CFTS KARATE

The 2026 CFTS Charity Week is being held across the CFTS Federation at all clubs. Find out how to get involved!

I started training Karate in 2000 at the Newton Ards Wado-Ryu club under Sensei Robert Hamilton. I reached the grade of 6th Kyu by the time I left home to attend the University of York in 2001. There I joined the university Karate club (with the blessing of Sensei Hamilton) which was a Shotokan club affiliated with the KUGB under the head coach Sensei Rob McCartney. University was a formative time for my Karate. The training was hard, but very enjoyable. I competed fairly reg

My karate journey started in 2014, when I began training at a small local club at the age of four. Although I don’t remember much of those early days, being so young, I do remember wanting to learn to defend myself in case I ever needed to, as well as wanting to have fun. I also remember spending months trying to get my head around Taikyoku Shodan! I progressed through the ranks, motivated to continue improving and having fun. By 2020, I had reached 4th Kyu, just before lockd

At 8 years old, I joined my dad, Roy Currie, in training with CFTS at the Brickhill club. Despite being reluctant to go along at first, I soon found that I really enjoyed doing karate, especially kata! Initially, I was training alongside both my parents and my sister, which motivated me to do my best and keep up with them. Soon, I found myself doing an extra night a week at the Kempston club with Renshi Kidby. Training with him was definitely a step up from what I was used

I began my learning of Karate in 1992, as a young boy in a small American town, under the only Sensei around, Sensei David Rhodes (6th Dan), Wado-Ryu. In Sensei’s class we would train a 3-prong system for 5 hours every week: Kihon, Kata, & Free-style sparring. This improved my confidence and self-defence capabilities at school while also being quite fun. I remember times when while we were sparring Sensei would turn off the lights, switch on a strobe light and blast cheesy 80

Karate first started for me 38 y ears ago, then ended 36 years ago! As a child, I wanted to be with my friends, learn a martial art, and gain a skill. Years later, I tried Aikido, kung fu, Tae Kwon Do, and Jujitsu. Each brief and each not fulfilling at the time. I was fresh out of Uni and still not ready to commit to a martial art at the time. (Much) Later as an adult, and father, I wanted to find an activity I could do with my daughter Inara - then aged 6. On speaking with R

My karate journey started when I was five years old, a pale ginger boy whose mother wanted to be sure he could handle himself. She enrolled me at Sensei Steve Bell’s Sankukai karate dojo at Brooksward School in Neath Hill. The club later moved across to the stables at Downs Barn. Sankukai is quite different to traditional Shotokan: grabs and takedowns throughout, an enormous amount of kata, and movement full of spins, jumps and changes of level. I remember Sensei Bell as a re

The recent kyu gradings held at Knowles school dojo in Bletchley were a very successful day for all of the students. Students from Newton Longville, Bletchley, Newport Pagnell, Green Park school and Newton Longville school clubs all showed great spirit and determination in their gradings. It was great to see a new group of students going for their blue belt and good to meet the parents so they could watch their children grade for the first time. There were major success

CFTS Karate is proud to present a seminar with Sensei Mary Abernethy on September 19th, at St Thomas More Secondary School, Bedfordshire. See attached leaflet for more information.

Our second ‘Warrior Woman’ is Yuenu and although her story is steeped in legend and folklore, references to her can be found in ancient Chinese documents. Her influence, particularly in the field of swordsmanship, is still felt today. Yuenu was renowned as the most famous and greatest swordfighter of her day. Her actual name is not recorded in history but she was known as the Lady of Yue or the Maiden of the Southern Forest. She first appears in the masterpiece chronicle “

Dan Grade CV coming soon!

I first started karate in late 2018, when I was 6, as some of my other friends were training at the time and I fell out of love with football at the time. I started in Tiny Tigerz, the junior club run by Senseis to give young, new karatekas (like me at the time!) an introduction to the martial art, and later started attending the junior beginners sessions before passing my first grading in March of 2019. I grew to love karate more and more from this point, and then graded und

My first taste of martial arts began by accepting an invitation from my university flat mates to see a Taekwondo (ITF) demonstration. After being suitably impressed by the board breaking, athletic feats and trying an enjoyable first session, we joined up. After a few months, my hall mates stopped attending but I had caught the bug. Training under the instruction of Mr. Iqbal and others, two to three times a week, became a part of my life. I made some great friends and met my

The first in a series of articles compiled by Sensei Pam McMahon on the Warrior Women of Martial Arts. Sensei Pauline Bindra is an extremely influential figure in the world of karate. She was the first woman in Britain to grade to Shodan, she eventually reached the rank of 8th Dan and was one of the highest graded female practitioners of Shotokan in the world. Sensei Bindra was born on 8th January 1945 in Middlesbrough and began training in Judo at the age of 12. She first

All the CFTS clubs had condidates representing them in the recent dan gradings held in Kempston, Bedford, on Saturday 28th March 2026. The standard was incredibly high and all the Instructors Committee panel felt that all the candidates demonstrated great skill and determination. All nine shodan and nidan candidates were successful in the morning session, photo shown below. The graders were; Brett Keith - Shodan - Newport Pagnell Liam Beilby - Shodan - Newton Longville Eesha

The first grading of the year for the Bedford Area took place on the 7th March with a change of venue due to repair work taking place at St. Thomas More. We held our gradings at the Brickhill dojo with separate grade groups: - Brickhill beginners - Kempston beginners - Blue and red belts - Orange and yellow belts - Green, purple, purple and white belts - All brown belts It was a very tight operation with timings but we managed to keep to th

Another great grading day for Milton Keynes area students with some great spirit and determination being shown by everyone. It was also great to see the parents of the school club students giving their support and watching their children grade, as they don't get the opportunity to view the school clubs in lessons. We had two students that double graded; one went straight to green belt and another straight to purple belt, so well done to you. Double grading only occurs when th

Many years ago, in CFTS we used to run a line of clothing/bags for students to purchase. The CFTS Committee felt that this was something we want to bring back and are pleased to announce that this has been made possible! Initially, there will only be a selection of white or black t-shirts, black or royal blue pull over hoodies and zip up hoodies. Cotton t-shirts available in white or black; and both pullover hoodies and zip-up hoodies, available in black and royal blue These

The MK area gradings were held on Sunday November 16th with students from all MK area clubs participating.

As always, the year is coming to a close, and with it the calendar of events for 2025. There is still time to enter the Competition, but we are already starting to look ahead to next year. This page will always have a up-to-date version of the calendar, so, even if you are given a paper copy or sent one through email, check back for updates - any major updates will also be communicated through news posts or directly by your club instructors. All Milton Keynes area gradings wi