LONDON JUDO 1972 – 1975
SAXBY ROAD COMMUNITY CENTRE, LONDON KUNG-FU 1973 - 1974
1975 – 1977
GO-JU-RYU 1977-1980
SHOTOKAN KARATE 1983 – 1987
1987 - 1993
FUDO-SHIN-RYU 21ST CENTURY KARATE 2002
LONDON JUDO 1972 – 1975
My first taste of Martial Arts was when I was 15 years old.
I had left school but decided I needed to brush up on my English as my spelling and grammar were pretty bad. I signed up for evening classes at Effra School in London, South London as I lived just a few miles away in West Norwood. During the second week when we broke for tea, as I was passing the gym on my way to the canteen, I could hear lots of shouting and thumping sounds. Being the curious person that I am I peeped through the door and saw about twenty geezers (as I called guys in those days) wearing ‘white pyjamas’ with long coloured belts around their waists. ‘Crash!’ - one guy was thrown to the ground landing on the large mats which covered the gym floor then another very big man went up in the air and landed by the door from where I was watching. I jumped back and continued on my way to the canteen. Before I reached the end of the corridor another gym door opened in front of me and a small West Indian man with a big grin on his face, grabbed my arm, guided me into the gym and invited me to join in. I was just about to explain why I was at the school when he introduced himself, “Hi, I’m, George Stevenson and I’m the Judo Instructor.” Before I could hightail it out of there I was surrounded by the other students all introducing themselves to me – even when I said that I had no ‘pyjamas’ he opened a large locker piled high with what I now know are called Gis and said “This one will fit you nicely!”. Needless to say, that was the end of my English lessons and the beginning of my Martial Arts Career.
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SAXBY ROAD COMMUNITY CENTRE, LONDON KUNG-FU 1973 - 1974
I trained under Sensei George Stevenson, 5th Degree Black Belt at London Judo for two years and graded up to Brown Belt. Whilst training a new craze called ‘Kung-Fu’ hit the martial arts scene mainly due to a film staring Bruce Lee called ‘Enter the Dragon’. It was some time before I went to see the film because I had already seen a movie called ‘Karate Killers’ with people jumping over buildings and spinning around on wires, which was a great disappointment to me. Eventually I went to see ‘Enter the Dragon’ and was amazed, to say the least, and completely fascinated by the fantastic moves, the versatility and speed of Bruce Lee’s style of martial arts.. I saw the film six more times.
This led me to approach my Judo Sensi and enquire what he thought of Bruce Lee. He said that the film was good as long at you didn’t think what was on the silver screen was real life. Noting my interest he asked if I would like to learn Kung-Fu because he was also an instructor in this form of martial arts which he had been teaching for many years, “But remember,” he said, “Bruce Lee is a movie star and our school is not a picture show.”
Whilst continuing with my Judo I also enrolled in Sensei Stevenson’s Kung Fu Class and boy was he right! It was very tough but I managed to survive fat lips, black eyes and bruised ribs for over a year.
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1975 – 1977
Unfortunately all this came to an end following the death of my Father when I was 17 years old and I moved out of London to the suburbs in Hemel Hempstead where I had other relatives. There were no local Judo or Kung Fu schools in the area and I so I went to the local sports centre and worked out on weights. I was becoming interested in body building (‘pumping iron’ as they call it now) but I did find it monotonous as you worked out alone.
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GO-JU-RYU 1977-1980
Luckily, a work colleague told me of a Go-Ju-Ryu Karate club near to where I lived which had only been going for six months and the Sensei ,Tom Hill, 1st Degree Black Belt came originally from Wigan in Lancashire. So off I went to ‘have a go!’
If I had thought the training at London Kung Fu was hard, it was a bed of roses compared to Go-Ju-Ryu! The training was more like the SAS Army. We had to march up and down with iron bars on our shoulders; then there were two short poles each with a lump of concrete on one end which we held one in each hand whilst we did arm exercises, punches and blocks again and again until you thought your arms would drop off.
Whilst doing specialised kicks we had leg weights strapped to our ankles and after doing hundreds and hundreds of these you could barely move and we left the Dojo walking like Donald Duck, sometimes sounding like him too because of the hundreds of loud kiais (shouts) we had to do. And that was not all! Not only did we do hard circuit training but also thousands of press-ups, sit-ups and squat thrusts. Then we would go up and down the Dojo, up and down, kicking and punching with a grown man sitting on our shoulders and when we free styled, if we didn’t block we got hit! At the end of the lesson we would all compare our cuts and bruises.
Finally on a Sunday morning we would have to do a five mile run followed by blocking each others arms and legs until they were black and blue and then doing sit-ups with a medicine ball being dropped on your stomach! It was like being trained for a war! Not surprisingly I failed my first belt but swore I would never fail again and I never did. I passed my examination for yet another Brown Belt in Go-Ju Karate and then a new job opportunity forced me to move.
For a couple of years I moved around training at various clubs and then in 1983 I moved to Watford.
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SHOTOKAN KARATE 1983 – 1987
Now living on the outskirts of Watford I went to the local Citizens Advice Bureau to find out where there was a martial arts school. The lady gave me the telephone number of a Sensei, V. Lee 4th Degree Black Belt who trained in the Shotokan Karate style and after speaking to him I decided to go and have a look. I took my Gi with me just in case.
I was given a warm welcome by one Sensei, a 1st Degree Black Belt, but Sensei Lee never even acknowledged me! After changing I knelt in the corner of the Dojo waiting to be invited onto the Dojo floor. Another very old Sensei with grey hair came over to me and bowed. I stood and bowed. “Brown Belt,” he said looking at my blood stained Gi. I said that it wasn’t my blood, trying to make a joke, but he didn’t even smile, just led me away from the other students to the back of the Dojo and asked me what style I had trained in. I told him of the three styles of martial arts I had learnt and the belts I had attained over the years. Pointing to a white line on the floor he said he would like to see what I could do. I stood on the line in the ‘ready’ position and he started shouting instructions to me in Japanese. I didn’t understand a word and said, “Excuse me Sensei” but he just ignored me and carried on shouting in Japanese. Finally I bowed and said to the Sensei that I had not trained in Japanese only English. At the other end of the hall all the students were being instructed in Japanese. I was then given instructions in English and after half an hour the Sensei said that he could see I had been trained in martial arts but that Shotokan Karate was a very different style from what I was used to. He told me to come back the following week and that I was to wear a White Belt. We then bowed to each other. The friendly Sensei, whom I now know as Les Atkins, came over and congratulated me saying that the Sensei was impressed. “Impressed” I said, “He wants me to come to lessons wearing a White Belt.” Les told me not to worry as the Chief Sensei was half Orientals and it’s just his way but, he is a great teacher. He told me the following story which was to be my guide through the following years.
‘Many years ago in Japan a Japanese student went to a Dojo and met the Sensei. The student was bragging and showing off trying to impress the Sensei so that he could be taught more The Sensei, who was a very old and wise master, said to the young student, “Have a cup of tea,” and began pouring the tea into the cup until it started going over the top of the cup onto the table. “Sensei, Master, you are spilling the tea,” said the student, but the Master just kept pouring. Finally the Master emptied the tea onto the floor and put the empty cup back on the table. He said to the surprised student, “Your cup was overflowing so there was nothing I could teach you but now the cup is empty I can being your lesson!”
Needless to say I arrived the following week wearing a White Belt. I trained at Washide Shotokan Karate club for three years and by the time I reached 1st Degree Black Belt I was training 6 days a week. I took one double grade, Brown and White and Brown and Two Whites, the last grade before Black Belt.
I loved Shotokan Karate and still think it is the best style in the world! I was hungry for more knowledge and was very impatient. Even though I had fought locally and students from the American Army base I wanted to learn more. After speaking to the Sensei, (with whom I had probably only conversed with a dozen times during my training) he advised me to ‘spread my wings’ and to train in as many different Dojos as possible. He said, “We have laid the foundations and now it is up to you to build the house!” So that’s what I did.
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1987 - 1993
I started training at Sensei Enoda’s (8th Degree Black Belt) Dojo in Martial Street in the West End of London and became a member of Enoda’s K.U.G.B. (Karate Union of Great Britain) which is also affiliated with the world famous J.K.A. (Japanese Karate Association). Sensei Enoda was the head of the K.U.G.B. of Britain and Europe. Whilst training another opportunity presented itself.
I became an instructor purely by chance. A few martial artists, friends of mine, asked if I would like to run an adult club once a week teaching real life street fighting, advance throwing and groundwork, attack and defence. I hired a hall at the Social Centre in South Oxhey for advanced martial arts, initially with friends who were Brown and Black belts. It was extremely realistic and awesome training.
However members of the public kept coming in and asking if they could learn self defence and although I kept saying that I was only running the club for friends, again and again I was approached by people asking the same question. Eventually the manager of the centre asked me if I would run an adult beginners class once a week and after a great deal of thought I agreed to give it a go. My eldest adult student started at the age of sixty seven and achieved Purple Belt. I was extremely proud of old Alf.
The classes went very well and a few months later the manager then asked if I would open a children’s class. Not having taught children before and being another new experience I agreed. Much to my amazement I really enjoyed teaching the children who started from the age of eight. The club ran successfully two days a week for five years.
Whilst running my own club, during the rest of the week (work commitments allowing) and on many weekends I attended seminars at places like Crystal Palace and had the privilege of training with the world famous Red Triangle from Liverpool and Terry O’Neal, Bob Pointon, Andy Sherry and Frank Brennon. I also trained on courses with Senseis from Japan members of the J.K.A. like the legendary Osaka and Tanaka and locally I joined and trained with Sensei Paul Perry at his Dojo in Watford. Still eager for more experience, I joined yet another Dojo and trained at Senshinkae, although I was not overly impressed with the training here, and then I joined the S.K.I. (Shotokan International) which in turn gave me the opportunity to train under the one and only Kanazawa Sensei 9th Degree Black Belt who was undoubtedly the best and more famous Karate Sensei the world has ever known.
I met and trained under Sensei Alex Regal at Luton. Sensei Alex also had a 2nd Degree Black Belt in Akido and I trained in this style of martial arts for a year. Meanwhile, in 1990 I then took my exam for 2nd Degree Black Belt at Crystal Palace and at the end of a gruelling week of training with the J.K.A I passed my 2nd Degree Black Belt.
In 1991 a good friend of mine at the time, Sensei Clive Evans 1st Degree Black Belt in Shotokan Karate and also a 2nd Degree Black Belt in Judo, opened a new Judo club and so I went back into training Judo for a year. I was invited by a personal friend of Sensei Evans, Sensei Pete Wilcox, who was a 3rd Degree Black Belt in Ju-Jitsu to train at his Dojo which I did and learnt the art of Ju-Jitsu for a year
Notwithstanding all the above I would also train once a week at Hartspring Karate under Sensei Barry Repinton, 3rd Degree Black Belt and also at North Watford Shotokan Karate. As you can see I walked, ate, talked and slept martial arts!
My only regret is that I didn’t advance my competition career but wisdom comes with age and you can’t put ‘an old head on young shoulders.’ I was reprimanded because I could not resist fighting with the knowledge I had gained in mixed martial arts. During the competitions I would use tactics like throws or hold-downs but the main reason why my career did not advance in this direction was because I could not tolerate the politics between various martial arts associations, especially in major tournaments when you would see grown men arguing like spoilt children about whose student should have gained a point. Unfortunately it is a known fact that this happens in many competitive fields such as skating, ballet, dog shows and many more.
Regretfully, in 1993 the Social Centre was closed and demolished leaving a lot of disappointed students not to mention the local community and schools who missed our demonstrations at their fetes and fun days. Added to this, whilst taking my 3rd Degree Black Belt at J.K.A/K.U.G.B at Crystal Palace I sustained a serious knee injury at the very end of my grading in the free style fighting that rendered me unable to teach or train for a few years.
However, you can’t keep a good man down and as soon as I felt I was able to I continued my training revisiting all my old schools and generally keeping my hand in whilst I decided what I wanted to do. After several years I realised that I would never be able to train as hard as I had in order to compete in competitions and win the free style because of my knee injury but there was one thing I could do and do well - teach!
Finally a year and a half ago I was given the all clear to train and teach. Karate is in my blood it was time for me to resume my career.
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FUDO-SHIN-RYU 21ST CENTURY KARATE 2002
I had just opened a small club at Ruislip Methodist Church which had been running for about six months when I first learnt of the E.F.C School of Excellence founded in the U.S.A and now worldwide. It was very exciting. They had new and fresh ideas for the martial arts without politics or interference - great ideas for teaching children and adults – inexhaustible information and help from all around the globe and the interaction of all styles pulling and working together for the future of martial arts. Not only did they teach kicking, punching and striking but confidence building, good character, sincerity, respect of parents, teachers, law and order, etiquette, and it’s great for the spirit of the community. I was convinced that this form of martial arts was the way forward in this difficult world to teach our children how to defend themselves and to become responsible and caring adults.
Before committing myself to this new venture I attended many meetings and seminars within the UK and spoke to lots of Senseis who were now part of the EFC and to the Directors of the EFC itself. I then decided to fly to Florida to visit different Dojos and and to watch and learn the way they taught various styles of martial arts and how it differed from what I had learnt and taught over many years. I then drove to Fort Lauderdale to visit one of the most successful Dojos in America and came away full of ideas and enthusiasm so that three weeks later on my return to England I became a member of the Education Funding Company and my new Black Belt School of martial Arts was born
I am committed one hundred percent to teaching the children who attend my school. They make new friends and enjoy their lessons. Each and every one of them is an individual and they all have different weaknesses and strengths. It is my job to bring out the best in them not only in teaching them self defence and life skills but so that they can participate as part of a team and that the etiquette they learn in the Dojo becomes part of their every day life.
Sensei Colin 5th Degree Black Belt
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