Part of the front cover of the SAMA Allsports Magazine 1982

Picture of Hanshi showing flying kick (Lewes Rd Dojo)

Jumping front kick Lewes Rd Dojo around 1983

I moved to Brighton late 1960 having lived and trained in London for a short period of time. It was in Brighton that I found a karate instructor called Sensei Joe Robinson who had the only full time karate & judo dojo at that time situated in a large damp basement room in Rock Place, Kemp Town.

Sensei Robinson was over 6ft 2ins tall with a very large muscular frame. He was a World 8th Dan judo champion, a weight lifter, and in his youth the European wrestling champion. He was also a karate black belt under Wado-Ryu master Sensei Tatsuo Suzuki.

Sensei Robinson was also an actor, starring in 18 films with 5 of them being Italian epics. He has starred in and also choreographed many television programs, such as "the Avengers" and "the Saint". His roles were mainly strong man roles and his last film was no different when he played the assassin in the fight scene in the lift with Sean Connery in the James Bond "Diamonds are Forever"

Sensei Robinson was renowned for having the fastest leg sweep in the World, and had beat one of the Worlds top Japanese Judo champions with this technique.

He hit the headlines in 1998 when he fought off a gang of eight muggers single-handed. He was getting off a bus in Cape Town, South Africa when the gang struck with baseball bats and knives. 6 ft. 2 ins Joe poleaxed two with flying kicks, karate-chopped one hard in the chest and broke the arm of a fourth. The rest fled!

It was reported later in the media that he was "the most dangerous man in Britain"

After a few years of training at the Kemp Town dojo we moved to a larger dojo in Vine Street, Brighton. I trained there with sensei Robinson for around 4 years, then in the early 1970s I decided to open my own karate dojo in Brighton.

Hanshi in fighting stance wearing the famous SAMA red/white/blue belt 1970s The belt at that time was used for competitions before it was introduced into the SAMA grade system

   Double flying kick at the Brighton Dojo

around 1983

Sai weapon Kata practice

Although I now had my own dojo my quest for training and my thirst knowledge was always far greater than teaching and I often commuted up to London to train at other martial art dojo's.

It was when I was in London training at Meiji Suzuki's dojo in Judd Street near Kings Cross that I heard that one of his instructors was moving down to Brighton to start his own karate dojo at Hove Education College, Connought Road.

For me it was another opportunity to train instead of teaching, so I was there on the very first day, and although I was a black belt in Shotokan karate with around 15 years training under my belt with some experience of other styles of martial arts. I was readily given the choice to wear my black belt in class. This is something that I have always declined to do when starting at a new dojo or style as I have always preferred to follow true martial art tradition of starting from the very beginning and wearing a white belt out of etiquette and respect.

For some reason the class did not stay long at that venue and another hall was found in the center of Brighton. I trained for around 3 years with this instructor until he moved to another country.

Here we are L-R Chris kent and myself around 1978/79.

Taken in the Bedford Street hall before we opened our full time SAMA club

No Hanshi's belt is not round the wrong way. It was not made a rule then to have the red at the top and blue at the bottom as we have now at SAMA. The fists placed on my thighs come from my Kyokushinkai training days

I then formed a partnership with black belt Chris Kent and we taught in a couple of school halls before we opened a full time martial arts club in Brighton calling it SAMA Karate club. Being the one with the longest history and the most experience in traditional karate I naturally became the SAMA chief instructor. The name SAMA became the place for strong karate and later kick boxing, producing many champions over the years such as:

1984 Phil Von Lathem PKA British Pro Wel. Wgt  1986 Roger Silsby European Pro Mid.Wgt

Many other talented young fighters came to us such as Nick Clark and Tom Montgomery who also later became champions.

I decided to open other SAMA satellite clubs and I founded the Meridian Centre Club in Peacehaven and the Hangleton Community Centre  club in Hove. These two clubs became very successful under my guidance.

Hanshi Gibson at the Brighton Dojo with some of his Black Belts - mid 1980s

Around the start of the 1990s we decided to part company. From then I decided to continue to develop the SAMA style of karate and kickboxing.

As my membership was then around a thousand I now called my group the

SAMA ORGANISATION

A lot of my own principals, idea's and traditional methods that I have learned from many of my past teachers and from past experiences have gone into the SAMA ORGANISATION which steadily evolved into its own unique style of training and teaching.

After over forty years of being involved in martial arts the title of "Hanshi" was awarded to me by the committee of the SAMA Organisation. "Hanshi" is a Japanese word that indicates someone who is the highest black belt within an organisation. Therefore you could say that "Hanshi" is a chief instructor and one who has developed and understands their own particular method or style that they teach.

I would like to think that my long experience, knowledge and philosophy as well as my commitment to the strong mental and physical side of karate has helped my organisation and my senior instructors to go in the right direction. Also the commitment and loyalty of my assistant chief instructor Shihan Jacobs and Yondan Klus and all the other senior SAMA instructors of the organisation who relate to my traditional principal's of the martial art code of loyalty and respect along with my strong feelings about how a real traditional karate person should behave, teach and train continues to push the organisation forward.

This attitude is then passed down through the SAMA ranks to the other instructors and in turn has been passed on to our students.

Hanshi jumping over a 6ft long bed of 6in nails placed on the backs of 4 students at a SAMA competition at the Marmion Centre, Hove to smash a wooden board with flying side kick (early 1980s) (supporting at the back is Yondan Klus)

SAMA ORGANISATION has become the largest single karate and kickboxing group in the UK that has spread right across the south of England with over 10,000 students and scores of dedicated instructors training weekly, and still we continue to grow larger and stronger every year.

SAMA has been developed into its own unique style called "SAMA KARATE" and "SAMA KICKBOXING"which has become completely synonymous with me and my instructors.

At the British kickboxing championships at the Brighton Centre around the mid 1980s, seen here doing a demo in the ring/ the picture left is of me breaking a board with jumping spinning kick which actually flew outside the ring and hit the mayor of Brighton/ right- doing sanchin kata with breaking a wooden post over my shin.

Old Bedford Street dojo 1970s

High spinning wood break kick, captured at the point of the break.

Seconds after the kick the black belt holding the board is knocked of

his feet with the impact

Above breaking 2in boards, mid 1990s

SANCHIN NO KATA (1984)

Hanshi showing the old traditional tension breathing KATA, Sanchin at Worthing community centre. Wooden posts are smashed over the arms. stomach and shins to test the internal breathing power of the person doing the KATA. Shihan is clearly enjoying himself for having the opportunity of smashing the wood over Hanshi.

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