tiska karate lincoln
About the chief instructor Gursharan Sahota was born in Kenya, East Africa but
moved to the UK at the age of 12. He took up Karate at the age of 14 in the
local Bedford club and was awarded black belt 1st dan (shodan) four years later.
Now an 8th Dan, Gursharan has competed in a multitude of kata and kumite events,
many at national and international level. But the most significant event in his
career was the visit he made in 1984 to Japan. There, he fulfilled a great
ambition by training in a Japanese dojo under the instruction of Sensei Hirokazu
Kanazawa. This experience proved to be a turning point for Gursharan. On his
return to England, he realised the trip had been the inspiration he needed to
dedicate his future to training and teaching karate as a way of life.
Gursharan’s first club was opened in Luton/Dunstable in 1981 and this is now the
association’s hombu (HQ). Having been a teacher of the art for many years, he
formed his own association in 1993 – TISKA (The Traditional International
Shotokan Karate Association) which is now one of the biggest associations in the
UK. Gursharan’s love of karate has never diminished. He still teaches over 35
classes a week in the UK and regularly takes master classes internationally. All
in all, he has brought hundreds of students of all ages up to black belt
standard and beyond. He is also involved in charity work, helping to subsidise
trips for surgeons to third world countries to operate on underprivileged
children. He has, for many years, funded many projects in India, and is at
present helping to fund the building of a new school.
