From an early age, Roger Williams showed great interest in the world of martial arts. Like many youngsters, Bruce Lee was his idol and anything to do with karate or kung fu grabbed his attention. Roger's father and brother had both been excellent karateka, and both motivated and inspired him to start learning the art of karate. At the age of 11, his dad enrolled him in the local Kyokushin Karate dojo, which was run by Shihan Hennie Bosman.

Beginning

During this period ( the mid 90's ) , Kyokushin karate had grown to phenomenal popularity , globally as well as in South Africa. For Roger, it was like entering a new world. He instantly fell in love with karate and the rigorous training  of the Kyokushin style captured his imagination. It also served as a great confidence booster.

Roger's karate improved steadily and the time had arrived to enter the full contact tournament ring. As a teenager he competed in many full contact championships, representing the Western Province at national tournaments. These events, along with grading tests,  started to become short - term goals that kept his training focussed and hard. The tough competition also forced him to persevere and train harder to be successful at these meetings. During December of 2000, Roger was graded to first dan Black Belt.

2003-2010

Privileged to train under many excellent senseis through the years, Roger progressed to 2nd Dan Black Belt in May of 2003. This grading was part of an international training seminar, conducted by Kancho Hatsuo Royama, the chairman of the Kyokushin-kan International Karate Organization. At the same grading Sensei Hans Menck was graded to 3rd Dan black belt, after which Roger and Hans continued training together on a regular basis.

During 2004 Roger received intensive training at the Kyokushin-kan International Headquarters in the Saitama prefecture, just outside of Tokyo, Japan. The training methods of Kancho Royama and his team of instructors, inspired him greatly to adjust his own training in pursuit of improving as a martial artist. He also returned from Japan with renewed artistic inspiration, as he was a final year graphic design student during this period.

2005 kicked off with Roger competing in the Western Province Karate Championships, where he won the first place in the lightweight division, and second place in the middleweight division. Later that year he finally became a Kyokushin national champion, by winning the South African lightweight title at the Len Barnes International Tournament in Cape Town. His final tournament of the year was the Kyokushin-kan World Tournament in Moscow, Russia. At this event he competed in both the kata and kumite divisions, and finished as the overall 6th place winner in the kata division.

In 2006 he successfully defended the Western Province u/70 kg title, and in the same year went on to capture his second South African Championship at the Len Barnes Memorial Tournament. This tournament also saw him being awarded the prize for the Fighting Spirit.

During 2007 Roger won the Western Province lightweight Championship for the 3rd consecutive year. He was graded to the rank of 3rd Dan black belt by Kancho Royama and once again set sail for Japan to further his training and begin his preparation for the Len Barnes International in South Africa. With solid Japanese training behind him,  he returned to South Africa and won the 2nd place at the abovementioned event.

In October 2008 , a new Kyokushin-kan branch was opened at the Dimensional Stunt School in Cape Town. With Sensei Roger leading the classes, and Sensei Thulani Ndlovu as the driving force behind the dojo, the branch grew from strength to strength and saw many stunt performers learning karate to enhance their careers.

Having re-entered the competition arena after more than a year, Sensei Roger represented South Africa at the All Kyokushin World Tournament in Hungary ,during October 2009. This prestigious full contact event featured hundreds of competitors from all over the world, and Sensei Roger successfully advanced to the third round. He also met many great martial artists who inspired him to expand his training to more varied martial arts systems. He returned home to Cape Town and immediately started cross training with different martial arts groups in order to increase his knowledge.

At the Freedom School, Sensei Roger teaches Kyokushin-kan karate, while also studying different martial disciplines under various teachers. Outside the dojo, he can be found crafting his visual art and graphic design skills. As a professional illustrator and artist, he is recognized as one of Cape Town's leading young creatives by his work in the advertising and entertainment industry. His visual and martial arts form a unique balance, as the two complement and inspire each other.