I began training in Wado-Ryu Karate in 1990 (in my home town of Wolverhampton) with the Elite Karate Association (E.K.A.) under the instruction of Shihan Josh Johnson (currently 7th Dan).

I trained continuously (with the exception of the odd injury and breaks for GCSE, A-Level and Degree exams) and took my first Dan in 1997 passing at the first attempt following a gruelling 2 ½ hour grading.

Leading up to and following my Dan grading I had begun assisting in many lessons, before going on to become an Assistant Instructor within the E.K.A.

In my late teens I flirted with the competition scene, competing in some local tournaments and occasionally venturing onto the national circuit, competing in both kumite and kata.

In mid 2002 my career (as an engineer) brought me to Hull and as such my training with the E.K.A. could, unfortunately no longer continue. I would however like to take this opportunity to express my sincere thanks to Shihan Josh Johnson and the instructors of the E.K.A. to whom I owe a great deal for my achievements to date.

Determined not to give up my training, once I had settled in to my new job, home and city I began to look for a new Wado-Ryu club in the local area. An internet search revealed a number of clubs in the area, one club in particular had an informative website and a chief instructor with am impressive CV, namely Chikara Wado-Ryu.

I arranged a visit to watch a training session, from the moment I entered the Dojo I was made most welcome, the standard of instruction was akin to the high standard to which I have been accustomed and in addition the class seemed to be enjoying training (training although demanding should be enjoyable). My training with Chikara Wado-Ryu began officially the following week (Sept 2004), where I have remained since.