading panels for the senior gradings on April 26th have been posted in the Senior Gradings section.

Read the latest BAB Aikido Times newsletters

Aikido Times - March 2020

Aikido Times - November 2019

KSK Courses Update

As part of Bill’s plans for the future of KSK, a panel of four Dan grades was set up in 2018 consisting of myself, Stuart, Nigel and Steve for the purpose of organising courses and trying to maintain standards within KSK. There have been teething problems which are in the process of being worked out.

Every course listed on the KSK website is open to all grades, and we highly recommend everyone to attend as many courses as possible. As well as meeting the senior grades, it is also an opportunity to practice with someone from another club.

A member of the panel is in attendance at each course and can use their discretion to select any instructor to teach on the day, so lesson plans need to be at the ready!

Although we may not all agree with the systems/styles of an instructor, you need to train in the style asked of you on the day so that you can then assess the standard of your own aikido. This is what makes KSK a unique organisation: we allow aikido to be practised in its many forms - open mind, open heart.

Any club whose students are unable to attend a listed course can set up their own course with at least one panel member invited to attend as lead instructor.
Please ensure such additional courses do not clash with those already booked in the diary. It can then be counted as one of the mandatory courses you must attend as a pre-requirement of grading in April.

To arrange an additional course of your own please contact me, Stuart, Nigel or Steve.

Brian

Banbury Club is closing

Keith Denney is closing his club at the end of April. He has 50 mats which he will donate free of charge to any KSK club that needs them. Contact Keith directly by e-mail at:

kj dot denney at btinternet dot com

Read the latest 2019 BAB Aikido Times newsletter

Aikido Times - March 2019

2019 Senior Gradings

The grading panels for the senior gradings on April 14th have been posted in the Senior Gradings section.

January Day Course

Thank you to those who attended the first course of the year. It was a good turn out and it was nice to see some new faces on the mat. It was a good opportunity to run through a mixture of techniques with an emphasis on grading tips. Hopefully those who attended found it useful. Now that the courses are FREE to all KSK members, it would be good to see even more of you on the mat.
Any feed back would be much appreciated.
You can contact me through the Aylesbury aikido club web site or our Facebook page
Brian

2019 Day Course

Please note that the January and March Courses are not grade restricted this year and can be attended by all levels.
Attendance to the January course is compulsory for those wishing to take a grading in April. You must also have attended an absolute MINIMUM of 2 courses since last April.
More details.

November Day Courses

Just a reminder that all Day Courses are now free of charge for all current KSK members. There are 2 courses this month on November 10th and 11th.
More details.

Read the latest 2018 BAB Aikido Times newsletter

Aikido Times - October 2018
Aikido Times - June 2018

Important Notice – Kai Shin Kai Membership Fees

In discussion with senior members of the Kai Shin Kai we are in agreement that it is important to get more members attending the centralised courses at the Aylesbury QMCA centre. To this end – and to encourage attendance – I have made a decision that as from 1st September 2018 ALL courses at the Aylesbury QMCA will be free to Kai Shin Kai members.

The cost of putting on these courses is currently almost £3000 a year (made up of hall hire, van hire for mats, instructors’ travel expenses, refreshments, etc); with income from courses amounting to around £1500 (from student attendance fees of £10 each).

The KSK currently has one of the lowest annual membership fees (at £20 – & £25 for new members) and these fees have been the same for at least the past 10 years. Therefore – to cover the future costs of running these free courses – for memberships received by the KSK Registrar on or after 1st September 2018 membership fees will increase by £10 per member to:

£30 – for annual renewals, and

£35 – for first year new members

In effect this means that those students who normally attend 2 or 3 courses during the year will save money and even attendance at just one course pays for the increase in your membership fee. There will be NO increase in the “juniors” membership fee. However, Ikkyu and Dan grading fees will continue to be charged at their present rate.

Bill Harris

KSK Principal & Chief Instructor
25 April 2018

Coach Level 2 Courses

Anyone who has already attained Coach Level 1, can enhance their coaching skills by progressing to Level 2. There are 5 level 2 modules to be attended before taking the final assessment. The BAB is running two weekend courses both of which will cover all 5 of the modules. The first will be in the Solihull area on 9th-10th June and the other in the Reading area on 6th-7th Oct. Anyone who is interested interested should contact Bob Salloway at bob.babcao@gmail.com

Coach Level 1 Course

A course will be run after the gradings so that new 1st Kyu's get a chance to be included. Application forms can be posted, emailed or given to Martyn Tyas at day courses. Numbers are always limited so it's the early bird that books a place.
CL1 Application Forms are available in the downloads section.

Pre-Grading Course

The last course before the gradings is on March 18th. It is for 2nd kyu and above only and any candidate thinking of grading MUST attend this course. Any candidate failing to have attended two courses including this compulsory one will not be eligible to grade.

Grading Application forms

Application forms for the grading must be with the Chief Examiner by 18th March 2018.
Forms can be obtained from the downloads section.

Bill Harris Instructing at the Marril Poole Course

Bill Harris will be the most senior instructor teaching at a course celebrating the journey of sensei Marril Poole on Saturday March 17th at the High Wycombe Judo Centre. See the course poster for more details. Marill Poole Course Poster

Read the latest 2018 BAB Aikido Times newsletters

Aikido Times - January 2018

Day Course Instructors

With immediate effect, the selection process of instructors who will be taking day courses has been updated.

The following are the chosen panel who will instruct and run courses for next two years:
Nigel Vaughan, Stuart Jeffs, Steve Lindsey and Brian Horsler.

They will choose a course date at which they wish to instruct and will co-opt any dan grade that they wish to assist.
At end of the two years, two members will stand down and two new senior grades will be chosen, allowing other senior grades to play their part in and commitment to KSK.

Bill Harris
Chief Examiner

Position Change

The position of Chairman has been withdrawn as it is now no longer needed.

Coaching Refresher Course Results

A Coaching Refresher Course was held on Saturday November 11th by our association coach tutors, Martyn Tyas and Brian Horsler. The following KSK Association and KSK Club Instructors all passed.
Instructors who were unable to attend will get another opportunity to attend a course at a later date, details of which will be posted on the website as they become available.

Bill Harris
Vincent Sumpter
Nigel Vaughan
Stephen Lindsey
Steve Souch
Ian Geddes
Phil Griffin
Keith Denney
Bob Salloway
Dylan Slough
Graham Cossey
DJ Walford
Philip Purcell
Piotr Slonina

Course Cancellation

On Saturday November 11th, a mandatory Coaching Refresher is being run for all KSK club instructors. Unfortunately that means there will be no senior instructors available to run a general course. The Sunday course on November 12th is unaffected and will run in the usual way.

BAB National Course 2017

Bill would like to send a big 'thank you' to all the KSK members who attended the BAB course this year. The KSK had 25 members who attended and supported our instructor, Martyn Tyas.

November Course 2017

A reminder that there is a KSK course weekend 11/12th November. Those students thinking of grading in April 2018 need to think about getting their courses in to qualify.

Coaching Courses

Martyn, the KSK CLO, is patiently waiting to receive your appliucations for both Coach Level 1 and for the Coach Refresher, so that he can organise and set course location and dates. If you are interested in attending a CL1 or you are a club instructor, ALL of whom MUST attend a refresher, please fill in a form from the downloads section and get it to Martyn by the end of October at the latest.

BAB National Course 2017

The KSK is subsidising the course fee for its paid up members. More details...

Read the latest 2017 BAB Aikido Times newsletters

Aikido Times - September 2017
Aikido Times - May 2017
Aikido Times - January 2017

Coaching Resources

The Coaching Courses section has been revised in preparation for our next courses. It is planned to run both a Coach Level 1 and a Coaching Refresher Course later this year. The Coaching Refresher Course is a relatively new initiative and is a one day course specifically for those who received their coaching awards more than 5 years ago.
The download section now includes a Coaching Resources section and a section for the CL1 Pre-course Homework.
Applications for courses may be made using the form in the downloads section or online on the BAB website.

Information about the 2017 Senior Gradings

A Candidate listing and a Panel listing have been added to the Senior Gradings section.

April Gradings

A reminder that all form applications with appropriate fees for grading have to be in by the March 19th course at QMCA or sent to me. Remind any students grading to make sure that they have courses required in their membership books. Thank you,
Bill Harris
(Chief Instructor)

KSK Grading Panels 2017

See the 2017 Grading Panels

Read the latest 2016 BAB Aikido Times newsletters

Aikido Times - October 2016
Aikido Times - June 2016

Day Course Price Increase

From June, the cost for a Day Course will increase from £8 to £10 per day.

Nb As handwriting standards are not what they used to be, please help the Registrar to do his job by asking for extreme legibility. Block capitals even, if that what it takes. Thank you.

2016 Grading Results

See the 2016 Grading Results.

Read the latest 2016 BAB Aikido Times newsletters

Aikido Times - March 2016

Coach Refresher Course

In addition to a CL1 course, the KSK coach tutors will be running a Coach Refresher Course. The chairman has made this course mandatory for all coaches who attained their CL1 qualifications more than three years ago. More details will become available nearer to the event.

Information about the 2016 Senior Gradings

A Candidate listing and a Panel listing have now been added to the Senior Gradings section.

Membership Price Increase

With immediate effect, the cost of New Senior Membership increases from £24 to £25. All the other membership classes will remain the same as before. A new form is now available in the Downloads section.

Nb As handwriting standards are not what they used to be, please help the Registrar to do his job by asking for extreme legibility. Block capitals even, if that what it takes. Thank you.

New CLO appointed

Martyn Tyas has volunteered to take on the position of KSK Coach Liasion officer.

Read the latest 2015 BAB Aikido Times newsletters

Aikido Times - October 2015
Aikido Times - August 2015
Aikido Times - June 2015
Aikido Times - April 2015
Aikido Times - February 2015

2015 CL1 Course

Our new Coaching Officers ran their first KSK CL1 Course.

2015 Grading Results

See the 2015 Grading Results.

Coach Level 1 Course update

Read the latest developments regarding the next CL1 course.

More Information about the 2015 Senior Gradings

A Candidate listing and a Panel listing have now been added to the Senior Gradings section.

Course reminder

Reminder to all potential grading candidates start attending courses to qualify for 2015 gradings: 2 general courses plus IKKYU & DAN Grades course in March.

Clubs can arrange to run a general course in their own venue but must be KSK instructor Sandan and above.

Bill Harris (Chief Instructor)

Day Course Calendar for 2015

The course calendar for 2015 has now been posted.

Read the 2014 BAB Aikido Times newsletters

Aikido Times - December 2014
Aikido Times - October 2014
Aikido Times - August 2014
Aikido Times - June 2014
Aikido Times - April 2014
Aikido Times - February 2014

Senior Grading Results

A listing of the 2014 grading results has now been added.

Club Closure

Bedford KSK have decided to close.
They will be selling their mats, the details of which are below:
1 x canvas mat that they will let go for a small donation.
8 x 2m x 1m x 35mm thick red mats for about £25 each.
Buyer to collect.
Contact John Saunders at aichoaikido@hotmail.co.uk or call on 01525 860 713.