Ray Brown 4th Dan
My interest in Martial Arts began back in the early 1970’s at the height of Bruce Lee‘s popularity.
After watching films such as The Big Boss, Way of the Dragon and Enter the Dragon I was impressed by the power, speed and agility shown by Bruce Lee in his fight scenes, this inspired me to join a local Karate club held at the Y.M.C.A. in Norwich.
At this time I was also a member of three football teams and the training times for these and Karate quite often clashed and as football was my main interest my first introduction to Karate lasted only a few months.
My re-introduction to Karate in February 2001 happened purely by chance. My son Conor then aged 6 asked if he could join a Karate club, coincidently after seeing clips of Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan films.
Now living in Horsham I did some research to find suitable local Martial Arts clubs, picking out Horsham Karate Club run by Sensei Paul Elliott. I took Conor along to watch one of the training sessions and was impressed by the style (Wado Ryu) the training method and the fact that the class was made up of children of a similar age. And so, after watching Conor train for several weeks, I decided to enroll in the senior class.
When I Joined Horsham Karate Club I had no thought of grading let alone obtaining a coveted black belt, my intention was simply to train, learn a new skill, hopefully gain fitness and just see where things led.
I discovered the style of Wado Ryu suited me and the more I trained the more I found myself relishing the challenge of obtaining the next belt. But even after obtaining 1st Kyu in October 2004 I still didn't think I would attain the standard required to obtain 1st Dan, no doubt reinforced by injuries I was starting to pick up including a broken finger and a dislocated shoulder.
After more than a year of training, during which time I managed to stay injury free, and with the encouragement of my Sensei (Paul Elliott 8th Dan) I felt ready to grade for 1st Dan which I obtained in December 2005.
For me gaining a Dan grade was a personal achievement but I believe that this is simply the end of one phase in a much longer process that is only limited by your own ambition and commitment.
At the time of writing I am concentrating on assisting Sensei Paul with the training and Martial Arts development of junior grades. This, I have found, is helping me with my own development and understanding of Wado Ryu.
