Karate is not just a method of self-defence, it’s also an excellent way to keep fit.

Black belt Colin Hanson is living proof of this. He has been practising the ancient Japanese martial art for 35 years and is currently celebrating 25 years as sensei (chief instructor) of Kirkburton Karate Club.

This year the club launched a new initiative for young children and families – Saturday morning fitness classes that combine martial arts with exercise.

Run by Colin, a textile production manager, and his wife Fay, a PE teacher at Moor End Academy and also a black belt, the classes are suitable for youngsters from the age of three upwards.

“It’s a combination of Fay’s PE and my karate experience,” said Colin. “We want to get them to work on their fitness without them realising it so we make it fun.”

As a secondary school teacher for the past decade, Fay says she has noticed a change in children’s activity levels.

“There’s definitely been a culture shift,” she explains. “When I was a kid it was the norm to be out and about after school – now they seem to be on their computers or phones.

“There’s not as much after-school activity and a lot of children have difficulties taking part in sport because they are travelling such a long way to school or they have responsibilities for their brothers and sisters – or they are carers. Some just don’t seem interested.”

With high levels of child obesity in the UK, this is a ticking time bomb for the nation’s future health.

As many as one third of school children are now classed as being overweight or obese and English youngsters are the third fattest in Europe.

It’s generally accepted that the best way to tackle this problem is to engage whole families in programmes to adopt a healthier diet and lifestyle.

Clubs like the Kirkburton Karate Club, which is run by volunteer instructors, are doing their bit by teaching multi-age group classes. This means that entire families can train together.

One such family – Mark Stephens, 39, and his children Ben, 10, and seven-year-old Lauren from Shelley – now train three times a week at the club’s new centre in Barncliffe Mills, Shelley. The club also runs classes at Highburton Village Hall.

Mark, an engineer, only joined in January this year but had been taking Ben to classes for the past two years.

He explained: “I just used to hang around while he was training and then one of the lads said ‘why don’t you join in?’

“I said I was too old but one of the instructors said he was 42 when he began karate, so I decided to give it a go.”

Mark, who has type 2 diabetes and asthma, says that even after only a few weeks his fitness and stamina levels have improved.

“I was having problems controlling my blood sugar levels and I do a lot of sitting down and driving around for my job,” he said. “Now I’m using my asthma inhaler a lot less and my blood sugar is under control.

“It’s hard work – the first hour is all cardio work – but I’m finding it worthwhile and it’s something I can do with the kids.”

A number of family groups – parents and siblings – are club members.

Colin, who is a past British all-styles Karate Association national champion and the national coach and team manager for the British Institute of Karate Organisations, said: “We have members aged from six to 60 years old and there are quite a few parents who joined because their children were coming along.

“We do have a good family atmosphere. When we compete we hire minibuses and travel together. We’ve been all over – to France, Belgium, Holland and Spain.”

The club’s oldest member, 60-year-old instructor Tom Farrell from Highburton, started training at the age of 42 after his daughters Lucy and Emma took up karate.

“I was a beginner and they both had coloured belts – they used to boss me around,” he said.

A footballer and cricketer in his youth, Tom says he had become something of a couch potato.

He explained: “With collecting the girls from karate I got to know Colin and he cajoled me to join. At the beginning I was only doing it for fitness. I never thought that years later I’d be a black belt.”

A retired BT operations manager, he says karate has given him a higher degree of fitness than football.

Kirkburton Karate Club practices a style of karate called Wado Ryu and students are taught in ability groups.

Among its 50 or so members are high-ranking black belts. Colin is a fifth dan black belt, Fay is a fourth dan and another instructor, Jodie Booth, is also a fourth dan. The grading system for Wado Ryu goes up to a ninth dan black belt.

Working through the grades requires dedication and discipline as well as stamina.

Fay, who began practising karate at the age of eight, says it is this combination that makes the sport so good for children.

“We have had kids coming along who have been disruptive and difficult at school but the parents say that after they start karate they notice an improvement in their concentration,” she said.

“Karate does a lot for fitness as well as self-confidence and self-esteem. They have to perform the kata – a structured sequence of moves and strikes – in front of others and they work together. It gives them a sense of community.”

Jodie, 29, was 13 when she took up karate and says she enjoys it for the fitness and competitive aspects.

She joined the club because her brother was a member. He gave up and she continued and is now an instructor. Her family runs The Junk public house in Kirkburton.

As well as keeping her fit and slim, she says karate also gives her a degree of confidence.

“I’d like to think that if I was attacked I could defend myself,” she said.

Linus Rushworth, 18, from Lindley, is a new black belt and has just started instructing.

He joined the club nine years ago and has a confidence beyond his years.

He said: “I used to be a swimmer, but I wanted to try something else. My dad worked with Colin and suggested karate. I loved it as soon as I tried it.”

Although he’s hoping to get a place at Newcastle University to study modern languages, the Greenhead College student aims to continue with karate.

“It improves your determination and confidence,” he said. “It brings out the best in people.

“I wasn’t particularly hard-working at school, but karate has had a big impact on my school work as it’s given me discipline.”

Interestingly, Linus says that he enjoys the competitive aspect of karate – although not everyone has to compete.

He explained: “Competitiveness is not encouraged at school, it’s all about being equal, but I enjoy it as winning gives you an extra boost.”

Kirkburton Karate Club believes it has a model for family fitness that others could follow.

Since opening the new activity centre, which was funded largely by Colin and Fay, they have plans to introduce Fun Fitness classes for adults as well as pre-schoolers and families.

The Shelley centre has also given the club somewhere for members of the club’s senior squad to practice.

l For further details about training sessions email kkcandactivitycentre@hotmail.co.uk

Karate means ‘empty hand’ and is a form of martial arts practised without weapons.

Like many oriental martial arts it is thought that karate has its origins in the Chinese Shaolin temple boxing of more than 1,000 years ago.

Modern karate developed from the closed-fist fighting style practised on the Japanese island of Okinawa.

Today there are several forms of karate, including Wado Ryu (commonly taught in the UK), which means ‘way of harmony’.