Richard Wagstaff started learning Kung Fu while studying the French horn at Music College. "I had always wanted to learn a martial art but when I started training I was preparing for my final recital exam at college and I was desperately trying to protect my fingers from getting damaged!" Since then, he has found links between his music training and martial arts. "I understand the value of hard work. It's like practising to perform as a musician, you can't walk on stage to play a virtuoso piano recital without having prepared and it's the same with Kung Fu. To get good you have to practice," he says.

He continues: "I have a fascination with Chinese martial arts and philosophy and training provides me with a release from the constant day to day drone of London life. The Instructors at this club are all inspirational characters, and when I started training with the Chief Instructor, Dennis Ngo, I just couldn't believe how deep the White Crane system goes. His depth of knowledge and teaching are incredible and if the students in the club can grasp just a tiny bit of that knowledge they will go far."

Richard believes Kung Fu is a life-changing art. He explains: "Kung Fu has given me the drive to be the best at anything I attempt. This isn't always easy but in endeavouring to achieve perfection I can only get better and better. My practice of the hard and soft styles has reflected in my relationships, my work and my own self-belief - if I can get good at this I can get good at anything."

Richard has a number of memorable experiences from training. He describes his first competition: "What an experience, I will never forget it. Both of us desperate to win, the adrenalin pumping and instinct taking over... It's how you react in those pressure situations that marks you out from the crowd and for me this is what it's about - standing out and being the best."

Teaching has become an important part of Richard's training. "Teaching is about relating to people. Having found a style I am so passionate about I want to offer the opportunity for others to learn and benefit from it. People have always interested me and working with interesting characters provides many new challenges. Everyone approaches life slightly differently, so understanding people on an individual level and allowing them to make Kung Fu work for themselves is a fascinating process. I want students to get as much as they can out of Kung Fu whether in a martial arts context or simply in applying the discipline of Kung Fu to their work and family life."