By day, Janice Weatherly is a hard-working and well-regarded solicitor in the Liverpool office of Mace & Jones. She heads the firm’s commercial estate department and although she lives in Chester, admits to supporting the blue team on Merseyside. “I come from an Everton family,” says Weatherly, who qualified in 1984 after studying law at Nottingham University. Softly spoken, she comes across as courteous, charming and eminently amenable.

But by night, Weatherly toughens up. A member of Chester’s Total Fitness Shotokan Karate Club, she is a black belt in Shotokan karate and not someone you want to mess with. “My sensei [teacher] says you should hit a training aid every day,” says Weatherly. “I try to put this into practice.”

Not, you understand, that Weatherly goes round indiscriminately hitting colleagues or strangers. Far from it. For her, as for many of its enthusiasts, karate is not about violence – “a last resort” - but about “self-confidence, self-defence, self-discipline, assurance and esteem – not to mention getting and keeping fit.”

Weatherly was drawn to karate after the birth of her son. “I was keen to get fit again after Daniel’s birth, and went along to my local gym. I was running on a treadmill one night and watching a karate session in the adjoining hall. I liked the look at what was going on. I’d done a bit of Aikido in my early twenties, and some Tai Chi, and there was something about martial arts that had always attracted me. So next time I went to the gym, I asked about doing karate. My sensei told me to take my shoes off and join in, and that was it. I haven’t looked back since.”

Not only has Weatherly not looked back, she has also attained her black belt. “I double-graded for my first belt, and then graded every three months,” she says, adding that she would often train three or four nights a week in the run-up to taking her black belt test. Her dedication paid off, as she secured her black belt within three years. Weatherly didn’t stop there, either. “After black belt you go on to take Dan grades,” she explains. “I’ve taken my first Dan and am training now for my second.”

Weatherly’s son, Daniel, often accompanies her to training nights and is rising through the karate ranks himself. For Weatherly, one of the sport’s chief appeals lies in the family atmosphere at her club. “We have lots of families and I’ve noticed that many women are taking up karate and other martial arts at all ages. They do it to keep fit and often because their children are doing it, so they feel they might as well join in the class instead of waiting outside.”

But with all that kicking, punching and chopping, doesn’t it hurt from time to time? Weatherly explains that the emphasis is on control and safety, even at her advanced level. “The Karate Union of Great Britain clubs – of which mine, run by Tony Fennell, is a member - emphasise control and so while we always try to aim for the target, the training is such that the target should have moved, or if contact is made it is controlled so that no one should get hurt. Anyone who is reckless or dangerous would be asked to leave. The emphasis is on mutual respect for one’s training partner, which explains why we have so many women in our club and in the organisation - they can train to deliver and take punches and kicks in a controlled situation, so they feel safe.”

Nevertheless, Weatherly isn’t someone you’d want to cross. “I love it,” she says simply, revealing that she has punching equipment at home with which she can fulfill her sensei’s instruction to hit something every day.

Clients and colleagues alike are impressed by her achievements, and she agrees that karate can amount to therapy given the pressures of her job.

“My work is very demanding and I have many pressures on my time. Karate is a great form of stress relief. When you get to the dojo you leave your problems outside. You put your whole self into training and all your negative emotions come out. You feel fantastic afterwards. I’d recommend it to everyone.”

Times Recommends

• HM Revenue sued over pension scheme tax
• Farepak liquidators to sue former directors
• McCartney and Mills: it's finally over