The ever-popular JKA England Spring Course was held at K2 Crawley, from Friday 28 April to Sunday 30 April 2023. This year marks the 20^th anniversary of ENOEDA Shihan’s passing and the formation of JKA England, so no less than four instructors were invited to commemorate the occasion.

We were overwhelmed that over 500 karateka attended from all over England as well as visitors from Scotland, Germany, Kuwait, South Africa, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Slovenia, France, Poland, Estonia, and Luxemburg: making this a truly international event!

We were honoured to welcome OGURA Shihan (JKA Vice Chief Instructor) and HAKIZUME Yushi Sensei from JKA HQ as well as SAWADA Shihan from Belgium and of course OHTA Shihan (JKA England Chief Instructor).

Our Spring Course is open to karateka of all ranks and ages, with participants being split accordingly, and the instructors rotating between the various groups. In true JKA style, a heavy focus was placed on kihon, the basic foundational techniques, and their proper form, angle, and balance. Each session was structured perfectly, with the basic portion of the class leading to drills and exercises designed to improve and develop kumite. In addition, participants had the opportunity to learn and improve many different kata; Heian 2-5, Tekki 1-3, Bassai-Dai, Enpi, Kanku-Dai, Jion, Bassai-Sho, Gojushiho-Dai, Chinte and Unsu.

As part of the JKA England Spring Course, both a Kyu and Dan grading was held, allowing JKA members to be examined all the way up to 5^th Dan.

We are very proud to be a part of the JKA and are always striving to achieve the highest possible standards by educating and developing our instructors, as such we were very pleased to offer examinations for the various classes of JKA qualification:

• Instructor D & C
• Judge D & C
• Examiner D

JKA England were delighted to receive such positive feedback from everyone who attended our Spring Course, and we are already making plans and looking forward to hosting both KURIHARA and SHIMIZU Shihan for our Winter Course in December.