Stratford karate club

We are very pleased to announce that our chief instructor, Sensei Aaron, has successfully passed his Yondan (4th Dan) grading at the JKA France International Gashuku in Creil this weekend.

The examination was conducted by:
• Sawada Sensei (8th Dan)
• Naka Sensei (7th Dan)
• Hakizume Sensei (4th Dan) – Current JKA Kata World Champion

This represents a significant milestone in Sensei Aaron’s journey - the culmination of many years of dedicated study, rigorous training, and competition. We are proud of his achievement and inspired by his continued commitment to the art.

Congratulations sensei!

History made at the JKA European Championships 🇬🇧🏆

A huge congratulations to Akbar on becoming the very first JKA England men’s European kumite Champion in history — an incredible achievement and a moment that will be remembered for years to come.

This success is a reflection not only of Akbar’s exceptional talent, discipline, and relentless hard work, but also of the character and spirit he brings to the dojo every single day. We could not be prouder of what he has accomplished on the European stage.

As a club, it is an honour to have Akbar representing us. Seeing one of our own reach such a historic milestone fills us with immense pride and inspiration for the future.

Congratulations, Champion — you have made history and made us all proud. 👏🥇

Day one is concluded!

We’re very pleased to announce sensei Aaron achieved bronze in team kata along with team members Harrison and Jean-Laurent!

This is particularly special as they are the first kata team from England to win a medal in this category!

Well done to the boys on making history!

Tomorrow cheer on the team In their individual events!

Oss!

Team stratford have arrived in Bergen Norway!

Tomorrow the events kick off with juniors and team kata. Then Saturday the seniors will take the stage!

Can’t wait to get started!

Oss

3 days to go!

Join us in wishing the best of luck to our three club members — Aaron, Akbar & Josh — who will soon be heading to Norway for the JKA European Championships!

With over 600 competitors from 23 countries, this event is one of the most prestigious in the world of karate.

Let’s go, Team SKC! 👊
Oss!

Spring grading complete!

After a busy few months of preparation, we are pleased to report another successful grading for our club!

Our examiner for this event was Sensei Dave Paulus, a sitting member of the JKA England Technical Committee and the head coach of the JKA England squad. Our members were held to a fair but high standard.

Sensei Dave remarked that, as a club, he thought our standard was very good. This was also reflected in the pass rate, with 40 out of 41 students receiving full passes and only one partial pass.

Congratulations to all the graded members!

Over the next few months, we have Dan gradings, Kyu gradings, and many more competitions lined up, so relax and recover now!

From tomorrow, it’s back to work at the dojo.

Oss!

Another weekend of competition in the books!

Today, we took a selected group of our high-grade junior members to the 2026 Legend Open Championships.

The primary goal of this event was to build valuable experience for these members by allowing them to compete under the watchful eye of our chief instructor, Aaron Sensei. Aaron took on a coaching role, aiming to educate the competitors on the nuances of performing well in competition. By combining coaching cues with live matches, competitors are better able to absorb the knowledge available and improve for future events.

While winning wasn’t the most important goal today, we’re very pleased to report that all three selected members placed, with an impressive record!

First, Blake secured gold in individual kata in a very large group, followed swiftly by another gold in individual kumite.

Next, Jasurbek competed in individual kumite and was once again victorious in his division!

Last, but certainly not least, Akshara fought her way through the rounds in the largest of all the junior categories, only losing by a razor’s edge to the eventual champion in the semi-final. Akshara then battled through the repechage to earn the bronze medal.

Final Results: 🏆

Blake – 🥇 Kata, 🥇 Kumite
Jasurbek – 🥇 Kumite
Akshara – 🥉 Kumite

Some great performances all around, with strong kata and exceptional ippon techniques!

Despite not making it onto the podium this time, it should be noted that Jasurbek and Akshara both delivered strong kata performances, just missing out on the top spots.

The highlight moments of the day were most certainly the matching jodan mawashi geri ippons by Jasurbek and Akshara (check the pics!).

Very proud of the whole crew!

Training doesn’t stop here—the national championships will be fast approaching before we know it!

Onwards and upwards!

Oss!

🏆JKA SOUTHERN AREAS CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS!🏆

Another fantastic day of competition experience for our club. We took 26 competitors to the event and came away with no less than 20 medals!

for us the primary goal of these events is for our members to test themselves and their resilience under pressure. I’m happy to say that I’m genuinely very proud of everyone’s performances regardless of their placement in the competition. Simply getting up there to compete is a big win in itself.

That being said it’s also important to give recognition to those who pushed it the extra mile and came back with a medal!

Congratulations to our medal winners!

- Noah 🥈 kata
- Maria 🥈 kata 🥇kumite
- Lukian 🥉 kumite
- Zlata 🥈kumite
- Arhaan 🥈kumite
- Elena 🥉kata
- Penelope 🥈 kata 🥉kumite
- Ivo 🥉kumite
- Jasurbek 🥈 kata
- Blake 🥇 kata
- Eva 🥉 kata 🥉kumite
- Akshara 🥉 kata 🥉kumite
- Arina 🥉kumite
- Usayd 🥈kumite
- Chris 🥇kumite
- Leena 4th Place Kata
- Karen 🥈kumite

A special mention to Claire for her impeccable coaching and photography skills!

In the coming weeks & months we have Kyu gradings, Dan gradings and many more competitions ahead!

See you all there!

OSs!