"With perfect clarity I can remember the very first moment I ever saw a black belt and that was in late 1973 in the YMCA in Chelmsford, Essex. Slung over his shoulder, Charles Naylor, had his gi wrapped in his ragged belt and had entered the lobby. I suppose he was then, younger than I am now but he had, to me, an air of impressive authority. I never questioned that authority then or years later while competing nationally and internationally and, actually, I still wouldn’t question it now.

Traveling with Naylor sensei in my late teens always felt like a privilege. I knew he’d always know where to go, how to behave and who was in charge. I remember being introduced to Enoeda sensei as an 11 year old, Andy Sherry sensei in the mid-‘70’s and Nakayama sensei in Cairo in ’83 by Charles and marking the mutual respect and easy going familiarity he had with these instructors who, individually, were at their peaks during the heyday of the JKA.

I think the respect that Naylor sensei always received from those who really knew him came from a unique combination of factors, not least his karate ability. There are some characters (usually those looking for the excuse that caused their team to do badly in a competition) that may have found him officious perhaps. They were unfortunate to have only seen him in that role. I’ve been lucky to have spent almost all my time knowing Charles from the perspective of his student and benefiting from his knowledge, generosity and fairness.

In my opinion the strength he had, that allowed him to plunge unhesitatingly into potential conflicts during the heat of competition, was borne from his integrity and confidence that in turn came from his approach to training and teaching. Naylor sensei’s every class was designed to push us very hard and this reflected the only karate he knew, that is, the karate instilled into him by Enoeda sensei, which needs no further comment.

Physically, quite a small slightly-built man but he inspired all of us training under his tuition to put every ounce of effort into our techniques in order to achieve our potential for power through form. A striking characteristic of Naylor sensei was his huge dignity that transcended the possibility that personal gain might get in the way of doing the right thing. I think this quality more than any other has been a source of inspiration for me and one which is so rare these days where everything seems to be reduced to short term selfish benefits.

People have asked me recently what has gone on with the karate politics in England (especially of course since the sad passing of Enoeda sensei) as there are so many conflicting stories. I have friends whose loyalties lie in one or other of the several camps. I tell them that I don’t know who is right or wrong but that whatever I’ve been told by Charles Naylor is undoubtedly true, as I believe he is incapable of stating anything false.

Naturally my last conversation with Charles was only after a couple of hrs in his dojo. He was, by the way, in his 70’s and teaching with the enthusiasm I remember from the 1970’s while nursing (more accurately ignoring) a broken foot.

He is very sadly missed by me and, without question, all of his students."