Chris Denwood has held a huge passion for martial arts and fitness ever since he was a child and has been actively participating in these disciplines since eleven years of age. Since this time, he has been exposed to various Asian systems including Aikido, Wing Chun, Ninjutsu, Iaido, Tai Chi and Chi Gung, which he has used to accentuate a higher understanding of his main art - Karate.
As a rather frail, shy and quiet boy, Chris made the conscious decision to study martial arts after suffering regular childhood bullying at school. He began his study of karate in 1989 with a friend at the Whitehaven dojo of the renowned British Karate-Do Chojinkai, which is now one of the most respected and successful associations in the U.K.
Chris's training commenced primarily under the tutelage of the club instructors at the time, most notably Iain Abernethy (6th Dan), Gordon Harrison (5th Dan), Jim Robson (1st Dan) and visiting Chief Instructor, Sensei Doug James (8th Dan). It was these early days of training under such influential instructors that Chris accredits to his ‘change in view' and a turning point that would make him fall in love with karate and pave the way for a positive future in martial arts.
During the 1990's, Chris began to enjoy practicing the traditional forms (kata) of the art, which in turn, led to him becoming winner of the Chojinkai National Championships for three consecutive years. He also successfully achieved the rank of 1st Dan at the age of only fifteen, which at that time, made him one of the youngest ever to gain this particular rank within his association.
At the age of around eighteen, Chris began to change his views on karate radically. He no longer held a desire to practice the art purely as a sport and subsequently decided to cease entering competitions altogether. Instead, Chris decided to focus his study primarily on the traditional aspects of the art and the practical applications hidden within the forms. This was to some degree inspired by his instructor at the time, Iain Abernethy, who is now very well respected in the martial arts world for his research in this particular field. It was at this time when Chris also began to look at other martial arts for ideas and initiatives, which could help aid his overall understanding of karate.
Between 1994 and 1999, Chris's study of karate became more widespread as he started to research the effective application of karate principles, the art's history, traditional aspects and mental development practices. In around 2000, after extensive training at the Egremont Chojinkai Dojo under Gordon Harrison and after being awarded the rank of 3rd Dan from his sensei, Doug James, Chris developed the aspiration to expand his experience in karate further by ‘spreading his wings' and specifically developing his own personal expression of the art.
Given that certain areas of his study were in slight contrast to his current dojo syllabus and class structure, Chris felt that it would be discourteous to expand these aspects specifically within Chojinkai and consequently in the winter of 2003, after gaining consent from his sensei, he set about teaching karate to a handful of attentive students from a self-protection course that he'd recently set up for the local council, in a separate, stand alone class. By March 2004, the class had grown in numbers, so he decided to bestow the name, ‘Eikoku Satori Karate-Do Kyokai' (E.S.K.K®) to represent the dojo and to help focus a particular emphasis for the group.
In November 2007, Chris was promoted to Yodan (4th Dan) by his sensei and recognised by The English Karate Federation (EKF) - an achievement, which he holds very close to his heart. Also in 2007 Chris became a nationally qualified fitness instructor, further enhanced by the attainment of 'Extreme kettlebell Instructor' in 2008 - both certifications being recognised by The Register of Exercise Professionals (REP's). His keen interest in the use of these tools led him to branch out with the 'functional fitness' section of the E.S.K.K®, offering training for individuals who may not be directly interested in taking up martial arts, but would instead like to enjoy the many benefits associated with kettlebell lifting. In 2009, he extending his training in kettlebells and was awarded his advanced instructor qualification.
Chris is also a keen writer and has had many articles published in notable martial arts/fitness periodicals including 'Combat', 'Traditional Karate', and 'Jissen', including a number of other online publications and websites. In the latter part of 2008, Chris was asked and quickly took up the gracious offer of his own column in Combat Magazine for 2009. Through this column, he hopes to express his own approach to 'pragmatic traditionalism' and alongside other fine martial artists, help to promote the uniqueness and adaptability of traditional karate as a means of civilian self-protection, human progression and personal growth.
Today, in addition to being the Chief Instructor of the E.S.K.K®, Chris acts as a senior instructor, stand-in grading officer and association kata judge with the British Karate-Do Chojinkai and still remains very much a dedicated, regular student under his long-term sensei, Doug James. Both his individual research coupled with the exacting standards received from his teacher(s) over the years have been the main driving force behind the conception and development of the E.S.K.K®, which he actively uses to express to others, his own personal approach to the art. As a result, he is frequently sought after each year by martial artists for regular seminars, private tuition and workshops. In addition, regular efforts for his local council as a self-protection instructor have proven extremely popular with men and women of all ages.
When asked about his vision for the E.S.K.K®, Chris always has a very positive and unwavering response. He always makes it an overriding priority that his students learn to explore the ‘why' and ‘how', as opposed to just the ‘what'. His eagerness to ever continue learning is clearly evident and he hopes that his own enthusiastic and committed approach to karate and functional fitness will help others to understand and see for themselves, the overwhelming beauty of these disciplines.
