The Club

Daigaku Karate Kai - Oxfordshire was founded by Sensei Simon Clinch (4th Dan) in 2024.

The club is a part of the Daigaku Karate Kai, an organisation founded by Shihan Gavin Mulholland (7th Dan) and Shihan Dan Lewis (7th Dan) practicing traditional Okinawan Goju Ryu - a practical karate style which places heavy emphasis on close-quarter effectiveness. Training is combat-orientated rather than for sport or competition fighting, which require different skills and mindset.

Training is open to all above the age of 16. We welcome beginners and practitioners from other styles at every level. The DKK has a good mix of men and women training regularly across its core London and Bristol/ Portishead clubs.

Sensei Simon Clinch

4th Dan Black Belt (Yondan) - Goju Ryu

Sensei Simon's karate journey began at school where he was introduced to Shotokan karate at the age of 15. Under the tutelage of Sensei Terry Oliver at the Winchester Collgege Shotkan Karate Club, Simon earned his 1st Dan black belt, graded by Senseis Dave Hazard, 7th Dan, and Brian Smith, 7th Dan. These formative years of training crafted his basic technical karate skills. Simon also earned various prizes and awards during this period competing at tournaments in the South of England.

Simon's karate journey through and beyond university exposed him to various karate clubs and styles, including a stretch of training at the Oxford Karate Academy under the late Shihan Paul Coleman (8th Dan). It was this latter experience that first stoked an interest in Goju Ryu.

In early 2008, Simon began training at the DKK's London club under Shihan Gavin Mulholland, 7th Dan. It was at the DKK where the link between karate as an art and karate as a practical and effective fighting system was truly bridged.

Simon badged into the DKK at 1st Dan black belt and most recently attained his 4th Dan black belt in 2021, a grade focused on traditional kobudo weapons proficiency.

The DKK's style of traditional Okinawan Goju Ryu karate will teach you self-confidence, the skills to defend yourself and your loved ones, and how to live life with a positive mindset. Training is hard and demanding, but those who persist will develop a skill that lasts an entire lifetime.

Karate is a continuous voyage of discovery.

Goju Ryu Karate

The name Goju is derived from two contrasting terms: Go meaning hard, and Ju meaning soft. Goju differs from most other Karate systems in its proximity of fighting. Great emphasis is placed on striking and grappling at close quarters, both standing and on the ground, making it a good style for reality-based self defense.

Goju Ryu traced its roots to the late 19th Century, when an Okinawan islander named Kanryo Higaonna travelled to Southern China and trained under a White Crane master named Ryu Ryu Ko. On his return he taught his art and one of his students began to emerge as exceptional. His name was Chojun Miyagi.

After Higaonna's death in 1915, Miyagi combined his knowledge of Chinese systems with his own native Okinawan fighting arts (Tode) to create Goju Ryu Karate. On his death in 1953, Ei'ichi Miyazato took over as the head of the Jundokan and the Okinawan Goju Ryu system.

Training

Karate training is challenging, but highly rewarding.

With the long-term goal of sculpting the ultimate fighter through hard training, students typically achieve levels of skill, strength and fitness well beyond their expectations.

Our classes consist of strenuous warm-ups and fitness, technical karate training, realistic fight and defense scenario drills, sparring, padwork, and kata. Kata - set sequences of technical moves - are the blueprint of the Goju Ryu karate system.

As students progress in their training they will learn the building blocks of combat from stand-up to the ground.

TIMETABLE AND INFO

Join DKK Oxfordshire and begin your martial journey towards greater confidence, fitness and a positive mindset. We welcome everybody from the age of 16 years and above, from beginners to experienced practitioners of any martial arts and styles. Please do get in touch with any questions.

Training Sessions

No classes on:

7th April

1st May

5th and 8th May

12th and 15th May

Mondays: 7:00-8:30pm

Oakley Village Hall, 9 Oxford Road, Oakley, Bucks, HP18 9RD

https://maps.app.goo.gl/AG3G8riFks81MrNs7

Thursday: 7:30-9:00pm

Brill Memorial Hall, 19 Church St, Brill, Aylesbury HP18 9RT

https://maps.app.goo.gl/JRbY289Y33ocM4sm6

Regular Events

The DKK hosts two major events each year, Summer School and Winter School

Summer School is the major annual event for all factions of the Daigaku Karate Kai. Students from across the UK gather at Glenny Wood camp site near Bristol for 4 days of camping, training and fun-making. Summer School occurs in June every year and is where most of the year's significant gradings are held.

Winter School is a more technical and relaxed event in October where students gather at a venue in North East London for a weekend of training and socialising. No gradings are held at Winter School.