Wild west winner

Nov 6 2012 by Denis Brown, Perthshire Advertiser

Hand to hand combat in Wishaw usually sees perpetrators end up in jail – not on a podium.

However, street fighting is not something Perth martial arts expert Chris Hollands engages in, although he would be quite formidable.

The third dan black belt karate instructor proved he was as hard as nails at the Scottish Karate Grand Prix in Wishaw, where he won a silver medal, cheated out of gold by a Team GB karate team member.

Sensei James Ford – who has been teaching Chris since he was a seven-year-old karate kid – said he was proud of his former grasshopper, who had fought like a true warrior on the day.

He said: “Chris is showing massive improvements in his competition fighting and the medal was well deserved. He trains six days a week and the benefits of that are showing. In fact, Chris has trained with me for almost 20 years now and is having great success in teaching his own students at the new class in Perth.”

As well as assisting Sensei Ford instruct at a Cupar club, Chris runs classes at Glenearn Community Campus on Thursdays, 7-8pm, and Saturdays, 11am-12.30pm, teaching students from the age of six and all abilities.