In spite of this I was enjoying every minute of my taekwondo training and graduated to black belt in 1974. The grading exam consisted of patterns and sparring but also destruction including breaking a brick, smashing tiles and breaking 3 inches of pine with both right and left legs.
I competed in lots of tournaments and in 1976 I won the British championships and also became a British internationsl champion. The highest level I competed in was the ITF European championships in Holland where our team won bronze. They included Bob Howe, Mick Fanthorpe, Vince Cooper, Bob Sergiew, Ron Sergiew and David Helstrip.