Noted karate members
Assistant Karate Instructor Brad Kruger 4thDan has trained since the 1960s with the original members of the Bristol Wado Ryu club. Alongside the Kear brothers and George Grimes Brad earned a reputation as a diligent and competitive Karateka.
Moving from Bristol to Bridgwater forced a ten-year gap in his training until he met with Arthur Meek and he resumed his training to the current day.
Mike Betty 1st Dan started karate a little late in life but has fulfilled much in his years of training. Competing as much as possible in a relatively short time frame he has won junior grade titles plus fought in the U.S. at an invitational event. He travelled to Japan in 2002 and was a valuable team member in the International Wado Ryu tournament.
Karen Meek 1st Dan was already actively competing as a member of Swindon Wado Ryu when she met Arthur and since moving to Bridgwater has won the Wado Academy National championships twice in Kumite and once in Kata. A regular member of the Wado Academy National side she has also stepped into the full contact ring and has appeared on national television in kickboxing bouts.
Joseph Bale, twenty, 1st Dan has won many honours as a junior and at the age of twenty is still looking for his first major title finishing runner up in the Wado Academy Nationals for two years running. He is, however a consistent and valuable England team member and has helped the England Wado Academy side to two International finals. Joe has also fought in the Kickboxing ring with a Southern Area Title to his name as a junior.
Paul Cornish 1st Dan was a talented Kata competitor at a young age. After a break from Karate of several years he has returned to his winning ways. He won the Wado Academy National Kata contest in 2007 and recently competed in the Euro cup. Unfortunately not placing in the individual event he helped the England team win the team Kata title. Not satisfied with only Kata however he has also stepped up and represented his club in team kumite events.
Noted kickboxing members
Greg Howe began training with Budo Juku in the mid 1990s after he was disillusioned with the club he was training with. He quickly showed his talent for sparring and he entered his first full contact event in 1998 winning by a stoppage in the second round.
He has since been the most prolific fighter to come out of the Bridgwater stable of fighters and is noted for his indomitable spirit, incredible ‘engine’ and easy going nature.
He has never avoided a fight with anyone but has sadly always been the close runner up in several title attempts. From three round thrillers to seven round stonkers Greg has provided huge entertainment and taken immense satisfaction whenever he entered the ring. He now assists in teaching and spars regularly with the up and coming fighters
Ricky Paisey has been involved in the martial arts for many years. He has trained in Thai boxing, Karate as well as Kickboxing and has had first hand experience in competing in all three disciplines, from point scoring to full contact. Took part in the first ever ‘fight night’ at The Palace
Chris Peppin, like Ricky was another competitor in the first ‘fight night’ of 2004 and continued to have several full -contact fights. Trains and spars with the club on a regular basis.
Damien Borlase, also fought in the first ‘fight night’ and is getting himself in shape for another return to the ring. He trains regularly with the club and together with Greg, Ricky and Chris provides quality sparring for those competing and all four are the backbone behind the scenes of the Fight Nights.