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3RD DAN DAN
By Admin
13 October 2019 4:22 pm
Dan pictured with his grading examiners, Sensei Poynton, Sensei Sherry and Sensei Brennan.
Dan pictured with his grading examiners, Sensei Poynton, Sensei Sherry and Sensei Brennan.
Congratulations to Sensei Dan Salter, who was promoted to 3rd Dan (3rd degree black belt) at the Special Dan Course at the University of Bath’s Sports Village last weekend.

Dan passed his grading under a panel of some of the most renowned names in British Karate, including the Chairman of the Karate Union of Great Britain, 9th degree black belt Sensei Andy Sherry.

The exam included a section of Karate fundamentals, one covering Kata (set sequences) and a final section of kumite (sparring). The exams test participants to the limits, to see what they’re truly capable of and are inevitably exhausting. But as with anything challenging, Dan confirmed that it was worth the hard work.

“After it was over I felt a huge amount of joy, but also quite a bit of relief,” said Dan.

“The amount of training required was tough, and to hear that it paid off made the effort truly worthwhile.”

Dan - the lead instructor of our Warriors youth programme at one of two core instructors at our Westbury-on-Trym dojo - first joined Bristol Karate Academy’s Nailsea dojo as a brown belt in 2012. The last few years have seen a huge improvement in his standard, as everything has clicked into place. In particular, his gold and silver medals at the 2018 JKS and KUGB national championships as part of the Academy Kata team are testament to this.

Dan becomes only the sixth person in the Academy’s history to pass this exceptional milestone.

When asked what advice he would give to others hoping to reach a high standard in Karate, he said, “Truly commit to your goals. It’s easy to say that you want to achieve a black belt. But unless you commit 100%, and make promises to yourself to train to the best of your ability, it becomes all to easy to say “I’ll go tomorrow” or “I’ll take it a bit easier this week.

“For those new to Karate, take encouragement from the fact that even black belts get things wrong and continue to learn. Every instructor I train with will find one more thing for me to put right. I welcome that to make me a better karateka.”

We're delighted that - like Dan did - so many of you are working hard towards your next grade, with many of you due to grade over the weekend of 30th November and 1st December.  We hope that this piece of good news inspires you to reach your own particular grading goal. We'll be there to help support you every step of the way.