FEATURE / WADO RYU THRIVES IN JERSEY After a four year break he missed the discipline and camaraderie, so in 1962 he formed a club at Bel Royal School and applied for membership of the Higashi Association, which taught the style of Wado Ryu and offered a whole new challenge, which paid off in 2000 when he was awarded 2nd dan in the Wado Ryu style. In 2005 he felt he needed another challenge and started his own independent club under the name Jersey Wado Ryu. Black belt Instructor Ryan Lambotte started karate in 1961 at the age of five when he joined Ken Yu Kal (Shukokai/Shito-Ryu). He trained hard and two weeks past his 12th birthday gained his first black belt, having bean graded by Sansei Terry Pottage (7th Dan) to become the youngest black belt in Jersey At this point he was taken under the wing of martial arts mentor Liam Ahearne, and at the age of 15 he made the decision to concentrate on his studies, so left Ken Yu Kai. Three years later he took up the discipline again and joined Liam’s club at Bel Royal. This was the start of his career as an instructor. At this point the club agreed to join the Higashi family (Wado Ryu). Some time later, after having been assessed by Sensei Spanton and a panel of high grades over a grueling weekend in Jersey his black belt was ratified. Six years later, in April 2000, he was awarded his Nidan (2nd dan), l2yearsafter first being graded. Instructor Steven Ahearne started karate at eight years of age, He trained with Senseis Andy Bree and Doug Joseph with the Kenyukai Karate Association and achieved his yellow belt before havmg to give up for a time because of ill health. A few years later he returned to karate as part of his rehabilitation process. Again he trained with Kenyukai as his father, Liam Ahearne, was teaching the junior class. On a visit to the Ireland, Sensei Terry Pottage, chief instructor of Kenyukai, recognised the progress he was making and awarded him an honorary 3rd kyu brown belt, and six months later he was awarded the official 3rd kyu grade. He continued training with Kenyukai to 1st kyu brown belt, but other commitments meant once again having to give up karate. On his father’s return to karate, Steven became an assistant in the club. He
trained for a short while at Bel Royal Karate but soon joined the Higashi association, and fortunately his grades were honored under the EKGB rules. The move to Higashi meant having to learn a whole new style. After training under Sensei Peter Span-ton for seven years he achieved his 1st dan black belt in March 2000. The club continued to train with Higashi for five years, but after his father’s decision to leave the association he resigned from Higashi to follow a new path under Jersey Wado Ryu. Also helping out in the club are Graeme Le Feuvre and Mandy Fuller. Graeme trained for many years with Liam and achieved his black belt in 2003. Since then he has taught students to prepare for grading and competition. He also sits on the grading panel and is the club’s health and safety officer. Mandy gained her black belt in 2005 alongside her son, Sam. She started training after watching from the sidelines and showed great aptitude for the art. She is the club’s child protection officer. As a non-profit making organization, all funds from mat fees and club memberships are returned to the students in the form of courses. Also, money raised through sponsorship has gone to provide some of the best karate equipment available today. Currently Martin Gurren and the Freelance Motor Group have offered their support and sponsorship, along with Tony Le Tiec of PBS.
Many donations have been made and previous sponsors of the club and major contributors have been Bio-SignaI Corporation, whose support enabled the club to host the largest karate course in Jersey with over 70 students visiting from the UK and almost 100 training. Evolution Systems Ltd have also supported the club. Thanks are also due to Derek de Ia Haye and Sport, Education and Culture for their assistance and the staff at Springfieid, where the club holds a course each October. As a non practicing karateka, David Louis has done more for karate in Jersey than most established karateka. He helped to found the Jersey Karate Federation and was chairman for a number of years. While he was in office, Jersey hosted some of the best karate championships in the UK. Top associations came to Jersey year after year to compete in these champions thanks to David’s leadership. When he stepped down as chairman of the karate fed the new committee made him an honorary life president. Jersey Wado Ryu is very grateful for his knowledge and assistance and his dedication to the club. Over the years of training the club has had some very good people in the background, helping out by arranging all kinds of events to raise funds, including bingo nights, scavenger hunts and many sponsored events. This tradition is carried on by supporters of the club today. Proceeds from these events have helped to send the students away to competitions and bring over instructors from the UK. You can contact them on 07797 853353
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