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David Forsyth
David first became involved with Sil Lum Kune when his eldest son joined the Kung Fu classes in 2001. After watching him train several nights a week, Dave decided he would like to give it a try and joined in 2002. He graded for White Sash in June 2002 and soon began training every night in order to learn and progress as much as possible.
After several months of committed training, Sifu Paul Burkinshaw invited him to attend a coaching course and by 2003, David had achieved his BCCMA Level 2 Coaching qualification. By this point, he was assisting Sifu Paul Burkinshaw with running classes at Keresley, Bedworth and Bulkington, both for Little Tigers and Adult students. Soon after qualifying, David was confident enough to start taking some of the classes and also helping to coach beginners.
David continued his training under Sifu Paul and entered two national competitions. He competed at the BCCMA National Championships in 2003 (Qingda Sparring – Under 85kgs) and was awarded first place. This was followed by the Northern open Championships in November 2004 (Qingda Sparring – Under 85kgs) in which David won Silver.
David was invited to become an Inner Chamber Disciple of the association in September 2003 which David accepted. David is also a BCCMA Qingda Sparring judge and is a qualified First Aider.
Once David had achieved his Purple sash in February 2004, he started his own classes at Keresley. Because of his commitment to training and his enthusiasm for the art of Sil Lum Kune, David continued to progress rapidly in the style. He was also motivated to train harder due to the successes that his two sons were achieving at the club. David achieved his Black Sash in the style of Sil Lum Hark Fu Mun (Shoalin Black Tiger) on the same day as his eldest son Jack, in 2007 after a gruelling six hour grading with Sifu Paul Burkinshaw. His youngest son, Sam is currently Brown Sash and has won many competitions both within the club and at a National Level. Both sons still train at the club.
David has travelled to the Shaolin Temple in Honan, China with other club members as well as attending a weeks training in Italy in 2007 at Master Jeff Sawyer's Metta Centre. He has also attended numerous seminars including Grappling & Wrestling, Spear, Butterfly Knives, Monk Spade, Double Daggers, Twin Axes, Three Section Staff and many more.
Over the years David has helped many students progress within the art of Kung Fu. David is without doubt a huge credit to the club. His spirit and determination have motivated students to do well. In December 2010 David decided to retire from teaching kung fu. David leaves his role with great respect from Sil Lum Hark Fu Mun and Sil Lum Kune.
Many thanks to David, who was my student, but will always be my friend. (Paul)
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