[KF25] Member Interview: DarthPenguin

[Patrick]

For our 25th birthday celebration, we're publishing an interview series with members from our community.

Member Profile

@DarthPenguin (View Profile)

Joined: December 3, 2021

Posts: 1,423

KarateForums.com Awards: Member of the Year (2024), Community Spirit Award (2025), Funniest Member of the Year (2024), Health and Fitness Contributor of the Year (2023), and New Member of the Year (2022)

Interview

Where are you from?

Glasgow, Scotland.

Why did you get started in the martial arts?

In common with a lot of people, I originally got started due to having issues being picked on. Started to train a lot from a very young age (trained 3-4 times a week from age 5) and found it was very useful in removing being bullied/picked on!

Why have you continued to practice them?

Mainly because I enjoy them, to be honest. Have had the odd period of time out due to injuries, having kids, etc., and the resultant time impact but have managed to get back to them and still enjoy the training (though I do have to remind myself I am no longer in my 20s!).

Please briefly describe the styles of martial arts that you have taken.

Over the years i have trained in quite a few styles, though I prefer to focus on those I am currently training in as I can see those being the ones I stick with from now on! Nowadays, I train in Shotokan (which I trained in when I was a lot younger but have returned and started again from white belt), Judo, and BJJ.

What is your grade or level?

Currently back up to 1st kyu in Shotokan, 6th kyu in Judo, and blue belt in BJJ.

Do you teach?

Nope, not good enough in my view. I have annoyingly high standards in whom I believe should be teaching!

What are your first memories from training?

A couple. I remember being a small boy at Shotokan training with a boy who had a plastic arm due to amputation near the shoulder and whenever he blocked, it hurt a LOT. I also remember being 7 and passing my brown belt under a well known Japanese Instructor and looking around to see it was literally myself in the middle of the floor at a large sports centre with spectators allowed. It was rather nerve wracking, and I still remember it! The 80s were very different!

What has been the highlight of your training?

I don't really tend to think of training that way - it is something I enjoy, and there are always good and bad parts. Most memorable part, though, was the first seminar I attended taught by Rickson Gracie and being very pleasantly surprised with how approachable he was and how much he genuinely seemed to care about people learning from his teaching.

What do you do when you're not training?

I try to get back into some kind of shape by lifting, etc., plus am kept busy with the kids. Both of my kids are into martial arts with my eldest being very into Judo, so that keeps me busy, too.

What do you do for a living?

I'm an actuary.

Who are or were your martial arts heroes?

Film-wise, I always liked the old Jackie Chan films and personally preferred him to Bruce Lee with that then over time changing towards a preference for Jet Li and then Donnie Yen, particularly his more realistic films.

Real fighter-wise, I always liked Shogun Rua and Fedor Emelianenko a lot, plus Bas Rutten was always amazing. I have also always liked Chris Eubank (the boxer) and a few others. I have always really liked watching combat sports, too, so if I was to list all the fighters I liked then i would be here all day

What are your favorite martial arts films and/or shows?

I don't watch them as often anymore (closest I get nowadays is anime like Dragon Ball or One Piece with my son), but my favourite martial arts film flip flops between Ong Bak and The Raid. Both are awesome.

Where do you see yourself going in your martial arts journey in the next few years?

I am due to sit for my Shotokan Shodan this year so hopefully I pass that fine! Longer term, I would love to get to Sandan in Shotokan and ideally also Judo and BJJ black. It would be a tough ask (and likely hurt a lot on the way), but it would mean a lot to me.

Do you remember how you found KarateForums.com? Why did you join?

I cant remember to be honest - I think I was Googling with something I was curious about and the site came up. I had a read and was interested and then signed up!

Why did you stay?

I found it quite interesting and there were a lot of really useful bits of information available.

You've been a member since December 3, 2021. During this time, how has KarateForums.com changed in your eyes, if at all?

The general atmosphere and culture seems unchanged though it does feel like people have been a little less active over the last couple of years. Seems to have taken a little bit of an upturn recently though!

How, if at all, have you used KarateForums.com in your classes or training?

I have asked a few questions in the past about additional flexibility work and some of the responses were really useful and pointed me in interesting directions, though I still do currently have the flexibility of a steel bar!

Are there any members here who have had a particular influence or impact on you?

I find @bushido_man96 to often have a lot of interesting stuff to say. He seems to have a very similar outlook on the martial arts in general, and things like physical fitness alongside them, to mine, so U often get a lot out of reading his posts. Plus, he is a lot more experienced than me so it is always informative!

Edited Wednesday at 10:35 PM by Patrick