Age: 31
Rank: Nidan
Height: 5ft 5
Weight: 57kilos
Style: GKR  Karate      
Occupation:  Personal Assistant 
Favourite technique: Reverse Punch

RESULTS SINCE BROWN BELT:

2004 - GKR UK Nationals - Female Instructors Kumite - Gold
2004- GKR UK Nationals - Female Instructors Kata - Gold
2005 - GKR World Cup, Sydney Australia - Female 3rd-1st Kyu 21-34yrs Kumite - Silver
2005 - GKR UK Nationals Female Instructors Kumite - Gold
2006 - GKR UK Nationals - Female Black Belt Opens Kumite - Gold
2007 - GKR World Cup, Birmingham, UK - Female Black Belt Opens Kumite - Silver
2007 - UK NAS Nationals Female Black Belt Kumite Champion of Champions
2008 - UK NAS Nationals Black Belt Opens Female Kata Champion
2008 - UK NAS Nationals Female Black Belt Champion of Champions
2009 - GKR World Cup, Melbourne, Australia - Female Black Belt Opens Kumite - Bronze
2009 - UK NAS Nationals - Female Black Belt Kumite Champion of Champions

How did you become involved in training and competition?
I started Karate thanks to my Brother, Paul, he joined GKR after someone knocked on his door and after his first class he told me about it, I'd always wanted to do a Martial art but had never done anything beyond the thought so it was the opportunity I needed to start. 
I never thought of myself as competitive and didn't know much about competition but my instructor encouraged me to enter tournament as part of my Karate journey and to test myself, and so as an orange belt, 7th Kyu I entered my first tournament which I was pretty terrible at, but it sparked a desire to be better and to achieve a level in my Karate that was worthy of a medal placing.

when and why did you first take up karate ?
I began training in early 2002 and although always being interested by the idea of martial arts like many others I had no idea how to start, so just never did.  When I started training it was a real family experience, my Brother and his two Children started a week before me, and they enjoyed it so much that my other Brother, my Mum and I all started too so it was great family bonding as well as great fun. 

Where is a bout won and lost?
The cliche is true, it's won and lost between your ears, you can train, in any martial art, for years and years, but if you don't apply time to work on the mental game you will nearly 100% of the time lose to someone who has, and harder to swallow is that maybe to someone with less skill than you.  You don't have to take it to extremes, everyone is different, but there is so much out there to help you in this field, it's something Olympic athletes use as part of their training, there are some fantastic books and CDs on the mental side of performance - sucess won't come to you, you need to go out and get it.

Who has been your hardest opponent?
My toughest opponent was actually in this years NAS Champion of Champions finals - Jess Warden.  Jess has trained with me since she was 12 years old and she knows everything I have and I her, but in addition to the physical side of what we could do, there was a huge mental battle in this fight which I needed to keep a check on.  It was a high scoring fight and we both wanted the victory.  I caught myself after Jess had scored and taken the lead, noticing her desire and thinking 'wow, she really wants this' and feeling bad about wanting to take it away from her, this was her friend thinking and I had to snap my mindset away from being her friend to being her opponent and remind myself that I wanted it just as bad if not more, and this victory was mine.  At the end of the time we were drawn and I just kept myself totally focussed on winning the next point, repeating in my mind affirmations to stay focussed and that kept me calm so I could choose my moment rather than being hasty and rushing in.

How has NAS influenced you in the martial arts?
Competing in NAS has required me to develop my attacking abilities and my use of kicks in my kumite.  My strength in competing before entering NAS was my counter attacking, but I was acutely aware that to sustain any long term success I needed to evolve and have changes in my kumite so I don't become predictable but also to keep growing, there is never a stopping point in any aspect of your Karate or any martial art where you can say 'right, that's it, I can't get any better' if you're not growing and improving you're shrinking and decaying. 
In NAS the experience of sparring different styles of martial arts is also a great learning curve as you have to adapt to different strengths and techniques and it can expose some weaknesses in yourself that you hadn't been aware of.

What is the best thing about martial arts?
I love the constant improvement, just when you begin to master one principle, it's only ever a tiny piece of a whole new area of growth that justs opens out in front of you.  You can never rest on your laurells in any area, you must always be learning and be humble, you'll never know everything and there will always be someone who can outclass you.  So long as you keep the right attitude you are always learning.

How do you develop the kind of mental discipline needed for competition?
I have bought many books and audio CDs searching for the right ones for me, and what affects one may not affect another but I have a few hypnosis CDs on my mp3 player that I often listen to as I fall asleep, I also have a guided visualisation CD which I have found to be really powerful and can really affect your pre tournament state.  Also I have 4 favourite books about the mental side of training that really affect me and I can select a chapter to read and it will have something that can immediately be applied to my training or my life.  I also read in one book to put together a book or series of cards with your own notes, so I have a little notebook in my training bag with various quotes, affirmations, training standards and goals - one per page, and anytime I open the notebook to any page there is something inspirational or something I need to keep focussed on.

How has your training background prepared you for competition?
We have only relatively recently had a specific Tournament Training class and this offers the icing on the top of regular Karate training.  However, it's the years and years of traditional Karate drills that has helped me develop a strong ability to shift my centre of gravity and move dynamically as well as develop my timing and speed. 

How has karate affected your life?
The confidence I have gained from Karate is probably my biggest change, I would never have imagined that I could teach a Karate class, previously just having to say my name in a work seminar of about 20 people caused me to be on the verge of a panic attack, where I couldn't breathe properly and my heart rate doubled, but now teaching a class of 30 students is the highlight of my week.
I have made many good friends but most importantly met my husband, Jason, through Karate so Karate really has positively affected every aspect of my life.

What were your most exciting victories?
The NAS Champion of Champions titles have been fantastic, taking the title in 2007 was amazing it was the achievement of a goal I had set in January 2007 and a year of work towards it, to then achieve back to back victory in 2008 and now to have held the title for the third year running is something I am very proud of and winning each title was an experience that will always stay with me.
Although in the GKR World Cup's I haven't actually achieved a World Title, competing in the tournament and placing in the top three was an amazing and exciting experience and just inspires me to push myself to higher and higher standards

And your most memorable loss?
In the 2007 GKR World Cup in Birmingham, I made it through to the Female Black Belt Opens Kumite Final against reigning World Champion, Hayley Carr.  I went into the final with no belief that I could ever beat Hayley. 
Had I had the right mental attitude, I believe I still could never have beaten Hayley, but at least I wouldn't have started the final already in second place.  That was exactly the lesson I needed at that time to start developing my mental approach to my competing and without experiencing the loss the victories mean nothing.


What made you choose the style you’re in, and have you ever tried any other styles
Having always thought of starting a martial art but never getting beyond looking at a few flyers, It's probably more accurate to say that my style chose me, if someone hadn't knocked on my brother's door, I have no doubt I would never have started a martial art.  GKR as a style has grown with me and been able to offer so many things, it's a great family club - when I started there were three generations of my family all training together in class, and we had so many great experiences training as a family.  As I got more serious I was able to train in different locations and with the Regional Instructor, then the chance to start competing which opened a whole new path, also the chance to help out in classes and help others is such a rewarding experience.  I've never felt the need to try any other styles, as I've still got so much still to learn from this style.

How and why did you first get involved in NAS?
I had heard about the NAS circuit in Australia and the amazing success stories of people like Renee Joyce, Angela Uytingco, Vedran Lovic, Glenn Hutchinson and Alex Pereda who are all Champion of Champions from GKR that are outstanding Karate-ka and are so inspirational.  The NAS circuit offers the chance to test yourself against other martial arts styles and this was an experience that I felt would be very beneficial to my personal Karate journey.

Why should others want to get involved in NAS?
It's a great experience to test your skill set against a variety of Martial arts styles, because of competing against competitors from different styles it demands a much broader skill set.