Born in Glasgow on 2nd of April 1942, Ian moved to England with his parents in 1955. Educated at Shrewsbury and Cleveland Colleges, he later attended Leeds Polytechnic where he attained degree quali cations in Photo- graphic Science.
In 1960 he was recruited into the MoD Civil Service and was appointed to the G2 Branch (Security and Intelligence) at Headquarters Northern Command, York. Later he was appointed to Headquarters 2nd Division, and deployed with them in exercises in Europe and elsewhere.
He started his Karate training in York in 1964 with the renowned Japanese Karate Master Hirokazu Kanazawa, gaining 1st Dan in 1968 and nally gained his 6th Dan at the Special Dan Course in Bath in 2014.
Over the years, he has been taught by many famous Japanese and British Instructors, including Sensei Keinosuke Enoeda, Katataro Takahashi, Shiro Asano, Hideo Tomita, Masao Kawasoe, Taiji Kase, Hiroshi Shirai, Masatoshi Nakayama, Katsunori Tsuyama, Yukuchi Tabata, Andy Sherry, Terry O’Neill, Bob Poynton, Steve Cattle, Billy Higgins, Bob Rhodes and Frank Brennan.
A motor car incident in 1968 damaged his right hip and knee, and eliminated his competition hopes. He continued to enthu- siastically train, and at the same time, started to study Kobudo and began a lifelong research project into Karate history and associated Martial Arts.
To further his knowledge of the Chinese Martial Arts, he studied Wing Chun with K.T. Chao and appears in his book series ‘Secrets of Wing Chun Kung Fu’. In 1978, He studied Tai Chi Chaun with Yang Ming-Shi, who taught Tai Chi to his original Karate Instruc- tor, Sensei Hirokazu Kanazawa.
He has co-authored three books on Kobudo, and was a contribut- ing author to Fighting Arts Magazine from 1980 to 1998. Through this publication, he built up a network of contacts in the eld of Martial Arts, including Karate Historian Graham Noble, Japanese ‘Samurai’ Historian Stephen Turnbull, and many more in Europe, Australia, Japan and the USA.
His study of traditional Okinawan Weaponry (Kobudo) has also resulted in him being taught by many famous weapon masters, including Teruo Hayashi, Ryusho Sakagami and Kiyoshi Yamazaki. He regularly teaches Karate and Bo-Jutsu throughout the UK and is resident lecturer on the history and philosophy of Karate at the TWC Courses at Lancaster and Torbay.
He is a Registered Expert witness to the Courts on Martial Arts Weaponry and History.
He is head of the KUGB’s Archive and Research Unit, and current Chairman of the KUGB Northern Region.
