Sensei Chris Gillies, 5th Dan
Sensei Chris Gillies, 5th Dan, is the founder and head instructor at Tokushinkai Karate Club. Having a keen interest in martial arts from an early age, Sensei Gillies briefly took up Kyokushin Karate at the age of 12 before training in Shotokan Karate under Sensei John Van Weenan (formerly a student of Soke Kanazawa). He soon went on to open the Olney Karate Club in 1991.
Keen to further his training and technical abilities under Soke Kanazawa as well as pursue a more traditional approach to Shotokan, Sensei Gillies became a regular attendee at his open courses as well as those led by other senior instructors from Japan.
In 2001, Sensei Gillies and Olney Karate Club made the decision to join SKKIF, and have benefitted greatly from the expertise and opportunities available under Soke Kanazawa. He graded to Yondan (4th Dan) under Soke in 2004 at the Chiba Summer Camp in Japan. Sensei Gillies is now a regular visitor to the Japan every year, often training at the Honbu Dojo in Tokyo and at various courses across the country.
In subsquent visits to Japan Sensei Gillies, competed in the SKIF World Championships in November 2006 in Tokyo, and acheived Godan (5th Dan) at the Honbu Dojo in Kugahara under Soke Kanazawa (10th Dan) in April 2012. A competitor as well, Sensei Gillies has achieved regular successes at the SKKIF National Championships.
Sensei Gillies is also a registered grading examiner with SKKIF and holds gradings at Tokushinkai for SKKIF members.
Sensei Ryan Gillies, 1st Dan
Sensei Ryan Gillies, 1st Dan, is the current instructor at classes in Woolstones Community Centre and son of Head Instructor Sensei Chris Gillies.
Sensei Ryan began training in karate at the age of 7 at the Olney dojo his father founded in 1991. Initially training with Sensei John Van Weenan, he followed the dojo’s journey and it’s affiliation to SKKIF in 2001. He re-graded for 1st Kyu under Kyoshi Carpenter, 8th Dan, before grading for Shodan with Soke Hirokazu Kanazawa, 10th Dan, in 2005. He was also a silver and bronze medalist in the SKKIF National Championships 2005.
The beginnings of a family and emmigration to Taiwan for a decade meant that Sensei Ryan would leave Tokushinkai behind for sometime, but was still able to train there on occasion with Sensei Shao Chun-hao, 3rd Dan JKA. Returning to the UK at the outbreak of COVID in 2020, training opportunities were limited. But as lockdown ended he found the opportunity for his own children to begin their journeys in Karate and resumed full-time training himself shortly after.
Sensei Ryan regulary trains with SKKIF honbu instructors in Windsor, and attends SKIF courses both nationally and internationally, primarily in Italy under the guidance of the ‘smiling master’, Soshi Masaru Miura, 10th Dan SKIF and one of the founding masters of SKIF alongside Soke.
In Kanazawa-Ryu Karate, Sensei Ryan finds not just a martial art and discipline but a sense of wellbeing, balance and mindfulness – the hallmarks of Budo. His primary goal and hope in teaching classes is to share what he has found with others.