About Sensei Puida

Born: 1980

1986 - Started swimming and Judo classes.

1988 - Started Shotokan Karate classes with his older brother, who had already practiced Judo for 6 years.

1990 - The Lithuanian Shotokan Karate Federation (LSKF) was formed and held Kyu exams for the first time. Sensei Puida passed the exam for first belt. At that time exams were so difficult that not everyone passed, even for the first belt.

1995 - Passed exam for 1st Kyu in Lithuania, the final belt before black (LSKF exams were every 6 months).

1996 - Began to take part in FSKA Shihan Funakohsi’s seminars, which he still attends.

1998 - Passed exam for 1st Dan (black belt) in Lithuania, with Shihan Kenneth Funakoshi (8th Dan). At that time, LSKF rules meant that black belts had to be at least 18 years old. 3 out of 7 students didn’t pass this exam.

In the same year, Sensei became an LSKF category D official. From then on, Sensei attended all LSKF tournaments – around 5 or 6 per year. Sensei went on to be Lithuanian champion (Kata and Kumite), a World, Europe and International Championship prize winner, and for 10 years was one of the leaders of the Lithuanian team.

In the same year, the club’s main instructor moved, leaving Sensei as the main instructor of his dojo.

1999 - The Physical Culture and Sport Ministry of the Lithuanian Republic Government awarded Sensei Puida with a medal for high progress in sport.

2001 - The LSKF rewarded Sensei Puida for exceptional progress at Lithuanian and international championships between 1990 and 2000.

In the same year, Sensei Puida passed the exam for 2nd Dan with Shihan Kenneth Funakoshi in Poland.

2002 - Graduated from the Lithuanian Academy of Physical Culture as a Teacher of Physical Culture. At this time, Sensei was training at the 2 best Shotokan clubs in the country. The first was the LSKF Headquarters, at which Sensei trained between 1988-1994; the second was between 1994-2002. Both clubs’ instructors had trained together before the LSKF was formed. The instructor of the first club was a very traditional teacher, and taught good Shotokan basic skills. The second club was more relaxed, and concentrated on championships. Because Sensei was nearly a black belt when he began at the second club, he began training with the adults’ advanced level classes. Some students there had mixed martial arts skills like Judo, boxing, and Jujitsu. This meant that Sensei Puida had the opportunity to train with mixed martial artists after his Shotokan classes, which led him to a better understanding of Shotokan karate. From the time Sensei moved to the second club, the club did not lose an LSKF tournament in 8 years, and was recognised as being the best club in Lithuania for 8 consecutive years (1994-2002).

Sensei Saulius Puida at home with his medals and trophies 1990-2000.

2003 - Sensei became an FSKA Affiliated Instructor in Lithuania.

2006 - Became an FSKA Affiliated Instructor in London, England.

2007 - Passed exam for 3rd Dan with Shihan Funakoshi (9th Dan) in Crawley, UK.

In the same year, Sensei Puida was presented with an FSKA Official certificate and refereed at the 9th FSKA World Championships.

2008 - Sensei Puida was a referee at the 10th FSKA World Championships in Italy.

2011 - Passed exam for 4th Dan with Shihan Funakoshi in Crawley, UK.