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Black Belt Ireland

Karate and Kick boxing in Ireland

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  • Home
  • Freestyle Karate
    • Kids Karate
    • Kumite
    • Karate stances
    • Karate Techniques
  • Jujitsu
  • Kickboxing
    • How to Wrap Hands (guide)
  • Tournaments
    • WKC
      • WKC World Championships 2018
      • WKC World Championships 2017
      • WKC World Championships 2016
      • WKC World Championships 2015
      • WKC World Championships 2014
    • BCKA European Invitational 2019
    • BCKA European Invitational 2018
    • BCKA European Invitational 2017
    • BCKA European Invitational 2016
  • Media and Photos
    • Videos
  • Training Rules
    • Seven Principles of Bushido
    • Karate Masters of Okinawa
  • Muay Thai
    • History
    • Photos
    • Techniques
  • KoBudo
    • Tonfa
    • Bo (Staff)
    • Nunchaku
    • Sai
    • Jo
    • Bokken
  • Classes
  • A-Z Combat Arts/Styles
  • WKC Page
    • Black Belt Register WKC – Ireland
    • FACEBOOK
  • Kata Pages
  • Shop
  • Notable Blackbelts

Black Belt Ireland

Karate and Kick boxing in Ireland

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Stylish watch
Stylish watch by Irishkickers

WKC Ireland Badge 2 Inch Round Button
WKC Ireland Badge 2 Inch Round Button by Irishkickers
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WKC Team Ireland T-shirt
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Seishin Ying Yang wall Hanging Panel Wall Art
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"Flying Side Kick" Shirt
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Karate and Kickboxing kick Shirt
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Armbands and Shadows
"Armbands and Shadows" is a coming-of-age story soaked in sweat, sarcasm, and the long shadows of history. Dan Connolly, a quiet lad from a faded Lancashire mill town, crosses the Irish Sea in 1981 to work with cousins he’s never met, in a country he’s only known through rebel songs and warnings whispered at family tables. He arrives with a kit bag, stories of men he never knew, and the vague hope of belonging somewhere — anywhere. Thrown into the chaotic charm of Drogheda, Dan finds unlikely kinship in Seamus — a red-headed, fast-talking survivor of the care system with a battered van, a collection of Wolfe Tones tapes, and a talent for hiding pain behind punchlines. Together, they drift through building sites, boxing gyms, late-night dancehalls and quiet graveyards, tripping over the ghosts of their grandfathers while trying to outrun the weight of their own pasts. Set against the backdrop of a divided Ireland, Armband and Shadow is equal parts bruising and tender — a novel laced with dark Irish humour, broken fences, and the quiet courage it takes to choose who you want to be when no one’s watching. Because sometimes the fight isn’t to win — it’s just to stay standing. "Not all fighters wear gloves — and not all wars make the history books." — a novel of bruised knuckles, buried pasts, and quiet rebellion.
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