On Friday, September 23, seven black-belt instructors travelled eight hours to Southend-on-Sea to attend the Traditional Shotokan Karate United Kingdom International Autumn Seminar and Dan Grading.

They were greeted by the host instructors Alan Parish and Jason Hitchings, together with Scott Langley and Richard Amos. Also present was Toshihito Kokuban, who had travelled from Japan to teach at the weekend seminar.

Friday night was spent catching up and socialising with friends old and new, with a certain amount of organisational dialogue between seniors of

the World Traditional Karate Organisation (WTKO). In attendance from the south west branch of the WTKO were black-belt instructors Ash Hawkes, Paul Uren, Jason Hawkes, Sal Hawkes, Jason Hasnip, Charlotte Hawkes and Mary Egginton.

On Saturday the training started at 11am with the first of three one-hour sessions. For the black belt students this was taught by Scott Langley, while the lower grades attended classes taught by the other two course instructors, Amos and Kokuban Sensei. Then in rotation everyone trained for another two hours that day before retiring for afternoon tea at a local venue before the drive up to Norwich for Sunday’s training.

Sunday morning ran the same way, with three hours of tuition from the experts.

After the training it was time for the black belts to test for their next grades. Jason Hawkes from the Kingsbridge branch of the WTKO was testing for his fourth dan. At 25 years old that is a really tall order.

Under a panel ­comprised of Kokuban, Langley, Amos, Parish, Sanna and Hitchings Sensei, he had to fight three other black belts in succession and perform two kata. At a fourth-dan test the examiners are looking very deep into not only Jason’s karate, but his personality.

Karate with the WTKO is so much more than just a physical thing – it is also emotional and intellectual. Fourth dan should come with a balance of all these things, as well as the ability to look at failure as a positive learning experience. What happens after is also a test.

After three successful fights and performing his kata – a formal set of techniques in a ­prescribed order – Jason did not pass his test on this occasion.

Fifth-dan Ash Hawkes, Jason’s instructor for 17-plus years, commented: ‘I was so proud of Jay, he looked amazing. His fighting was astounding and very efficient and his kata was artful to say the least. He’s trained hard for this. I don’t think he failed as such and I trust the opinion and methods of my ­seniors, the examiners.

‘They wanted more from Jason, not because they’re hard to please, but because they’re experts in knowing what he needs, rather than giving him what he wants. They knew he was capable of more, which fills me, as his instructor, with joy.

‘Candidates shouldn’t always pass the tests right from the beginning and should learn to “get back on the horse”.

‘At our gradings here, students sometimes don’t pass first time – that builds the right character, which is very important in a karate ka [karate ­student].’

At the WTKO, the local instructors who are third dan and above after passing a test are able to grade students for their coloured belts.

Jason, who is back to training straight away, said: ‘It was a tough test and I pushed as hard as I could on that day. I’m positive about the outcome and intend to retest next February.

‘I now know what I need to work on and I’m so grateful that I have the expert input that’s got me this far.’

Paul Uren, who runs Plymouth Karate-do, joined the WTKO after attending seminars in Kingsbridge.

The WTKO group here in the south west is going from strength to strength in both ­traditional and sport karate, with more than 100 students registered in the region and more than 1,000 in total in the UK alone.

Ash said: ‘While I have had some success in the sport side of karate, for me it’s of no more importance than competing against yourself as you train in traditional karate.

‘As the leader of a much larger group now, I see the need to cater for a wider range of students.

‘Some like the sport side, while some just want to train, get better at karate and improve themselves. We can cater adequately for both now.

‘Sunday, October 30, is our first south west squad training session. This will be led by Paul Uren Sensei, who is a very seasoned ­competitor and an experienced referee and judge.

‘Before this event will be the brown and black belts’ training and we’re expecting around 30 students to attend.’

Anyone who wishes to find out more can contact Ash by calling 07792 574745 or 01548 531808; you can also click on www.wtkosw. com or search for ‘WTKO South West’ on Facebook.