When Mark Beardsell was born with only one arm his family were determined it would not get in the way of his life.
His parents treated him no differently because of it, giving him the same opportunities as any other child, even getting him involved in various martial arts, before he finally settled on becoming an expert in Wing Chun.
Now decades of hard work have paid off after he was inducted in the Martial Arts Hall of Honour at a ceremony at the Tropicana Casino Convention Hall in Atlantic City, USA in recognition of his achievements.
Mark, from Thornaby, “Growing up, I didn’t really know I was any different. I was about four or five when somebody first said, ‘you’ve only got one hand’,
“If you don’t know it’s supposed to be a problem you just adapt. You don’t know any different.
“My mum and dad never treated me any differently, they just expected me to get on with it - I think that was a big help.
“It was my father who first dragged me off to martial arts classes. He asked if I fancied doing some Judo.
“I enjoyed it. When it came to doing something where everybody else used their right hand, I just didn’t, obviously. Instead I would just adapt everything to my left hand.
“But Judo is all about weight shifting. I do have some control over my forearm but, even so, I knew that Judo would be limited for me.”
The 51-year-old who works as a computer specialist, said he began to look for a martial art to suit his needs, and came across Wing Chun.
Within Wing Chun there are various disciplines which students must study. From empty handed combat and wooden dummy techniques and moving onto weapons such as dual ‘butterfly swords’.
Mark is now a Master in the sport after he became an expert in all the different fields, even if he has had to improvise at times.
He said: “Wing Chun is about close quarters combat. If somebody’s in your face, Wing Chun will teach you how to deal with it.
“Obviously I was going to have to find some way to help me hold two knives, so I made a brace using some two-inch plumbing tube and stuck it to the end of my arm, fitted over my stump.
“That’s why I say I’m the one arm bandit of Wing Chun.”
Having mastered all the disciplines of Wing Chun, Mark was invited to the Ultimate Destination event to be inducted into the Hall of Honour.
Commonly termed “The Academy Awards of Martial Arts” among those involved in the sport, the Ultimate Destination event is the world’s largest gathering of martial arts superstars, film and combat celebrities and renowned Masters from around the world.
The annual Hall of Honour awards banquet has taken place for more than 14 years and Mark was presented with his award in front of a sold out audience of 1,200 guests.
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