Camden Shorinji Kempo was founded in January 2019 by Kavita Kapoor (4th Dan) and Ofelia Khan (2nd Dan).
At Camden Shorinji Kempo we pride ourselves on being the only completely female-founded, BAME-led, and openly LGBTQIA+ Shorinji Kempo Club. We are not-for-profit; all our instructors and administrators volunteer their time. Camden Shorinji Kempo is part of the British Shorinji Kempo Federation (BSKF) and we are a Constituted Community Sports Club (CCSC).
Instructors and Club Founders
Kavita (she/her) has been training in Shorinji Kempo since Jan 2004. She has gained a 4th Dan (4th-level black belt). She has trained around the world (Japan, Canada, Ireland, India, and Spain) but the primary location of her training has always been Imperial College Shorinji Kempo where she is an assistant instructor. She co-founded the Camden club and is our official Branch Master.
Ofelia (she/her) started training at SOAS in 2015. She was awarded her black belt in 2019 just after co-founding the Camden club and gained her 2nd Dan (second-level black belt) in December 2022. In 2020 she was Diversity Representative for Out For Sport, leading the BLM campaign. In the 2021 Out For Sport Awards, she was nominated for the Club Spirit Award. And in 2022 she was elected as Branch Master of the SOAS club at the BSKF AGM. We are delighted that she remains a key part of our instructing team here at Camden.
Dan Williams (he/him) has been part of the club since day one. He has been instrumental in kicking off our social events including hosting our birthday and pride party) and our being our founding Club Captain. Dan now instructs our online classes.
Current ClubCommittee
Chelsea Perrin (She/Her) was voted in as our Club Captain in Jan 2023. Chelsea has also taken over from Alex Ostendorf (she/her) as our Health and Safety Officer. Rosanna Wan (She/Her) our Merchandising person.
In 2022 Iris Kohler (she/her) took up the post as our Social Media Manager, keeping our Facebook and Instagram updated. In 2023 she is joined by Leonie Zeuner (She/They), who runs our Tik Tok account, with Hayley Warren (They/Them) creating our photography and videos.
In 2022 we welcomed Sharon Vickery (she/her) as our VA (virtual assistant), who works on all things related to club admin and was voted in as Treasurer in 2023.
Members can vote to make this official or nominate at our Jan 2024 AGM. Everyone is welcome.
We also pay contractors to help us with copy editing, project management, first aid courses, video editing, and photography. Contact us at camden@bskf.org if you can help.
Thank you
We are really grateful Aidan Deiter (he/him) volunteers as our online MC. Helen Males (she/her) brings all the brilliant dressing-up costumes and make-up.
Many thanks go to Sneha Alexander (she/her), who has stepped down as our Founding Treasurer and Club Secretary, and we are immensely grateful for all the work she has done for the club. Sneha and Gunjan have led the way in helping us to get funding.