I remember meeting Richie when he was approximately fifteen years old, I was teaching at Southport High School, when Richie and his group of friends enquired about what is was that I was teaching. After a brief conversation, the boys convinced me to start teaching them on a weekly basis. I will always remember these classes very fondly, a group of boys just training hard without too many conscious desired goals. Richie was always very athletic and coordinated and would love to learn everything he could about fighting; a passion will still share approximately twenty years later.

One by one Richie’s friends would drop off for one reason or the other, leaving Richie and his brother Daniel to train.

Richie would always make Arakan work, no matter what the situation was, I would find a lot of joy in teaching him… looking back on it, I think the main reason was that Richie always believed in Arakan, he never had any doubts, he would always come to every lesson ready to humbly learn and apply the knowledge that is presented to him.

These days, we are both a little older, hopefully a little wiser and more experienced in so many. We are both training harder than ever and enjoying the journey in a deeper way.

Thanks Rich for always taking care of me and my family, I am looking forward to training with you in our nineties!

Robert Kyaw
Chief Instructor