TWO of Red Dragon Karate’s students – a father and daughter – have passed their 1st Dan black belt grading.

The duo Antony and Maya Thompson-Gardiner, of Wellington, travelled to Abingdon in Oxfordshire earlier this year to take their black belt assessment. They are both students at Red Dragon Karate, which is based at Langford Budville Village Hall and is instructed by Sensei Peter Milne, 3rd Dan. The club is affiliated with the Karate Union of Great Britain (KUGB), one of the largest karate organisations in the UK with well over 7,000 members.

Both have been training for several years with their instructor before earning this opportunity. The grading was split into three parts, each focusing on a different aspect of karate: fundamental basics, kata (a set pattern of pre-determined techniques), and kumite (contact sparring against an opponent, in both pre-arranged and free form variations).

Overseeing their grading was Sensei Andy Sherry, 9th Dan and Chief Instructor of the KUGB, and Sensei Bob Rhodes, 8th Dan and the most senior instructor in the Southern Region. Antony and Maya excelled on all fronts and were overjoyed to learn that they had attained the much-coveted rank of 1st Dan.

Sensei Peter Milne said of his students: “It is very special when one of our students attains a Dan grade, and it is even more so when both father and daughter manage the feat on the same day.

“They have been training with me for many years, and I am incredibly proud to see how far they have both come in that time.

“A black belt always has to be earned though hard work and discipline, and the standards within our club and association are very high.”

Red Dragon Karate can be contacted through Facebook or by emailing Peter at milnepd@gmail.com