Welcome to GKR Karate Sheffield

At GKR, we pride ourselves on making karate accessible for everyone. From children as young as 5 years of age, right up to adults in their 70’s or 80’s, everyone is able to feel the benefits that comes from training in karate

Yours in karate-do
Sensei Danielle Ryder

About GKR Karate

GKR was established in 1984 in Adelaide, South Australia, and has since become one of the world’s largest karate organisations, with thousands of students training throughout Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and Houston – Texas.

Go-Kan-Ryu (GKR) Karate brings the Martial Art of Karate in reach of everyone, regardless of age or fitness levels. Kancho Robert Sullivan, Founder and Chief Instructor, believes that every individual can learn and benefit from Karate training.

Classes are disciplined, yet fun, allowing the whole family to participate, learn and develop at their own speed. We start children from as young as 5 years of age, and our older students are well into their seventies. We believe that people of all walks of life can enjoy the many benefits that karate training offers. Karate is not just a great form of self defense, but provides all students the opportunity to enhance their character and develop confidence, focus and inner security. Above all, we teach in a non-contact environment to provide a safe training environment and to encourage self-discipline and control. Karate training allows you to improve your fitness while learning something valuable at the same time.

Benefits of Karate

Karate for everyone

Karate was primarily developed for self defence. Even though karate goes back hundreds of years, the skills and techniques developed through karate training are still very reliant and practical for self defence in today’s world.
Unlike many fitness workouts, karate works on every major muscle group in the body. From toning up your legs and bum with stances and kicks, to shaping and toning your shoulders and abs though working on blocking and striking techniques, your sure to be in great shape in no time.
Many students start their karate journey to improve their confidence. Practising karate is a demanding activity and can give student a big feeling of accomplishment which is a big boost to their confidence.
Karate training has shown to improve focus and concentration in the practitioner. As you start your karate journey, you will find that the focus needed to master each karate technique will spill over into other areas of you life. So whether you want to be more focused in your career, or concentrate more on your homework, karate training will give you a big advantage.
We all have days that don’t go too well. Whether you’ve had a bad day at school or work, there’s no better way than forgetting the stresses of your day than having a great workout. The friendly atmosphere of our classes will make sure that you always feel welcome.

Karate for kids

At the heart of karate, is instilling a high level of respect for not only the instructor, but also for fellow students. This is particually apparent when teaching younger students about good attitude in the dojo.
Karate training helps develop many character traits in younger students. This can play a big part in them growing up to be very pleasant and successful adults later in life.
Confidence is one of the most common reason for parents getting their children involved in karate. The sense of achievement that kids when they achieve a goal such as reaching a new grade or learning a new kata can really help to boost their confidence. As their confidence then grows, they start to learn how trying a bit harder can see them achieve even more, which improves their sense of discipline.
Many parents have reported that their childs school teacher had commented on the student improved behaviour in the classroom.

Frequently Asked Questions

We are a family club that caters for all ages from five years. Our classes are popular with both boys and girls. Girls and women make up around 35-40% of our classes.
GKR has been established for over 25 years and is one of the largest karate clubs in the world. Our Karate style is non-contact, which provides a safe environment for training and encourages self-discipline and control. Our instructors are first aid trained and hold relevant working with children qualifications.
Our classes run for either 60 or 90 minutes.
Parents are welcome to stay and watch, especially for the first few classes. After that, you can drop them off and collect them later if you like.
We encourage parents and other family members to train with their children, although they are welcome to train separately if they wish.
We have many classes running in and around your area on both week nights and weekends. Visit our class locations page for more details.
Most people want to try things first to see if they like it, so we are offering a beginners introductory trial membership which lasts for 4 months from the date of the first class. This gives people a proper introduction into this fantastic art and ensures that all students can achieve at least a basic level of self-defence and improved fitness. Please contact us to take advantage of this trial offer.
Training fees are £6.50 per class. This reduces to £5.50 per person if two people from the same household train together and £4.50 per person if three people train together.

Address

GKR Karate, 16 Kingsway,
Altrincham, WA14 1PJ

Area 2

GKR Karate Region 26 Sheffield

©Go Kan Ryu Karate 2025
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