Kelly's Journey

Where do I start? It was a year ago I tentatively took my first steps through the door.  I was a newly wed of a few weeks and had unfortunately fallen into a rut,gained weight, doing a college course that was making me truly miserable and was becoming very jaded with the way my life was heading.  Now,by nature I’m a very confident and outgoing lady but it at times can be a mask to conceal the little girl underneath who never felt quite like she fitted in.  Rob immediately enveloped me in a hug and made me feel welcome right from the get go,as did all the other black belts.  Unlike all forms of physical extracurricular activity I’ve partaken in as an adult, karate doesn’t just work on the outer shell because as I say, skin is merely there to stop your insides from slopping out!

But more importantly it teaches you to look deep within yourself and approach life in a more meaningful and person centred way.  I will always be nuttier than a lion bar but I can honestly say since joining up with this wonderful group of individuals and turning the dreaded 40 at Christmas, my soul has never known such inner peace and it has impacted outside of karate too! 

My health has improved massively, I’ve lost weight, I’m doing things with my body I couldn’t have envisaged even attempting a year ago with my crippling back pain. 
These wonderful people make you feel like you have wings and nothing is unattainable.  With karate, I leave all the worries outside the dojo and when the class is over, I depart feeling ten feet tall.  It even gave me the courage to go into a completely different career which makes me happy EVERY day to give something back. 

I have made some wonderful friends and suffice to say, am definitely in it for the long haul and cannot recommend it enough to anyone, regardless of race/gender/size/ability.
Karate changed my life completely.