Having trained in the martial arts for over 27 years, Sensei Karl has a wealth of knowledge and is an integral part of GKR Karate’s leadership team.

Sensei Karl Hughes is currently GKR Karate’s Zone Director and Senior Instructor for a large number of our locations across the Northern UK.

This involves supervising the karate tuition and development across these areas, which sees him regularly travelling to conduct senior gradings and training seminars for advanced students. He also conducts specialised training workshops for the Regional Instructor team as well as the many branch instructors across his Zone.

Sensei Karl is also the Tournament Director for multiple competitions that operate within his Zone, and as a level 6 IGKF Accredited Judge and Referee, he oversees the qualification process and ongoing training of all tournament officials.