Karate instructor Alan Parrish is marking 30 years of involvement in the sport this year -- and his experienced has been rewarded with more international recognition.

Honoured -- Alan Parrish (right) receives a long-service award from Karate master Kawasoe after 30 years involved in the sport

As a celebration of three decades in karate he received a long-service plaque from his Japanese training master, Kawasoe at the Westwood Shotokan Academy, the club he formed with his wife Carol in 1993.

After taking up the martial art back in the days of Bruce Lee fever in 1974, Parrish has become a stalwart member of the UK Traditional Karate Federation (UKTKF) set-up.

And this year he was appointed coach of the English team, while continuing his work with Westwood.

The Westwood club is now the focus of Alan's attentions after his competitive retirement two years ago, but as a fighter he racked up titles at regional, national and international level.

He became the only Englishman to win individual medals for the UKTFK squad as his love of the sport took him as far afield as Romania, Poland, Ukraine, Russia, Brazil, Switzerland and Egypt.

And Alan achieved the rare distinction of being invited to train at the small private dojo of a leader Japanese designer, on the invitation of an instructor at the JKA.

His greatest individual success was a World Championship gold medal in the Kata event.

The finals were held in Egypt on an open air platform in front of the Sphinx and the pyramids of Giza, but the dramatic setting was almost ruined by the first rainfall in the region for almost 20 years.

Happily Alan was able to keep his feet and add a gold medal to the two bronze awards he has picked up in Kumite events.

Published Thursday July 8, 2004

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