Steve Nelson Promoted to 7th Dan
Congratulations to Chief Instructor Steve Nelson on his promotion to 7th dan!
Starting karate at age 6 back in 1985, Ste went along to Culcheth Karate Club purely because his friends did! He did his 1st Dan black belt in 1990 at age 10 and by the age of 13 was helping to teach classes, which eventually ended up with him teaching the classes alone when his instructor went on holiday for 2 weeks at a time!
Clearly having a flair for teaching karate, Steve opened up Tyldesley Karate Club in 1999 with 37 kids in his first class! The Great Sankey Club was opened shortly after, followed by Urmston Karate Club in 2000. He produced his first black belts in 2003 and later in 2009 formed SSK. With SSK affiliated to WUKF, Steve has produced numerous WUKF World and European Champions over the past 7 years!
Ste also had success on the competition circuit as a youngster. He competed at the EKF Europeans in 1998 in the Senior Male Kata Team, the team did qualify for the 1994 WKF World Championships but Ste being only 15 at the time was not old enough to compete.
Domestically, he placed in the top 3 at EKGB Nationals 12 times and at British Championships 8 times, across different age groups, in both kata and kumite! A highlight was definitely winning the English Junior (U21) Heavyweight kumite title and being named the U21 team captain for the 1996 Welsh Grand Slam.
At SSK, from 5th dan upwards, dan grades are awarded without a formal grading but with ratification from well respected Shukokai practitioners outside of the SSK. Grades of this level are only considered upon showing continuous learning, understanding and development of both their karate and teaching methods. Over the past years Ste has become a member of the Koryu-uchinadi research group, has achieved a blue belt in BJJ, become a qualified Pressure Point Instructor and trained with many respected karateka including Patrick McCarthy, Vince Morris, Russell Stutely, Iain Abernethy and Peter Consterdine to name a few.
Chris Robinson
"Regarding Sensei Nelson, I came across a quote that I think sums up his values and standards, which he demonstrates throughout his clubs and association. A more than deserved promotion to 7th Dan."
“Many Karate teachers teach a watered down style – no hip action and no depth of punching – so it is easy to say that these teachers have no depth to their knowledge. You are what your teacher is, and if he knows a lot, you should be able to demonstrate this knowledge.” – Yuchoku Higa (founder of Kyudokan Dojo, Okinawa)"
