Up close and personal with SENSEI NATHAN

Many of you have had the pleasure of being taught by Sensei Nathan whether it was at our Baker Street dojo, or Goodge Street and now you will find him at Mayfair, doing what he does best – bringing hype to the club and giving an excellent class as always.

We have been taught by him, bantered with him and know him briefly by reading his Sensei Focus article (which you can find on our news page). Now we would like to dig a bit deeper and get to know our Sensei. We gave you the opportunity to ask Sensei anything through our Instagram Q&A and this is what we found out: –

Birthday?
31^st August

Star Sign?
Virgo
… Are known for being hard working and we definitely know that applies to this Virgo.

Any Tattoos?
No, but have always wanted to get tatted up.

Favourite Colour?
Red
…Perfect for a Sensei at Xen-Do!

Favourite film?
Too many films to choose from? If I were to say what my favourite Martial Arts film is, it has to be, Blood and Bone.

Who would win Darth Vader or Voldemort?
Is this even a question.. Voldemort, easily!

What are you watching at the moment?
After almost a year of lockdown, honestly, I’m tired of watching anything. I decided I needed to exercise my brain so I’ve given television a break and I am taking the time to read. I’m currently reading the ‘4-hour work week. 

Favourite meal?
How could anybody have just one favourite meal, unless it’s 3 courses of 3 separate cuisines? So, if I had to narrow it down to 1 cuisine I’d have to go with Caribbean food, and I couldn’t give you a single favourite meal because it is all delicious. My favourite dessert (what is a meal without dessert), has to be chocolatey!

How many calories do you eat per day?
I would say that I usually aim to eat around 3000 calories per day, as I gain weight fairly easily and I’m actually looking to bring my weight down a bit. Also, any higher that would require eating more and that can be quite difficult when I’ve got a busy day at work. 

How long were you Vegan?
I was vegan for just over 2 years and if you’re considering trying it. I would recommend giving it a go for at least a month.

… It’s great to see the determination in all aspects of Sensei Nathan’s life, with training and diet.

What was the hardest part of being vegan?
The hardest part about being vegan. The lack of variety in the texture of food, everything is too soft. It can be a pain to just go out for a meal with friends because not many restaurants have good vegan options (salad does not count). Also, having to explain to every single person you talk to why you’re vegan. 

What age did you start training and how long did it take to get to Sensei?
I started training at 5 years old in Karate and I’ve been training in Martial Arts since then, 20 years and counting. I became a Sensei with Xen-Do at 22 years old. 

What’s the best and most challenging part about competing in Barcelona?
Best part for me and always has been, is being able to put on a good show in front of a crowd of people, I like to feed off of the energy in the audience. Most challenging part for me is trying to not get too carried away or get over excited because, that is where mistakes are made. 

Will you teach your daughter kickboxing, why?
If she genuinely wants to learn then, yes of course. I would love to teach but, I don’t feel like she should have to do it if she really doesn’t want to. At the moment she isn’t very interested she likes, singing, dancing and gymnastics. Maybe, one day she will take more of an interest.  

…If Esmerelda chooses to take after her dad, we look forward to having a very powerful little champ in our midst!

Do you believe anyone can have the same build as you if they train hard enough?
No. We are all built differently and given our own set of “tools” to work with. It’s also not necessarily about how hard we actually train, I read Arnold Schwarzenegger’s book on bodybuilding, I ate 6-8 times a day and trained 3-4 hours a day and I don’t look like him. This has nothing to do with how hard I worked, this is down to my genetic makeup, as it is individual to me. So, if you train hard, you will look as good as YOU can. 

Sensei Nathan is competing in an MMA competition this summer for charity. He tells us the following:-

When is the competition (August)?
Sunday 8^th August 2021

Why did you choose to do it?
I’ve always wanted to do something for charity, but nothing ever really appealed to me before. Martials Arts is what I do every day, it’s what I’ve trained to do for the majority of my life, and I’ve always been interested in MMA. So, to be able to pursue an interest for a charitable cause was a no-brainer for me! 

If anyone is interested in coming to support Sensei Nathan and see his (we don’t doubt) victory, then please check out his go fund me page to donate towards his cause:  www.justgiving.com/fundraising/nathan-richardson12 and contact us for more information to book tickets.

… Ouss Sensei!