Giuseppe D’Onofrio

In 1982 he attained his 1st Dan under Sensei Keinosuke Enoeda. However, due to work and family commitments he was unable to train in the years from 1984-2000.

Nevertheless, from November 2001 he restarted his Karate training again. He joined Tilehurst Shotokan Karate Club and with help from Sensei Wilson Ifill, Joe was awarded his 2nd Dan under Sensei Keinosuke Enoeda in 2002.

Through dedication and hard work Joe then gained his 3rd Dan in 2005, which was followed by him being awarded his 4th Dan in 2009 under Sensei Yoshiharu Osaka and Sensei Yoshinobu Ohta. One of Joe’s most memorable moments was when, he watched his son, win a medal for kumite in an international competition.

Joe went to the JKA HQ in Japan for the first time in 2013 to study and train. The following year, Joe returned and obtain further qualifications and earned his 5th Dan in a faultless grading. In Japan Joe was very proud to be awarded a C – instructor, C – examiner and C – judge grading all at the first attempt.

To add to his list of Karate accomplishments, in 2015, Joe was offered a place as an assistant coach for JKA-England squad which he is very proud of and is currently thriving in his role. He is an extremely respected member of JKA and is passionately and skillfully helping the squad become the best they can be. This is one of Joe’s proudest achievements and he will continue thriving and achieving in the Karate sector.