Sensei Chris Tyler (4th Dan)

Still training. Still learning. Still growing.

Sensei Chris Tyler has been practising karate for more than four decades, beginning his journey in 1982 at the age of 18 while studying in London. His early training took place through his university club and at the KUGB/JKA Marshall Street Dojo, where he trained under Sensei Enoeda and Sensei Ohta.

Since those early days, Chris's karate journey has taken him through a wide range of organisations and influences, including KUGB, JKA England, JKS England, JKA South Africa, KDS Wales, FBSKU and Katsu-Mi Kai.

A Lifetime of Learning

Throughout his karate journey, Chris has had the opportunity to learn from a number of highly respected instructors.

He remembers Sensei Enoeda particularly for his presence and spirit, while training with Sensei Harada of Karate-Do Shotokai, the last living student of Gichin Funakoshi at the time, was another important influence.

Chris also values the experience of training with Japanese instructors and European instructors who have completed the demanding JKA instructors programme.

Within Katsu-Mi Kai, Sensei Mark Carroll has played another important role in Chris's development, which Chris describes simply as:

“Broadening my horizons.”

The Journey Through the Dan Grades

For Chris, achieving 1st Dan wasn't the destination. In many ways, it represented the beginning.

“1st Dan was memorable as after that I felt I was ready to start my journey.”

His 2nd and 3rd Dan grades continued that journey, but achieving 4th Dan in May 2025 represented something different.

By this point, Chris felt his understanding had developed sufficiently for him to have confidence in his own karate and to feel comfortable expressing his own opinions about it.

One particularly significant part of his preparation was spending an entire year studying Gankaku, which remains his favourite kata because of the depth of that experience.

“Karate is a template for life.”

Chris's approach to karate is built around continual development rather than reaching a final destination.

“It’s a template for life. To keep seeking and keep learning.”

That philosophy is reflected in how his understanding has changed throughout more than four decades of training.

For Chris, experience hasn't simply meant learning more techniques. It has meant continually revisiting what he already knows and discovering greater depth within it.

“I haven’t just learnt new things, I have also learnt more about the things I knew, or thought I knew.”

Kata, Kumite & Application

Chris doesn't see the different elements of karate as separate disciplines.

Kata, bunkai, kumite and practical application all contribute to the same understanding of karate.

As Chris puts it:

“It all dovetails together, and all are equally important. Kata becomes Kumite, and Kumite becomes Kata.”

This approach fits closely with his experience within Katsu-Mi Kai, which he describes as providing another layer of real, applicable training that complements traditional training methods.

Teaching & Passing It On

Chris first began teaching or helping to teach karate around 1994/95, when St Ives Shotokan started.

His teaching style is deliberately relaxed, and what he enjoys most is simply seeing students improve.

But his aim goes beyond teaching somebody how to perform a technique.

Chris wants students to develop:

“An insight to look behind the obvious, and understand movement.”

Katsu-Mi Kai

For Chris, one of the most important parts of Katsu-Mi Kai is the people.

Having trained with broadly the same group for nearly 25 years, there is a camaraderie that has developed through years of shared training and experience.

When asked what Katsu-Mi Kai means to him, Chris's answer captures his wider philosophy perfectly:

“To keep training.”

A Karate Memory

An unexpected dojo in the mountains of Nepal

One of Chris's most memorable karate experiences didn't happen inside a dojo at all.

Many years ago, while trekking through the mountains of Nepal, Chris found a quiet spot away from everyone else. It was a sunny, tranquil evening in a lush field, and he decided it was the perfect place to practise some kata.

Within minutes, he realised he wasn't alone.

Around 20 children had appeared and were sitting watching him.

Chris had no idea where they had come from, but when one child began attempting to copy his movements, his quiet kata practice unexpectedly turned into a karate lesson.

Before long, Chris had around 20 children practising Taikyoku Shodan and Sanbon Kumite with him in the Nepalese mountains.

He remembers it as:

“A very poignant and special moment.”

Chris's Advice to New Students

For somebody walking into a dojo for the very first time:

“Don’t worry about not knowing anything, or feeling foolish. Everyone started where you are.”

And for students experiencing those inevitable moments when training becomes difficult:

“Everyone, from junior to senior grades, makes the same mistakes, just to different degrees.”

Chris believes almost everyone considers giving up at some point. What matters is remembering that every person's karate journey is different and uniquely theirs — no one journey is better or more successful than another.

“Karate is life.”

After more than four decades of karate, perhaps the best description of Chris's journey comes from Chris himself:

“I’m still training, still learning, and still growing.”