THE STORY OF MR PAUL LEWORTHY
Mr Paul Leworthy with Professor Jeff Speakman.
Paul Leworthy began his martial arts journey at seventeen years old in 1984 by studying Bujinkai Karate under Sampai Dave Ritchie in Exmouth, Devon in the UK. He studied this for about a year, achieving orange belt before then stopping training as he pursued weight training and his growing affection for American muscle cars.
It was not until September 1991 that he started training again, this time under Mr Phil Cawood in the art of Kempo-Ryu Karate kickboxing. This was a system put together by Mr Cawood 7th degree, utilising his experience in both Kempo from the IKKA and BKKU, and also Aegis Kickboxing. It consisted of a stripped down Kempo syllabus combined with kickboxing training drills, combinations, sparring and heavy padwork.
Mr Cawood gave Paul and his fellow students a great base of intent and power, one that Paul feels he could not have gained elsewhere, as well as true Kempo/Kenpo movement. Mr Cawood developed some very effective students very quickly if they dedicated themselves; two of these were Mr Marc Williams and Miss Sharron Williams, both of who Paul came up through the grades with as training partners and who became great friends. Other notable students from earlier years are 'Big' Barry Vinnicombe, Paul Rich, Graham Hawkins, Alan Haylock, Andy Tedder, Nathan and Tash Lewis and Anthony Groves to, name but a few.
Paul achieved 3rd degree black belt, along with Marc Williams, in February 2003, getting there from black belt through 1st and 2nd degrees with the likes of Mr Bob Rose, Mr Bob Walsh and Mrs Sheila Rose sitting on the grading panels; indeed Mr Bob Walsh said that the grading that Paul took his 1st degree at in April 1996 was one of the hardest gradings he had ever seen!
He qualified as a Close Protection Officer with Airtight International on a course in California in 1999, and also achieved several successes up until the late 1990s fighting in regional and national tournaments with 1st, 2nd and 3rd places. In 2004 Paul began dating his now fiancee Ms Fran Lewis, who was also training in Kempo-Ryu and who achieved her black belt in July, 2007.
With some major changes in the Kempo-Ryu syllabus, coupled with Paul beginning to recognise how insular and cut off from each other certain elements of the UK Kenpo scene were, he contacted Mr Dan Pribble from Professor Jeff Speakman’s American Kenpo Karate Systems. He was soon arranging a meeting in Los Angeles in January 2007 while Fran and he were over there on a trip linked with Paul’s business, Venom Off Road Racing. They met up at the opening of a class in LA that was to be run by Mr Tim Cacuzza. This was where Paul and Fran first met up with Professor Jeff Speakman, Mr Anto Parseghian, Mr Dan Pribble, Mrs Marine Parseghian, Mr Berj Parseghian, and also many other great and very respectful students. Whatever the level of student, Paul was impressed with the level of commitment and the passion with which they trained.
This was it; this was the ‘home’ within the bigger picture he had latterly been looking for. He was also impressed with Professor Jeff Speakman’s humility and openness; there was none of the pretension that you might expect from someone who had starred in films such as The Perfect Weapon, and who has such a high profile in the martial arts world.
From this meeting came a Jeff Speakman Kenpo 5.0 seminar in Exeter in the UK in September 2007, this followed by smaller seminars later on. Fran Lewis, Andy Tedder and Paul also made a 1240 mile round trip by car to a seminar with Professor Speakman that was organised by Mr Stive Mogeot in Epinal, France in February 2009. 3rd degree and European Kenpo 5.0 representative Stive Mogeot returned the favour by visiting the UK and conducting a seminar in May 2009. The dvd of this seminar, from which you can learn all that was taught, is available to buy in the links section. Paul and Fran have recently returned from the annual Las Vegas Kenpo 5.0 Training Camp and test, at which Paul attained his Kenpo 5.0 2nd degree black belt in a continuation of a three year transition process, and Fran gained her 2nd degree brown belt.
Stive is just one of the great friends that Fran and Paul have made along the way, with 5th degree Mr Matt Snell of Flaming Fist Kenpo being another notable individual. However, none compare to Ms Jaki McVicar, a BKKA and AKKS 7th degree and personal UK representative for Professor Speakman. Paul views her as a great lady with great knowledge and skills, and she has been instrumental in the latter development of Fran and Paul in preparation for their future lives in the wider Kenpo family, as well as becoming a great friend. The use of social networking via the internet has also been instrumental in developing relationships with the likes of Don and Suzanne Woods of Kenpo 5.0 in Australia.
Paul intends to continue to provide opportunities for the Kenpo family to meet up from time to time, regardless of politics or governing body, in order that they can impart knowledge to each other in the name of the common bond they have - the bond that is Kenpo.
