Sarah Whelan, United Kingdom
Sarah from the United Kingdom shares with us how starting karate led to a lifelong friendship, in this week’s GKR Stories
This is a story of a lifelong friendship that started in the dojo many years ago.
I started training in GKR Karate when I was 8 years old, and after a few weeks, I was hooked. I started begging my parents to take me to class more and more, and before long I was at karate almost every night of the week.
At the age of 12, a boy came up to me in class and introduced himself. He was new to the club and didn’t know anyone there. We said our quick hello’s and that was it. Around 3 years later, I was introduced to the same boy at a different class. His name was James! Little did I know at the time that he would one day become my best friend. I started training with James at his local class, and before long, we spent almost every weekend at each other’s houses. We went to as many karate classes as we could together, sharing our first experience of entering the senior opens and teaching a joint class together.
Whether it be at a class, tournament or grading, James and I always trained together, pushing each other to be better; faster; and to get the most from every class we attended.
Fast forward to the present day, James and I are still best friends. We’re both now in our 30s, and when both of us married our respective partners, we were each other’s ‘Mate of Honour’. Who’d have thought that the person I said a quick hello to at a class age 12, would be giving a speech about me on my wedding day!
I feel very fortunate to have found Karate, a passion that I have dedicated 26 years to, and I am so grateful that my hobby also brought me one of the greatest people I’ve had the pleasure of knowing.
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We want to hear your story
We’re inviting members to reach out to us and share how joining GKR Karate has been instrumental in crafting their personal tales of inspiration, transformation, or courage.
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