I started karate in 2014 when I was 12 years old because one of my friends had recently joined as well. However, this friend stopped training fairly soon after I joined and I was left not really knowing anyone at the club.
At this point it would have been easy for me to give up karate as well, but instead I persevered and continued training for what is now over 5 years, and I have recently successfully graded for Shodan, something I had never imagined I would be able to do.
I will always be grateful that I kept going with karate because I have now made many friends through training and it has allowed me to develop both physically and mentally into a better person.
I would like to thank Sensei McMahon, Sensei Waterhouse, Renshi Kidby and all the other black belts that I have trained with over the years for helping me to get to where I am today. I look forward to continuing to train and improve in the future, as there are still many things I need to work on.