Sevenoaks Kyokushinkai Karate Club were pleased to send one of their members, Ingrid Twigg, to a Female Fighting Seminar, held over a weekend in November, in Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands.
This was Ingrid’s third trip to Europe this year, for training seminars. She also visited Norway and Belgium earlier in 2018.
Ingrid departed from Gatwick airport, flying out with the seminar instructor, Emma Markwell, a third degree black belt, for two nights.
Emma is an accomplished martial artist and Kyokushin fighter. She has achieved a great deal in her career to date, including being the Winner of the Diamond Cup Championship 2018 and most recently, winning her 7th National Championship title at the British Open Tournament. Ingrid & Emma were met in The Netherlands by their hosts, Tomoe Karate Club.
The seminar began on the Saturday morning in a local sports hall. There were over one hundred women and around twenty men, some of whom were coaches for the fighters. They came from all over Europe, including France, Norway, Hungary and Germany. There was a range of ages from young to old, some were beginners and some recent champions.
The two sessions during the day both consisted of combinations, techniques and sparring (fighting).
Emma put the fighters through their paces by demonstrating the kick and punch combinations, where the ladies then paired up to practice them. Sessions also consisted of strength exercises which were aimed at improving technique, power and strength.
At the end of each session there was approximately twenty minutes of fighting, where the participants were encouraged to put into practice the techniques they had practiced. Each round of sparring was two minutes long and after each round, partners were rotated so that each person had the opportunity to fight with a range of people. The seminar ended with questions and answers.
After the seminar the evening was spent socialising in the City of Hertogenbosch, enjoying a meal, some well earned locally brewed beers and good company. The hosts took good care of Ingrid for the duration of her stay, providing accommodation, food, support and an interesting tour of the City on the Saturday evening. Ingrid flew back to the UK on the Sunday morning, after an eventful weekend.
Ingrid has since said “I loved every minute of the weekend! Flying out with the instructor was a privilege, the training was tough but amazing and it was topped off by a night out on the town, with the hosts. What a great way to spend my karate birthday!”
