I bumped into the six foot five inches Darren at the MAF show in Leicester, “Gerard Turvey said that you might be interested in interviewing me…”  I had been looking to interview an interesting Korean martial arts practitioner for some time and as a Kuk Sool Won Master, tournament champion, personal fitness instructor  and gym manager at Lakenheath Airbase, worldwide seminar instructor, budding actor, and male model Darren looked an interesting prospect.

If you want to know more about gym training routines, what Kuk Sool Won is and Darren’s personal progress through the arts and media, read on…

SR  Hi Darren, can tell the readers a bit about yourself before you got in to the Martial Arts?

DH  Hi Steve, I was born in Bury St Edmunds moved to Mildenhall and went to school there in the village, moving on to a normal secondary education.

SR  What was you like at sports?

DH  I wasn’t too bad at rugby, played goalkeeper at football and was softball team captain.

SR  How did you get into the Martial Arts?

DH  When I was 11 years old I started in Kuk Sool Won under the tutelage of Master Stephen Isaacson in Mildenhall, from the start I knew that was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.

I’ve known Lorraine Box for many years, I’ve watched her successfully follow her dreams, progressing from top world class competitor and World Karate Champion to Chief Instructor of her own 350 strong association and then moving from sport karate on to our Shi Kon traditional training in Wado karate and Yang Family Tai Chi. During that period she has got together with her partner Paul, become a mother of two and they have both now completed the monumental task of building their own full time, professional training centre in Corfe Mullen in Dorset.

Lorraine’s tournament record is:

This interview was conducted in 2008

Eagle Claw Kung Fu is one of those styles that you could easily build a martial arts movie about.  It has the lineage and history that any martial artist will enjoy reading.  The words Kung Fu mean ‘time and effort’ and Julian Dale has certainly put in the time and effort required to attain a level of mastery in the art.  He has sought out the top instructors in the Eagle Claw lineage and travelled to get the required instruction from them.

His story along with that of Eagle Claw makes fascinating reading…

SR  Hi Julian, welcome to the Martial Arts Standard, it would be great today if we could get the readers to understand what’s involved in Eagle Claw Kung Fu.

JD  Hi – I’ll do my best to help.

SR How long have you been involved in Chinese Martial Arts?

JD  I’ve been practicing Chinese Martial Arts since the age of 17, I am now 41.

SR Where did you start learning Kung Fu?

JD I initially started learning in England, and then began travelling over to Hong Kong in 1991.

SR How did you meet and begin learning with your current Sifu?

David Rubens is a rare breed of martial artist.  A London boy destined for trouble, he broadened his horizons by travelling the world, he lived in a kibbutz, joined the Israeli Army and became one of their elite parachute regiment.  He then went to Japan, trained at the renowned Yoshinkan Honbu becoming an uchi deshi  (live in student) under the famous Aikido Master Gozo Shioda, undergoing the hard Tokyo Riot Police Squad training programme.  He returned home to found the famous Meidokan Dojo in London. 

Tempered by his training, he turned to the world of security and utilizing the skills and determination he had gained, rose to the top to become an International Security Consultant to governments, top institutions and multi national companies. 

David is an inspiration to anyone following the hard road of traditional training and has been a leader in forging international relationships through both business and the Martial Arts using the etiquette and respect learned at the Yoshinkan Honbu Dojo. 

SR  Hi Dave – can we start with you telling us a bit about your background? 

DR  Certainly, to begin with, I left England when I was seventeen to become an ‘adventurer’ and ended up in Israel, spending two and a half years in the Israeli Army, completing the training and serving in the parachute regiment.