Iron Hammer Fist Karate Gavels

Three new Shotokan Karate gavels were presented to the Lodge by W Bro Henry Leipold and Bro Stuart Dubois at the last meeting. The gavels are sculpted in the shape of the Karate technique:

鉄槌打ち [TETTSUI UCHI],

which translates as “Iron Hammer Fist Strike”. The Sculptor asked for references to work from and we sent photos of the mighty fist of our Immediate Past Master, W Bro Robin, 7^th Dan Shotokan Karate Hanshi. Each gavel is a different size, shape, weight and colour and were not intended to be replicas of W Bro Robin’s fist, but we believe that the gavels contain Robin’s spirit of Karate and so his Iron Hammer Fist is now immortalised, and he will forever make his presence felt in every future meeting of the Shotokan Karate Lodge No. 9752.

The gavels were hand carved by Tom Buchanan and his colleagues at Wood Carving London using Sapele wood, which is a responsibly sourced timber, often used as a sustainable alternative to Mahogany. Sapele is a workable timber, but also has a high level of shock resistance and tolerance against indentation. Tom the Sculptor said, “Don’t worry, you won’t break them”, challenge accepted, OSS!