Greg Regan

I have been training in the martial arts since 1975 and had my first jujutsu class at the age of 16. The classes were held in a portacabin outside St Mary's Church, West Chiltington, West Sussex. After a while the instructor left but I continued my training at the Ashington Judo Club (Ashington, West Sussex). In 1979 I moved to Plymouth to study at Plymouth Polytechnic and continued my training and study of jujutsu under Peter Farrar sensei and Brian Graham shihan. Farrar sensei went on to found the National Samurai Jiu Jitsu Association, later renamed The Jitsu Foundation - now one of the largest jujutsu groups in the UK.

In 1997 I left the Jitsu Foundation and founded the Ryu Ju Jutsu Association to further my studies and development of jujutsu.

Over the years I have had the honour of meeting and training with many fine instructors far too numerous to mention here; but having said that, there are two amazing instructors that I just have to mention:

Billy Doak shihan who, in my opinion, was the finest exponent of jujutsu and the most honourable martial artist that I have had the pleasure to know and call 'friend'; and

Maestro Piero Rovigatti who is not only a fine gentleman but a prodiguous and excellent martial artist.

My great sense of spirit and adventure has allowed me to experience and experiment with other martial disciplines; in no particular order they include Karate, Judo, Aikido, Kung Fu, T'ai Chi Ch'uan, Aiki Ju Jitsu, Iaido, Wing Chung, Kempo. I always enjoyed the Japanese systems more, probably because they are closer to jujutsu than the non-Japanese systems; despite everything jujutsu steadfastly remains my favourite and thus my lifelong energies are focused on attempting to master the sophisticated and complex martial art of jujutsu.

The energy and spherical movement of good Aikido has always held a fascination for me and I have been lucky enough to have experienced the energy and teachings of Chiba sensei, Gwynne Jones sensei and Dave Rubens sensei.