Meet The Team

Matthew began training karate at the age of 8 and within 4 years, passed his black belt 1st Dan in 2006. He continued to train towards his 2nd Dan whilst also competing at local and national events. He found his love for competing before achieving his 1st Dan and has always been involved with competitions. In 2008, Matthew passed his 2nd Dan and also started teaching karate on a part time basis at 14 years old. This became a full time profession when he turned 18 in 2011 and has gained a wealth of experience from teaching a wide range of ages, grades and abilities. 

In 2014, Matthew passed his 3rd Dan and also affiliated to JKS England which provided opportunities to train with a wide range of instructors, including Japanese instructors from the JKS Head Quarters in Japan. He was selected for the JKS England Kata Squad and Matthew's competition experience grew as he went on to compete at high level National and British competitions, as well as representing JKS England at the European Championships in Belgium in 2017. Matthew continued to progress and managed to earn a place on the England Karate Squad (EKF) in 2018 before achieving his 4th Dan Black Belt and winning the JKS National Championships for Kata in the same year. After training karate for 20 years, Matthew managed to achieve his 5th Dan Black Belt in front of the Head of the JKS, Kagawa Shihan 9th Dan in October 2022.

Matthew has 12 National Titles as a Junior and Cadet, and as a Senior he has medalled at English and British Championships in Team and Individual Kata. Matthew has many more medals to his name at local, national and international level and is a qualified JKS kyu grade examiner. Matthew has also coached students who have won National, British and International titles. Throughout his karate career, Matthew has been lucky enough to be invited to teach karate courses for other karate clubs, some based in Norwich and others across the country. He was most recently invited to coach at the JKS Open Kata training course in Wolverhampton (Sep 2021).

Matthew is fully insured, DBS qualified and holds a First Aid Certificate.

2002 – Matthew began training at the age of 8
2006 – Passed 1st Dan black belt under Sensei Masoe Kawasoe 8th Dan UKTKF
2008 – Passed 2nd Dan black belt under Sensei Masoe Kawasoe 8th Dan UKTKF
2008 – Matthew started teaching karate
2010 – JSKA World Championships in Portugal, Gold Individual Kata, Bronze Team Kata
2011 – FSKA World Championships in Italy, Gold Individual Kumite, Silver Individual Kata
2011 – Matthew became a full-time professional instructor
2013 – WTKO Championships, Switzerland, Gold in Team Kata, Silver Individual Kumite
2014 – Passed 3rd Dan black belt under Sensei Richard Amos 7th Dan WTKO
2017 – Selected for JKS England kata squad
2017 – JKS European Championships, Belgium Silver Team Kata
2018 – Selected for EKF National squad
2018 – Passed 4th Dan black belt under Sensei Masao Kagawa 9th Dan JKS
2018 – JKS National Kata Champion
2019 – Competed at WKF Series A Competitions in Austria and Turkey
2019 – Competed at JKS World Championships, Dublin
2019 – JKS National Kata Champion
2020 – Selected for EKF Elite National Squad

2021 – Formed Norwich Karate Academy

2022 – Passed 5th Dan black belt under Sensei Masao Kagawa 9th Dan JKS

Sammie started training karate in December 2017, at the age of 25, and passed her 1st Dan black belt grading in July 2021. After 2 years of training, Sammie managed to achieve her 2nd Dan in July 2023.

She has experienced first hand the physical, mental and social benefits of training karate as an adult and is keen to encourage others to give it a go! Sammie particularly enjoys training kata and has successfully competed at local novice competitions.

Outside of karate, Sammie is a Health and Wellbeing Coach for the NHS, as well as doing this privately on a self-employed basis. She is a qualified personal trainer and regularly trains in the gym. Prior to this, she was a youth worker supporting personal development in young adults.

2017 – Sammie began training at the age of 25

2018 – Qualified as a Gym Instructor

2018 – Attended Mental Health First Aid training

2021 – Qualified as a Level 3 Personal Trainer

2021 - Health and Wellbeing Coaching training with the Personalised Care Institute

2021 – Passed 1st Dan black belt under Sensei Alan Campbell 7th Dan  JKS

2023 – Passed 2nd Dan black belt under Sensei Alan Campbell 7th Dan  JKS

Sammie is fully insured, DBS qualified and holds a First Aid Certificate.