06/09/2026
🥋 GB OPEN KARATE CHAMPIONSHIPS 2026 – BIRMINGHAM 🇬🇧
What a day. What a competition.
Today we stepped onto the tatami at the GB Open Karate Championships in Birmingham – one of the biggest one-day karate competitions in the UK.
And this was serious competition. Big categories, strong athletes, different styles, and some excellent karate from across the country.
🥈 SILVER – VETERAN KATA
I’m very happy to come home with a silver medal from a strong 11-competitor Veteran Kata category.
And I have to take my hat off to my friend Sensei Mark Nevola, who took the gold. 🥇👏
We joked before the competition that it would be difficult to compete against those beautiful Sh*to-Ryu katas… apparently I was right! 😂🥋
Congratulations, my friend. Very well deserved. OSS! 🙏
But today wasn’t really about my medal.
I’m especially proud of Ellis.
He stepped into a 21-competitor kata category at a major event and missed qualification for the second round by just ONE point.
No medal this time.
But sometimes a result like this tells you far more than a medal does.
I know how much work he has put in. I know the hours, the effort and the courage it takes for a young competitor to walk onto the tatami at an event of this level and perform under pressure.
One point.
That is how close he was.
So we don’t leave Birmingham disappointed. We leave knowing exactly where we are – and knowing that we are getting closer.
Ellis, I’m proud of you. Very proud. 👊
And I would also like to give special thanks to Ellis’s parents and family for the support they continue to give him.
The development of a young competitor is never only about what we see on the tatami. Behind every training session and every competition are the journeys, the early starts, the time, the commitment and, most importantly, the encouragement of a family that stands behind them.
Behind a young competitor’s journey there are always people who believe in them.
As his instructor, I appreciate and respect that enormously. 🙏
Now we go back to the dojo.
We work.
We improve.
And we come back stronger.
That’s the journey.
A huge thank you and congratulations to the organisers, officials, referees, coaches and everyone involved in today’s GB Open.
Superb organisation and a fantastic atmosphere throughout the day. 👏
For our small Hagakure team, Birmingham was another important step forward.
🥈 One silver medal.
🥋 One young competitor who came within a single point of the next round.
🔥 And plenty more work ahead.
We keep moving forward.
HAGAKURE DOJO
FUDOKAN KARATE UK – ALTON
Building Stronger People. 🥋
