(Still a little bit under construction! Bear with me! Grrr. Bears.)
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! Read on to find out more about them and a little snippet from them on karate.
We look forward to welcoming them all for SHOTORAMA 2026, and hope you will enjoy their individual interpretations, specialist topics, and unique outlooks on karate. Let’s meet the team!
Sensei John “The Wizard” Parnell
7th 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 Adam “The Master” Purkiss
6th 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 Amelia “The Deliverer” Senft
3rd Dan, HDKI
Fudoshin Karate, New Eltham
“I started karate at age 5 as a freckle-faced kid dreaming of landing a 360 backflip kick into a handstand (still working on that!). Since then, karate has taught me so much—not just about martial arts, but about confidence, discipline, and growth. I’ve been very lucky to have had some amazing karate adventures and continue to look forward to the next. Now, running my own dojo, I love sharing what I’ve learned with the next generation and having fun while we grow together.”
Sensei Hayden “The Ronin” Meredith
3rd Dan, Shotokan Ryu Kase Ha
Seishin Shotokan Karate, Dumfries
“I’m just a karate enthusiast who loves learning, developing and meeting new people. I’ll be hitting nearly 14 years in my journey of karate and have enjoyed every second. I’m not worried about how good a fighter someone is, how sharp their kata is. If they are better then me or not. I just want everyone to enjoy karate, train hard, have fun and leave with a smile. I can’t wait to meet everyone on this 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 2026! Go and find out what they’ve got planned at the programme page and find out what’s in store!
SHOTORAMA! 