10th Anniversary Wado-UK Presentation Evening 2017

So 10 years had flown by, and we found ourselves back at the Hull University for a celebration of our group, clubs, and membership. 10 Years is a long time in some respects, things move on, people move on, we get older and as some say wiser, but some things never change. In all of the last 10 years, one thing which had remained constant was our desire to provide karate instruction which was to a high standard, accessible to all, and which helped develop our membership. We hope we managed to achieve this, and of course hope we manage to achieve this for the next 10 years also.

It’s incredible to think that early in 2008, John Moreton suggested we should be holding an end of year celebration evening, and incredible also that we now find ourselves here celebrating our 10th anniversary event. We originally started in the John McCarthy Suite or the Johnny Mac as it is known. For the past few years we have been in Asylum, and it would be nice if we are back here in another 10 years continuing this now well established tradition.

We were once again able to welcome some of John Moreton's former students on the evening, and this ever increasing number of former members gives plenty of scope for reminiscing throughout the evening, and is a fantastic opportunity to catch up with old friends.

Another amusing twist this year was the added interest of the Paparazzi photographers as people arrived. We hope you were all receptive to this idea, as the photos can all be viewed by clicking this link, where you can download any amount of the ones you would like to keep. (Link to be established)

One thing we did on the night was to refresh everyone's memory of the association award winners across the last 9 years, and of course add an additional name to each of the shields. For posterity we thought it worth listing them below also, including this year's winner.

The Emily Pierce Memorial Shield
 Awarded since 2011

This award is in commemoration of Emily who sadly passed at a young age. It is designed to both recognise and reward the efforts of the recipient, who has overcome adversity to maintain their karate training, whilst at the same time preserve Emily's memory. Previous winners have included;

2011 – Katherine Rowland-Hill
2012 – Keesha Cowles
2013 – Laura Fee
2014 – Libby Dunham
2015 – William Miles
2016 – Noah Shields
2017 - Nicola Sartin

Unfortunately Nicola was in hospital in London, so her club mate and mentor Amie Newton received the award on here behalf.

The Wado UK Service Award

This award is designed to reward someone who has been instrumental in the development of Wado UK or its membership, through their help and assistance at such things as association activities. Previous winners have included;

2008 – Allison Munro
2009 – Barry Meanwell
2010 – Allison Munro
2011 – George Campbell
2012 – Chris Dearing
2013 – Steve Bell
2014 – Jackie Newton
2015 – Ian Hartery
2016 – Shirley Braid
2017 - Gaynor Dent

Gaynor received this award for her back stage assistance at almost every event Wado UK stages. Gaynor can be seen below receiving her award from our Chief Instructor John Moreton

The Wado UK High Level Achievement Award

This award has been designed to reward the recipient for their achievements throughout the year. These achievements must have stood out in the eyes of the Wado UK Executive Committee, and would have done so because of their high caliber status. Previous winners have included;

2008 – Barry Meanwell
2009 – Paul Braid & Jessica Newton
2010 – Jessica Bates
2011 – Jessica Newton
2012 – Barry Meanwell
2013 – Amrit Dhesi
2014 – Amrit Dhesi
2015 – Thomas Balaam-Reed
2016 – Jordan Taylor
2017 - Steve Balaam-Reed

Steve Balaam-Reed received the award this year, following his club's success at this year's Federation of European Wado Kai Championships. Steve can be seen below receiving his award from our Chief Instructor John Moreton

Barry Meanwell was also rewarded with his Rokudan (6th Dan) certificate from our Chief Instructor John Moreton. This follows on from Barry's noteworthy competitive career, and his continuance to develop Wado UK students with his instruction to the group. Barry is a popular instructor and received a hearty round of applause when the announcement was made.

Shodan Dan grade certificates were presented on the evening, to those who had successfully passed during the year. Recipients included, Ellie Hayes, Amie Newton, Jakub Lutwiejko, Oliver Dearing, and Joe Rose. All of Whom can be seen in the photograph below.

Our club awards are just as important as the above association ones however, and a representative from each club was on hand to say a few words about their clubs, and to announce their winners. First up was Steve Ballam-Reed speaking of his Chikara Dojo, followed by Barry Meanwell and the East Hull Woodford Dojo, then came Shirley Braid for her and Paul's Shinken Dojo, and finally Tony Dent for the Hull Zanshin Dojo. All of the trophy winners can be seen below.

The first club to make awards was the Chikara Dojo
Presented by Steve Balaam-Reed


The second club to make their awards was the East Hull Woodford club
 Presented by Barry Meanwell


The third club to make their awards was the Shinken Dojo
Presented by Shirley Braid


The fourth club to make their awards was the Hull Zanshin Dojo
Awarded by Tony Dent

Wado UK Squad Members
Chikara Squad

Shinken Squad

East Hull Woodford & Hull Zanshin Squad

Former members of John Moreton's clubs over the years
From L to R Harry (Wuff) Mankel, Pete Dewar, Tony Dent, Steve Ross, Terina Kiss (Nelson), Andy (Fig) Barrett, Nick Langrick and John Moreton.

Students

Photography by Dean Dent

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