Beginners
Thank you for your interest in studying Karate with the South Glamorgan Karate-Do Shotokai (KDS).
We hope that this web site will help you to answer some of the questions that you will be asking yourself. Questions not only about Shotokai and the South Glamorgan club, but also about yourself and your ability to take part in the practise of Karate.
We hope, having studied this web site that you will come along to our KDS registered club, talk to the instructors and watch a practise. If you should decide to join and practise with us, you will, like many people before you, find that you are taking part in something that can be a most rewarding and invigorating way to spend your leisure time.
Why do karate?
Past experience has shown that people take up karate for many different reasons. Interestingly, the number of people who join to learn self defence by no means represent the majority. Many people join to get fit, some join because it's something different, and so on. Whatever the reason, those that persevere with the practice of karate invariably find it has much more to offer, both physically and mentally, than conventional sports.
Why KDS?
KDS is suitable for men and women and you don't have to be fit to begin, in fact many people start as a means of getting fit. All clubs have friendly and approachable instructors and interactive environments are encouraged in practice sessions.
About our club and it's instructors
For information on how to get to the club, or the training times, please click here.
The clubs are financed solely by the member’s subscriptions and all the money raised goes to the upkeep of the club and used to benefit its members.
The South Glamorgan club is registered with the KDS and because of this, you can be assured that the level of instruction received will be of a very high standard. The KDS spend a lot of time to ensure that this is the case. All of it's instructors are constantly under scrutiny, to maintain our expected high standards.
One area of great importance to the KDS is the Instructors ability to pass on technical skills, ideas and concepts that will be required by the members to improve their proficiency. To help with this, courses are arranged regularly throughout the country and are designed to improve the instructional techniques of the leaders and their understanding of the problems, which lay the path for the improvement of their members.
What are the grades?
KDS, like most other styles, has a series of grades to differentiate between relative levels of ability. The belt colour system we use is as below: White (4th Kyu): All beginners start at this level Yellow (3rd Kyu) Green (2nd Kyu) Brown (1st Kyu) Black (1st Dan - 5th Dan) (The 5th Dan is the highest grade in KDS. Gichin Funakoshi, the founder of Karate in Japan, held the level of 5th Dan and we in KDS do not believe that there is any need to go beyond this level.)