Daren honoured for his dedication to karate
Renshi Daren Stirrat has been recognised for the years of dedication he has delivered to the sport he remains so passionate about.
The Gosport-based figure who heads up the Hampshire Academy of Shokotan Karate was inducted into the prestigious UK Martial Arts hall of fame at the annual show staged in Doncaster.
To make the proud moment that little more special, Stirrat's initial nomination came from his personal idol and former Shokotan world champion Bob Sykes, who also presented him with the hall of fame honour.
There's no doubting Stirrat's warranting for the award.
Starting out aged just four, the seventh dan Renshi began running a club in Leigh Park as a 15-year-old and has continued passing on his knowledge to members for the following 32 years.
During lockdowns, with Stirrat unable to open his current Hampshire Academy of Shokotan Karate club at the Gosport Nimrod Community Centre, he still dedicated his time teaching more than 300 one-to-one and group sessions virtually.
‘It means the world to me (hall of fame award), it’s being recognised, I’ve always been in the background, if you like,’ said Stirrat.
‘For me to be recognised - it was really funny because
I was only asking Bob Sykes about a competition of some sort - he was asking me how I was doing and how I’d been running classes online every night etc, etc.
‘He said I deserved to be recognised and he sent me a letter saying I’d been recognised.’ Stirrat added: ‘Bob Sykes was a former world champion in the 1970s/80s. He was my idol, to be fair, he was an amazing fighter.
‘Just being around these world-class martial artists (in Doncaster), I actually felt world-class myself, just having that bit of recognition for my hard work - not just me - my family, we all support each other. For my wife to be there to see me get this award, it was wonderful, it really was.
‘Karate is my life, my passion, I’ve been doing it since I was four. I never dreamt we’d be put through all of that with Covid, nobody did, I really thought I was going to lose everything.
‘I’d worked so hard to keep my club going, it was really, really hard.’