Karate Club

Karate is a great way to get fit, learn self-defence, compete for your university and make great friends! The discipline is a martial art originating in Japan, and features two distinct aspects: kata, and kumite. Katas are a series of interwoven moves, such as punches, kicks and turns, performed against an imaginary opponent for demonstration purposes; kumite, or sparring, is a more dynamic one-on-one bout in which competitors throw punches and kicks at one another to score points. At UCL, our instructors will teach both strands of karate, allowing members to improve both technique and fitness, all in a welcoming, friendly environment - more than half of our committee started as total beginners here. We are a mixed styles club: most of our karateka follow Shotokan, but we also have members from Goju-ryu, Shito-ryu, Wado-ryu and Go-Kan-ryu backgrounds.We also compete regularly, going to the annual BUCS and LUSL championships, which offers both kata and kumite sections for members of all genders, sizes and experience. We are also planning a Varsity event with King's College later in the year, and will train with competitions and gradings - the exams through which beginners earn their belts - in mind throughout the year. We also offer a bustling social scene, with weekly socials and collabs with other clubs and societies.We have several types of sessions coming up in the 2020/21 year! (We will update this page with the 2021/2022 timetable as soon as room allocations are decided)Monday, 19:00-20:20 - kumite with Brandon - entirely online, on MS TeamsTuesday, 20:10-21:05 AND 21:25-22:00 - kihon with Tony - Bloomsbury Fitness, Mandela Studio + broadcast online - ONLY ONCE IN-PERSON ACTIVITY IS ALLOWED!Thursday, 18:55-19:50 - kata with Catinca - Bloomsbury Fitness, Mandela Studio + broadcast online - ONLINE FOR THE TIME BEING!All sessions will be broadcast live, so members will be able to participate in all sessions through the club's MS Teams group. We are looking to arrange in-person participation for full members in line with government, SU and EKF regulations, and we will keep you updated in this regard.We also have regular sessions on MS Teams, from games to movies (and collabs with other clubs and other unis' karate clubs) to even cookie baking! We'll notify you about these in advance on all social media. We also annually participate in This Girl Can, Pride in Sport Week and Sustainability in Sport Week, and we are currently in the process of collaborating with Ikkaido on a session for karatekas living with a disability.There are three different membership types available this year:FREE online membership: includes access to our WhatsApp group and all online content we upload£10 online membership: also includes live participation in online socials, and recordings of sessions£20 full membership: also includes access to live participation in sessions and in-person socials, BUCS and any other competitions/trips throughout the yearFeel free to get in touch with any of the committee if you have any questions, and we hope to see you at a training session or social!Email us at [email protected]Follow us on Instagram: www.instagram.com/ucl.karate/Follow us on Twitter: @UCLKarateFollow us on Facebook: UCL Karate Club-  This Club is Pride in Sport Accredited UCL Karate Club have signed the Zero Tolerance to Sexual Harassment Pledge.