Master David Venkatachellum
Master David Venkatachellum
Founder & Head Instructor
Everyone has a reason for doing what they do. Everyone has a story.
This is my story.
I was born and raised in South East London (England) to a Scottish Mother and a Mauritian Father.
My mum is white and my dad is Indian in appearance. That's relevant, because growing up in the 70's and 80's I was exposed to a lot of racial prejudice, some ignorance and a sprinkling of stupidity. I would get teased relentlessly by the asian
As an adult I stand at a respectable 6'6" tall. I was tall as a child too.
I was bullied at school due to my height and my background in equal measure.
I was a very sensitive child and it got a little too much at one point so at 9 years old my dad took me along to my local Martial Arts class.
It was Karate, because that's all they had in the local area at the time. It wasn't exactly love at first sight as I remember crying before my class had even started.
But two important things happened. The first was that my instructor saw I was upset and explained why people in the class were shouting.
The second was that this instructor was married to an Indian man. It was a family set up which pretty much mirrored my parents.
Both Sensei Lee and the late Sensei Pauline were to become my mentors. I honestly don't think they were aware of how much they impacted my life, and in fact how much their teaching's run through mine, even to this day.
__________________________________________________
This is the earliest photo I own of me in a Martial Arts class. Taken by an old school friend Richard Jezard. Back then taking pictures wasn't how it is today. You never really documented yourself in the same way we do these days.
I was 17, and was in my 8th year of training. Classes were off the scale tough back in the 80's & 90's.
Modern training standards have forced the Martial Arts to find safer ways to get to the end result.
Taking on my very first premises, I took to social media to pay tribute to my father who took me to my first class and supported me in my younger years.
Short story is I simply loved it, and now over 40 years later I find myself in a very privileged position. I have been running my own very successful physical Taekwondo Academy teaching all ages from just 3 years old all the way up to 60.
Believe it or not, one of those students was my very own mother.
Taking on the new Academy. This property was twice the size of the old place, and again took to social media to thank my mother for all her support over the years, she was an amazing instructor within the Academy.
I took to social media to express my gratitude to my parents because I think it's really important not just to celebrate present successes but also to acknowledge where you came from.
You possibly wouldn't be reading this if it wasn't for my parents.
So now I'm treading a new path, and I'm really thrilled to be with you at the beginning of your journey and you are also part of mine.
I want to ensure that you are looked after every step of the way so I would be more than happy to answer any questions you may have.
