Toyama Karate Kai

Control & Independence - The ability to extert more independence and control and be able to effectively manage their disabilities, their bodies and their lives. Being able to improve any aspects that maybe affected by their disabilities. May it be Dexterity, Balance, Hand-Eye Co-ordination, or Mobility.

Confidence - To build confidence not only in a person's abilities but themselves. For people to overcome their own limitations and go around them. To gain confidence in their ability to problem solve and find solutions.

Fitness - To improve general fitness and to encourage people to be more active and have fun doing it. Fitness can have a direct affect on a person's disability and mobility.

Co-operation & Teamwork - Shindo Ryu Karate Do is a system that has a strong belief in Family and working together for a common goal. To build friendships, mutual respect and to encourage people, help each other to succeed and reach their goals and celebrate each others achievements.

Integration & Inclusion - Both disabled and able-bodied people alike can learn from each other, share ideas, different points of view and experiences in the pursuit of knowledge.

Self-defence - Disabled people can be vulnerable as children and adults alike can be seen as the most vulnerable in society and rightly so, however it is important to be able to have some chance no matter how small than no chance at all if attacked.

The Toyama Story

This story has a rather strange beginning as it all starts at an Internet Radio Station in Laindon during the summer of the 2012 London Olympics; at the time I was a local radio presenter with a stereotypically big ego. I was presenting a radio show full of mixed pop music, new music and Japanese music at the time, but fate does funny things and the universe works in mysterious ways.

As a youngster I always wanted to do something like Karate, You can blame films like (The Karate Kid Trilogy for this) however attitudes back then was very different to now, I was told I couldn’t do it due to my Cerebral Palsy and low and behold at that point worked towards becoming a radio broadcaster and briefly a competitive swimmer Winning the Basildon Dolphins Endeavour Award in 1997 and having qualified for the annual National Junior Disabled Swimming Championships held in Darlington twice.

However back to the modern day!

Every so often I would be called upon to be a stand-in presenter for the sports radio show known as “Saturday Sport”. Which was every Saturday afternoon the main radio presenter was going through an ongoing serious illness so I could have been called up at anytime. During this time a local Basildon karate instructor was about to carry the Olympic flame and was about to do an interview with the station. Marc Grayston-Hanshi (Then Kyōshi)

Fatefully I was encouraged to talk to him and so I did.

Over the coming weeks and months both Marc Grayston-Hanshi and I exchanged messages through various social media but primarily Twitter. We got on having little chats about Karate, his friends and family and his very own Maru Karate Kai. (I miss those chats) sometimes but as time went on my curiosity got the better of me.

During this time due to my disability slowly degenerating and I was prescribed physio sessions after having issues with back pain. Unfortunately the physio was in an area I couldn’t reach and due to my full-time job I couldn’t get to it. So I was looking for a genuine viable alternative to prevent the degeneration; also despite being told I couldn’t as a child I wanted to know if I could, so I asked.

As it turned out his best friend James Waddoups-Shihan (Then Tasshi) was starting a new Karate Class where I lived at the time, and like the good friend he is Marc Grayston-Hanshi introduced us and eventually James Waddoups-Shihan became my Karate teacher.

I asked my family and they made me promise to do Karate for physio and exercise only and not to grade. However my curiosity got the best of me and I decided to grade regardless.

Infamously I was three weeks late for my first lesson, but over the weeks, months and years, having showing much patience James Waddoups-Shihan (and on occasion various masters of Shindō-Ryu Karate Dō system) helped me overcome challenges as I slowly but surely adapted the system syllabus to my Cerebral Palsy as I climbed the ranks of the Kyu Grade.

The rest you could say is history.

After 5 years eventually I reached my own Black Belt and but that isn’t the end of the story. Black Belt never is!

On a one day course on 15th December 2018 I was approached by Marc Grayston-Hanshi and Stephen Grayston-Meijin about teaching and nonchalantly had two very informal chats on the subject. How little I knew. Suddenly without warning I was called to teach my first Karate lesson of which I really did start to enjoy and before I really got going the session was over.

At the end of that day I was awarded both my Sensei and Tasshi titles and it was my biggest honour to date and the most emotional day in the Dōjo so far.

Soon I hope to start a new journey to inclusively encourage people with a range of physical disabilities and abled-bodied people alike to start their own challenge and realise that Karate truly is for everybody, and with the right adaptations you can achieve anything!