Sensei Ronnie Christopher
Black Belt 6th Dan
World Team Champion - Twice
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Silver Medalist in
World Championships - Twice
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Senior European Team Champion - Five Times
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Senior European Individual Champion
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Under 21 European Team Champion
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Under 21 European Individual Champion
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English Karate Board British All Styles Team Champion - Four Times
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English Karate Board British All Styles Individual Champion - Three Times
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Karate Union Of Great Britain British Champion - Four Times
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Karate Union Of Great Britain Shotokan Cup Champion (National Individual Championships)
- Four Times
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Ronnie
Christopher being presented with the Wilkinson Sword by the late Sensei
Enoeda for the best overall performance at the National Championships
in 1993.
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Ronnie Christopher began
his Karate training at the age of 14 and it soon became obvious to his instructors
that he had something special. He lived up to their expectations by being
selected to represent England and Great Britain at junior and senior level
competing in numerous international competitions. This meant that he would
spend the next 16 years training under the personal guidance of the world
famous Sensei Enoeda and KUGB senior coach, Andy Sherry of whom Ronnie says:
"That squad session pushed
me to my absolute limit physically and mentally; it came within a hairs breath
of breaking me. It was one of those defining moments in ones life when you
have to make a decision... give up totally or put in 110% effort; for me there
was no half way house. I trained diligently and I would allow myself 2 days
a week off from karate training, which meant I was training 5 times a week.
Psychologically saying I can rest for 2 days sounds great, as opposed to I
must train 5 times a week."
Ronnie very quickly became renowned
world-wide for his unstoppable fighting spirit, drive, determination and he
remained on the England team until he retired from international duties in
1995. Since this time he has been the focus of many books and videos and "Inspirational
Karate" has set the benchmark for education in the martial arts
and has become his world-wide #1 best-seller.
Ronnie devotes his time to passing
on his vast amount of knowledge to his karate students. One of the key components
to his very effective and enjoyable teaching style is his unending passion
and enthusiasm. Some of his students have followed in his footsteps and have
also represented England at junior and International senior level winning
the karate Union Of Great Britain British Championships. Ronnie believes that
the mental side of karate is just as important as the physical side and this
is the reason why his karate clubs bare the name Ruach. This is a Hebrew
word meaning "Spirit" hence he promotes his karate clubs as:
"The Spirit of Karate is not
just about fighting spirit; it's about having self respect and respect for
each other. You need the spirit to dig deep within yourself when you need
to and the spirit to help others whenever you can."
"The greatest sense of achievement
that I get now is when a young boy or girl comes along to my club, they are
shy and unsure of themselves and they hide behind their parents. Some months
later they stand self-assured volunteering to go out in front of the whole
class to demonstrate a karate technique. This transformation of character
and demonstration of unerring self belief is the real Spirit of Karate for
me."
