At the age of 35, I started training in 1991 with T.A.S.K. at Huntingdon.

I had previously been quite ill and I found that training in Karate helped me get better. I achieved 2nd Kyu but then had a relapse and had to just train at home for some time.

I then heard about the C.F.T.S. club at Buckden and came along to watch. I started training gradually with C.F.T.S. and have not looked back since. I wish I had found Shotokan Karate earlier in my life but you are never too old to start.

This might sound surprising for a Martial Art, but I find that at times, I achieve great peace of mind when training.

I appreciate and enjoy all the positive things training brings to me, Kata being my favourite.

As for my hobbies, when I am not training or reading about Martial Arts, I am a Ham Radio operator, using many various ways to communicate with other operators around the world. I also enjoy repairing/modifying/tuning old private mobile radios onto the Ham frequencies. Having an Electronic/Electrical working background I can turn my hand to most things and get great satisfaction building/repairing/playing around with computers and networking.

Other physical activities I enjoy are walking, cycling and swimming (at one time I worked part time as a lifeguard).

For work, currently, I'm employed as a Service Engineer, maintaining and repairing Fire Alarm Systems located in Cambridgeshire, Suffolk and Norfolk.