Have Sword Will Travel

The Japanese ideal is to find something you enjoy doing, that you are good at, that you can make money from and which does not harm society.

In my case it was martial arts

In a Glasgow park on a sunny day I saw a group of people who were barefoot and were wearing white pyjamas and belts of various colours. They were kicking and punching into the    empty air. I correctly assumed that they were practicing karate.

I signed up and started training3 days a week.

I was 17 years old and was starting a law degree.

I was awarded my firsts degree black belt and a law degree three years later.

I took up Tai Chi. The teacher was a dancer. It was obvious that she didn’t know what se was doing. I bought a few Tai Chi books They were unconvincing. The only solution was to go to the source. But I had no money no contacts and couldn’t speak Chinese.

Then I chanced upon an ad recruiting inspectors for the Royal Hong Kong Police. The money was great and as an expatriate officer. I would be taught Chinese intensively.

At the Police Training School became friends with the Chief Physical Training Officer, who introduced me to the top Tai Chi master in Hong Kong.

It took me 5 years of training to become Hong Kong full contact champion and finally South East Asian Open Weight Champion. I stayed 9 years learning all I could. Then I moved to London and started a new career.  Most of my early students were Afro Caribbean. They were great. Gradually I became successful.

I wrote articles then books on Tai Chi. I travelled all over making Tai Chi friends.

I was diagnosed with Parki0nson’s disease in 2010, but still train every day.

My new book ‘Wild Colonial Boy’ tells my story.

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