Black Belt Grades

Congratulations are long over due to Tony Kane and Pat Kirby who both got their black belts in March and May 2011 respectively.  As usual a fantastic turn out from the entire club on the nights...here are just some of the snaps taken.  Standards were exceptional high as always were displayed by both Tony and Pat on the night.  Well done guys, fantastic grades.

Gemma Kane - 1st Black Belt

Gemma Kane became the first person to get her Black Belt with Jimmy Boylan's club in December 2010. Gemma has been training with Jimmy since she was 7 years old and is one of the longest members of the club. On the night Gemma was calm, relaxed and ready for the grade. Starting off with the forms Gemma executed each one perfectly, with instructor Jimmy asking her to do the Finger Form as an additional form on the night.

The on to techniques, with over 200 to do, Gemma didn’t miss a beat. There was no doubt that Gemma had trained hard and put everything into each and every technique. It was amazing to watch the skill, strength and concentration that Gemma put in to each punch, strike, kick and block, she certainly did an outstanding job. A big thanks to Pat Kirby for volunteering on the night to run through the techniques with Gemma, Pat’s help and willingness to take a few knocks is always appreciated :)

The final part of the grade was sparing. Gemma has always shown exceptional talent in this section but on the night of her grade she truly out did herself. With over 25 minutes of intensive, controlled fighting, Gemma really came into her own. Sparing 9 different members of the club there was no doubt that Gemma not only desereved this grade but had set an very high example to anyone following in her footsteps.

Gemma is truly an exceptional member of our club she is an inspiration to everyone and has set an extraordinarily high standard for everyone!


Our new Black Belt, Gemma Kane, with all our other Black Belts


Gemma with the support of all the club


Gemma with Tony, Pat, Julie and Jimmy


Gemma with her biggest supporter, Tony Kane, her Dad :)

Kenpo Ireland - Techniques

A few more techniques from Jimmy Boylan's Kenpo Karate club.




Jimmy Boylan Chief Instructor - left punch technique



Chief instructor Jimmy Boylan - attempted lapel grab technique




Jimmy Boylan Chief Instructor - 2nd attempted lapel grab

Kenpo Ireland - Techniques

We decided to take a few video clips of various techniques to showcase on the site. This is just a sample of what we do:

Jim Boylan, Chief Instructor - right punch with 'volunteer' Pat Kirby

Chief Instructor, Jim Boylan Kenpo Ireland - Overhead Club

Chief Instructor Jim Boylan - 2nd Overhead Club

Kenpo Ireland News - Grades

Apart from the new members we've had the old reliables grading this year too. Congratulations to Brian Devaney who did an amazing 3rd Brown Belt grade in March, this was a great achievement and a very well deserved grade. Well done Brian!

Pat Daly also graded this year for this Green Belt. Pat passed the grade with flying colours, the whole club was delighted with his success. We're looking forward to Pat going for his 3rd Brown Belt in 2011

Julie Caffrey graded for her 2nd Brown Belt in August, she's delighted with all the help she got from everyone and the support on the night was brilliant. A well deserved grade after all the hard work.

Julie's 2nd Brown Belt

Gemma Kane also graded this year but we'll have a separate special post on this exceptional grade for this outstanding member of our club.

Kenpo Ireland News - New Members

Well it has been a very busy year for Jimmy Boylan's Kenpo Ireland club, we can't believe it has been February since we posted our last update! So what has been going on, we've had loads of grades, new people starting and of course a few nights out to celebrate throughout the year.

Let's start with the new members of our club. We're delighted to welcome Stephen, Aaron and Conor. The guys started in March and are well settled in now. They are a great addition to the club; enthusiastic and dedicated to training every week. This dedication has paid off for them as they're improving all the time and as a result are at purple belt level already :) Here are a few pictures of the guys coming up through the ranks:

Conor and Aaron delighted with their first yellow belt







Quickly moving up to orange belt: Jimmy showing the guys how to pose for the camera :)

Stephen with his purple belt. He won't stay at this grade for long, Stehphen has shown excellent potential to move through the grades very quickly.

Kieran Mooney - 4th Degree Black Belt

Congratulations to Kieran Mooney on achieving his 4th Dan from Jimmy Boylan's Kenpo Ireland club. Kieran has been training for over 30 years and brings a huge amount of experience and teaching flare to the club. Well done Kieran on a much deserved grade.

Pat Kirby - 1st Brown Belt

Pat Kirby received his 1st Brown Belt grade on 1st December from Jimmy Boylan's Kenpo Ireland club. The whole club was delighted to see Pat go for this grade after all the hard work and dedication he's shown during the year. Pat is a valued member of the club, always there to help others with their training and give a hand with extra classes. Another outstanding contribution Pat makes to the club is his role as 'demonstrator' for Jimmy when showing us new techniques; the club wouldn't be the same without him. Congratulations on the grade and keep up the great work.

Tony Kane - 1st Brown Belt

Tony Kane received his 1st Brown Belt from Jimmy Boylan's Kenpo Ireland club on 17th November. Tony has trained with us for many years and is a valued member of the club. Tony always gives 100% and is always delighted to help everyone else. We were delighted to see Tony sail through his 1st Brown Belt....well done Tony!

Eamon Cullen - blue belt grade

Eamon Cullen went for his blue belt grade with Jimmy Boylan Kenpo Ireland club on 19th November. Eamonn showed great concentration and control on the night....it won't be long before he's ready for the green belt!

Kenpo Ireland's newest member, receives yellow belt

Kenpo Ireland's newest member, Evelyn O'Connell, receives her yellow belt. Evelyn has been a member of Jimmy Boylan's Kenpo Ireland club since February 2009 and is looking forward to moving on to her orange belt in the near future. Well done Evelyn, we're delighted to have new members keep up the good work.

Ernie Leslie - 6th degree Black belt

Ernie Leslie was presented with his 6th degree Black belt at Jimmy Boylan's Kenpo Ireland club on Tuesday 3rd November. Ernie has been training in kenpo for over 30 years and continues to put everything into the club, training and teaching others. We are all extremely proud of Ernie's achievement.

Wayne Mernagh - 8th degree Black belt

Wayne was presented with his 8th degree Black belt in Jimmy Boylan's Kenpo Ireland club on Tuesday 3rd November. Wayne has trained for over 36 years and had made an outstanding contribution to karate in Ireland. Wayne continues to train and teach with Jimmy Boylan Kenpo Ireland. Everyone at the club would like to congratulate Wayne on this well deserved achievement.

Friends of Kenpo Ireland

The first two people to be presented with 3rd Brown belts, Nikki and Dawn, at the All Ireland Karate Association in Ballyroan. Grading and presentation by Dave Ryan. Congratulations on an excellent grade. Well done from Jim Boylan, Kenpo Ireland.

Gemma's 1st Brown Belt Grade

There was a huge turnout for Gemma's 1st brown belt grade which took place in Jimmy Boylan's Kenpo Karate club on 8th October. Gemma showed excellent control, ability and concentration thoughout a very tough grade. The whole club turned out to support Gemma as well as many welcomed visitors from other clubs.

Friends of Kenpo Ireland

From left to right: Don Johnson, Jim Boylan and Martial Arts Champion Robert Devane of Martial Arts Incorporate.

Julie Caffrey's 3rd Brown Belt

After a lot of hard work Julie went for her 3rd Brown belt grade at the end of April. The club was packed with supporters and at 11pm Julie proudly accepted her belt and is keeping up the good work and looking foward to going for her 2nd Brown belt.

Kenpo 8th Degree Black Belt

I would like to thank Ernie Leslie, Wayne Mernagh, Don Johnson, Martin Cousins, Dave and Catherine Ryan for their support and cooperation.

Celebrating Jimmy Boylan 8th Degree Black Belt in Kenpo Karate

There was joy and merriment celebrating Jim Boylan’s 8th degree black belt on 28 November 2008.
Good many people turned up and the festivities stretched well into the night.

Pat Kirby’s 2nd Brown Belt

On the 25 November 2008 Pat Kirby earned his second brown belt at Jimmy Boylan’s Kenpo club at Santry.
Good many people turned up and we had great feeling in the club.