Joseph Cartin and James Porter, 13-year-olds from Julia Turley’s Shorinjiryu Rensinkan England karate school, impressed judges and audience alike as they maintained their composure throughout a gruelling display of punches and kicks, several kata (memorised sequences of attack and defence), sparring and pairworks defending against both unarmed and armed attackers.
The grading was attended by around 130 other students aged from five to 50.