Having started training in shitoryu karate in 1987 in the Wilmslow dojo, I trained under a sensei called "George Condrom" as a white belt, I found myself progressing very quickly until sensei George decided to close the Wilmslow dojo but a brown belt called "Paul Ferris" took over and I continued to advance through my belts.

 

I sat my 1st dan blackbelt and Shidoin `ho` (teacher grade) in front of soke Kenji Kusano from Japan in Japananese, which was very nerve racking but i managed to pass.

At that point i thought "yes, I`ve made it whats next?" then the next day soke sensei took us newly graded blackbelts for a training session and showed us some techniques and I remember thinking "Wow, I`m staying here and learning this".....

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I`ve had a number of my own dojos over the years with some great students passing through my dojo doors.

 

I have also had a couple of breaks within my karate career due to moving abroad and work commitments but feel with my two children coming up to school age wanting to teach them what I have learnt, doing this lit the spark again and so I met up with my old instructors who were happy to help me start where I left off.... 

Upto the point of writing this I have attained the rank of 5th dan blackbelt Shidoin `A` Kenshi,

In May 2023 I passed my 5th dan with Oshita-ha karate-do and am looking forward to progressing under sensei Oshita leadership.

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