Master Roy Bertrand VIIIth Dan

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At school I was extremely athletic; 100metre, 200metre and long jump champion, captain of school athletic team and regional long jump champion. For a guy who was a lot smaller than his peers that was quite a feat. With the explosion of the martial art films in the early 70’s, any form of Martial Art seemed exciting. I started judo at 13, moved from judo to karate at 15 and toyed with a variety of martial arts; ju-jitsu, aikido, wing-chun etc.

One day I was driving past a back street church hall and saw a picture of a man performing a flying sidekick. I screeched the car to a halt leapt out and thought ‘Wow!! I’d love to do that!!’ I memorised the days and time and turned up at the next available class to watch. I was extremely impressed by the Instructor, Mr Peter Saunders, but my arrogance and self-importance were so great that I thought I was better than everyone in the class and couldn’t wait to prove it.

At the very next class I was ready to out exercise everyone. That lasted about 15 minutes. I’d over-estimated my ability and under estimated theirs. This wasn’t the last time I made that mistake. By the end of the class I realised my limitations were many, amongst which were; flexibility, fluidity, dexterity, stamina, timing. After that first class I knew this is what I was looking for. My fierce determination and competitive spirit saw me resolve to be the best student in the school and be as good if not better than my Instructor.

This was no idle boast. It was a promise I made to myself. Every student was a rival, in the nicest possible way. I broke down their strengths and their weaknesses and made plans to combat them. I trained every day for at least 1 – 2hours. Two years and nine months later I became the schools’ first black belt student and was promoted second in a tough grading of 40 students by GrandMaster Rhee Ki-Ha 9th Dan OCM.

My original reason for starting Taekwon-Do was selfish, now I feel they are selfless. I wish Taekwon-Do to make a positive difference to all of my students, allowing them to mine the hidden depths of their being and truly recognise their untapped veins of talent.

In our overview I have highlighted some of the many benefits that Taekwon-Do has to offer. I am sure if you join our family you too will experience these plus many more benefits too numerous to mention.

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