Final class of 2012

Zanshin Karate-Do Kinnegad held our last class of the year on Monday 10th December in our dojo in Kinnegad GAA centre. The junior class kicked off with a demonstration for the watching parents, showing basics, padwork, kata, self-defence and sparring. Everyone put on a great show, and yet again, the instructors lost the Selection Box Challenge to the students!
Later that evening, Zanshin senior students John Whelehan, Aaron Darcy, Matthew Darcy and Peter Govan graded before a panel comprising Zanshin instructors Gerard Walsh, Liam Darcy, Keith Waslh, Proinsias Ó Fearghail and Paul Thackaberry. The lads had to demonstrate pad and bag work, basics, kata, kata applications (bunkai),prearranged sparring, semi free sparring and free-sparring (semi-and full contact). At the end of the grading, Peter advanced to green belt, John to blue belt and Matthew and Aaron to purple belt. Congratulations to them all on a great display of spirit and technique!


Merry Christmas to all our students and friends! Kinnegad resume training on the 7th of January, 2013!

Kinnegad End of Year Demo and Grading!

On Monday, 10 December 2012, junior students from Zanshin Karate-Do Kinnegad will give a demonstration to their families and friends. Parents are asked to have their children at Kinnegad GAA Centre  at 6.50 PM so we can start at 7.00 PM sharp. The demonstration should be over by 8.00 PM.We hope to hold a junior grading at the end of January 2013, as we have mainly concentrated on tournament this term. Zanshin senior students will attempt a grading from 8.00-9.30 PM before the whole Zanshin instructor panel. Good luck to all! Classes will resume at the usual times in Kinnegad on Monday, 10 January 2013. Merry Christmas to all our students and friends!

Zanshin Portarlington Tournament

On Saturday, 17th November Zanshin Karate-Do Midlands organised our first ever tournament in our Portarlington dojo. As well as being our first tournament, the event commemorated 4 years of Zanshin Karate-Do Midlands, which began in November 2008. The lion's share of the organising was done by Zanshin Portarlington instructors Sensei Keith Walsh and Sensei Paul Thackaberry. The tournament was really well attended, with students present from the Zanshin clubs in Portarlington and Kinnegad, the Irish Shotokan Academy, the Edenderry Shotokan Academy, the Wicklow Karate Organisation, Ballybay Karate Club and many more. The tournament was run under WKF rules and we would like to publically acknowledge the role of Sensei Stephen Hughes and his colleagues from the Irish Karate Federation Commission who provided referees and judges for the day. Here are some pictures of the stars of the day....the competitors.

Zanshin Portarlington Tournament on PhotoPeach



It never matters to us whether people come away with a medal or not - what is important to us is that the young karateka taking part demonstrate good karate and have a good time. We felt that the standard was excellent, and that all students taking part were a real credit to themselves and to their instructors.
During the interval, Guro Donal Connaughton, one of the highest-ranked Filipino Martial Arts instructors in the country demonstrated the lethal art of Llanera Eskrima to the spectators. Guro Donal was ably assisted by our own Sensei Liam Darcy, who demonstrated his own skill in the Filipino art by performing the form "Solo Mano Uno". Here is a video of the demonstration...

portarlington tournament 045 from Proinsias Ó Fearghail on Vimeo.
A great day was had by all, and we hope that all our students learned that we have to improve our standard - especially in kata - to be able to match some of the brilliant competitors who took part. The Zanshin clubs (thankfully!) did well, bringing home our fair share of medals. Again, thanks so much to everyone for making the day a great way to commemorate our four years of training!
As a final note, we were especially pleased to see the return of our own Sensei Gerry Walsh, who has been recovering from a serious illness. Sensei Gerry spent seven hours yesterday judging the events - it was great to see him back!

Extra Training!

All students participating in the Zanshin Portarlington tournament will be offered extra training on Monday night 12/11/2012. White-Orange belts will train from 7.00-8.20 PM and Yellow-Green belts will train from 7.00-9.00 PM. Senior students are asked to come along and help with training.

Portarlington Tournament

Zanshin Karate-Do are holding a tournament for juniors in Portarlington on Saturday 17th November from 10 AM-PM. Cost €10, covering individual and team kata and individual kumite. We hope for a great turn-out from our own Zanshin members, and from other local clubs. WKF rules will apply. All Zanshin Kinnegad members hoping to take part should inform Proinsias on Liam on Monday next (12th November). Any other interested Karateka should contact Keith Walsh or Paul Thackaberry (details on the About Us page of this site). LET'S GO!!!!

Jiyu Kumite

Jiyu Kumite (free sparring) is an enjoyable aspect of training at Zanshin Karate-Do. Here we see Sensei Paul and Zanshin senior student Brian Bolton giving a fine demonstration at the recent grading in Portarlington!


video-2012-10-21-13-07-36.mp4 from Proinsias Ó Fearghail on Vimeo.

Grading in Portarlington!

On Sunday, 21st October 2012, Zanshin Karate-Do held a grading in our Portarlington dojo. Students attempted to attain grades reaching from orange to purple belt, and we are delighted to be able to say that all our students passed with flying colours. Senseis Keith and Paul are VERY proud of their students - and rightly so! Great spirit, focus and technique was demonstrated throughout the grading. The grading panel comprised of Zanshin instructors Senseis Keith Walsh, Paul Thackaberry, Liam Darcy and Proinsias Ó Fearghail. Thanks also to the students from Zanshin Kinnegad who came along to lend a hand! Well done to all! The slideshow below will give you a flavour of the day....