Growing up in the 1970’s an average boy could not avoid seeing Bruce Lee films. After watching my first Bruce Lee movie at 9 years old, I asked my father to let me join a Karate club. (Karate, kung-fu… I did not know the difference, and minute details did not bother me at all).
I promised not to misbehave at school if he lets me go to Karate classes! My father smiled and agreed.
We visited a sports hall nearby and they had Karate classes! But… they were fully booked!
Fortunately, they had places for another martial art – Judo, and I could try it if I wanted.
I was the youngest kid at the Judo club and approximately half the size of the next smallest person. And I loved it! But after 4 years of fun, hard training and some competition success, I decided to leave it. Afterwards, I went on to try various other sports.
Time flew by as I finished school and university, changed jobs, changed addresses and finally settled with my family in Bedford.
And then, one day, my 10 years old son asked me if he could go to Karate classes with his friend.
Of course, I smiled and agreed.
On the way to the first training session I realised that my childhood curiosity about martial arts never really left me. (And even more so, I didn’t feel like waiting for my son in front of the dojo for hours). So I asked my son if it is ok for me to join the Karate classes too. He was adamant that something so utterly embarrassing could never, ever happen!
So, we arrived to the CFTS Kempston dojo and Renshi Kidby met us at the door with a frown and authoritative voice: ”Who are you?” Without waiting for a proper answer he then said: “Both of you, take your shoes off and get in.” You can’t argue with a Sensei in his dojo, can you?
That was in 2013. Since then, two of my sons practised Karate for several years and left to pursue different interests. I decided to carry on and in November 2021 graded for Shodan.
I like all aspects of Karate, physical and philosophical. But kata and body mechanics are my favourite. Kumite is probably my least favoured part. So, it is a bit ironic that in CFTS competitions I fared a relatively better in kumite than in the kata.
I am now hoping to prove myself worthy of the black belt, and I’m looking forward to new challenges on this road of learning and self-improvement.
And I still enjoy watching a martial arts film from time to time.
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