
first month freE!

Our Story...
Cumbria Karate Academy is a welcoming, family orientated dojo where people of all ages and experience levels come together to train in Wado-ryu karate. Through their training, students build confidence, resilience and self-discipline. Challenges on the mat mirror challenges in everyday life — and our students learn to face them with an inner strength thats built to go far beyond the dojo.
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Our club is run by dedicated volunteer instructors who each bring years of experience and a true dedication to teaching. Our chief instructor Gordon Harrison is a 7th Dan black belt and has over 40 years experience. Our team is fully qualified with full DBS checks and first aid training. Instructors lead by example and continuously strive to achieve further qualifications to better their karate, many of them have English Karate Federation Referee and coach accreditations. We take pride in maintaining a positive and inclusive atmosphere in our clubs where everyone is encouraged to challenge themselves and grow.
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Our competition squad regularly travel across the country and abroad, consistently achieving impressive results, winning medals and demonstrating excellent sportsmanship. We believe competing is a great way to further both karate training and personal development, it teaches students how to handle pressure, set goals, and push beyond their comfort zones. Competitions also promote discipline and sportsmanship. Win or lose, students learn to respect their opponents, accept outcomes with grace, and use every experience as a chance to improve.
Whether you're a child developing coordination and self-esteem, a teen learning to channel energy positively, or an adult seeking focus and balance, karate offers a path toward becoming the best version of yourself.
Meet The Team
Our dedicated team of instructors are highly trained, and each have over 10 years of experience behind them with our head instructor Gordon Harrison having over 40 years experience in competing, teaching, and refereeing competitions.
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We have a mix of both male and female instructors across our clubs and they are all police CRB/DBS checked and first aid trained. All of our instructors give up their time to teach voluntarily as they want to provide young people in West Cumbria with an opportunity to learn Karate in a safe, fun and encouraging environment.

Gordon Harrison
7th Dan
Chief instructor.
Head instructor and Cockermouth.
Qualified British Referee

Colin Broatch
5th Dan
Head instructor at Workington.
Qualified English official.


Sophie Cowan
4th Dan
Instructor at Cockermouth.
Qualified English Referee
Competition Squad instructor.

Dylan Swarbrick
4th Dan
Head instructor at Egremont and Whitehaven.
Qualified English coach.
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Amy Dixon
2nd Dan
Member of the National English squad.
Competition squad instructor.
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