My martial arts origin story
Taekwondo Association of Great Britain (TAGB) license, from my first TKD club in Cardiff.
Introduction
I started training in martial arts during my first year at University, 1984, 40 years ago this year, but there have been long gaps when I was not training at all.
Please take my story with a pinch of salt and in the light hearted manner it is intended. In some areas I have solid evidence to corroborate and validate my timelines and in others I don’t - and my memory is getting fuzzy.
Karate, Cardiff
I joined the Shukokai Karate Club at University College Cardiff, now Cardiff University.
Shūkōkai (修交会) means the ‘way for all’. It’s a modern Karate style developed in the 1940s by Chōjirō Tani and was influenced by Shitō-ryū and Gōjū-ryū…
Shūkōkai was designed around the study of body mechanics, is very fast due to its relatively high stance aiding mobility, and is known for the double hip twist, which maximises the force of its strikes; making it one of the most hard-hitting Karate styles.
— https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shūkōkai
It was developed further by Chōjirō’s senior students Yamada Haruyoshi and Kimura Shigeru.
I am 90% certain I went to one seminar with Sensei Kimura when he visited the UK, but don’t recall the year or location.
Part of the training was punching three dense foam pads tied together with a spare belt. Typically these were held firmly against the chest at about the height of a makiwara pad. In one practice session, I took my fellow student’s and housemate’s heart rate to 200 bpm due to the force of the punch. Thankfully he is still with us!
I have been scouting around online to find some pictures of those pads but have not been successful.
During this period I entered at least one tournament - details are hazy. I remember being very nervous and getting eliminated in the first round. I am pretty sure we did not wear protective equipment other than a groin guard.
I particularly remember ‘Kit’, a diminutive blackbelt from Malaysia. Particularly his competence, kindness and deference to the class instructor - Ian.
There was a tall French guy who was a Taekwondo practitioner and a great kicker, and we were all impressed and wary when free-sparring with him.
We’d often end up with drinks in the student union bar, at subsidised prices. Replenishing those salts lost during intensive training!
Many years later I worked with a colleague from South Africa who had trained in Shukokai, it was only in researching this piece that I learned that Kimura first taught in Africa after leaving Japan. Another time I walked past a gym in Berlin, very close to the office, and it was advertising Shukokai classes. Small world! Or case of being sensitised and tuned to something so you are more likely to see it?
During my second year at Uni, we recruited new students at the Fresher’s Fair sporting t-shirts designed by a housemate with the nice stylised punching fist emblem.
Shūkōkai International logo with the punching fist emblem.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shūkōkai
I took two gradings before graduating and leaving university - yellow and orange belt.
Taekwondo, Cardiff
After finishing university, a friend dragged me along to a TAGB Taekwondo club in Roath, Cardiff after showing me his calloused knuckles caused by all the knuckle press-ups.
The Taekwondo Association of Great Britain was then affiliated with the International Taekwondo Federation (ITF), rather than the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF, now just WT!), which governs Olympic Taekwondo.
The instructor was Tony Massey (fourth dan), a stocky, powerfully built and confident man who worked the doors in the clubs around Cardiff. After training for some time he seemed to take a particular interest in me, inviting me to his house for drinks. I remember one time, that he somewhat ill-advisedly entered what was in my view a ‘grudge match’ with a former student of his that had retrained as a Thai boxer. He did well initially and fought hard soaking up a lot of punishing kicks to his legs. In the end the decision went against him. We were pretty sad for the boss.
In my view ITF Taekwondo was a much more realistic sparring style than WTF as it allowed both punches and kicks to the head, unlike WTF where punches to the head are not allowed.
Typically I would attend a minimum of two formal lessons a week practising patterns, and one less formal sparring lesson or kickboxing style - ‘fight night’! I was in pretty good shape in those days.
My uniforms were usually wringing wet after training, and being a young man that was not yet properly housetrained, and with poor washing / drying facilities in my post-student digs, my kit would stay in my sports bag and I’d wear it again for the next lesson. That gear could get pretty fragrant!
In fight club, sparring was done with open handed gloves, booties covering the foot (not the shin), a gum shield and a groin guard. I trained with some great women fighters who were fast and not scared of going in hard and aggressively. Fight club was open to all styles and we often had students from a Kung Fu school.
I remember training with a Kung Fu practitioner much shorter than I was, and because of my height advantage, I was getting in good head kicks that made him mad. He came at me hard catching a kick from underneath, lifting me up and throwing me to the ground. This was something that was not supported within our normal Taekwondo fight rules, but all is fair in fight club! [Note: turns out catching kicks is pretty standard in traditional Chinese martial arts]. We agreed to ‘cool it’ and parted as friends. He offered me a toke of his joint as we walked back into town. Being somewhat prissy, I politely declined.
Another time, we mid-ranking students were used as sparring partners for a competition team. I remember sparring with one of the black belts - Dave Tang - I was petrified even though I had a significant height advantage! He had a permanent grin fixed to his face and was a formidable fighter.
It’s the only time I have done three minute rounds. I think I lasted two rounds. The conditioning you need to compete is high!
Certificate for one of the two week-long martial arts training ‘bootcamps’ I attended in the early 1990s.
In October 1990 and April 1991 I took part in week-long ‘multi martial arts’ bootcamps in Weymouth organised by the Amateur Martial Association. Four two-hour training sessions a day for 6 days. Each instructor was from a different martial arts style, but I only remember Taekwondo and Karate styles being represented - no traditional Chinese Martial Arts. I do remember the Kyokushinkai instructor belittling our kicking ability.
In July 1991 we went to the World Taekwondo Championships in Leicester. I was in awe of some of the amazing fighters, such as Tony Sewell (featured here in this Sky broadcast together with Tony Weir)…
At the championships I saw an incredible pattern demonstration by an American black belt. Even the way he approached the mat was performed with military precision. Quick long steps, turning corners with sharp 90 degree turns. He announced and performed an amazing pattern and bowed on completion. I assume it was an open competition where practitioners could demonstrate their favourite pattern commensurate with their belt / rank. The judges conferred and seemed unhappy that the pattern he had performed was not eligible for the competition and so he would have to show something else. Without dropping a beat he did another incredible performance of a completely different pattern. Sadly I don’t know if he won his category.
1988 World Taekwondo championships. The TAGB England team included Mark Ogbourne, Mark Weir, Tony Sewell, Kenny Walton captain, Kim Stones , Roger Lawrence and John McDonald, Coach Dave Oliver, Held at Granby halls UK. Kim Stones (in blue trousers) shown here on the right.
Looking at video of the day, it’s interesting to see the characteristic side-on stances, a backward, leaning-away posture and a very low guard. I don’t really remember the points scoring rules, but I imagine the highest points would have been for kicks to the head so stances and behaviours evolved to optimise for that. [Note: adding a link to the ITF sparring rules here].
Once again, my own ‘fight record’ was abysmal, entering one competition and exiting the first round with a bleeding nose.
In the period February 1988 to June 1991 I did four gradings (fifth kup) with my grading instructor being A. P. Massey, 4th dan.
I was shocked to learn much later that Tony Massey had been jailed for sexual assault (BBC).
Taekwondo, Leeds
My job took me North to work in Leeds and I found an Amateur Martial Associations (AMA) ITF club in Kirkstall under J R Clark.
What you see a lot of in Taekwondo is ‘breaking’. This can be of wooden boards, or more usually, especially designed plastic boards of different strengths. You could stack multiple boards together ensuring a tougher challenge. Breaking would be a requirement for higher belt gradings. You had to combine speed, power and technique to do it. If your wrist was bent or your fist not tightly clenched or your thumb loose, you were going to hurt yourself. Breaking was the real deal, it scared me! But there was a wonderful sense of achievement when you got it right.
Laszlo Huve from New York City demonstrating a board break with one of my favourite strikes, the ridge hand.
We’d sometimes be used as sparring punchbags for blackbelt gradings, but occasionally I’d get a couple of good hits in. My favourite being a reverse knife hand (ridge hand) strike to the temple. Although tall and not terrible with my legs, I was faster with my hands.
I would sometimes show up to work with black eyes that would attract some questions. I’d brush it off to a rather ambiguous bump in some unspecified ‘training’, being somewhat coy and not wanting to advertise my participation in a martial art. I wanted to avoid being seen as bragging or boasting about it.
As the senior student I once covered training for the instructor who did not show up for two weeks in a row. He’d gone on holiday and not told anyone. This was back in the day of no cell phones or email. I didn’t mind taking the classes, but it would been have nice to have been told beforehand.
I did one grading at Kirkstall in February 1992 - third kup - three more gradings to black belt. My grading examiner was P R Liversidge, 6th dan.
I don’t recall anymore why I stopped training there.
Taekwondo, Leeds University
The Leeds University class was a big class run by Kim Stones, then UK heavyweight champion. I joined in 1994.
I’d always had a dodgy knee that would sometimes reveal itself when cycling or playing basketball. We were doing two-on-one sparring when one of my opponents performed an ‘illegal’ low kick to my knee. I needed keyhole surgery to remove some of the meniscus. The injury had a lasting affect on my desire to train.
I was supposed to fly to Venezuela with a close University friend and roommate for a hiking and exploring trip and could not. We’d already booked flights. As an alternative we did a near three week driving tour through Europe, staying in cheap hostels, drinking the finest ‘old world’ beers in beautiful town squares and refusing to do anything cultural. It was a wonderful vacation.
I did not take a grading there and I never went back to the club at the University.
Taekwondo, High Wycombe
My job had taken me South once more and I was living in Maidenhead, Berkshire (1998/99-). I wanted to return to practice after years of being frightened, scared and cautious of training. I joined a club at sports centre in High Wycombe.
I remember doing some board breaking in training - a reverse punch. I think I was successful but my hand immediately began to swell up. I showed the instructor who massaged it for a few moments, and the swelling immediately abated and my hand was soon back to normal as if nothing has happened. Magic!
I did not take a grading there, and don’t remember why or when I stopped training. Could have been pressure of work.
Tai Chi, Maidenhead
I could not shake off my desire and need to train, but perhaps I should try something less prone to injury.
My first experience of traditional Chinese Martial arts was very close to home. Sadly it was not a good experience. I tried a local Eagle Claw club. Maybe I went to the wrong class, but the Sifu who was training more advanced students for most of the lesson, showed me a couple of moves and asked me to repeat them on my own in the corner. I don’t think I went back a second time.
Tai Chi, Wutan Surrey
Anita Chi Wai Ho, Senior Instructor, Wutan Surrey, my teacher.
https://wutansurrey.com/
After a long gap, I started my Tai Chi journey in earnest seven years ago this year (November 2017) when I discovered my teacher, Anita, in a local village hall. I might have seen an advertisement in the local fish and chip shop.
Anita came to Tai Chi later in life via the Woking Chinese Association where her kids attended Kung Fu classes on Saturdays, organised by Wutan UK. She learned from Professor Bai, Master They and later Sifu Derek Kent.
I was very impressed with her classes as they were so different from the ‘traditional’ and very formal Karate and Taekwondo classes that I had done years earlier - a lot less bowing. She would play relaxing oriental music, light a scented candle (whilst this was still allowed and before it was forbidden due to ‘fire regulations’) and we would often break for tea during lessons.
Anita is a few years older than me and diminutive in stature. I was fascinated with the grace and beauty of the unusual looking moves of the ‘Yang’ Short form that the school teaches beginners. I tried to map these moves to what I was familiar with, in particular, with striking in Taekwondo. They had always been very direct and specific about the parts of the hand or foot (elbow etc.) used, and the target - high section, mid-section, low section. Temple, throat, just below the nose (‘philtrum’), solar plexus etc. All students were given a handbook describing and naming the parts of the body that were used as weapons and the intended targets of the technique.
Over the years of her continuous teaching and practice Anita has only gotten stronger and more flexible. She also has a prodigious memory for weapons forms including broadsword (Tan Dao), sabre (Miao Dao), longsword (Jian), fan, staff and sticks. I, on the other hand pick up the forms very slowly.
The Wutan syllabus is enormous, I will feel content if I can perform the traditional Yang Long Form to a decent standard and do a little Xing Yi Quan and Baguazhang.
To challenge myself a little, I try to join the weekly Kung Fu class conducted by Dr Ben Watson. This is extremely beneficial, not least because of the overlaps in syllabus between the hard external, and the soft internal styles.
Teaching
After training for two to three years regularly for 2-3 days a week with Anita, Sifu Kent suggested I start teaching. I think he liked my horse stance!
Teachers are required to attend instructor training once a month at the Wutan HQ in Southampton. This is typically a four-hour session.
I helped out by teaching one of Anita’s classes, then in early 2020 we got slammed with COVID and Anita taught all the students remotely.
Coming out of COVID, one of my fellow instructors was looking to reduce her teaching schedule so I picked up her class at the Thames Club in Staines (May-2021). I had a great group of regulars there. The Club re-organised their timetable and closed the Tai Chi class in May-2024.
I feel very privileged to teach currently at the Woking Chinese School.
I get a lot of personal fulfillment out of teaching basic Qigong and the short form after Cheng Man-ch’ing. Occasionally we will do a little stick work and some simple Baguazhang and Xingyichuan.
Many years ago and in a different context I learned the aphorism…
See one, do one, teach one
I am finding that this holds up. When I have to teach something, I begin to learn it. And there is the glimmer of understanding.
Further to this I was also taught the conscious / competence model - to be a good teacher, not only do you need to be good at what you teach you need to know how it is you do what you teach (you need to be both competent and conscious). In the case of martial arts it helps to have or to develop an understanding of biomechanics and engineering - and this from someone who studied Zoology and Genetics at University.
Surgery
In Feb 2022 I had a full hip replacement which took me out of action for six weeks (due to the advised restriction on driving) but came back to teaching with much improved mobility.
Street fighter
Photo by Wade Austin Ellis on Unsplash
Lastly, I want to reflect a little on the real world application of martial arts in self defence.
I have dabbled with martial arts for years and have a reasonable grasp of theory, but my ‘real’ fighting experience has thankfully been limited to a handful of events, or non-events.
Whilst at University, I was walking with a housemate of mine close to the student union during the day, when we passed two other lads walking in the opposite direction. As he passed, one of them reached over and flicked my spectacles off my nose and onto the ground, saying something I don’t recall, but most likely to be something along the lines of me being ‘four eyed’, laughed and jeered and calmly walked off. That’s it. There was no fight. I did not run after him and beat him to a pulp. I was just left puzzled and confused as to why a random stranger would do that.
Another time whilst still a student, coming home from town in Cardiff with my housemate (a different one), a little tipsy, we tailed another pair of lads, and for no particular reason each pair seemed to be eyeing the other up, and there may have been an exchange of words or glances. Anyway, I obviously got too close as it seemed to trigger the bigger of the two into throwing a wild haymaker that caught me nicely over the eye and sat me down on the ground. My rugby playing housemate, and soon to be officer in the army, valiantly came to my rescue, windmilling my assailant to submission. We each dusted ourselves off and shook hands somewhat meekly. I had a small cut over my eye and so decided to walk to A&E to see if it needed a stitch. I don’t think we made it, quite rightly reasoning that the staff would not rush to attend to two drunk students late on a Friday night. To this day, I have an imperceptible battle scar in my eyebrow, which I have been most disappointed that nobody ever noticed or commented upon.
A couple of years ago I was showing my petite but spirited sister-in-law (56kg / 170 cm or 124 lbs / 5’7” versus my 100+ kg / 190 cm or 220 lbs / 6’3”) an escape from a choke hold and she unintentionally flipped me over on the floor in the kitchen [note - she now questions my use of the word ‘unintentional’ here 😈]. I got up quick to spare my blushes and show the kids that there was ‘nothing to see, everything is fine’. A pointed lesson in getting too cocky.
Conclusion
So what’s the moral of the story? If you want to learn self defence, don’t come to my Tai Chi classes in the hope you are learning from a master!
I don’t teach self defence. I don’t teach competitive martial arts
Seriously, learning most martial arts does not guarantee you will ever be able to take care of yourself in the street.
If you want to be a fighter, you have to train really hard to get fit and to fight - there is no substitute.
I always enjoyed sparring and learning application, but never became really good at it. Don’t let that stop you though, if you like it. Occasionally you’ll launch an effective technique or score a point that makes it worth it.
There’s value in training to keep up some cardio, work on stretches, do some breath work and take your head out of the rat race for a few hours.
My regrets are that I stopped training for such a long time and that I did not find Tai Chi sooner.
Glad to be here now though.
Last revised…
23-Nov-2024 edited to included reference to 3-minute round sparring (Cardiff)
10-Nov-2024 edits to cover teaching and surgery
08-Nov-2024 (clarified my mix up with ITF vs. WTF affiliations)
06-Nov-2024
Article cover image: Spiderman Inks by BonGiuovi on DeviantArt
