08/09/2026
Just over a week ago we had a NKA Dan grading. An excellent day of karate by all those that graded. From LE karate we added 2 new extremely deserving karateka to the grade of shodan. After a tough grading, both Will and Phoebe passed there Dan grading with flying colours!
Will started training with us nearly 10 years ago now. While he has been more than capable of achieving this grade before now, Will has had some massive competitive opportunities that have had to take a priority. This has only benefited Will though, as it has allowed him to mature into the karateka that he is today - understanding that nothing is just given and it must be earned. His Dan grading has come at the perfect time in this sense, as he has really developed recently in terms of his karate ethos.
Since starting karate over 6 years ago, Phoebe has always been eager to compete at the top level with her peers. For years she would ask how to improve quicker and catch up her competitors most of which already had 4+ years more experience on the tatami then Phoebe. We would always tell her to just keep training hard like she does, and that maturity in karate comes with time and training. Even though sometimes frustrated that she couldn’t click her fingers and gain that extra karate experience, Phoebe kept at it, training at every opportunity, and now you would never be able to tell she was ever playing catch up. This is especially apparent in her competitive career where Phoebe’s results speak for themselves.
If you ever want 2 very different but inspiring karate story’s, these 2 are both are the people to ask. Both still at the very beginning of the exciting parts in there karate career, both Phoebe and Will are 2 of the biggest examples of where pure persistent hard work can get you, within the world of karate.💪
We also had Amelia and Charlie taking their senior Dan grading now they are 16 where they both also passed with flying colours. This is more about them showing the difference between them being a junior and now a senior which they both demonstrated very well 💪
