Connor’s already a class act in karate!

 
Connor John is certainly the example of a talented sporting youngster who is following in his father’s footsteps because at 15 years of age he is already a Brown Belt at Milford Haven Karate Club, where his father Kevin is the highly respected coach and has reached the amazing height of being a Black Belt Sixth Dan!
 
Like dad, Connor is committed to karate and after starting out with the traditional white belt of the complete novice as a five-year old and now, ten years on, he has passed steadily through red, yellow, orange, green, blue, purple and now brown belts.
 
As the last stage before the hallowed status of black belt, the brown belt has three stages, called kyus and he is currently in the middle with first kyu to pass afterwards at the regular grading sessions held by MHKC.
 
Of course, each stage is progressively more challenging and it is Connor’s ambition to pass them as soon as he can.
 

Early start – but soon doing well

 
When he set out Connor was soon training with the under 10s and he took part in his first competition before Covid brought about a halt so he missed two years of going to the club - but he was lucky that he and dad were still able to have some training sessions in their own back garden.
 
Since the club’s return to action, Connor has done well in the Welsh League for his age group, travelling all over South Wales to compete on Sundays, especially in the Cardiff area, he has won two golds in his age group and was third overall in his age category in his first season of competition. He has also gone on to compete in London.
 
One such journey took Connor to the British Championships, where he represented Karate Wales in the team event alongside two others from the Merthyr Tydfil area, after several training sessions with the Welsh Squad in Port Talbot, which showed how committed Connor was. The Welsh team took a well-deserved bronze medal against some very tough fighters from the England area
 

Family matters . . .

 
Kevin took over the reins at the club when Colin Harding stepped down after a long and illustrious time as a competitor and coach - and Kevin has followed in his footsteps by not only coaching the necessary skills but teaching the mutual respect that every participant must have for everyone else.
 
And then last October, Connor joined dad in competing at the World Championships in Dundee but was eliminated in the second stage by the eventual winner  from Denmark - but it was a great experience for him. Kevin competed in the age category appropriate to his having been involved in the sport for 37 years (veterans!) and reached the quarter finals.
 
The family commitment is further enhanced by the fact that mum Amy has taken over the role of club secretary and younger sister Eva (10) has progressed to being a green belt.
 
Outside of his karate, Connor plays rugby for a useful Neyland junior team coached by Mark James, which seemed to do well until they came up against old rivals Haverfordwest and Tenby, who always seemed just that little bit stronger all-round and took the silverware.
 

And finally . . .

 
But in the final analysis, karate is his number one sport and he is absolutely determined to be the second member of the family to become a Black Belt and although he still has some way to go, he enjoys the regular training sessions on Tuesdays and Thursdays at The Meads Leisure Centre in Milford Haven.``
 
They have set group routines called ‘kata’ which have to be practised in readiness for grading sessions, paired work (called ‘Gumite’) and sparring (‘Kumite’) alongside lots of focus on developing individual skills - and Connor also enjoys keeping fit outside of those evenings by working hard on his own.
 
We at PembrokeshireSport.co.uk are very impressed by Connor John’s ‘journey’ in karate so far and can safely say that he is a credit to his family, his club and sport in our county - and we are confident we will hear a great deal more about him in years to come, especially with regard to his achieving the coveted status of Black Belt First Dan, sooner, rather than later!