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[Wado-Karate]

Part 12 in Wado Karate Federation’s series, Katas Around Hua Hin.

This week’s video is a bit special for us. When we thought about making this series, one of the first locations that we thought of was the old piers in Hua Hin. However, because of the very high tides at this time of year, we didn’t think there would be a decent filming opportunity. We were in the area at the lowest point of the tide, and happened to spot the smallest area of beach.

Armed with rubber gloves and a very large bin bag, Sensei John set about clearing enough rubbish from the beach to make it suitable for filming. The black bag was full within 5 minutes, but there was opportunity to fill 12 more bags, such is the way this area is abused with littering.

Ever since we started coming to Hua Hin 20 years ago, people have been talking about the legality of the piers, and there have been many reports of their imminent demolition. However, to date, they have survived the bulldozers. It is our belief that it would be a tragedy if they succumbed to bureaucracy.

The piers are part of the old town’s heritage as a small fishing town. To look at them, you wouldn’t believe they have survived many storms over the years, but survive they have. These days, the fishing industry is a distant memory, and the piers have been converted into restaurants and hotels. In the foreground of the video is one of the many restaurants over the sea, where can enjoy the beautiful sea view whilst hearing the waves crashing under your feet. It can also be very interesting to walk around some of the old streets in this area to appreciate old Hua Hin.

The light blue coloured pier in the background is one of the piers offering accommodation over the water. We’ve never tried it, but imagine it as a novel way to wake up on a tropical holiday, hearing the waves beneath your bed.

So, in this beautiful setting of old Hua Hin, Sensei John is performing Jitte Kata.

[Wado-Karate]

Part 13 in Wado Karate Federation’s series, Katas Around Hua Hin.

This week’s video was shot at a place often referred to as one of Hua Hin’s best kept secrets (not any more). Just South of Khao Tao, it is a small stretch of sheltered beach, situated between 2 mountainous rocks. The beach is very steep, so not necessarily suitable for children (although children are always seen here having a great time).

The small road to the beach accesses the beach at the central point. On one side is a beach club, but there are also plenty of sunbeds available from local vendors, and the usual Thai dishes and refreshing drinks can be served at your bed.

The more adventurous (and fit) will access the beach from Wat Tham Khao Tao Temple at the Southern end of Khao Tao, which is a quirky sea front temple well worth a visit in its own right. From here, you can climb the steep mountain path to a huge Golden Buddha at the top, which offers splendid views, both North along the coast to Hua Hin and also inland including Khao Tao Lake. Then where the path forks, you can climb down to the Northern End of Had Sai Noi Beach, which is where the video was shot. At this end of the beach there are some high rocks from where locals often fish. Also found on these rocks is a statue of a mermaid and a man playing pipes. This can be seen in the background of the video.

Interestingly, there was a very rare shark attack (only a handful of recorded incidents ever in the whole of Thailand) on this beach about 3 years ago. Shark nets were laid off the beach, but people have short memories, and these nets have long gone. Of course, the attack was an isolated incident.

We have never seen this beach busy, and it is a great place to chill. It is a delightful isolated place.

Today’s kata is Niseishi. Because of the steepness of the beach, and the constant high water at this time of year, there was no hard sand, and the kata had to be performed in very powdery sand, and you will see Sensei John ankle deep at times.

[Wado-Karate]

Part 14 in Wado Karate Federation’s series, Katas Around Hua Hin.

This week’s video was shot at the North Khao Takiab Beach. The intention was to film it under the 19 Metre high Standing Buddha, which is quite iconic at this end of the beach, but very high low tides at this time of year combined with strong winds and rough seas meant the low tide beach was submerged.

Khao Takiab is well known for its vast troop of boisterous monkeys, and on a sunny day they can be seen diving off the rocks into the sea to cool off – playing like young children. Be warned though, playful children or not, these guys don’t like to share with anybody, even if it isn’t theirs to start with. They will take any opportunity to steal food and drinks from you, and resistance can result in them getting violent. Basically, keep temptation out of their way, and you will be fine.

From the beach, there is a path and steps that passes the Standing Buddha which you can take to reach the top of the 77 Metre high mountain. There are fantastic views back along the beach to Hua Hin from this route.

We made this video early morning whilst the beach was still in the shadow of the mountain. The shadow of the mountain combined with the rough sea beyond creates some great silhouette shots of the kata.

This week’s kata is Kushanku, which is a combination of all the moves from the Pinan katas, making it the longest Wado kata.

[Wado-Karate]

Part 15 in Wado Karate Federation’s series, Katas Around Hua Hin.

So here we are at the penultimate video. There is just one more after this one, and we believe we’ve kept the best until last. However, we have an exciting announcement – Sensei John’s friends at local film company, Pablo Productions have taken all of the raw footage from the series, including sweeping the cutting room floor to find previously unseen footage, added a pot of magic dust, and there will be a VERY SPECIAL COMPILATION VIDEO released on 25th January. It is truly Hua Hin as you will never have seen it before. Some of the Pablo Productions effects are stunning.

This week’s video was shot in front of the iconic Hilton Hotel. I say iconic because it seems to have dominated the shoreline here forever – certainly for the 20+ years we have holidayed and lived in Hua Hin. Despite being several miles long, many visitors see this stretch as Hua Hin Beach. This is the area that gives Hua Hin its name. Hua means Head and Hin means Rock or Stone. At this point along the shore there is a rocky headland. You will see the kata was filmed from some rocks and there is quite a large crop of rocks at the end of the beach. The rocky outcrop stretches quite a way out into the Gulf of Thailand, with a small lighthouse marking safety. There is a small pathway that leads you off the beach, past the Chinese Temples to the Old Piers.

To the left of where this video was shot is a huge umbrella city. Before Covid Restrictions into Thailand, this stretch of beach was very popular with bathers. A combination of too many umbrellas (totally disproportionate to the handful of bathers) and a very high low tide (a common theme during the making of these videos), we actually had to wade to the rocks to find a bit of sand where we could film. Believe me when I say we were lucky to find a large enough patch of beach.

This week’s kata is Jion.

[Wado-Karate]

Part 16 in Wado Karate Federation’s series, Katas Around Hua Hin.

So we’ve reached the end of this short journey of performing katas around Hua Hin. It has been an interesting journey with some very mixed reactions from the public. Some were very abusive, whilst other were on their own journey, desperate to get in the video. We even omitted some videos rather than offend. We’ve waded through the sea, been savaged by mosquitoes, climbed sand dunes, danced with red ants and endured very strong winds, but it has been a great experience, and we’ve thoroughly enjoyed it.

However, as announced last week, Sensei John’s friends at local film company, Pablo Productions have taken all of the raw footage from the series, including sweeping the cutting room floor to find previously unseen footage, added a pot of magic dust, and there will be a VERY SPECIAL COMPILATION VIDEO released next week. It is truly Hua Hin as you will never have seen it before. Some of the Pablo Productions effects are stunning.

We think we’ve saved our best video until last. It was filmed in the Mangrove Forest, which is part of the Pran Buri Forest Park, a protected area in Thailand. It is at the mouth of the Pran Buri River to the Gulf of Thailand in Pran Buri District (yes, this is where we were savaged by mosquitoes). Sensei John had to perform on the raised walkway above the mangrove floor, so his choice of kata was very important due to the limited space available. Naihanchi was ideal for the narrow walkway.

Karate aside, this is always a very serene place to visit, and very popular with the visitors who can find it.

[Wado-Karate]

It is time to introduce the culmination of our Kata Around Hua Hin series, which mixes a variety of locations and katas with a strong helping of Pablo Productions expertise/magic to produce an excellent representation of Hua Hin and Wado Kata.

You will all have seen the 16 part series, Kata Around Hua Hin. In this series, we have simply filmed Sensei John performing different Kata at different local beauty spots. The guys at Pablo Productions offered to take our raw footage, and use it to bring Hua Hin’s beauty to life. They took footage from:

• Wat Huey Mongkhol
• Rajabhakti Park
• North Takiab Beach
• Pranburi River
• The Monument on Lake Khao Tao
• The Mangrove Forest in Pranburi Forest Park
• Queen Sirikit Park
• The Viewpoint at Hin Lek Fai
• Hua Hin Railway Station
• Hua Hin Fishing Pier
• Hua Hin Fishing Lodge
• The Old Piers, Hua Hin
• Lake Khao Tao
Some of the above locations did not appear in the original series, so some of the footage will be brand new to you. We are very impressed with what the Pablo guys have done.

Please enjoy Hua Hin as you will never have seen it before, and feel free to leave your feedback for the Pablo Productions team.

[PeteC]

Quite good to my eye. I liked that effect where he was doubled in the same frame.

[Wado-Karate]

We have packages for everybody. Current membership ranges from 5y.o. to 68y.o. and White Belt to 3rd Dan Black Belt. Everybody is welcome and we will find the best package to suit your personal circumstances.

If you're thinking about it, but you aren't sure, give us a call and you can try one of our public classes entirely free of charge, with no obligation whatsoever to continue.

Teaching is carried out in English and/or Thai as appropriate. Gradings are mostly using Japanese commands.

Our current student base comes from:

Russia
Finland
Scotland
France
Germany
Thailand
England
Brazil
Holland
South Africa
China
New Zealand
Canada

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[Wado-Karate]

CLUB ANNOUNCEMENT – 10 April 2021

It is with deepest regret, but Sensei John has decided in light of the current Covid situation, he will close the dojo from 10am today. He will complete today's training because people will already be travelling from as far away as Prachuap.

This decision has not been taken lightly, and he apologises for letting everybody down, but this is seen as being for everybody’s safety, which has to be paramount.

The duration of closure will be dependent upon how the virus progresses in Hua Hin, and, of course, any subsequent government instructions. He will review the situation regularly, and hopes to return to dojo training as soon as possible,

As with waves 1 and 2, John will start a Zoom programme from Monday. Details of Zoom training will be promulgated shortly. As usual, Zoom classes will be free of charge, and all members are welcome to participate.

This is a very virulent strain of the virus. Please stay safe. Please continue to watch our Facebook Page for updates.

[Wado-Karate]

Wado Karate Federation, Hua Hin is open again to teach Traditional Japanese Karate.

Our friends at Pablo Productions contacted us a few weeks ago. Pablo enjoyed putting together the Katas Around Hua Hin video so much, they wanted to make a sequel, Karate Around Hua Hin.

We need to thank the guys at Pablo who have done another fantastic job, this time including some breathtaking drone footage, which ranges from fun on the beach, to competition training on the side of a local mountain to some spectacular mountain top video.

NEW MEMBERS ALWAYS WELCOME. First lesson is absolutely free with no pressure/obligation to continue. We accept karate isn’t for everybody, but if you don’t try, you’ll never know.

[Wado-Karate]

Photo taken after the prize giving at this year's annual Kata Competition, which took place Wednesday evening:

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[PeteC]

What's the achievement level represented by the different belt colours those kids are wearing?

[Wado-Karate]

Achievement levels in respect of this tournament can be taken in 2 ways i.e.:

• The syllabus grading system which with regular training can see a student knocking on the door of Black Belt within 6 years is very rigid. Every grade has to be earned, and there are no short-cuts/fast streams as you find in other martial arts. The belt system is (list follows for Tapatalk users):
  - White
  - Red
  -Yellow
  - Orange
  - Green (half-way point)
  - Blue
  - Purple
  -1st Brown
  - 2nd Brown
  - 3rd Brown
  - Black
  Regular training will see a good student progress from 1st Brown to Black in 3 years. The highest grade Brown Belt will achieve 2nd Brown (hopefully) on 18th December.

• In terms of the competition, various katas are associated to various grades:
  - Red Belt - none
  - Yellow Belt - none
  - Orange Belt - Kihon Kata
  - Green Belt - Pinan Nidan
  - Blue Belt - Pinan Shodan
  - Purple Belt - Pinan Sandan
  - 1st Brown Belt - Pinan Yodan
  - 2nd Brown Belt - Pinan Godan
  - 1st Brown Belt - Kushanku

The above lists may seem gobbledygook to most people, but the is a high relevance in terms of achievement. There were 4 Red Belts who performed katas well above their grades when they performed Kihon Kata and Pinan Nidan. One of them was the eventual Junior winner. A brilliant achievement. Sensei John who went on to represent England in Japan could barely manage Pinan Nidan at Orange Belt.

The Blue Belt who won the Senior section performed Pinan Shodan and Pinan Sandan, so still hitting above her weight.

Apologies for the long winded answer, but the question was bigger than it sounded.

[PeteC]

Thanks for that.

[Wado-Karate]

Last week the club held it's 2nd Annual Kata Competition. Attached is the Highlights video of the entire competition. Other videos will be published in the coming weeks showing a lot more detail. We had a good night, and we hope others enjoy watching it.