Evening one and all...

[aefibird]

Hi Waylander!

 

Welcome to Karate Forums. Good to have you on board!

 

I see that you're from Preston - you don't study Shotokan with Sensei Timothy do you? I was up in Preston training with him just a few weeks ago.

[Waylander]

Thank you all for your welcoming welcomes!

I see that you're from Preston - you don't study Shotokan with Sensei Timothy do you? I was up in Preston training with him just a few weeks ago.

 

I've heard of Sensei Timothy since I've moved up here, but no I train with Sensei Andy MacDonald. I believe he's affiliated with the Hara Shotokan Academy as well as EKGB I believe, though I'm not 100% certain.

 

My background eh? Well...

 

I started Martial Arts when I was 4 years old. I watched a lot of Bruce Lee movies and I found him then, and has continued to be, a total inspiration. When my mother heard that there was a Tang Soo Do demonstration in the village I was living in, she took me down to watch. I joined up soon after.

 

I took the to art instantly, and started training 6, sometimes 7, times a week. By the time I was 8, I had reached by 1st Dan Black Belt proper and was the youngest in British Tang Soo Do to do so.

 

I continued to develop rapidly. By the time I was 12 years old, I had attained by 2nd Dan Black Belt fully and was again the youngest to do so. It was around then, I believe, that I was starting to enter a lot of tournaments. I've never been a competitive person, but I did see it as an opportunity to take my understanding and technical expertise of Martial Arts to a new level. At one point, I was fortunate enough to become the Regional, National, and European Champion. When I entered the World Championships in Florida, USA, I came away 3rd. I was slightly disappointed but what an awesome experience!

 

I started hitting a lot of challenges in my life then, as you do when you're a teenager. My school studies became important, and as had to sacrifice my training time to study, my Karate was starting to degenerate. Soon after my exams were finished, I made a push and got back into serious training.

 

When I was 17, I had achieved my 3rd Dan Black Belt fully and was the youngest in Europe to do so.

 

Soon after that, I was becoming invited to a lot of Masters Seminars where I trained with the top in the World Tang Soo Do Association, including Grandmaster Shin himself. However, the more I attended the more I became disillusioned with what I saw. The higher ranks were all balding, beer-bellied men who had very little physical fitness and did very little but work in their offices doing paperwork and very little martial arts. The way I've always seen it is that the higher up you go, the more of an example you should set, and these guys were not doing that, in my opinion.

 

Upon moving to Leicester for University, I left Tang Soo Do with no regrets. I floated here and there for a while, and when I met my girlfriend Ali, she was training for a couple of years in Shotokan under Sensei Dave Wilkins of ESKA. I was instantly impressed by Sensei Dave and trained with him for a month or two.

 

Then I took a career opportunity and became a full-time student with GKR (Go-Kan-Ryu) Karate. I trained full-time and also sold the Karate as well for a career. I did for a year, attained my 3rd Kyu, became the Midlands Kata Champion, and then ran into some problems in Leicester.

 

I left GKR Karate, and moved up here to Preston where I found Sensei Andy teaching Shotokan. Again I was impressed and started training with him.

 

Now, after almost 20 years of Martial Arts experience, I'm considering starting and teaching my own experience of Martial Arts.

 

Phew.... that went on for longer than anticipated! If you're still with me here, well done! You're patience has clearly been tested!

[Mr. Mike]

still with ya...fun read. Oh yeah, welcome aboard.

[kataman]

hELLO UK

[ninjanurse]

Howdy!

 

 

[Taku-Shimazu]

Konnichiwa.