Dinesh Thanigasalam

Karate Sensei

Head instructor and founder of Bishopstone Shotokan Karate Club. Dinesh learnt his Karate at Lewisham Shotokan Karate Centre in South London under the instruction of one of the top instructors in the country.

He is committed to helping both students and adults learn the discipline of Karate and the considerable benefits gained. He has coached and trained people in many disciplines across his working and sporting career and always puts people at the heart of his training philosophy. Each person is different and has different motivations and abilities which need to taken into account during training.

He now lives in Bishopstone and is keen to help share the Japanese martial art of Shotokan Karate with the local community.

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Roy Tomlin MBE – 7th Dan

Chief Instructor Japan Shotokan Karate England and Head instructor and founder of Lewisham Shotokan Karate Centre

Roy Tomlin Sensei MBE, 7th Dan JTKI & 6th Dan JKA, was born in London in 1955 and attended South East London Secondary School in Deptford. Sensei Roy was one of the late Sensei Enoeda’s senior students and served as a Committee Member and Instructor at Sensei Enoeda’s world famous Marshall Street Dojo. This was the HQ of the JKA in the UK up until it’s closure in 2000.

He began his karate career in 1972 when he trained in the Kyokushinkai style. In 1977 he progressed to train in the Shotokan style with the Thames Group, and in 1982 he joined the Karate Union of Great Britain (KUGB). He joined JKA England in 2003, where he was the Head Coach for the England Squad, a member of Technical Committee and a Grading Examiner.

Sensei Roy is also Technical Advisor to JKA Malta since 1990 as per direct Instructions of Sensei Enoeda to develop the JKA way on this beautiful Island. 

Sensei Roy opened his own Dojo, Lewisham Shotokan Karate Centre in the Borough of Lewisham South East London in May 1983 and has been teaching in Lewisham ever since. Sensei Roy is a well-known and popular figure in the community having taught generations of students. He is regularly stopped in the street by people who say “You used to teach me and my dad Karate when I was a kid”.

Sensei Roy still remembers every student and still teaches with the same passion with which he started 33 years ago. In the intervening period, Sensei Roy has achieved an impressive CV.

Sensei Ken Hori – 6th Dan

Head of Association of Japan Shotokan Karate England and Head instructor and founder of Cambridge Karate Dojo

Sensei Ken Hori Ken Hori sensei, 6th Dan JKA & JTKI, is the Chief Instructor and the founder of Cambridge Karate Dojo. Ken began training karate in 1987 with Cambridge University Karate Club under Eric Pich Sensei, with regular visits by Keinosuke Enoeda Sensei. From 2005 till 2019 Sensei Ken trained regularly with Ohta Sensei, the Chief Instructor of JKA England, at Oasis Shotokan Karate Club in London.

Sensei Ken competed in both kumite (fighting) and kata (set forms) until 2015. His achievements include both individual and team medals at BUCS (British Universities and Colleges Sport) Championships (for which he was awarded the Cambridge Full Blue in 2001), KUGB Central Regions, KUGB National Students, KUGB Nationals, JKAE Nationals, JKAE Shotokan Cup and Four Nations Championships. In 2012 Sensei Ken was the Men’s Individual Kata champion at both JKAE Nationals and JKAE Four Nations Championships.

Sensei Ken now referees at JKA competitions in England and Europe, and is found regularly translating for Japanese instructors at international courses both in England and Japan. Sensei Ken holds Instructor (B), Referee (B) and Examiner (C) JKA International Licences. He was also the JKAE national team Squad Coach with Sensei Roy as the Head Coach until 2019.

Through his regular training with Japanese instructors at Head Quarters, Sensei Ken’s aim is to bring traditional JKA karate taught at the Honbu Dojo in Japan, which he visits annually, to students in England.

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