Last updated: 3 September 2026.
Who we are
Kojin-Kai Karate Club is a business operated as a sole trader by Ryan Harden, who is the data controller for the personal information described here.
The best way to reach us about anything on this page is by email at team@ashfordkarate.co.uk, or by speaking to an instructor at class.
If you enquire about a free trial
Our trial form asks for the name and age of the person who would train, an email address, and, if the trial is for a child, the parent or guardian’s name. We ask whether there is a medical condition, injury or medication we should know about, but only as a yes or no. If the answer is yes, we ring you before the first class rather than collecting details on the form. We also ask how you heard about us, and there is an optional box for anything else you want to tell us.
We use this to arrange your trial class and follow up afterwards. Our lawful basis is legitimate interests, namely responding to an enquiry you made of us. We do not use these details for marketing.
If you join the club
Our membership form asks for the student’s name, preferred name, date of birth and gender; for students under 18, their school and school year group; any previous martial arts experience; height, because Kyokushin gis are sized by height; medical conditions, injuries, medication and allergies, including what to do in a reaction and where any medication is kept; the main contact’s name, relationship to the student, mobile number, email address and home address; an emergency contact’s name, relationship and number; the names, relationships and mobile numbers of anyone you ask us to add to the club WhatsApp group; and your choices about photography.
We use this to run classes safely, to enter students for gradings and competitions, to size kit, to contact you about training, and to reach someone in an emergency. Our lawful basis is performance of our contract with you for membership, and our legitimate interests in running the club safely and administering it.
Health information
Medical conditions, injuries, medication and allergies are special category data under UK GDPR, so they need extra protection. We rely on your explicit consent, which we ask for separately on the membership form. Where the student is under 18, that consent should be given by a parent or guardian.
You can withdraw that consent at any time by telling an instructor. We should be honest that if we are not able to hold information about how to keep someone safe in a full-contact class, we may not be able to let them train.
Health information is seen only by club instructors. It is not shared with anyone else except in a medical emergency, where we would pass relevant information to paramedics or hospital staff.
Photographs and video
We take photographs and short videos at training, gradings, competitions and demonstrations. You choose on the membership form where we may use them, and you can change your mind at any time by telling an instructor. If you ask us to stop, we will, and we will remove existing images where we reasonably can. Photographs of students who leave the club are deleted. You can view our photography policy here
Who sees your information
Your information stays within the club. It is seen by club instructors and administrators only. We do not sell it and we do not share it for marketing.
We use a small number of service providers who process information on our behalf: Tally, which hosts our trial and membership forms and stores the responses; Titan, which provides our club email; WordPress.com (Automattic), which hosts this website; and Google, for website analytics, described in our cookie policy.
We also run a club WhatsApp group, which is provided by Meta. If you ask to be added, or ask us to add someone else, their mobile number will be visible to the other members of that group. You can ask to be removed at any time.
We would disclose information where we are required to by law, and where we have a safeguarding duty to share a concern with the police or children’s social care.
How long we keep it
Trial enquiries. If you tell us you are not joining, we delete your details straight away. Otherwise we delete any enquiry we have not heard from within 12 months.
Membership records, including health information. Kept for as long as the student is a member, and deleted when they leave.
Photographs. Kept while consent stands, and deleted when a student leaves.
Accident and incident records, and safeguarding records. These are kept for longer. Where they concern a child, we keep them until that person’s 25th birthday, in line with recognised safeguarding practice.
Payment and financial records. Kept for at least five years after the 31 January filing deadline for the relevant tax year, because HMRC requires it.
Children
Most of our students are under 18, and some are as young as five. Membership forms should be completed by a parent or guardian for any student under 18. We hold the minimum we need to teach a child safely, we do not use children’s information for marketing, and we take particular care over health information and photographs.
Your rights
You have the right to ask us for a copy of the information we hold about you, to have it corrected if it is wrong, to have it deleted, to restrict or object to how we use it, and to receive it in a portable format. Where we rely on your consent, you can withdraw it at any time.
To exercise any of these, email team@ashfordkarate.co.uk or speak to an instructor. We will respond within one month.
If you are unhappy with how we have handled your information, you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office at ico.org.uk or on 0303 123 1113.
Changes to this policy
If we change how we use your information we will update this page and change the date at the top.
