Angela

My father, Norman Sangwin had been introduced to Kung Fu and Ju Jitsu at the age of 12 in 1940 and it had become more of a way of life. My mother had taken up Judo after meeting my father, and both my older brother and sister learnt Judo before me. By the time I arrived on the scene learning Martial Arts was a forgone conclusion for us. The " judo room" was an excellent place for us to play as children (like a padded cell!) and when we didn’t play - and we fought, but to strict rules ( of the kodokan variety ) My brothers, sister and I rarely disagreed - it wasn’t worth it ! In East Yorkshire, Judo was the in vogue Martial Art then and my father belonged to the Amateur Judo Association, Karate was not well known and Chinese Martial Arts were unheard of. Though, by the mid sixties I used to remember my father teaching my brother something called Kung Fu - but he was 9 years older then me so I did not take much notice, I was too busy trying and mostly failing to win Judo competitions. I managed to come second once at an A.J.A championships in 1967, - they awarded me a bar of chocolate I refused to accept it and sulked - I wanted the medallion on the coloured ribbon !!! Still my mother pacified me by giving me her medallion that she had won that year, I still have it now.

By 1972 my father had stopped teaching judo, Organisational politics of Judo had left him in temporary retirement, we moved to the countryside and my younger brother Richard and I watched the unfolding series of Kung Fu on TV. I remembered my father teaching my older brother Kung Fu years before and Richard and I begged him to teach it to us, he agreed and set up classes firstly in Hornsea in the Church Hall, then Sutton Park in Hull the popularity of the system my father taught led to the Formation of the Martial Arts Associated Clubs in 1974 a Multi style Organisation with my father at the helm. This paved the way for my first Black belt in 1977. I worked hard and found a greater freedom in Kung Fu then I had done in Judo - but in achieving this it made me review what I had already achieved in Judo and I went on to take my black belt in Judo and then Ju Jitsu in 1979. My Martial Arts career took a back seat while I studied Nursing then Midwifery in the early 80s. I always went home on my days off while I studied in Scarborough and continued practicing Kung Fu and Ju Jitsu. By now in the early 80s Karate and Aikido Instructors and their classes and had united under the banner of the M.A.A.C and joined my father and were keen to cross train and learn new techniques So I often accompanied my father when visiting member Martial Arts Classes. I remember once visiting a Wada Ryu Karate school, and my father was demonstrating a combination move of strikes and locks to the line of karate students - I was the uke ( fall guy) Karate schools practiced on wooden floored halls and had no need of Judo mats. I I had no idea of what my father was going to do until it was too late and I flew through the air to a resounding crack and I executed a loud breakfall on the wood floor to the gasp of the karate students who liked to keep on their feet. Dad smiled as he knew I would land well - my hand stung - but I just narrowed my eyes back at him - thanks!!

In 1982 we were wanting to run an week long training course outside of Hull, and so I walked in to the Grand Hotel in Scarborough and enquired as to the possibilities of running it there. It turned out to be an epic that lasted successfully for almost 20 Years firstly in Scarborough for 8 years then Southport and Skegness. It was at these training courses that we started to teach the revival system of Katsu to the Dan grades that graduated on these courses. Katsu (some times written Kuatsu) had been traditionally taught to judo and Ju Jitsu dan grades for centuries. My father had taught my brothers sister & I all the moves and points required to revive from knock outs, how to push energy ( Ki) and to relieve pain from acute trauma occurring during Martial Arts training activities for as long as I could remember. It was the beginning of structured training in Katsu and it found many eager students wanting to learn the Healing systems of the martial Arts. Later to develop into Zen Shin Katsu -a system much less aggressive but able to help a wider variety of health problems not just what befell Martial Artists!!

By the mid eighties I had finished my nursing and midwifery studies and my desire to travel had overtaken me - I decided to take a year or so out and work in Australia, that year out turned into 12 !! I started teaching Ju Jitsu almost as soon as I moved to Australia - a small class in Frankston Victoria. It was not long before I met my future husband, Wayne Short. Who had enthusiastically studied Shaolin Ch’uan Fa Kung Fu for eleven years and immersed himself in the Chinese language and culture. Speaking Cantonese and a love of Chinese cuisine Wayne later told me that he always thought that he would marry someone from an Eastern Country - Well, from Melbourne if you headed North and turned east from Japan I suppose that you would get to East Yorkshire eventually ! We were married 5 months later and worked together teaching and promoting Martial Arts in Victoria for 12 years.

We developed the World Budo Kai in Australia, as a sister organisation to the U.M.A.I.G in Great Britain and soon attracted instructors of Karate, Kick Boxing, Weaponry and Wing Chun who shared common ideals in Martial Arts. We returned regularly to England to attend Budo courses during this time. When in 1991 my father visited Australia and The World Budo Kai Australia hosted a Multi Style event in his Honour . I was awarded my 3^rd Degree in Kung Fu. And 5^th Dan In Ju Jitsu. As a female Martial Arts instructor I wanted to promote sensible self defence for women and developed a popular program which Wayne and I taught to over one thousand 15 -18 year olds each year, in over 22 Secondary Colleges in Melbourne from 1991 - 1997 As well as our normal Ju Jitsu and Kung Fu classes.

Though was still heavily involved in the Martial Arts teaching at Budo courses and the Annual training event for the UMA and World Budo Kai. I had not anticipated the events of March 2000, When Wayne died suddenly of a heart attack at the age of 43. I had 3 young children and all Wayne’s classes and Students were frozen in numbed shock. Wayne was in the Process of trial ling a Preventative Health program for the Ministry of Defence involving Tai Chi and Zen shin Katsu it had been more successful then we could have possibly imagined - but Wayne had gone. I had a job as a Nurse Assessor at N.H.S.Direct and taught Alternative Therapies for the East Riding of Yorkshire Education Department taking up all my spare time . My immediate thought was that the MOD program would be lost but I reconsidered almost immediately and decided to continue on with all that he left - I was approached to continue teaching Tai Chi Ch’uan for the Ministry of Defence’s School of Transport as they did not know of anyone else who had the range of capabilities that they had seen in Wayne. Before his death Wayne had spoken of my knowledge base and expertise in these areas ( I think he set me up!). From there I took over teaching Wayne’s Kung Fu & Tai Chi Ch’uan Students and continued on with the World Budo Kai independently.

Initially in association with my sister Kathleen we became the event organisers for the United Martial Arts International Guild after our father retired from running the Annual Training week in 2000. This event continued in Scarborough October 2002 through to 2004 at The Royal Hotel for two years we had the training week at The Hull Grammar school initially down Cottingham road and then at the Hull Collegiate at Tranby croft. Then finally we returned to Butlins Skegness for a weekend training course in 2007.
Now the training /Budo courses are organised by soke Colin Sangwin at the Beverley Leisure Centre every 3 months.

I met my husband David O'Connor in 2004 and to our surprise we found that our sons Michael and David then both aged 15, both attended the same Kung fu class in Hull (It surprised them too!!) We married in 2005 endeavouring to amalgamate 6 children, Kung Fu, Zen shin Katsu and Tai chi under one roof at 11 North street in Leven.

Over the past 5 years the amounts of children have varied and grown up, Only the teaching of Kung Fu, Tai Chi and Zen shin Katsu remain a constant in many ways constantly evolving with the times and developing as popularity and the benefits of such ancient arts are recognised through both the young and old.

I still teach Tai Chi and am the Complementary Therapist for the Defence school of Transport at Leconfield for the past 10 years,promoting health and wellbeing through these therapies supported whole heartedly by my
husband David who along with my brother Richard has successfully passed external exams not only in Zen shin Katsu, but anatomy and physiology and Holistic Massage.

Angela O'Connor
July 2010