Barry Kyokushin Karate club set off to Penderyn to tackle the Scwd-yr-Eira falls (From Barry And District News)

Barry Kyokushin Karate club set off to Penderyn to tackle the Scwd-yr-Eira falls

8:00am Thursday 9th August 2012 in Sport

SATURDAY, July 22, saw Barry Kyokushin Karate club set off to Penderyn to tackle the Scwd-yr-Eira falls. It’s an event usually set aside for winter training, but in true Welsh spirit they thought "why wait until the winter to experience it, let’s do it twice"!

They met at the usual Lamb Inn and set off on the two mile jog across the Welsh valleys in the scorching 30 degree heat, which actually made the run just as tough as it is in the sub-zero temperatures that are normal for this event.

However, the heat made them look forward to a cool-off in the waterfall even more and everyone moved on at a steady pace.

Halfway through the muddy jog everyone paused to perform kihon (basics) before pushing onwards to the falls. The waterfall was not as fierce as in the winter months but with the recent rain fall it still presented a decent challenge.

Students and instructors all descended before stripping down to Gi bottoms and filtering carefully around the back of the falls; the cool mist from the falls cooled them as they stood there and performed more kihon.

Then one at a time the Instructors put the students under the falls to perform more basics (while the instructors held their belts for safety). The students enjoyed this so much and as it is a rare experience and the weather was still very hot, the Instructors put all the students back through one more time before heading up the hill to jog the two miles back.

Chief instructor Senpai Phill said: "The winter falls training has always been a great challenge both mentally and physically, but this summer one was a lot of fun and due to the heat, was just as tough.

"Everyone had such a great time that we hope to make this an annual tradition. The summer calendar this year has certainly been a busy one but it’s been a lot of fun and students have gained a lot of valuable experience from it.

"Myself and the other instructors have arranged more upcoming events that the students are anticipating eagerly. We have a beach session in Porthcawl next and then later on in the month we are holding an overnight training session."

Barry Kyokushin Karate Club train out of the newly refurbished Castleland Community Centre on Mondays and Wednesday from 6.30pm to 8pm and beginners are always welcome. Students are taken from the age of five. They also are planning a women's only self-defence course.

For further info call 01446 408974 or go to www.bkkc.co.uk or find them on Facebook.