The Black Belt Leadership Course started in January 2020, and was attended by Zen-Shin’s most promising students. Kyoshi John Richards & Sensei Jumoke Richards identified students that stood out in class because of their ability and attitude. The idea was to work with them over the year to learn about leading others.The course covered different qualities in leadership. The students applied what they had learn through teaching others.

We tried to show the link in how being a leader in your karate class can translate into being able to speak confidently to a crowd, or manage others in a working environment, things I expect these students to be doing when they are older. Knowing how to motivate your team that work for you, or being able to present data clearly are the qualities of high performers in any field of work.

The final assessment was a way to log and track the progress of the students. There were students from about 12 years to 17 years, and from Green Belt to Black, so I had different expectations for every one of the BBL team.

Both Kyoshi and I were very pleased with the overall performance of the group. It was great to see so many of them being able to lead the class with confidence, able to demonstrate their ideas, correct mistakes, and motivate others, are really important qualities to have.

We are so proud of how far the students have come in the last year. Since the beginning of the lockdowns, it difficult to host regular Leadership classes like was originally intended. However we still spent time together on Zoom and checking up on the things we were trying to achieve whilst we were in lockdown.

The course was designed for the students we designated as potential high achievers. Kyoshi’s experience has shown him that those who work hard and are dedicated in the dojo, usually also carry the same attitude everywhere they go.

Well done to all those that took part in the Black Belt Leadership course. It was a pleasure working with you, and I’m so amazed at the progress you have all made.

I look forward to expanding on this course in the future.