Karate champion Rio Johnson looks forward to defending his world titles.

Level 3 Sport student and karate champion Rio Johnson is undefeated in the sport after being declared two times world under 16s champion and European under 16s champion. The former Hartford High School student picked up his most recent world title in Bratislava, Slovakia at the World Union of Karate-Do Federations (WUKF) World Championships where he represented the Shukokai Shito-ryu Karate Alliance (SSKA). Rio first discovered a love for the sport at the age of 6. His natural talent and dedication to the sport meant he was soon noticed by instructor, Paul Graham, an 8th Dan head coach for England, who runs Cheshire Karate Centres in Warrington. Paul has encouraged Rio to compete and has accompanied him around the globe, watching him win titles in countries including Italy and Malta. Rio says, I am looking forward to picking up more world titles and Im currently training for the World and European Championships in 2022. Hard-working Rio balances his intense training schedule alongside his studies, training 4 times a week after college. He has plans to progress to the HNC Sport course after completing his Level 3 and has ambitions to train as a karate coach, where he hopes to inspire and share his knowledge with the next cohort of karate champions. To discover more about our dynamic Sport courses, click here.