ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

As I prepare to take my black belt test, there are a number of people whom I would like to take this opportunity to thank, for without their help and encouragement, I would not be at the stage where I now find myself.

My wife Emer, without whose love, encouragement and support, I would never have reached this stage in my KENPO journey. As a family man, there were times when I found it difficult to fit in work, family commitments and training, but there was never a time when Emer asked me to change my training schedule, or to miss a class and stay at home. I know that there were even times when Emer changed her own plans, without even saying a word, so as not to clash with my training. There can be few men fortunate as I am to have a wife as supportive as Emer, and when people say that " behind every successful man, there is a great woman " well then she is the great woman behind me, and for all the times that I never said thank you I say so now.

My instructor Mr Edward Downey is, in my opinion one of the most knowledgeable and experienced people in the world KENPO family. During his career in "the business", he has travelled all over the world training with a wide variety of people, including close one to one work with Mr Parker himself. I have been fortunate to have Ed Downey both as an instructor and a friend. His love of the art and his love of instructing come across at all times to his students and especially his ability to pass on the nuances of movements in techniques and forms. He has always been willing and able to answer any questions that I have ever asked him, and in following his motto of " to feel is to believe " has always been able to put his words into action. For all the times that he has helped me to pass through the barrier of feeling that I had reached the limit of my advancement through the art, and to keep going, I want to thank him, and say that I look forward to the second phase of my KENPO journey.

Mr John Burgess and Mr Richard Burgess have to be given special thanks. They have always been there with Ed Downey giving any help, assistance and advice to students that may be required, sometimes to the detriment of their own training, but always without complaint. John and Richard are two of the best examples of the fluidity of KENPO. That combined with their lightning speed and their precision of shots can sometimes be awesome to behold. I can also say that I thank them for their total honesty at all times. Many times when I felt that I had mastered a technique, John or Richard would take the moves (and me) apart and demonstrate where I could improve. They also showed me how to be totally honest with myself, and not to settle on the belt that I was wearing, but to always try to improve, not only working on my next grade, but accepting where I needed to work on previous syllabus. For all their time and help I thank them.