In 2006 there was a new karate club that had opened at my primary school (Cedars) and at the age of 10, myself and a group of friends decided to join. After a year at Cedars I moved up to secondary school, Ousedale, which coincidently happened to be where Renshi Kidby taught as well. I then joined the Newport Pagnell Club. Even though over the years all my school friends left karate, leaving me the only one. I worked through the grades and eventually achieved Shodan in March 2013.
Karate has taught me a great deal about life and myself. Being a petite 'nerdy girl', I thought that karate wouldn't be something that I would stick at and that it was far too aggressive and boyish for me. I soon found out that wasn't the case! For me, karate has so much beauty and elegance within itself, which, in my opinion, can be seen in kata. This is why kata has always been my favourite part of karate.
Over the years I have enjoyed attending courses as they have opened my eyes to other forms of martial arts but also added to my knowledge of our own. Competitions are also fun and I really enjoy watching the most senior grades perform their kata. They have inspired me to perfect my own kata.
Looking back I can definitely say that in the beginning, karate was just something I turned up to, went through the motions and then went home. However, now karate has become so much more. I never believed that I would've achieved Shodan and now I can see that karate is a never ending journey; I'm still really at the beginning. I look forward to where my karate takes me in the future.
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