George Tabrett

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 lockdown started. It was a strange time for all

karateka, not being able to train in person and having to resort to Zoom calls. Furthermore,

my personal training was interrupted by a foot injury, which meant I could not walk on it for

several months. During this time, although I continued to watch lessons via Zoom, my karate

deteriorated.

Although I resumed training before the end of lockdown in 2022, and even graded to 3rd Kyu

during this time, my karate was not where I wanted it to be. After lockdown, the club I had

been training at closed down due to many students leaving during the two years without

in-person training. I joined CFTS, training under Sensei Dan Young, and this fresh start

encouraged me to practise harder than ever at home to get my karate back to where it had

been.

I grew much more confident during this time, and in March 2023 I undertook my first grading

in CFTS, achieving 2nd Kyu. This was a grading that I trained almost obsessively in

preparation for, and I was very nervous about it, as it was both my first grading in CFTS and

my first in-person grading in years. As well as this, the grading was a much bigger event

than I had previously experienced, with karateka from multiple clubs grading for all levels in

the same hall. However, I had nothing to worry about, as the grading went smoothly.

Passing affirmed my confidence in my karate, and as I began training for 1st Kyu, I started

approaching karate differently. When I was younger, I had simply seen kata, kumite and

kihon as performing the correct moves in the correct order. Now, I focused on improving the

effectiveness of my technique and employing as many of the ten elements of kata as

possible, using breathing, timing and aiming points to improve my karate.

I graded for 1st Kyu in July 2024, feeling more confident than ever in my karate. Since then, I

attended my first kata competition in November 2025, achieving 4th place with Bassai Dai,

which I was very proud of.

At the start of 2026, I began seriously preparing for Shodan, in the hope of grading soon.

The hardest part going into the grading was memorising the terminology. Compared to all my

past gradings, this was a massive jump in the amount of knowledge I had to learn. However,

immersing myself in the history of karate, learning more about where different kata came

from, and exploring other aspects of karate all helped me see it in a different way and made

me even more determined going into the grading.

My preparation paid off, as I was invited to grade in March 2026. Beforehand, I was the most

nervous I can remember being in years. However, once the grading started, the nerves

faded as I focused my mind on the individual combination, kata or set that I was performing at that moment.

The grading held many surprises that challenged my karate like I had never been challenged before, but I made it through and attained the rank of Shodan. This achievement is one of my proudest, as it required so much preparation and focus, not only on the day itself but throughout the months leading up to it. The experience tested not only my karate, but many other qualities too, including my ability to articulate my thoughts under pressure. As a teenager who will need these skills in the future, the grading was an even more valuable experience than I expected.

Looking to the future, I hope to continue focusing on the precision and effectiveness of my karate, while eventually working towards Nidan and beyond.