Welsh Contact Karate
Howard Brown
Contact Karate was the original name for Kickboxing. Our style was formed for Full Contact fighters, with greats like Howard ‘The Hawk’ Brown and Kash ‘The Flash’ Gill all representing the English Contact Karate Association (ECKA). Over the years, many Full Contact fighters have been produced by ECKA & WCKA clubs and also teams in Points Fighting, Light Continuous & Traditional Karate Kumite were active across the UK and the World.
The Welsh Contact Karate Association (WCKA) was formed in 1986 by Master Clifton Brown (6th Degree Black Belt) who was a full time Instructor with the ECKA. Master Brown was one of the greatest points fighters in the UK during the 80s and 90s and is still highly respected by many organisations.
Dev Barret
During the late 80s and 90s, the WCKA had a great fighting team with names like the late Andy Mann, Chris Allen, Johanna Waters, Mike Flanagan, Nick Clarke, Dave Wing, Roger Lewis, Nicky Blake, Milton Dennis, Rob Miles, Lee Carter who represented the WCKA in Full Contact, Light Contact, Points Fighting and Traditional Karate Kumite.
Master Brown also created an Association of many clubs with his newly trained Instructor team of Derek Hughes, Mal Johns, Dave Wing, Nick Clarke, John Spragg and one or two others. Before long, the WCKA was able to hold its own Interclub Competitions and other events without involving others.
Master Brown resigned as Chief Instructor of the WCKA in 2005 and Master Nick Clarke took over at the request of the Instructor Team. Currently, Master Clarke has an Instructor Team with classes right across South Wales striving to be the ‘professional option’ for those taking up the Martial Arts. Please read about the Instructors by selecting them from the menu bar above.
Today, the WCKA organises some of the biggest open competitions in Wales due to its links with WAKO and WKU and is arguably one of the strongest fighting teams on the UK circuit.
The WCKA is one of the largest Sports Council recognised Martial Arts Organisation in Wales.
Proficiency – How Long?
Most people take up Karate for self defence purposes. We recognise this and teach practical self defence from the first lesson. Even people who think that they can defend themselves usually cannot!
The majority of law abiding citizens would not be able to deal with a potential violent situation, so what chance would they have against the mugger, the rapist or even a football hooligan? It is difficult to put a time factor on how long proficiency takes as everyone has a different potential to learn.
We have found from past experience that after six months or so training most students are well on their way to achieving a good sound knowledge of self defence.
How Much Time Per Week?
One class per week is ample as a beginner, other classes are available for those who wish to practice more often.
How Fit Do I Have To Be?
The majority of new students of all ages and of both sexes are unfit. The instructor recognises this and will treat you as such.