In August 1974, as an enthusiastic eight year old, Graham followed in his father's footsteps and joined the world famous Kobe Osaka Karate-Do Renmei. It was there that Graham was introduced to Shukokai Karate by Shihan Tommy Morris (8th Dan), Scotland's first karate black belt and often referred to as "the father of Scottish Karate". Whilst at the Kobe Osaka, Graham had the pleasure of training and grading with Sensei Shigeru Kimura during his regular visits to Glasgow in the 1970's and 1980's.
Graham was promoted to Shodan (1st Dan Black Belt) by Shihan Morris in June 1982 when he was 15 years old. At the time, apart from Shihan Morris's son Steven, Graham was the youngest member of the Kobe Osaka ever to be promoted to black belt.
Since 2011, Graham has been training under the guidance and support of Soke Kunio Miyake (8th Dan), the founder and President of Shuko-Kai International.
Dan grading history:
- Shodan (1st Dan) awarded in 1982 by the Kobe Osaka Karate-Do Renmei
- Nidan (2nd Dan) awarded in 1993 by the Tosa-Kochi Karate-Do
- Sandan (3rd Dan) awarded in 1996 by the British All Styles Karate Association
- Yondan (4th Dan) awarded in 2002 by the British All Styles Karate Association
- Godan (5th Dan) awarded in 2008 by the British All Styles Karate Association (ratified by Shihan Kunio Miyake, 8th Dan, Shuko-Kai International 2010)
- Rokudan (6th Dan) awarded in 2014 by Karate Kai Scotland (ratified by Soke Kunio Miyake, 8th Dan, Shuko-Kai International 2016)
Qualifications
As well as being the Director of Karate Fun Ltd, Graham is also a Scottish Karate Governing Body (SKGB) Level 3 Coach, the chairperson of KKD Shukokai, the Head of Shuko-Kai International in Scotland and the chief instructor of the Kugatsu Karate-Do. He is also a retired European Karate Federation Kata Judge and British Karate Federation Kumite Referee.
Graham is a qualified Social Worker (retired) and in addition to teaching karate at the Kugatsu Karate-Do he also regularly runs Karate Fun sessions for Active Schools, Glasgow Sport, Glasgow Disability Alliance and other organisations across west, central Scotland.
Graham can be contacted by phone on +44 (0)7885 954 223.
