Pleasure follows pain for martial arts duo

Under the watchful eye of 6th Dan Master Tony Johnson, Lynsey and Richard Hall demonstrated their knowledge of forms, bong forms, sparring, bong sparring and fitness in a grading which lasted more than an hour.

For Lynsey, 13, and Richard, ten, who are home-educated, to even line up for the grading was an achievement in itself.

Last October it was thought Richard would not be able to continue with his beloved karate after pain in his knees was diagnosed as Osgood-Schlatters disease.

It is a syndrome he will eventually grow out of, but the pain was only eased after a course of physiotherapy at the Brunswick Healthy Living Centre and the fitting of knee braces.

Instructor Adam Swords at Master Johnson’s Family Karate in Kenilworth adapted Richard’s training to help him cope with his condition, while allowing him to teach beginners when the pain became too debilitating.

Hopes of a 2nd Dan grading in December had to be put on hold, though, with Lynsey also opting to delay her grading as doing it without Richard “wouldn’t be fair”.

Things improved for Richard and the pair began to look forward to their March grading when disaster befell Lynsey.

On Christmas Day, she slipped on a patch of ice and broke her wrist.

Forced to wear a cast, she continued to train but was forced to miss out some of the more physical aspects and only lined up at Stratford after a desperate battle to regain her fitness.

“I was really pleased to achieve the grading,” said Lynsey, who only took up karate after “getting fed up of sitting watching her brother doing it”.

“I want to thank my instructors for all their support and to all the class members who gave their encouragement.”

Lynsey is now targeting 3rd Dan, which she estimates will take two to three years to attain, with the ultimate aim of becoming an instructor.

“Once I started doing it I couldn’t give it up. I love it,” she added.