John began his Martial Arts training in Wado Ryu in 1973.  In February 1977 John was training with a Wado Ryu 1st Dan called John Doyle. When John Doyle told him to throw a punch at him, he did.  To his amazement the next thing he knew John Doyle standing behind him.  He protested "That's not Wado!", to which Mr Doyle replied "I know, that's my secret weapon, Kempo!".  From that moment John was hooked!

At 24 John was forced to take over as Head Instructor of Go So Kempo Association when John Doyle was tragically killed in a motorcycle accident.  Since that time John has insisted upon teaching pure combat orientated Martial Arts.

Over the years John has trained and studied with numerous masters from all corners of the world.  He has been practicing Tai Chi since 1988 and has studied Yoga since 1982.  He has studied various fighting systems including Goju Ryu, Shotokan, Goshin Jutsu, Black Tiger, Choy Li Fut and Aikido. 

As well as competitive Karate tournaments, John has also studied Kick Boxing with Pat O'Keefe.  In 1985 he was ranked 5th under the C.K.O in the Light Heavy Weight Division.  He has also trained in Muy Thai.

Since 1992 he has studied various pressure point theories from the likes of George Dillman, Vince Morris and Russell Stutely.

John's system of fighting theory has been field tested and refined through Door Career that has spanned over 27 years.  He is currently a director for a security company based in Essex.

As well as his Martial Arts accomplishments, John is also a Personal Fitness trainer and a qualified practicing Counsellor.  John has a been a Counsellor at a local school and is often referred clients who suffer from anger and violence issues.

Inside the Dojo, John is a traditional Sensei pushing his students too their limits and beyond.  He is on record as describing a Dojo as a "Benign and   loving dictatorship", and there has been more than one lesson where students have left the Dojo saying that they felt as if they'd been emotionally raped.  This traditional approach in instruction has produced a string of high calibre Martial Artists, which a living testament to his teaching methodology.

Outside of the Dojo his a typical soft Granddad, spoiling his  grandson Joshua far more than Gavin agrees with.  Having said that he is still looking for the "If Dad says no, ask Granddad" T-Shirt, but Gavin is sure that he has got one on order!

James Deegan, 3rd Dan Go So Kempo

James began his Martial Arts training in 1988, studying Wado Ryu with the N.K.A reaching 3rd Kyu.  In 1990 he moved over to study Wado Ryu with Tony Newman at the Tengu Dojo.  In 1992 he finally made the move over to Go So Kempo with John King, preferring its fast flowing hand work and evasive foot work.  James found the pure combat ethos taught in Go So Kempo catered for his needs far better than the predominately competitive Karate he'd previously experienced.

Since his move to Kempo James has developed an extremely powerful and direct style of fighting.  He has an excellent knowledge of our Kata's and grading syllabus, which was demonstrated by passing a gruelling 3rd Dan grading on April 2005.

As well as his experience in the Martial Arts, James also has over 7 years of practical experience as a Doorman. 

During his Martial Arts career he has also trained with various arts including Boxing, Kick Boxing and Judo.

James's vast experience and knowledge is compounded and brought back into the Dojo where he regularly teaches.  James is also jointly responsible (along with Gavin) for running the Combat Workshop where he teaches combat and self defence concepts to Martial Artists from various systems.

Gavin King, 2nd Dan Go So Kempo

Gavin begun his Martial Arts career at the age of 9 in 1989 when he finally managed to pester his Dad (John) to teach him.  He is Kempo born and breed, having studied it constantly since he started.  Over the years Gavin has experienced various systems including Escrima, Modern Arnis, Kick Boxing and Akido.

He has been described as being "built like a racing snake" due to huge bulk and intimidating physical presence!  Gavin has developed an extremely evasive, fast and sharp system of fighting.  He has begun to study the pressure points and meridians almost fanatically, and has also signed up to the learn the art of Shiatsu which he will start in October 2005.

Gavin can be somewhat fiery, and pursues pure Martial Arts training with a somewhat religious devotion.  He has been known to air his views on the virtues of real self defence to anyone foolish enough to let him start talking, sometimes until their ears fall off.  Despite some extreme views he also hopes to educate people on the true nature of the fighting arts, and ensure that students (not just instructors) benefit from their study!

In addition to his Martial Arts experience Gavin has been actively involved in Door Work for over 3 years.  His practical experiences has greatly altered his approach to Martial Arts.

One of his major passions is teaching and helping Martial Artists from all walks of life.  Some say that teaching provides him a soapbox from which to preach, but neither the less his experience is "shared" at both the Dojo and Combat Workshops!

Paul Dudley, 1st Dan Go So Kempo

Paul began his Martial Arts career in 1986 studying Wado Ryu under Tony Newman.  He has competed in numerous competitions, and been disqualified from a fair few of them.  This led him to finally decide that his talents were better suited to Go So Kempo.

He has been studying with John King for over 13 years.  Over this time Paul has developed an extremely powerful (and somewhat unsubtle) system of fighting.  His powerful style and superb kicking ability make him one of our most feared sparring partners, who the lower grades avoid like the plague.

In April 2005, Paul demonstrated his abilities with a fantastic performance which earned him the rank of 1st Dan for which he had waited so long for!