A positive year for Lenbukai students
2016 was rewarding for Motherwell club
Positivity has been the key for Lanarkshire’s Lenbukai Karate Club, who have a European champion amongst their members.
Nine others have passed black belt Dan gradings at various levels in what senior instructor David Murdoch says has been one of the most successful years of their history.
Since moving to their new dojo at Ravenscraig Regional Sports Facility in Motherwell in 2010 the club’s instructors have worked hard at building the club, which at one point had been regarded as one of the leading shotokan clubs in Lanarkshire.
Senior instructor Murdoch, 5th Dan, said: “For me, 2016 has marked a significant time in Lenbukai’s history; with so many different martial arts available to the public, we have found ourselves competing with these clubs for new members.
“However, even during our darkest times I remained positive and continued to push the club to make it a success.
“I am glad to say that Lenbukai is back and fighting hard; since our move to Ravenscraig seven years ago our student numbers have increased significantly and we have organised and ran six Open Championships at our dojo, with competitors coming from all over Scotland.
“We have maintained our traditional style of shotokan karate and attended various seminars all over the country to help increase our knowledge, as well as inviting senior instructors to our club to pass on their experience to our students.
“We have also had a number of students attend competitions throughout the year with great success, most notably at the KWF European Championships that were held in East Kibride, where one of our junior members, Jack Mclean became European karate champion for his age group alongside two other club members, Ilyas Baqqari and Harri Crawford, who achieved second and third, respectively.”
Lenbukai held their annual Dan grading in November which saw Darren Young (3rd Dan), Leanne Mitchell (3rd Dan), Gary Millar (1st Dan), Simon Warnock (1st Dan), Fatima Gou Gouz (1st Dan), Niamh Warnock (1st Dan), Ilyas Baqqari (1st Dan), Saif Baqqari (1st Dan) and Jack Mclean (1st Dan).
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Jack Mclean was junior student of the year for 2016, while Baljinder Dhanda took the senior award.
Chief instructor and grading examiner Andy Murdoch Snr (5th Dan) said: “The standard during the Dan grading was of a high degree and I am delighted with everyone’s hard work and dedication to their training.
“Now that the pressure is off, I hope they all continue to progress their karate by not just learning new and more advanced techniques, but mastering the ones they already know.”
Senior instructor Andy Murdoch Jnr (4th Dan) commented: “Everyone involved in the club, from the students to the families of the students, have played a role in making Lenbukai one of the best karate clubs in the area.
“We take pride in what we do, and the students enjoy the training and the discipline.
“We will continue to work hard, and now that we have a fantastic student base we can one again look at competing at the highest level over the coming months and years.”
Anyone who would like to become a member of Lenbukai should contact them at www.lenbukaikarateclub. com or email enquiries@ lenbukaikarateclub.com.
Classes are held ever Wednesday and Sunday night from 6pm.