Seishinkai Shotokan Karate International

The Amazing Black-Belt Carson Family

A full-house of black-belts was attained by the Carson family when young Thomas Carson (9) passed his black-belt, making him the youngest black-belt in the Association and one of the youngest Shotokan black-belts in the country. There cannot be many families of five where all the members are Shotokan karate black-belts. The Carson Clan, (as they are affectionately known) all train at the Seishinkai Shotokan Karate International honbu dojo in Hemel Hempstead with their instructor, Malcolm Phipps 7th Dan and worldwide Chief Instructor to the Association. Mum and Dad hail from the North-East and Jarrow to be precise but have lived in Hemel Hempstead for the last twenty-four years with all three boys actually being born in the Hemel Hempstead area.

First, there is dad, Jeff Carson who is currently a 3rd Dan. He is one of the most senior sandans in the Association and although his competition record is not as impressive as the rest of his family, this is only due to him being that bit older. He has competed for the Association and is an excellent all-rounder but now in his mid-forties devotes his time to refereeing and, of course, training.

Sue Carson is the mum of the family, who is currently a 2nd Dan and also in her mid-forties. She also has competed in quite a few Association events and has won the ladies Shotokan Shield on two separate occasions. If Sue misses a lesson then something is drastically wrong!

Their oldest son, Douglas Carson (18) is a 3rd Dan and was the 2005 IKA Kumite World Champion, a title he won in Sardinia in 2005. This was an excellent result as he came up against many great fighters (from Russia, Armenia and Italy to name but a few) in the half a dozen fights he had to win this prestigious title. Soke Tak Kubota 10th Dan and Chief Instructor to the IKA was extremely impressed with Douglas’s performance at these championships and asked to have a photograph taken with him and the other two winners from SSKI. Douglas has taken many titles in all competitions, as his record below shows and is one of the most successful cadet fighters in the country. Next up is Ross Carson (16) who is currently a 2nd Dan and also a fine rugby player. He spends a lot of his time training and playing for a top rugby union team in Hemel Hempstead and won the Coaches Player of the Season in 2006/7. He also took many excellent karate titles before his rugby career took off. Finally, there is young Thomas Carson who has just passed his 1st Dan, making up the whole family of five black-belts. Thomas loves all types of competition, whether it be kata or kumite. As his record below suggests he is another excellent all-rounder and has taken many great titles. He is most definitely a name for the future.

Between them they have won countless trophies and titles and as their instructor Malcolm stated, ‘They are a credit to the Association, to me personally and to themselves. They train so hard and very rarely miss a lesson. There are no weak links in this family, as they are all extremely good all-rounders, not just on the competition mat but in the dojo generally. I am extremely proud of them all and we have all become great friends over the years.’

*Below are first places only. The Carson Clan has taken so many 2nd and 3rd places, we would need another page to fit them all on!