Stirling Karate Club

General information

Ronald Stewart "Ronnie" Watt OBE is a Scottish master of Shotokan karate. He is the founder, president and chief instructor for the "National Karate Institute Scotland" a member of the World Karate Confederation (WKC).BiographyWatt was born on 16 April 1947 in Aberdeen. He started learning karate in 1965, following a serious industrial accident which very nearly left him disabled. His interest in karate was inspired by the character Oddjob in the James Bond film Gold Finger.In his 45-year career as a professional karate instructor, Watt has trained over 20,000 students.On 25 May 2010, on behalf of the Emperor of Japan and the Japanese government, the Japanese Consul General in Edinburgh, Mr Masataka Tarahara, presented Ronnie Watt with the Order of the Rising Sun with Gold and Silver rays. This was in recognition of Mr Watt’s outstanding contribution to karate and his commitment to strengthening the relationship between Scotland and Japan. Ronnie Watt is one of only a handful of Scots in history to be awarded this high honour.Watt was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2011 New Year Honours for services to karate.In 2014, Watt was awarded a Commemorative Medal of the Trnava Self-Governing Region (TSGR) of Slovakia by the TSGR's president Tibor Mikuš. In 2015, Watt was made a Knight of the Order of the Holy Trinity. In 2015, Watt was made a Knight Commander Cavaleiro da Casa Real Portuguesa.