Ages 5 to 12
Kids Karate
Games that turn into real technique. Children learn to listen, wait their turn and finish what they start.
- Self-control in and out of the dojo
- Stances, blocks and kicks
- Standing up to bullying safely
空手道Karate-dō · Mandeville
The Way,
kept.
Traditional karate in Mandeville, taught in the line of Sei Shihan George McFarlane. Children start at five. Adults start whenever they're ready.
Okinawa
The Pinan kata
Created in Okinawa as foundation forms for new students. They are still the first kata taught at Sem Tao.
New York, 1976
Seido Karate
Founded by Kaicho Tadashi Nakamura. It reached Jamaica in 1977.
Mandeville
George McFarlane
Over thirty years training, competing and teaching in Seido, from his own gym in Manchester.
Today
Sem Tao
The organization he founded. Seido-style ranks, the Pinan kata, and his way of teaching.
稽古Keiko · Training
Classes for children, teenagers and adults
Every class follows the same order: bow in, basics, kata, partner work, a minute of quiet, bow out. The pace and the conversation change with age. The discipline doesn't.
Ages 13 to 17
Teens Karate
Hard training at the age when it counts. Senior teens help run the kids' classes and learn to lead by doing it.
- The full kata syllabus
- Controlled sparring with protective gear
- Assistant instructor track
18 and over
Adults Karate
Come in at whatever fitness you have. You'll leave stronger and more flexible, and you'll know how to look after yourself.
- Conditioning and flexibility
- Kihon, kata and kumite
- Breath work after a long day
Competition Team
Point and continuous fighting, coached the way this dojo has coached world Seido champions.
Self-Defence Workshops
Short courses for schools, workplaces, church groups and women's organisations.
Meditation
Seated practice and breathing. Sei Shihan taught that a calm mind learns faster, so it's in every class.
継承Keishō · Legacy
Sei ShihanGeorge McFarlane
From Mandeville Seido to Sem Tao
Founder, Sem Tao Karate Organization
George McFarlane spent more than thirty years in Seido Karate before he founded Sem Tao. He ran his own gym in Mandeville, and Mandeville Seido grew out of it. The school produced a two-time world champion and senior black belts who went on to master's rank.
He won the World Seido Championship and was one of the triple champions of the Seido Open, back when that tournament was the main event in Jamaican karate. When the Jamaica Combined Martial Arts Team needed someone to sharpen its fighters for the US Open, they called him.
Every promotion he earned came through gradings at World Seido headquarters in New York, under Kaicho Tadashi Nakamura. In 2008 he became only the second Jamaican to hold a Seido sixth-degree black belt.
It's not to use karate to hurt people, but lift them.
George McFarlane, to The Sunday Gleaner, 2008
That sentence is the centre of Sem Tao. When he founded his own organization he kept the rank structure and the Pinan kata his students already knew. Everything else he built around the way he had always taught.
7thDan, the highest rank in Sem Tao
30+years of training by his 2008 grading
2ndJamaican to hold a Seido 6th Dan
11hrson the last day of that grading, 3 p.m. to 2 a.m.
The timeline
-
1970sFirst class
He starts training
The beginning of more than three decades of Seido Karate before his sixth-degree grading.
-
Seido OpenCompetitor
Triple champion, then world champion
One of the standout triple champions of the annual Seido Open, and winner of the World Seido Championship.
-
MandevilleTeacher
His own gym
He opens and runs a gym in Mandeville, the base of Mandeville Seido. His son Bruce grows up training there with a generation of Manchester students.
-
Dec 2003National team
Bruce fights for Jamaica
Bruce McFarlane debuts for the Jamaica Combined Martial Arts Team with a draw against Cuba. A year later he's a World Seido champion.
-
Mar 2007Coach
The national team calls
The Combined Martial Arts Team asks him to prepare a three-man unit for the sparring section of the ISKA US Open. Captain Jason McKay calls him “Jamaica's most successful point fighter ever.”
-
Jul 2007Orlando
In his son's corner
Jamaica beats the United States for the World Continental team title. Bruce wins individual gold in black-belt heavyweight continuous fighting with his father coaching. It's the first time George has watched him fight abroad.
-
Apr 2008New York
Sixth Dan, Jun Shihan
Promoted by Kaicho Tadashi Nakamura after two weeks of physical and mental tests at World Seido headquarters. The last day runs from 3 p.m. to 2 a.m., some of it with eyes closed. Tony Robinson is the only Jamaican to have got there before him.
-
Jul 2008Title defence
Steady hands
Against Germany at the US Open, Bruce dislocates his arm mid-bout. His father puts it back in at the mat's edge. Jamaica keeps the World Continental team title, beating world champions Argentina in overtime.
-
Jun 2016Seido at 40
Sei Shihan
Promoted to Sei Shihan in New York during Seido's 40th anniversary, after a week-long grading. Two of his Mandeville seniors, Ronald and Debra Lyn, are promoted to Jun Shihan at the same ceremony.
-
7th DanMaster's rank
Seventh-degree black belt
The rank he holds as founder of Sem Tao.
-
Sem TaoFounder
Sem Tao Karate Organization
He leaves Seido and founds his own organization in Mandeville. The ranks and the Pinan kata stay; the teaching is his.
優勝Yūshō · Champion
Bruce McFarlane
Two-time World Seido Grand Champion, and the only fighter to win World Seido titles in South Africa, London and Japan.
He grew up on the mats of his father's gym and went to Manchester High School. He was the second Seido fighter ever picked for the Jamaica Combined Martial Arts Team, the Busta Fighters, and went unbeaten through his early years with them.
Jamaica usually sent him out fourth, the bout meant to steady the team. In 2015 team founder Jason McKay put him among the most accomplished fighters the team had ever had.
It's always a pleasure for me and my art to shine.
Bruce McFarlane, after ISKA US Open gold, 2007
World Seido titlesSouth AfricaLondonJapan
2003
National team debut
First bout for the Jamaica Combined Martial Arts Team, a draw with Cuba.
2004
World Seido Champion
Wins the World Seido tournament in South Africa.
2005
European Open Champion
His first major title in Europe.
2007
ISKA US Open gold
Black-belt heavyweight continuous fighting in Orlando, with his father coaching.
2007–08
World Continental team titles
Part of the Jamaica side that won the title and then defended it.
Twice
World Seido Grand Champion
He also won the national Seido Open Grand Championship more than once.
系譜Keifu · The line
The Mandeville line
The measure of a teacher is the students who come after him. These are the seniors of his school on the public record.
- Bruce McFarlaneTwo-time World Seido Grand ChampionChampion
- Ronald LynPromoted in New York, June 2016Jun Shihan
- Debra LynPromoted in New York, June 2016Jun Shihan
道Dō · The Way
What it takes to reach sixth Dan
When he was promoted in 2008, Sei Shihan was asked what the grading demanded. His answer had three parts. They are how Sem Tao trains.
Stay the course
Rank takes years. Keep turning up, train through the flat spells, and the time on the mat does its work.
Master the basics
Stance, breath, timing, distance. A sixth Dan drills the same fundamentals as a white belt. He just does them better.
Walk the path
Karate should make you a better person. Think before you act, lift other people up, and carry that home.
Tao means “the way.” At Sem Tao it's the road a student walks from first bow to black belt, and long after. A calm mind learns faster. Every class starts there.
級段Kyū-Dan · Ranks
From white belt to black belt
Sem Tao keeps a kyu-to-Dan ladder close to its Seido roots. Every promotion is earned at a grading that tests technique, kata, fitness and conduct.
Dan grades
1Shodan
2Nidan
3Sandan
4Yondan
5Godan
6Rokudan
7Shichidan
Shichidan, seventh Dan, is held by the founder. The titles Jun Shihan and Sei Shihan, which he earned in Seido, mark master-level teachers.
The Pinan kata
Pinan (平安) means “peaceful mind.” All five are shared with Sem Tao's Seido roots.
一
Pinan Sono Ichi 其の一
The first form of the series
二
Pinan Sono Ni 其の二
Blocks, strikes and changes of direction
三
Pinan Sono San 其の三
Turning and close-range work
四
Pinan Sono Yon 其の四
Kicks and balance
五
Pinan Sono Go 其の五
The jump that closes the series
道
Sem Tao kata
The organization's own advanced forms, taught in the dojo
The dojo publishes belt requirements to students before every grading.
写真Shashin · Gallery
The gallery
Gradings, championships and ordinary nights of training at the Mandeville dojo, from the McFarlane family and the students who were there.
Preview only: try your own photos. They stay on your device and fill the frames in order.
Have a photograph from the dojo's history? Send it through the Book of Honour.
言葉Kotoba · Dojo words
The words you'll hear in class
Karate is taught with a small Japanese vocabulary. Learn these and your first class will make sense. Tap a word to hear it.
Counting to ten
記録Kiroku · Record
From the newspaper archive
The facts on this site come from these reports. Open any clipping for a summary, the key facts, a citation, and links to the original and to an archived copy.
名誉Meiyo · Honour
Did you train under Sei Shihan?
Write down what you remember. Your first class, the grading you thought you'd fail, the thing he said that stayed with you.
The dojo reads every entry before it goes into the Book of Honour. Old photographs are welcome too.
質問Shitsumon · Questions
Before your first class
What parents and new students usually ask. Anything else, ask us at the dojo.
How young can my child start?
Five is a good age. Before that, most children aren't ready to follow a full class. We'll tell you honestly after the free class if we think they should wait a little.
What should we wear to the first class?
A T-shirt and track pants or shorts. Karate is trained barefoot. Bring water. You only need a gi once you decide to join.
I'm not fit. Can I still start?
Yes. Most adults who join aren't. Training starts where you are and builds from there, and the instructors adjust for injuries and age.
Is sparring safe?
Sparring is controlled and supervised, with protective gear. Beginners don't spar at all until they can move and block with control.
How long does a black belt take?
Years, and it should. It depends on how often you train and how you perform at gradings. Nobody is promoted on time served alone.
What does it cost?
Fees depend on the program and how many classes a week you take. We'll go through them with you at your free class, with no obligation to sign up.
入門Nyūmon · Joining
Come and train. The first class is free.
Watch for a few minutes, then join in. Wear something you can move in. We'll take care of the rest.
- Dojo
- The Fitness Place
3 Caledonia Road, Mandeville, Manchester - Finding us
- At the end of Caledonia Road, past Caledonia Mall.
- Classes
- Kids, teens and adults. Book a free class and we'll send you the current times.
- Contact
- Use the booking form on this page, or come and see us at The Fitness Place.
Book your free class
Tell us who's training and we'll send you the next class times.
道場Dōjō · Find us
The Fitness Place
3 Caledonia Road
Mandeville, Manchester
Jamaica
Head down Caledonia Road past Caledonia Mall. The Fitness Place is at the end of the road.
The live Google map loads on the published site.