Last month, Tom Nicholson, captain and instructor of the Proaction Martial Arts International Team and owner of ReactionSport.com, was interviewed by the renowned martial arts magazine Martial Arts Illustrated . For those of you who haven't had a chance to buy the printed issue, read on, as we're sharing it with you here;

Introducing Tom Nicholson

MAI meets Reaction Sport’s Tom Nicholson - a martial arts all-rounder with plans for world domination!

MAI welcomes a new writer to our pages this month - Tom Nicholson, an all-rounder with a solid traditional background and a great martial arts business, full of energy, passion and desire to see his students succeed. He has a lot to offer our industry as we find out...

MAI: Hi, Tom, we’ve not seen you in these pages before, so, can you tell us a little about who you are?
Tom: Probably not - I never only say a little - I always seem to find LOADS to talk about! I’ll do my best though. I’ve been studying ITF Taekwon-Do for 21 years now, and am a 4th Degree. I have also studied (to varying levels) Kickboxing, Boxing, Realistic Self Defence, Muay Thai and, more recently BJJ. Nowadays when asked the question ‘So, what do you do for a living?’ I normally answer ‘I am a full time martial arts instructor’, but I do a little more than just that. Oh, and I’m also the guy who beat Chuck Liddell in under five seconds...

Really, did we miss that one?
No, seriously, it’s on YouTube(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVEU_nqCIB8). It may only be a stare down, and he may have been in a hurry, but I clearly beat him - so I’m claiming it. [With respect of course, Mr Liddell.]

So who have you trained with and been influenced by?
I have a great family, and I look up to all the members in my family as role models - I’m the youngest of three boys, and there are positive attributes I like to try to imitate from both my brothers, my mother and my father. They influence me. My wife is a fitness fanatic and a 2nd degree who teaches one of our clubs once a week - she inspires me every day, and I have two amazing (future world champion) daughters, one aged 5 and one aged 2.5. They inspire me and motivate me every second. As for martial artists, I have trained with almost all there is to train with in TKD and, whilst it’s very difficult to choose, I find Master Wim Boss, Master Ellis and Master Nardizzi all inspirational (and they all still train hard - something close to my core values). Outside of TKD I have trained with Russell Stutely, Gary Payne, Chuck Liddell (ok that was a one off - as was Remy Bonjasky and Wanderlei Silva) and am currently studying BJJ under Ze Marcello.

So where have you been all these years - tell us about your TKD first of all...
I started my training in 1990, gained my first degree Black Belt in 1994 and have moved on from there. I’ve stayed at each Dan grade for 5 years, as I felt I achieved my 1st Dan too quickly and wanted a deeper understanding of the art. During that time I have won English, Scottish, Welsh, Irish and British championships in various groups / associations. I also represented England for a couple of years.

 

Isn’t the ITF a little all over the place in the UK right now?

I try my hardest not to get involved. There seem to be a lot of power struggles and fragmentation going on, but all I can do is my own thing... I am registered with the ITF through Master Nardizzi, and I am very happy there. Unless something major changes, I intend to stay right where I am.

Don't miss the second part of this great interview where Tom talks about his TKD competition years, TKD coaching and BJJ training.

To be continued ...