Joe Lomax is the assistant Chief Instructor at Ilkeston Shotokan Karate Association.  He started his training at the age of 5yrs in Shotokan Karate with ASKA. Due to his age he trained just a couple of days a week but was very dedicated to karate following his dad to the dojo every week. He just got in the line up and trained hard in basics with no chit chat with the other kids. His hard work and dedication soon led him into the competition areas where he competed all over the country with success. National champs 1st place Kata 1998, 2nd place Kumite 1998, 1st Kata West Midlands Open 1998, 2nd place Kumite1998, 1st place Kata 1999, 2nd place Kata 1999, 1st place kata London Open 1999, 1st place Team Kata jnr 1999, 3rd place Kumite 1999, too many to mention. Possibly his best achievement was when he won the British Open Championships at age 6yrs as a yellow belt in the under 12yrs age category with over 150 competitors including blackbelts. Joe is also a keen footballer in his spare time and plays at a good level for a local club. He is still training Karate and learning. Joe passed his 1st dan in 2003 at Brighton and his 2nd Dan in 2016 at Ilkeston Shotokan Karate Club.