About Rush Green Ishinryu

Towards the end of 2021, sensei Kay Cameron established an after-school Karate club at Rush Green Primary school every Thursday afternoon. This remains a closed club, only available to pupils at that school.

After a few short weeks the after-school club had grown to capacity, with 25 to 30 students attending each and every week and with a waiting list for places! This kind of success attracts attention, and Kay was soon joined by Woodlane Instructor Chris Fennessy to assist in running this rapidly growing club.

After school clubs are great, but they are limited to pupils of that school, and can only operate in term time. So, the search began for a suitable venue for a fully-fledged Ishinryu club. The Rush Green Association Centre in Rush Green is ideal. Not too far away from the school, it is located just a few hundred yards away from the original Wood Lane location where Ishinryu was born 50 years ago (the Woodlane club continues to run elsewhere in Romford).

Sensei Kay Cameron is a second Dan Black belt who has trained in Ishinryu for over 30 years. Sensei Kay still trains regularly at Woodlane as well as at the monthly Hombu sessions with our senior Ishinryu UK instructor Lee Smith. All sensei Kay’s children have trained in Ishinryu over the years, including daughter Georgie (who is also a second Dan). Sensei Kay’s grandchildren now also train at Rush Green.

Sensei Chris Fennessy is celebrating his 35th year of continuous training this year. He attained 4th Dan in 2018. Chris remains an instructor at Woodlane – the club he first joined many years ago. Nowadays, Chris regularly trains across other Ishinryu clubs including Barking Abbey and Cranham. He also attends the Hombu every month. His four children have all trained in Ishinryu at one time or another, so he fully understands the needs of younger students as well as adult students.

Both instructors have enhanced DBS (CRB) certification which renews every year, as well as full Instructor insurance and First Aid training. Please ask to see our documentation at any lesson.

The experience of both instructors, in training with family members, is that Karate truly is for everyone – inclusive of all ages and all ability levels.
This is the principle on which our new club is founded.