Clicks not cliques!
- Matt Powell
- Sep 16
- 8 min read
When I was growing up in karate, I was a proud member of SEKU, the Shotokan of England Karate Union. At its peak (membership wise) the association had over three thousand members spread across England and had a wealth of talent and experience in its ranks.
In my opinion the association peaked in the late nineties, and I was fortunate to be there in the early 2000’s before senior members and instructors drifted away.
The three principal instructors had a combination of attributes that blended perfectly to create a collaborative environment and have all bases covered.
My teacher, Mervyn O’Donnell was the general secretary. The doer of things! The person who didn’t always take centre stage, but who would ensure organisation was refined and everything was ‘just so’.
Whilst I am a tad more of an extrovert than my teacher, I feel that Merv bestowed some of his organisational skills onto me by example. “Matthew…. The devil is in the detail”.
I had booked the dates for our regular course with Sensei Trimble last year and the venue had been secured at a similar time. I had organised Aidan’s hotel ahead of time too and so it was back in late June that I decided to revisit the style of our poster for this year’s event.
In the past my favourite poster had been an almost comic-book superhero style graphic. But for some unknown reason this year I steered the look towards a more serious looking black and white image.
After Aidan approved the poster, I set to work sharing the invite with our members and those who had attended the course over the past four years. But then something unexpected happened.
I started to get requests to attend from some of my old friends and colleagues from the prime-time peak SEKU days. Not least my great friend Simon Staples.
This inspired me and I added some extra horsepower to my communication and reached out to other old friends, including Arran from the Andover dojo who I’ve not seen for perhaps a decade!
By mid-August I was aware that this year’s course was filling with mostly brown and black belt Adults ranging from 3rd Kyus to 7th dan black belts. I wasn’t sure what had driven the evolution of audience, but the prospect of training with many of my old friends really excited me. So much so that I wanted to make sure some of my newer karate collaborators were in the mix to and I invited Rogerio from Bravo karate to attend to.
In early August I was in Nottingham training and had a nice catch up with Aidan over an excellent Chinese meal with friends. I told him then that I sensed we were going to have great attendance this year with a few old faces training.
Back in the 1990s Aidan had organised some kumite matches and meet ups between SEKU and his association the FSK in Nottingham. There are some wonderful stories of these eventful encounters, and I knew that Aidan would thoroughly enjoy having some of the ‘old guard’ back in the dojo.
We have had some big changes at our dojos over the last couple of months. Sadly, Sam who has been our administration powerhouse had to step back and resign due to ill-health. This was devastating and we will all miss her incredibly. Whilst I knew we had lots to organise and change in Sams absence, I decided that I would simply focus on the Aidan course in the first instance and then face these realities after.
So, when course day arrived, I felt a wave of relief and expectation as I taught a combined family class in the morning before Beau, Tommy and Hugh helped me clear mats and prepare the Clanfield dojo for the course.
It wasn’t long before I heard the familiar voices of Paul and Beryl Moreby from Kent in reception chatting with Jen. Paul was a SEKU stalwart when I grew up and has supported events at Petersfield since 2014. Beryl is a wonderful human who rivals my gran with incredible hugs, and I have witnessed her supporting Paul in his training for decades. Always with a smile and a flask of something hot.
Next to arrive were my firm friends from the SEKU Isle-of-wight dojo led by Mick Lambert. It’s always great to see these guys. We have shared so many wonderful experiences over the years both in and out of the dojo.
The Clanfield dojo is a big hall, but I could soon feel the energy levels rising.
My wife Karyn was working the register assisted by my daughter who was munching on a sausage roll as our friends from training began to arrive.
From my perspective it was wonderful to see old friends, (who did not know they were going to see each other) reconnect with hugs and smiles.
Aidan arrived and I could sense that he was feeling the good-will and anticipation.
Inevitably a few attendees could not make it on the day, but interestingly the dojos of all three of the SEKU directors had senior members training. The Portsmouth, Brighton and Portchester dojos were all represented. It was like old times!
Back in the late 1980’s SEKU had a dojo in London led by Jaimie Harrison. When the club closed one of its members, Adam Cockfield moved to Seishinkai under the watchful eye of Malcolm Phipps Sensei. Adam was an ever present on the Shotokan competition circuit and we became firm friends along with Simon and others in our SEKU squad.
It was great to have Adam with us along with Josh and Bobby from his thriving Kings Cross dojo.
I took my spot in the line up and felt a familiar sense of belonging. Suddenly I remembered how it felt to be shoulder to shoulder with my friends and ready to go. For me the energy was palpable. I couldn’t wait to start training.
As is our now familiar format the course is split into three one-hour classes. The first class was on fundamentals and Sensei taught some refined linear basics before pairing us up into small groups to work on a drill.
I was in a group with Simon and the 1972 crew. Darren who I know of old was originally from the Brighton dojo. He is always such an enthusiastic pair up and a great advocate for our work. My old friend Rik Rutherford, originally of the Burgess Hill dojo and then Brighton has incredible hair and hits like a train! Sadly, Darren Jumnoodoo was away with work but hopefully we will catch up soon.
Soon Adam, myself, and the 72 crew were working in rotation and it felt just like it used to in the good old days. But now we are sponsored by deep heat and Neurofen! 😊
Also in the dojo were Craig Hardman, Matt Holloway, Danny Camfield and Jim King, who had all grown up in SEKU and are back actively training and striving……. Brilliant!
Sensei was expertly working the room while each groups buzzed it up.
Many years ago, Simon taught me to approach intensity in terms of clicks and levels. We were soon upping the clicks and pushing each other. The atmosphere was electric.
After a short break some of the junior grades left and we were joined by Juli and Steve from Morpeth. Again, former SEKU members! The shared history in the dojo really added a sense of family and reunion. I was thrilled that our Petersfield and wider AKA members got to share the day.
Class two was on set moves from kata, combined to produce a fun and energetic bunkai (application) sequence. Aidan had conceived a lovely piece of work which was attainable for those newer to karate but allowed us more experienced exponents to push up a few clicks and express ourselves.
I was soon aware how much I was enjoying myself as unusually I was not paying attention to the wider attendance. I was simply focused on the work our group was doing. We were having fun and giving each other the odd smack 😊.
The final hour was kumite and Sensei focussed on effective kicking which we combined with pad-work for added impact and spice. Again, once we understood the concepts and application there was room for expression and experiment. The perfect mix for all levels of student in attendance.
The three hours had raced by and we all joined in a round of applause to honour Aidan’s work and acknowledge our enjoyment.
Earlier in the week Kayleigh from our Petersfield dojo had told me that she had ‘assumed it was an adult course’ because of the look of the poster. Hence, she had not signed up her son to attend. This had not been my conscious intention, but this year’s event was mainly attended by teens and adults. It had a different feel. But was a truly great day.
The poster design change was not a conscious one…. I wonder what had been going on in my subconscious.
After training a few of us headed to the Bat and Ball public house where I had arranged for Terry Oliver to meet us as a surprise. Terry was a massive part of all our SEKU shared history and Aidan was thrilled to see him. A few hours flew by as old ‘war stories’ were shared, and I was very aware that we were by far the noisiest table in this sleepy country pub.
In the evening Adam and I met with Sensei for an incredible Italian meal, and the hours flew by.
On Sunday I had arranged for us to attend the Goodwood revival for the fourth year running. This year I was a little nervous of the weather so sported wellingtons with the standard issue tweed. My wife was looking glamorous while Aidan (always understated) was a veteran racing driver complete with empty Champagne bottle. We were joined by our Uncle Dave and my life long friend Danny who trained at the Portchester dojo with me as a kid.
We had a wonderful day. Aidan is such great company and makes everyone feel comfortable in his presence. The hours flew by and we were soon heading home before a beautiful Indian meal at my ‘local’ Riverspice in Portchester precinct.
In many ways this year’s course felt like it had reached a peak. I cannot imagine a better culmination of the event.
So, with that in mind I think it’s time to shake it up and change it in a few ways. Aidan has now visited us for the last five years and I have his blessing to make some format changes to keep it fresh. I don’t want to get complacent. We have all witnessed inevitable decline after a peak. So, I am keen to guard us from that.
So it is with much anticipation that I begin to plan next years course whilst reflecting on a wonderful experience this year involving many old friends.
It was great to train and spend time together again while sharing the floor with new friends to. Life is short and time like our health is precious.
I loved upping our effort a few clicks whilst training with friends and no cliques.
See you next year. Osu.
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