As usual, our rolling roster of instructors for SHOTORAMA includes skilled and marvellous people from across different organisations, and we are delighted that they have all volunteered their time and expertise to give you a unique and never-to-be-repeated karate experience!
See the 2023 instructors in the gallery here, or scroll down to find out more about them and a little snippet from them on karate.
We look forward to welcoming them all for SHOTORAMA 2023, and hope you will enjoy their individual interpretations, specialist topics, and unique outlooks on karate. Let’s meet the team!
Sensei Adam “The Master” Purkiss
5th Dan, KUGB
Stock SKC, Benfleet
“Karate has been a massive part of my life for over 30 years and the joy I get out of it now more than ever, is the face of my students when they achieve their goals, being from winning trophies or gaining the next grade. More so from the students who are not naturally gifted the ones who have to work that bit harder to make their dreams a reality. That’s the real joy of karate to me, that’s what keeps me inspired to be able to pass on the knowledge that I have learnt to them and watch them grow; oh, and getting to hit people – that’s also good fun.”
Sensei Frank “The Guardian” Jennings
4th Dan, Shotokan Connect
Senshi Karate, Greenwich
Frank has been training in Shotokan since 1996. In 2016 he founded Senshi Karate, in 2021 left the KUGB to co-found Shotokan Connect and in 2022 graded to Yondan (4th degree black belt) under Senseis Ivan Birch, Ian Willis and Robin Dale. In his time Frank has competed (and even won some medals) but he is more focused on the practical side of karate. In fact, to improve his practical karate & bunkai, he has recently started learning judo to practice the grappling and throws which are still hidden in kata. As he says: “If you only know punches & kicks, you only see punches & kicks.”
Sensei John “The Wizard” Parnell
6th Dan, Shotokan Connect
“Karate has always been a positive influence on my life, and it keeps me balanced and stable. I believe it brings out the best in people. For me, the drills which spontaneously jump to my mind and evolve naturally during training/teaching sessions are usually the best.”
Sensei Steve “The Nexus” Bailes
4th Dan, HDKI
Blackwater Valley Shotokan Karate
“I look forward to sharing some of my passion for real karate, making it work, with a focus on the principles underlying karate. I have been blessed to train with some of the best karateka in the world and believe in sharing the knowledge regardless of grade or school. Just karate, just train, and enjoy your journey!”
Sensei Neil “The Whippet” Jerome
6th Dan, HDKI
Kenmei Shotokan, Trondheim (Norway)
“Do your best to be open to new ideas and interpretations, and search internally for the feelings of movements, play around and explore variations. There’s no short cut to good technique, because the process of repeating techniques is where you get to explore, and discover. And there’s no wrong direction when you’re exploring! Your karate will be different to mine, and anyone else’s. Martial arts, and self defence, are ultimately about understanding and negotiating the interplay between people; it’s important to give the non-physical side of that its full weight.”
…and there’s the line-up for SHOTORAMA 2023! Go and find out what they’ve got planned at the programme page and find out what’s in store!
SHOTORAMA! 