Karate

HISTORY OF THE CLUB:

A few years after the founding of the University of Bath in 1966, the Karate Club we know and love today was formally founded by our Club Founder, Ian McGill. He, alongside his brother Barry McGill, taught and trained the club in it's earliest years. It was originally named 'Ren Sei Kan', meaning 'Train with Sincerity in this Dojo'. The original club logo is shown in the photo below, a patch that used to be inserted into the uniforms of our club members.

We are very proud to carry the legacy of this club, a torch handed down to us by all those who have trained and contributed to it over the last nearly 60 years. Not only is this one of the longest running University Clubs to date in the University of Bath, it also has its share of a unique story on how Karate reached this City from the homeland of Karate, the Ryukyu Islands (modern day Okinawa, Japan).

About 50 years after Karate was first taught to the Japanese in 1922, and about 15 years after Karate was first taught more formally across Britain, one of the club's former member and eventual coach, Stan Kolaczowski, first signed his Karate License. He taught the club for much of the 80's and 90's, and alongside many other Instructors and high ranking karateka, helped shape the direction of the club, establishing it as a unique and beneficial art to balance alongside University Studies.

The club has always enjoyed a big number of students who join as beginners, looking to enter the world of Karate through the University Club. Below are some photos of trainings throughout the 70's and 80's:

  

1989: A photo of a club grading that took place

As well as having a distinct history in training and teaching, the club also has a history in winning too! In the early days of student competition, where the University began to shift its focus on Sport and climbed up the league tables, the Karate Club sent 14 members to participate in a wide range of events at the inaugural British Student Karate Championships in 1987 (Similar to modern day BUCS). Our Kumite 5-man A-Team achieved the BUSF silver medal, defeating many of the strongest university clubs around Britain, including teams from Bristol, London and Cambridge. In total, 38 teams participated at different events, with Bath included in most of them, winning 2nd and 3rd place in many of them.

1987: Kev Leivers (left) and Richard Anderson (right) in action for the Kumite A men's team in the British Student Karate Championships

Today, the club boasts a very successful student environment, carrying the legacy of those who came before us, and building an even better state of Karate for the ones who will come after us. There are few who can pride themselves in building a legacy in the University of Bath like the UOB Karate Club has.

I would like to thank and acknowledge both Stan Kolaczkowski and Ian McGill for their help in passing all the above information on and providing me with the permission to use them. I would like to also thank and acknowledge Prof. Barry Crittenden for the photos that were provided. - Farouk Attia, Chair of Karate 25/26