By 1967 it was affiliated into the British Karate Kyokushin and the world-wide International Karate Organisation Kyokushinkaikan. From very humble beginnings in a factory canteen, through various training halls over public houses, school hall, YMCA, derelict factory premises and the Territorial Army Centre, a lease was taken on the present premises in August 1976. In the early days it was a struggle to compete against larger clubs in the south, especially London, but by the early seventies Leicester had started to make an impact and win tournaments. Over the years our fighters have won countless hundreds of trophies at club, National and International level. In 1998, twelve of our members fought for England against Wales and one of our Black Belts has won gold in the open EKGB England Championships and Silver in a Belfast Tournament. To date, Peter Kisby, who was graded to Godan (5th Dan Black Belt) in 1999, has taught over 70 students to successful Black Belts and was made a Branch Chief of Kyokushin by Sosai Oyama in 1993. He is qualified as an NVQ Assessor for Karate Instructors. The excellent facilities of the Leicester Dojo offer separate sessions for seniors and juniors, as well as divided classes for different grades. There are also specialised sessions for stamina training.
