1. Born into a Chinese martial arts family. Grandmother completed her theoretical training in Peking Opera broadsword, and participated practically in the warlord and civil strife era of the late Sun Yat Sen republic.

2. Grandmother and Father's village, outside Canton , was called Sung Kai. Thus Father's practice of what might best be called Sung Kai Mantis, an eclectic art, drawn from local influences, and emphasising trapping and ripping, immobilising and pulling principles. My first, though sketchy, practice was with my father.

3. Formal practice begun under Karl Sargent of Budokan New Zealand . This was one of the two largest associations in New Zealand , and I became the Hombu's deputy instructor, won second place in the association's national club championships in kumite, and was a member of its full-contact team. The style taught was a Malaysian Chinese variant of Shotokan, together with sanchin practice and Chinese weapons.

4. After leaving New Zealand in 1976, I trained at numerous London dojo, including those of distinguished teachers, such as Enoeda and Steve Morris, who taught Shotokan and Combat Goju respectively. In the period up to 1983, I studied numerous other styles, including iai and aiki, and two styles of Tai Chi, but had no fixed teacher when I began, in 1980, to teach in southern Africa . Licences to teach and grade at that time originated from the Juko Kai.

5. The most significant influence and tuition since 1983 has been from Roy J. Hobbs and Shian Toma. I have visited Okinawa five times. I made the transition to Seidokan Shorin ryu, and thence to Dentokan, and brought several groups from several nations into association with the style.