Student of the Year 2025

Thank you to all the students who were put forward to attend the Student of the Year awards 2025. This was our biggest ever course as our Instructors have been spolied for choice this year. Many students have gone above and beyond, thoroughly deserving to be there. The course is our chance to celebrate those who put the most time and effort into karate. Your hard work and dedication is paying off.

Each and every one of you have made sacrifices and have been willing to do what others won’t and that is why you have been recognised by your Instructor.

The karate on display was outstanding and it was tremendous to see so many young students and kyu grades being put forward by our Sensei’s. The future is looking very exciting indeed. Sam Sensei put everyone through their paces with a fast-paced challenging warm up. We then covered the following Katas: Empi with Mike Beckwith Sensei, Unsu with Sam Sensei and Gojushiho-Sho with Paul Sensei. Two of last years winners and RTK Kata Squad members Arthur Purdy and Joe Rutter performed Kata Gojushiho-Sho in front of everyone and we finished off with some Kumite drills, takedowns and self defence training. 2024 winner Mitchell Little did an excellent kumite demonstration to finish off a brilliant session.

Before we gave out the trophies we rewarded our fabulous Instructor Team with medals for outstanding commitment to their students and our Club. We appreciate each and every one of them. We couldn’t run this Club without them. Without our team, we have no club. Thank you all!

We also gave some long service medals out on the day. Well done to Jon Curtis Sensei, Callula Curtis, Josiah Curtis and Louis Johnson Sensei for receiving a medal for completing 10 years training at Red Tiger. Here’s to the next decade!

We must also thanks the parents, guardians and partners for their commitment and support too. Without you enabling your loved ones to attend our classes they would not be able to achieve anything. You are the most important people on the journey and our most successful students usually have a great support system to back them, push them and keep them motivated. Thank you so much!

Paul Towler and his daughter Hannah kindly to photos on the day. You can view these by joining our private Facebook group - Red Tiger Karate by clicking here……..

If you don’t have facebook, please email: info@redtigerkarateclub.co.uk and I will send you the link.

You view and purchase these photos direct from their kick and flick website. Thank you so much Hannah and Paul, they are absolutely brilliant and I think you managed to capture just how much fun we had on the day.

As always, there were an extra four trophies awarded. Congratulations to the following students who were chosen to receive extra awards:

Jacob Bucknall Ryder - Future Superstar Award

What a brilliant year Jacob has had! There is no doubt that anyone who teaches Jacob or has watched him at any of the events he’s attended this year will realise that this lad is going to be something very special indeed. He is one of those rare diamonds so has a natural flair for karate and can learn a kata in the space of about five minutes! He is going to be exceptional. Jacob has the work ethic to back up the talent, training several times a week, every single week. He’s an absolute pleasure to teach and has the benefit of learning from quite a few Sensei’s including Dave Robertson Sensei, Sam Sensei, Katie Sensei and Paul Sensei. He is always there, sweating, trying his absolute hardest! He is an absolute quality Cadet Leader and sets the perfect example to the Cheadle class. Keep doing what you are doing, stay humble and you’ll have a very bright future indeed.

Barbara Celinska - Outstanding Dedication Award

Barbara has had such a great year, she has achieved her Black Belt and Student of the Year! Ever since she started we have always been so impressed with the way she gives every last drop of energy she has. She pours it all into her training and is still eager to learn. Some students get their Black Belt and the training tails off, they relax, they get lazy. Barbara has stepped it up and seems more inspired than ever to learn. She trains several times a week every week. Her Katas are beautiful and her kumite has really improved this year. She is brave and spirited and we have been so impressed with her every time we see her. She is a loyal and committed student starting many years ago with Helen and John Sensei in the Radcliffe dojo where she still trains and sets a great example week in, week out. Helen Sensei commented that she knew as soon as Barbara set foot in the dojo that she was going be somebody very special indeed by the way she trained. Helen Sensei was absolutely right! You are a star! Barbara has such a bright future ahead of her and still so much more potential she can tap into. We are excited by her talent and so pleased to have been able to present her with this award. Well done!

Esme Smith - Instructors Choice Award

We are so pleased that Esme was chosen by so many of our Instructor team to receive this award. She is such a brilliant karateka she could have won any of these categories. Esme achieved her Black Belt back in May and put in an exceptional performance. She loves her kumite and attends Squad Class each week and specialist kumite training with Yanagi Kai. She goes above and beyond to improve and attends extra courses. This is why she is improving week in week out, she always puts the work in and is a pleasure to teach. She listens, learns and corrects everything you ask her too. She is physically strong and has developed very powerful kicks. There are no weak areas in Esme’s karate and she is a great help in Rob Sensei’s Kings Road dojo where I am certain that the students will look up to her as a great role model. Well done Esme, we know there is so much more to come from you and this is just the start.

Holly P - Most Improved Student Award

Holly has been training with us for many years and you can really see the time and dedication that has gone into her karate. She trains three times a week, every single week without fail. She started when she was tiny with John O Donovan Sensei in his very first teaching class at Chantlers Primary and they have been on a very special journey together ever since. She has earned her Nidan this year which is such an extraordinary achievement for such a young age. She isn’t afraid of hard work and she takes advantage of every opportunity to push herself, she has competed and been on every course we’ve done. The improvement she has made between 1st Dan and 2nd Dan has been immeasurable and it is all down to her own hard work. The willingness to put in the graft and take part in the hard classes. We are so pleased for you Holly, you fully deserve this award and we are excited for what the future holds for you.