My Journey to Black Belt

by  Mathew Farrell - December 2007 

My interest in the martial arts started in the mid 1970’s. At that time, like countless of young people throughout the country, I was influenced by numerous Kung Fu films which often appeared in the cinema and on television. I was particularly influenced by the Kung Fu series which ran on a regular basis on television and featured David Carradine. He played an enigmatic figure, namely a Shaolin monk wandering through 19^th Century USA. I was greatly influenced by this figure.  

At age 15 I started attending a Judo club at our local community centre on a Friday. I was required to buy my own Judo kit; at 15 I only had a paper round which paid £2 a week, and as a family, we did not have a great deal of money to spare. Fortunately, my mother was and still is, a great talent with the sewing machine, and she took it on herself to make me a light weight suit made of canvas. The kit was light yellow in colour and very strong indeed. I stood out in class, although I did not mind as I felt like a Shaolin hero: a stranger in a strange land.  

The Judo class itself was run by well meaning volunteers who wanted to make a difference. Remarkably, we practiced without mats, and therefore the usual Judo throws were out and was replaced by lots of floor work. I guess the reason we did not have mats was due to the fact that the club did not have a great deal of money at the time. The community centre had to cater for two large council estates.  

After a while, I started looking for an alternative club, as I wanted to move away from Judo. Through word of mouth, I encountered a Kyokushinkai Karate club located at the other side of town. The club itself was large and well attended. The style was very hard and appealed to many of my peers on the council estate. I began attending the class, usually taking the last two lines of the class which were dedicated to the beginners. However, I soon tired of the Kata routine which seemed cold and clinical to me. My brother John, on the other hand, continued attending the classes, and he achieved a high level in the style. 

I continued looking for a martial art which could fire my imagination, and I eventually found the right club one day whilst browsing at my local library. I came across card advertising for a local Aikido club. The club had a picture of a man wearing a Hakama and confronting two evil looking assailants. This image seemed to capture my imagination.  

I started attending the advertised club, which ran on a Friday. The class was taught by an extraordinary teacher who had an open mind with regard to martial arts. The group did not operate in a hierarchal structure which I had previously encountered. We were all encouraged to wear a Hakama and to study the book entitled Aikido and the Dynamic Sphere written by Westbrook and Ratti.  

The teacher made it clear that grading was not important and he demonstrated this by only wearing a brown belt. Black belt students regularly attended, although it was still evident by all of us this brown belt wearing teacher was a master of his art.  Practicing Aikido in a Hakama, was a great experience for me and proved to be great boost to my confidence as a novice in the style. 

I practiced this particular type of Aikido for over two years and it proved to be beneficial for my mental and physical development; I was now 17-18 years of age. The type of Aikido we practiced was geared to building strength and speed and developing Ki abilities through exercises such as the un-bendable arm. Unfortunately, after two years, I became influenced by friends interested in going to pubs and drinking, and I also took to heavy cigarette smoking, and I soon drifted away from Aikido and the club. This is something which I now regret doing.  

It was not until my early thirties, over ten years later, that I started taking up martial arts again. By this time, I had moved away from my home town and I had embarked on a history degree as a mature student. I had given up smoking and I was interested in taking up Aikido once more. I wanted to join an inspirational club which could fire up my enthusiasm again. I soon heard about a club in the area which ran a Ki Aikido course. 

However, I was greatly disappointed by the club. The school was headed by an aloof albeit wealthy patron, and run by two black belt Hakama wearing teachers (they were the only ones allowed to wear a Hakama) The classes consisted of very little actual combat and a lot of rather elaborate Ki exercise which was done in a half hearted way. There was a lot of arm and hand shaking, as well as mild breathing exercises which were designed to “release Ki”. I was deeply disillusioned by the whole affair, although I kept coming for many weeks like others in the group, in the hope that things could get better, which it never did. Nevertheless, I eventually left, as I had instinctual sense that this particular martial art would not help me if I got caught up in a conflict situation. 

Fortunately, I soon found another Aikido group run by the University which was based on the Yoshinkan School; this school was founded by Gozo Shioda, a student of Morihei Ueshiba. The Yoshinkan style is a hard style of Aikido, and relies on taking advantage of dynamic movement. It is a practical style and one that is not really geared at developing Ki. The school I attended was run by a serious and focused teacher, who was not too preoccupied by the bruises his students would get at the hands of some of the enthusiast Eastern European senior practitioners of the class. The course did not fire my enthusiasm, as did the Aikido classes of my home town ten years earlier. However, the course was practical and offered me useful physical exercise. I attended intermittently throughout my degree. Once I left University, I stopped attending any martial arts classes. 

It was five years later and nearing my forties, that my thoughts turned to martial arts again. By this time, I had been married and was now divorced, and living in a new town on my own. I was working in a stressful profession, which involved interacting with vulnerable and disturbed adults. I often felt tired after work and I was certainly unfit.  

Fortunately, a good friend of mine called Steve introduced me to a Tai Chi class run by Robert Agar-Hutton in Luton. The group ran on a Wednesday and I took to it immediately. Robert was able to tailor the class on many levels. The most exciting feature of the class was that he taught Tai Chi in a way that could connect to self defence aspects. I was also very interested to hear that Robert was a Black Belt in Karate and that he had developed his own style, namely Protectics Karate Jutsu. 

Robert recognised my interest in martial arts, and consequently, I went on to train at his master class sessions in his dojo. I soon recognised that in many ways I had come home with regard to my martial arts career. Protectics Karate Jutsu is drawn from Robert’s many years of experience in many styles of martial arts. It is a modern style which can be applied equally to the street, or in the pub, as it can at work. I regard it as an intelligent martial art which also uses body language, communication styles and psychology, as a way of dealing with conflict. I was able to use the style successfully in my workplace, as my job involves working in potentially dangerous situations. The style also incorporated various stick and weapon work which was also very useful. 

More importantly there was great emphasis put on building strength and stamina, as well as flexibility which was my Achilles heel. Many a night I would cover tens and even hundreds of sit ups. At times, Robert would incorporate circuit training, weight training and punch bag work to enhance fitness levels in the class. More importantly, it was great working with a teacher who was obviously continuing to develop the style and respected his pupils, and who was not constrained by the usual orthodox practices which often feature in the martial arts world; I found this approach refreshing and inspiring.

Over the next four years and I attended classes as regularly as I could. Throughout my life I have wrestled with a part of me which resists exercise. Fortunately, Robert’s classes, which were initially held once a week and then extended to twice a week, was always a fun experience, and therefore, my inner procrastinating self has not had the excuse to give up the classes. Therefore, I endeavoured with the training, and my efforts were rewarded on 9 July 2007, when I was awarded the 1^st Dan Black Belt in Protectics Karate Jutsu by Robert Agar-Hutton alongside Paul, a long time member of the group.  

Return to Protectics Personal Safety System Training Overview.