We first put him into karate because he lacked confidence and self-esteem; he was six years old, at Junior school and was struggling to cope with some of his peers and he was beginning to get bullied. Karate for Kiah has given him so much more than the physical side of Karate, the fitness, a healthy attitude, speed, energy etc; it has helped to developed his confidence and self-esteem. Kiah also tries hard to live the words of the Student Creed in his everyday life, self-control; respect for others, taking responsibility, developing a positive manner, etc.
Kiah has just started Secondary school, and all of his reports are fantastic, all of his teachers comment that Kiah always give 100% effort in his work, and that is what Karate also teaches its students; to the best they can and make the most of their ability, don’t waste it!
Karate has also give Kiah the opportunity to compete in other countries such as Spain and Germany, and he is now third in the world in three disciplines. Kiah is also taking part in the Leadership course and is learning how to train others in Karate.
Kiah loves Karate so much he even wants to go when it’s closed! Kiah’s ambition is to have a Karate club of his own on day.
We first put him into karate because he lacked confidence and self-esteem; he was six years old, at Junior school and was struggling to cope with some of his peers and he was beginning to get bullied. Karate for Kiah has given him so much more than the physical side of Karate, the fitness, a healthy attitude, speed, energy etc; it has helped to developed his confidence and self-esteem. Kiah also tries hard to live the words of the Student Creed in his everyday life, self-control; respect for others, taking responsibility, developing a positive manner, etc.
Kiah has just started Secondary school, and all of his reports are fantastic, all of his teachers comment that Kiah always give 100% effort in his work, and that is what Karate also teaches its students; to the best they can and make the most of their ability, don’t waste it!
Karate has also give Kiah the opportunity to compete in other countries such as Spain and Germany, and he is now third in the world in three disciplines. Kiah is also taking part in the Leadership course and is learning how to train others in Karate.
Kiah loves Karate so much he even wants to go when it’s closed! Kiah’s ambition is to have a Karate club of his own on day.
Written by Parents of Kiah
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Testimonials my son
October 4th 2011
In light of all the recent troubles on the streets of Birmingham, I would just like to take the time to say thank you Sensei John Richards for the time and effort you put into the students at your club. I have a 15 year old son the same age that many of those children who were causing chaos on our streets and beyond the control of their parents. My son trains twice per week, sometimes even 3 times. I stopped to think, if he did not enjoy going to the Zen-Shin karate club and focusing on gaining a skill where would he be now.
Your club as he tells me is like a second family where other kids are learning to work together in a supportive environment where their peers are training there also.
I would like other parents to consider sending their teenage children to Sensei John Richards karate to learn respect, discipline, and ambition.
My son is doing very well at school, I am proud that he continues to train and should end up being a young man useful to society when he is of age.
You need to inform parents who are looking for something for their children to consider this Martial Arts Academy.
Mrs C Hamilton from (Digbeth Centre)
Testimonials 5
25 August 2010
by c.nevile
Anyone wishing to learn from one of the most experienced, dedicated and probably the nicest martial artists you're ever likely to come across, then Kyoshi John Richards from the Zen-Shin Academy will not disappoint.
As a family, we all train with Zen-Shin and have done for a few years now. All of the qualified instructors at Zen-Shin are of a very high standard and share the same dedication to the development of quality
and excellence demonstrated and insisted on by Kyoshi John Richards.
All newcomers are made very welcome and as a member you are able to train at the various centres several times a week if you wish.
We train with Kyoshi John Richards on a Monday evening and with Sensei Tony Lampitt on a Wednesday.
For those looking to get their kids involved in learning a martial art, the associated benefits are numerous. The discipline, self respect and respect for others not to mention self confidence and self belief are just a few.
The other obvious benefits are staying fit and healthy, and more and more importantly in today’s society, learning some self defence skills.
In the classes we attend, the students all vary in age and ability, nobody is ever made to feel unwelcome and Kyoshi Richards is extremely proud of seeing his students learn and develop through the various belts,
many of whom have started training with him several years ago as juniors and now continue to train as adults at Black Belt Dan Grades!
The Zen-Shin Academy has very high standards and belts are awarded to those who successfully pass gradings. Students are only allowed to take gradings when they are considered ready.
Kyoshi John Richards is passionate about Shotokan Karate and keeping to the traditional high standards of this style of Karate.
Don't be put off contacting Kyoshi John Richards to discuss coming along to one of the centres for some trial lessons. I guarantee you'll find him extremely friendly and approachable,
and more than happy to discuss any needs or any concerns you may have.
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PiP testimonials 27 yers Training
Zen Shin is 30 years old in 2010. I have been a karate student for 27 of those. When I started Sensei Richards ran a class at Aston Villa leisure centre and Sensei Graham was at Holte school in Lozells. A dojo of our own was only a dream in those days!
Talking of dreams ...when I started karate at the age of 29 I didn’t even dare dream of wearing a black belt one day. I was even in awe of the red belts! I had been a puny child, suffering from asthma before the invention of the inhalers that have transformed our lives today. At school I was the one no-one wanted in their team. That has left me still with a horror of team sport and competitions. I didn’t expect to be any good at karate but I did think it would be a challenge and it might be fun. I’d been studying yoga for some years and was attracted to the idea of a discipline that went beyond physical strength.
It took me a long time to get over a gut-churning fear of fighting. It was alright to talk about self-defence but I’m good at talking my way out of trouble. The only time anyone ever tried to hit me was at karate; the best self defence for me seemed to be to stay at home! In the first punch of my first fight in my first competition my rib was broken; the first but not last injury I received. However I soon learnt firstly that you can get over an injury pretty quickly and secondly to block better. But when I first saw someone doing a kata I was instantly hooked and I never tire of trying to get every move perfect, the timing right, the movements smooth. The older I get the longer it takes me to learn a new move or combination (It’s true what they say about teaching old dogs new tricks; I can forget them much quicker than I learn them) but I do get there in the end. I envy the kids who just watch a kata once and they can remember it.
My path to black belt was slow and bumpy. It took me 6 years and I failed 2 gradings along the way. It’s not easy to bounce back after failing a grading but I learned that if I was up for it and determined to pass next time the senseis would pull out all the stops to get me up to standard next time. I worked hard and it paid off eventually.
A feature of my journey has been the weekend courses. I have only missed a couple in all these years. It is hard to explain just how difficult and how rewarding these are. It’s a roller coaster. The day begins with a 6.45 alarm call to run down to the beach. I’ve never been able to run, I hate it and in my view it’s no way to start the day. I don’t think weekend days should even start before 11am! However that is followed by bliss; doing katas on the beach, sand between your toes, sun glittering on the sea, sensei’s voice drowned out by the waves. An hour’s delight before (oh no!) having to run back up the hill. Then it all gets better again with a shower and breakfast. Then more training and so on. In my younger days we’d party most of the night too; dancing to stop the legs seizing up and eventually trying to find our way back between the caravans in the dark for a couple of hours sleep before starting again. Sadly I’ve had to cut back on the partying in the last few years but hopefully the next generation will keep the tradition going. It was on one of these courses in 1995 that I was given ‘student of the year award’ and an honorary award of my 2nd Dan.
My karate journey has become harder recently. 2006 was a bad year for me. I got breast cancer and while I was still feeling debilitated from surgery and radiotherapy I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease; a chronic degenerative condition that affects movement. The messages now don’t get from my brain to my body properly. I think like a black belt and then my body, especially my left side, won’t do what I tell it. However, I’m still training and 4 years later am managing to cope without medication and doing better than the medics expected me to do. The support and encouragement of my karate mates are a great help in coping with the frustration I sometimes feel and I plan to be around at the dojo for a good while longer.
Zen Shin is 30 years old in 2010. I have been a karate student for 27 of those. When I started Sensei Richards ran a class at Aston Villa leisure centre and Sensei Graham was at Holte school in Lozells. A dojo of our own was only a dream in those days!
Talking of dreams ...when I started karate at the age of 29 I didn’t even dare dream of wearing a black belt one day. I was even in awe of the red belts! I had been a puny child, suffering from asthma before the invention of the inhalers that have transformed our lives today. At school I was the one no-one wanted in their team. That has left me still with a horror of team sport and competitions. I didn’t expect to be any good at karate but I did think it would be a challenge and it might be fun. I’d been studying yoga for some years and was attracted to the idea of a discipline that went beyond physical strength.
It took me a long time to get over a gut-churning fear of fighting. It was alright to talk about self-defence but I’m good at talking my way out of trouble. The only time anyone ever tried to hit me was at karate; the best self defence for me seemed to be to stay at home! In the first punch of my first fight in my first competition my rib was broken; the first but not last injury I received. However I soon learnt firstly that you can get over an injury pretty quickly and secondly to block better. But when I first saw someone doing a kata I was instantly hooked and I never tire of trying to get every move perfect, the timing right, the movements smooth. The older I get the longer it takes me to learn a new move or combination (It’s true what they say about teaching old dogs new tricks; I can forget them much quicker than I learn them) but I do get there in the end. I envy the kids who just watch a kata once and they can remember it.
My path to black belt was slow and bumpy. It took me 6 years and I failed 2 gradings along the way. It’s not easy to bounce back after failing a grading but I learned that if I was up for it and determined to pass next time the senseis would pull out all the stops to get me up to standard next time. I worked hard and it paid off eventually.
A feature of my journey has been the weekend courses. I have only missed a couple in all these years. It is hard to explain just how difficult and how rewarding these are. It’s a roller coaster. The day begins with a 6.45 alarm call to run down to the beach. I’ve never been able to run, I hate it and in my view it’s no way to start the day. I don’t think weekend days should even start before 11am! However that is followed by bliss; doing katas on the beach, sand between your toes, sun glittering on the sea, sensei’s voice drowned out by the waves. An hour’s delight before (oh no!) having to run back up the hill. Then it all gets better again with a shower and breakfast. Then more training and so on. In my younger days we’d party most of the night too; dancing to stop the legs seizing up and eventually trying to find our way back between the caravans in the dark for a couple of hours sleep before starting again. Sadly I’ve had to cut back on the partying in the last few years but hopefully the next generation will keep the tradition going. It was on one of these courses in 1995 that I was given ‘student of the year award’ and an honorary award of my 2nd Dan.
My karate journey has become harder recently. 2006 was a bad year for me. I got breast cancer and while I was still feeling debilitated from surgery and radiotherapy I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease; a chronic degenerative condition that affects movement. The messages now don’t get from my brain to my body properly. I think like a black belt and then my body, especially my left side, won’t do what I tell it. However, I’m still training and 4 years later am managing to cope without medication and doing better than the medics expected me to do. The support and encouragement of my karate mates are a great help in coping with the frustration I sometimes feel and I plan to be around at the dojo for a good while longer.
Zen Shin is 30 years old in 2010. I have been a karate student for 27 of those. When I started Sensei Richards ran a class at Aston Villa leisure centre and Sensei Graham was at Holte school in Lozells. A dojo of our own was only a dream in those days!
Talking of dreams ...when I started karate at the age of 29 I didn’t even dare dream of wearing a black belt one day. I was even in awe of the red belts! I had been a puny child, suffering from asthma before the invention of the inhalers that have transformed our lives today. At school I was the one no-one wanted in their team. That has left me still with a horror of team sport and competitions. I didn’t expect to be any good at karate but I did think it would be a challenge and it might be fun. I’d been studying yoga for some years and was attracted to the idea of a discipline that went beyond physical strength.
It took me a long time to get over a gut-churning fear of fighting. It was alright to talk about self-defence but I’m good at talking my way out of trouble. The only time anyone ever tried to hit me was at karate; the best self defence for me seemed to be to stay at home! In the first punch of my first fight in my first competition my rib was broken; the first but not last injury I received. However I soon learnt firstly that you can get over an injury pretty quickly and secondly to block better. But when I first saw someone doing a kata I was instantly hooked and I never tire of trying to get every move perfect, the timing right, the movements smooth. The older I get the longer it takes me to learn a new move or combination (It’s true what they say about teaching old dogs new tricks; I can forget them much quicker than I learn them) but I do get there in the end. I envy the kids who just watch a kata once and they can remember it.
My path to black belt was slow and bumpy. It took me 6 years and I failed 2 gradings along the way. It’s not easy to bounce back after failing a grading but I learned that if I was up for it and determined to pass next time the senseis would pull out all the stops to get me up to standard next time. I worked hard and it paid off eventually.
A feature of my journey has been the weekend courses. I have only missed a couple in all these years. It is hard to explain just how difficult and how rewarding these are. It’s a roller coaster. The day begins with a 6.45 alarm call to run down to the beach. I’ve never been able to run, I hate it and in my view it’s no way to start the day. I don’t think weekend days should even start before 11am! However that is followed by bliss; doing katas on the beach, sand between your toes, sun glittering on the sea, sensei’s voice drowned out by the waves. An hour’s delight before (oh no!) having to run back up the hill. Then it all gets better again with a shower and breakfast. Then more training and so on. In my younger days we’d party most of the night too; dancing to stop the legs seizing up and eventually trying to find our way back between the caravans in the dark for a couple of hours sleep before starting again. Sadly I’ve had to cut back on the partying in the last few years but hopefully the next generation will keep the tradition going. It was on one of these courses in 1995 that I was given ‘student of the year award’ and an honorary award of my 2nd Dan.
My karate journey has become harder recently. 2006 was a bad year for me. I got breast cancer and while I was still feeling debilitated from surgery and radiotherapy I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease; a chronic degenerative condition that affects movement. The messages now don’t get from my brain to my body properly. I think like a black belt and then my body, especially my left side, won’t do what I tell it. However, I’m still training and 4 years later am managing to cope without medication and doing better than the medics expected me to do. The support and encouragement of my karate mates are a great help in coping with the frustration I sometimes feel and I plan to be around at the dojo for a good while longer.
Zen Shin is 30 years old in 2010. I have been a karate student for 27 of those. When I started Sensei Richards ran a class at Aston Villa leisure centre and Sensei Graham was at Holte school in Lozells. A dojo of our own was only a dream in those days!
Talking of dreams ...when I started karate at the age of 29 I didn’t even dare dream of wearing a black belt one day. I was even in awe of the red belts! I had been a puny child, suffering from asthma before the invention of the inhalers that have transformed our lives today. At school I was the one no-one wanted in their team. That has left me still with a horror of team sport and competitions. I didn’t expect to be any good at karate but I did think it would be a challenge and it might be fun. I’d been studying yoga for some years and was attracted to the idea of a discipline that went beyond physical strength.
It took me a long time to get over a gut-churning fear of fighting. It was alright to talk about self-defence but I’m good at talking my way out of trouble. The only time anyone ever tried to hit me was at karate; the best self defence for me seemed to be to stay at home! In the first punch of my first fight in my first competition my rib was broken; the first but not last injury I received. However I soon learnt firstly that you can get over an injury pretty quickly and secondly to block better. But when I first saw someone doing a kata I was instantly hooked and I never tire of trying to get every move perfect, the timing right, the movements smooth. The older I get the longer it takes me to learn a new move or combination (It’s true what they say about teaching old dogs new tricks; I can forget them much quicker than I learn them) but I do get there in the end. I envy the kids who just watch a kata once and they can remember it.
My path to black belt was slow and bumpy. It took me 6 years and I failed 2 gradings along the way. It’s not easy to bounce back after failing a grading but I learned that if I was up for it and determined to pass next time the senseis would pull out all the stops to get me up to standard next time. I worked hard and it paid off eventually.
A feature of my journey has been the weekend courses. I have only missed a couple in all these years. It is hard to explain just how difficult and how rewarding these are. It’s a roller coaster. The day begins with a 6.45 alarm call to run down to the beach. I’ve never been able to run, I hate it and in my view it’s no way to start the day. I don’t think weekend days should even start before 11am! However that is followed by bliss; doing katas on the beach, sand between your toes, sun glittering on the sea, sensei’s voice drowned out by the waves. An hour’s delight before (oh no!) having to run back up the hill. Then it all gets better again with a shower and breakfast. Then more training and so on. In my younger days we’d party most of the night too; dancing to stop the legs seizing up and eventually trying to find our way back between the caravans in the dark for a couple of hours sleep before starting again. Sadly I’ve had to cut back on the partying in the last few years but hopefully the next generation will keep the tradition going. It was on one of these courses in 1995 that I was given ‘student of the year award’ and an honorary award of my 2nd Dan.
My karate journey has become harder recently. 2006 was a bad year for me. I got breast cancer and while I was still feeling debilitated from surgery and radiotherapy I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease; a chronic degenerative condition that affects movement. The messages now don’t get from my brain to my body properly. I think like a black belt and then my body, especially my left side, won’t do what I tell it. However, I’m still training and 4 years later am managing to cope without medication and doing better than the medics expected me to do. The support and encouragement of my karate mates are a great help in coping with the frustration I sometimes feel and I plan to be around at the dojo for a good while longer.
This is probably the best family orientated Karate club you will ever find as everyone is treated as part of the Zen-Shin family. My little girl has been with John since the age of 5 she is now 11 and still looks forward to every lesson. Every Sensei at Zen-Shin is helpful and approachable and the training is excellent for all ages and abilities. I can't recommend Zen-Shin highly enough but in my opinion they are "SIMPLY THE BEST"
Zen-Shin Academy 
