Our Instructor is Sensei Phil Shire. He started our club in 1988 and is assisted by a number of black-belt instructors. All instructors give their time free of charge, and our fees are extremely low.

  • We are a friendly, family club; male and female, young and old from seven to seventy. We fit our Karate to the individual, not the other way round. We have lots of social events; summer barbecues, Christmas parties, club dinners.
  • We train on Tuesdays at the Sizewell Sports and Social Club.
  • We are affiliated to the Seishin-KyoKai Karate Association.
  • The club won Suffolk Coastal Business and Community Awards - Health and Well Being section and was runner up in the People Development section.

 Karate teaches you to defend yourself, and helps to keep you fit and supple, but that’s only the start.

  • Karate also helps you learn about yourself. It teaches you self-control and trains your mind and spirit as well as your body, and it gives you the confidence to face all sorts of challenges, emotional as well as physical.
  • Karate is an absorbing, life-enhancing martial art and is incredibly rewarding.

Whether you join as a beginner in Karate, as a student from another style, or as an accomplished black belt we hope that you will feel at home here and enjoy training with us.

We have a wide range of grades training together regularly, with an equally wide age spectrum. The youngest students are around six and our oldest member was seventy! This variety enriches the club, as the lower grades are set an example by those above them and, in turn, the younger students set a standard for suppleness that often makes experienced Karateka green with envy!

The club was founded in 1988 by our instructor Sensei Phil Shire. He is a 7th Dan in Shotokan karate. Phil has been involved in various styles of karate for many years and also has a black belt in Kyokushinkai. He has instructed at two other clubs in England, and has also taught all over the United States, Europe, the Eastern Bloc and in Africa. His areas of expertise are applications, body movement and the history of Karate.

 

Seishin KyoKai is an alliance of similar minded clubs, dedicated to teaching traditional karate that is of high quality using safe body movement. The style of karate we practise is Shotokan. We base our approach on the teachings of the founder, Master Gichin Funakoshi, and Sensei Hirokazu Kanazawa 10th Dan.  

The training that the clubs in Seishin KyoKai provide includes kihon (basics), kata (form) and kumite (ritualised and freestyle fighting - controlled). Students are also encouraged to look beyond the traditional Shotokan grading syllabus and learn the history of karate as well as in-depth and effective Bunkai, Oi Jutsu and Henka forms of karate applications. Seishin KyoKai's grading syllabus is demanding, but achievable by anyone with the necessary perseverance and determination. The standard of instruction within the association is very high and performance required at gradings is above average. The founding sensei (Instructor), Phil Shire 7th Dan, is a dedicated karateka with many years of experience.

Ours is a traditional Japanese style, with the emphasis on karate training as a martial art rather than a competitive sport - although we can claim many excellent fighters and kata performers in our associations past and present membership.. Another important characteristic is that the fighting aspects of our karate are 'light controlled contact'. This means that strikes do not cause injuries to our training partners. Blocks and practising applications of kata do involve (non-injurious) contact as this is necessary to learn effective technique.

We have clubs and links to clubs in the United States of America (USA) and Spain. The clubs range from Shotokan, Renshinkan, Shorin Ryu and Goju Ryu. All the association instructors are DBS checked and are fully insured. Most are qualified first aiders. The Association has health and safety policies, risk assessments, child protection policies, etc.

If you are an individual, club or association and would like to join us or have one of instructors run a course for you please do not hesitate to contact us via the contact page.