University of Central Lancashire Sport graduate becomes highest ranking Yoshinkan aikido female in the north of England
Jayne Emmington is celebrating being awarded the fourth Dan status in the Japanese martial art, Yoshinkan aikido. The 'Dan' is a Japanese ranking system used in traditional martial arts and fine arts.
The MA Physical Education and School Sport graduate has also has been awarded the instructors’ certificate, which recognises her as a teacher of the art and gives her the ability to award rank to the level of second Dan.
Aikido is a Japanese martial art that does not rely on muscle and strength but concentrates the power of the whole body onto the weak point of an opponent forcing them to cooperate using their own force and momentum. Aikido is a non-competitive martial art that develops the mind, body and spirit together.
Jayne began her UCLan journey with a Sport Coaching degree around the same time she started training in Aikido. For the next eight years Jayne trained and taught aikido full-time using her experience and knowledge from her sports coaching course to develop the Aikido Shobukai Preston dojo, which is a member of the Aikido Yoshinkan Federation headquarters in Japan.
"The support and professionalism of the staff at UCLan will always stay with me. The amazing facilities and the wider opportunities to travel both nationally and internationally to gain more experience in industry made UCLan stand out from other universities."
— Jayne Emmington, BA (Hons) Sports Coaching and Development and MA Physical Education and School Sport alumna
“I say this as I was an older student when I was thinking about University. I had the usual worries of whether I was capable and qualified enough, whether I would get into loads of debt. All the worries about starting UCLan were quashed when I met with the tutors.”
“It truly is a fantastic opportunity and should not be missed if you want to progress your career.” Jayne said.
Jayne has travelled as far as Canada in order to train with some of the highest ranking Aikido teachers in the world and works as a development manager and instructor at Aikido Shobukai Preston, which is the largest full time dojo in the North West, teaching Yoshinkan Aikido.
