REVIEWS
Liz Legg reports on the 32nd Ticky Donovan Summer Course (2008).
The weather forecast was lousy. British weather at it’s best with a forecast of storms and torrential rain – great! Who in their right mind would be excited about heading off to Clacton for a week? Chuck a caravan into the midst and most people figured it was a pretty daft idea and thought I’d really lost the plot when they realised that I was actually looking forward to it and had been ticking the days off on the calender in my office.
So what’s so special about Clacton? Well …. For the last 32 yrs it has hosted the Ticky Donovan Annual Summer Course and this year was no exception. Ticky is the current England National Squad Director and is renowned as the 'Worlds Most Successful Coach'. Often heard to say, "make it happen".
He is 3 times British Champion a British, European and World Team Champion and has been the British Team Manager / Coach – for the World Championships in Taipei 1982, Holland 1984, Australia 1986, Cairo 1988, Mexico 1990
His annual course gives any Karate-ka from any style the chance to train solidly for 6 days with some of the best Instructors in the World.
Instructors teaching throughout the week included:
- Ticky Donovan 8th Dan OBE
- Dave Hazard 7th Dan
- Moira Barber 6th Dan
- Philip Francis 6th Dan
- Pepe Suarez 6th Dan
- Greg Francis 5th Dan
- Eddie Gillespie 5th Dan
- Richard Condon 5th Dan
- Lee Smith 4th Dan
- Jonathan Mottram 4th Dan
Every year training begins at 07:00hrs on the Sunday morning and the final bow is taken at 17:30hrs on the Friday evening. The weeks training consists of basic Katas, Combinations, Fighting Techniques and Special Competition Techniques. So, off we headed to the Seawick Holiday Village in St Osyth for the second year running. Only this year we had caught the weather forecast before we left and had packed accordingly.
Training began, as scheduled, in earnest on the Sunday morning, bit nippy as you would expect at 7 in the morning but by mid morning the heat was sweltering. The students and Instructors were all focused and giving 100%. The training is challenging and equally as rewarding. The more you put in the more you get out and the students really pushed themselves to limits they never knew they had. Every Instructor has the knack of bringing the best out of all who train under them. They are all experts in their respective styles and they really deliver the goods many times over. Before you know it they have motivated you and pushed you way past goals that you thought you would never reach. Months of karate condensed into 7 days and a camaraderie to last you a lifetime.
By Tuesday everyone was sunburnt and I was finding the heat hard to cope with as I sat and watched the training in my jumper yet everyone else was so engrossed in their own training that they scarcely noticed it and it certainly wasn’t bothering them. Anyway, there is plenty of time to fit in a swim to cool down between sessions.
Ticky has every base covered and not just the Karate. If you look at the whole package it still leaves you gob smacked. The accommodation is clean, well furnished and comfortable and the campsite is really nice. It is situated right on the beach and all the staff are friendly and helpful. The food isn't just reasonably priced it is cheap and yet, it tastes lovely. The bar staff are all welcoming and friendly and you can chill out in the evenings whilst Loopy Rabbit entertains the younger ones. Whilst primarily a karate break it nevertheless manages to cater for the whole family and so everyone has a fantastic time. Ticky’s videos are available to purchase which are the ultimate training aid and he also sells T shirts for souvenirs that don’t fade when washed and hold their shape well.
FIT2FITE™ sessions are run during free time midweek. Greg Francis 5th Dan is a former British Karate International with over thirty years experience and the mastermind behind FIT2FITE™. He is currently the Assistant National Coach for the English Karate Federation.
Greg has devised his own martial arts based aerobic workout around practised fighting techniques merged with aerobic movement. It is intense but easy to follow and the music that it is set around is designed to lift, energise and relax at exactly the right beat to maximise both workout potential and enjoyment. FIT2FITE™ is used to train the EKF National Karate Squad.
The fun run is the first test of the week. Second-guessing where to stand or winning tactics won’t work as Ticky yells ‘go’ whenever he feels the urge to. It was mid sentence this year and caught most competitors out but it brought a smile to my face. Some were through the car park and gone whilst others were still dutifully doing their press ups on an increasingly empty field. As they cottoned on they shot off like lightening after the leaders vowing to listen harder in 2009. The title ‘Fun Run’ is a bit misleading as that suggests a bit of an easier time of it and this was anything but. The run is taken every bit as seriously as the rest of the training and competitions throughout the week and is a real test of stamina and strength. The Instructors are strategically placed along the route to motivate and encourage the runners as they pass by and they do a good job of it. The entrants start to filter back into the camp about 15 or so minutes later looking a bit disheveled after their beach run. Others prefer to take things at a steadier pace. Those not taking part hedge bets on the outcome and eagerly await the returning participants. This year a 16 yr old was first back past the post catching everyone out. He has done the run for the last ten yrs and this was his first win. He was totally made up and everyone was really pleased for him and cheered him home.
The Kata and Kumite competitions took place in the days that followed and, as expected, did not disappoint. Most people entered and the standard was exceptional, even more so due to the intense training that the participants had received in the days prior to the events. There were some really outstanding displays of both Kata and Kumite, which drew gasps of appreciation from the crowd. The students all worked very hard for their trophies, which were then proudly taken back to their caravans and displayed in their windows.
It’s not all karate based. The Instructors and students work hard but they know how to play hard too and this is evident to see midweek at the Fancy Dress Night. This year the costumes were outstanding. Henry VII presided over the evening which was attended by many screen icons from past to present. Elvis attended (in triplicate) and Marilyn and Amy Winehouse put in an appearance! The decades were ticked off from stone age ‘Fred Flintstones’, Roman Soldiers, Cowboys, 60’s Dancers right through to the present day. Tweedle Dum lost Tweedle Dee somewhere through the evening but I’m reliably informed that Little Bo Beep was reunited with her sheep before the night ended.
Friday came too soon, as it always does. By now the heat was stifling yet the training continued in earnest. Everyone looked like they had spent a month in the Mediterranean and I’d vowed never to listen to the weather forecast again.
10 minutes before the final bow the Heavens opened and the rain lashed down thankfully a week too late to cause the organisers any problems. The final bow was taken in the hall and the week began to draw to a close for another year. The last night disco kicked off in earnest and gave everyone the chance to let their hair down and relax or look through the many photos taken throughout the week by Trevor all available at a very reasonable price.
There are, as always, too many highlights to mention but certain things stick in your mind. One has to be the students that were late training the day after the Fancy Dress Night who almost did the 7:30 am training sessions in their underwear. Tip - If you party hard then you had better make sure that you arrive promptly for training the following morning because if you don’t then you only have yourself to blame, as these guys found out. A few of the Instructors gained entry into their caravan and pushed them out the front door to a cheer from all assembled on the green. Funny, they got dressed and out to train very quickly after that I can’t think why?! They also got a good-natured bucket of water over their heads at the beginning and end of the lesson which considering the heat could almost be regarded as a treat. Another has to be the chap who managed to avoid such a treat by nipping out of the line and hiding under a car until the bow off was complete. No mean feat considering that in order to accomplish this he needed to evade over 140 pairs of eyes and he managed it with pretty much only me noticing it …. However, the biggest highlight by far has to be the experience of training under all of these highly talented Instructors in the space of just a week and the knowledge that your karate has improved ten fold.
