Well done to everyone who participated in the ASKC Karate demonstration at Tipton Sports Academy on Saturday 19th July.
Full galleries of pics on the club Facebook page

Sensei Butler and Sensei Morris will be holding a course for Dan grades and brown belts at the club on Saturday May 24th between 1.00pm and 3.00pm, to concentrate on a few of the finer points of our syllabus. Don't miss it.

Well Done to everyone who achieved their grading pass on Sunday. Both Sensei Butler and Sensei Morris commented on the terrific improvement in effort, attitude and standard od students. Keep it up! Gallery pics click here

ASKC Competition

The ASKC competition proved to be very popular with 99.5% of the people who attended.

Message from RTSKC Chief Instructor : Steven Humphries 5th Dan.

I have been studying Shotokan Karate now for over 25 years and, as well as teaching and training, have been involved in many competitions over the years both as a competitor at club and national level but also as a judge and referee in many. I entered my first competiton as a white belt after only a few weeks of training and was a referee at the ASKC competition only yesterday.

I would like to praise all of the RTSKC and ASKC competitors who took part in yesterdays competition. The standard was excellent from everyone from 9th Kyu up to 3rd Dan. Not only did everyone show great form and style in the kata rounds, in the kumite events everyone showed they had really stepped up their game since the last competition in November and we saw competitors thinking about their fighting as well as improving their arsenal from the usual basic bouncing and punch you see nearly everyone doing in modern sport karate competitions.

Aside from ability competitors also showed great character. Winners and losers congratulated each other and we saw some great sportmanship between the competitors and the two clubs.

Spectators were also great providing a brilliant atmosphere for the fighters regardless of club and thanks too must be said to the students from Tividale SKC who cheered along with the rest of them. Looking forward to the next competition where we may see students from all three clubs competing together.

I would like to thank Sensei Lee Butler and Sensei Dave Morris for organising the event and making all of RTSKC feel so welcome. And a big thanks to the whole refereeing team from ASKC, RTSKC and TSKC (MMAA). They all did a great job in what is one of the most difficult roles in Martial Arts. Also thanks to our Police trained medic who provided first aid support on the day.

One last thing I would like to say is that Shotokan Karate is a martial art and therefore there must always be some level of contact. Some of the modern comps that ban any contact at all seem to have forgotten the point of Karate.

Steven Humphries 5th Dan.

Zoo Time

A huge Thank You to everyone who attended the visit to Dudley Zoo in honour of the Club's sponsorship of Joao the tiger.

It was a very cold day but virtually all ASKC members were present, Well Done.

The Tigers were a bit quiet, despite hanging Little Dom over the enclosure by his heels. They probably thought he was too small for a decent snack.

Here's a strange thing: Sensei Butler has no reflection in the glass! So, the rumours are true!

Trophy Time (nearly)

The ASKC competition is drawing closer and with that in mind we thought you might like a sneak preview of the trophies open to ASKC club member.

These are in addition to the 1st, 2nd, 3rd awards which are open to any contestant, regardless of club.

Every single ASKC competitor will have shot at winning one of these beauties. All you have to do is your best!

ASKC adopts a Tiger

It is finally official. ASKC have adopted the tiger 'Joao' at Dudley Zoo.
Thanks to all members for their contributions in raising enough funds to make this possible. The raffle for the free tickets to the Zoo will be drawn on Thursday by Sensei Butler and Sensei Morris.
As you may know, the tiger is the symbol of Shotokan Karate, and now we have the real thing.
Click either pic for a larger image

Sparring Practice at ASKC 04.03.2014

A good night enjoyed by all, or most at least.

A few tears, some blood, defeats and victories at the Tuesday sparring night where most of the youngsters really enjoyed it, as did at least one old bloke who really should know better!

Click here for gallery pics

Sensei Morris awarded 5th Dan

Congratulations from everyone at ASKC to Sensei Morris on the award of his 5th Dan.

This grade has been long overdue and is exceptionally well deserved for over 20 years of continuous service to Alliance Shotokan Karate Club.

Every member of the club is very pleased that Sensei Morris' contribution to Karate has at long last been recongnised.

ASKC is extremely fortunate in having two of the top instructors in the West Midlands and their invaluable experience is appreciated by all students who benefit from their many years of training.

February Kyu Grading

Well Done to all who attended the grading on February 16th. Some impressive performances and plenty of effort on show from many students.

Click the pic for a much larger version.

Gallery click here

New Sponsor

A huge welcome and massive thanks to Harris Interiors who are sponsoring this website. Harris Interiors are Kitchen, Bedroom and Bathroom specialists, based in Coseley, who provide high quality craftsmanship when transforming your home. Check out their website here

New Sponsor

A massive welcome to our newest site sponsor FAST TRACK TROPHIES who will be supplying the trophies and medals for our upcoming competition. These guys are superb in the range and quality of products they can provide and will be putting up some custom trophies for our event. Click the logo to the right to see their website.

Wales Trip 2014

Plans are underway to organise the clubs annual trip to Wales for a training weekend. The date has been fixed for 15-18th August.

Click the dragon to see the poster

MMAA

Midlands Martial Arts Association have a new website: mmaashotokan Sensei Les Knight has a terrific stock of old pics which feature a few well-known faces (30 years ago). Recognised anyone?

Sure Start Demonstration

Well done to the ASKC Junior Demo Team who put on a superb display at Sure Start in Tipton for the Chinese New Year on Saturday morning. Demonstrating Kata, Sanbon and weapons techniques the team performed brilliantly with no hint of nerves.

Click here for gallery

Competition Time

A return match between ASKC, Roaring Tiger and Farmhouse Clubs has been organised for Saturday March 29th, 11am to 4pm. An invitation has been extended to Tividale Shotokan Club for any members who would like to come along and compete or simply spectate. More on this soon.

Old School at Alliance

Thursday evening saw a very special visitor to ASKC.

Midland Martial Arts Association's chief instructor Sensei Les Knight dropped in for a training session and renewed ties with a handful of old faces who trained together many years ago.

Tividale have joined ASKC under the IMASA banner and the two clubs look forward to working together in the near future.

Competition time. Return match in the next few months.

Well done to everyone who entered the recent Roaring Tiger Tri-Club competition, which was attended by members of Farmhouse Shotokan Club, Alliance SKC and Roaring Tiger. Plans are now underway for a return match in the next couple of months, hosted by ASKC.
Click here for the gallery of images of the Roaring Tiger event or go to the ASKC Facebook page for videos.