About Dave Turton

This is my blog, based on my book “Martial Arts, Muscles and Mayhem”. It has only materialised after constant coaxing and barraging from my student and an instructor with the Self Defence Federation, Ghulam Nabi Rezbi.

Rezbi, as he likes to be known, just wouldn’t let me alone, insisting I owe it to the martial arts and self defence community, and the world at large (his words, not mine) to enter the 21st century and put my words down online.

So I agreed just to get him off my back (I am joking of course). I hope you enjoy this site, its stories and the insights into realistic self protection as taught by the Self Defence Federation.

A little about Dave Turton.

I’ve been involved in the crazy world of the combat arts since I was a boy, starting with Western boxing and wrestling whilst at school, way back in 1959, progressing through many of the familiar martial arts such as Judo, Karate, Kempo, Ju-Jitsu and others, I am now an 8th Dan Black Belt in several systems.

Travelling this road, I have encountered more than my fair share of ‘characters’. Some of these encounters were pleasant, some informative and some decidedly unpleasant. All left their impressions upon me and, I suppose by their simple existence had, to some varying degrees, some influence in developing my persona… and certainly my outlook on life.

I have also been privileged to have crossed paths with some of the ‘Big Names’ of the martial arts, some becoming good friends, others… less so. Some became student of mine, more so after they had already established their own skills, and wanted more.

But, as I will be doing enough ‘name dropping’ in some of my ensuing posts, now is not the time to pamper my ego by trying to impress you with the various characters I have been lucky enough to know.

I have certainly met my share, and am grateful for it.

I like to talk, as my family, friends, colleagues and students will no doubt vouch to. Over a coffee, I have been known to spin a yarn or two. The subjects of these yarn spinning sessions were often anecdotes and stories of some of the individuals involved in the martial arts.

On more than one occasion, someone listening would comment, “Dave, you could write a book”.

Often I would reply, “Yes, I probably could”.

However the comment, to me at least, was more about the number of tales I could tell rather than any literary ambitions I had harboured.

This now existent book (Martial Arts, Muscles and Mayhem) would probably have lain dormant in the deep recesses of my brain for quite a while, awaiting something that would give it life.

As so often in this existence, it was a chance remark on the occasion of my 54th birthday that did the trick.

As usual, in a break in a training session, I was chatting away to one of my students, re-telling for the umpteenth time, some little tale. This young student,, bless him, remarked that as I was now at this advanced stage of decay and likely to shuffle off this world quite soon, that I should get all my tales down in print before I became another statistic in the obituary column.

(The way youth looks at age is remarkable. I felt 54 was still only just middle-aged, whilst this 20 year old thought it was close to getting a telegram from the queen).

I was only mildly and amusingly offended, but he had sown the seed, and now I have done the deed.

Before I go on I have to mention here that, to the best of my knowledge, ALL the stories I will be posting are true. Most are ones I was witness to, so I can personally vouch for those. Others are stories told to me by people for whom I have the greatest respect for their level of integrity. So I believe their stories… and now will pass them onto you.

Because the stories are true, in nearly all cases the names will be changed. Some will remain as the people involved are happy to have the stories told and others because they are no longer with us.

Of the ‘less-than-nice’ people mentioned, well… I’m not their judge… and I haven’t added any ‘extras’ that may try to glorify their deeds. I will simply report the true events.

I will leave it up to you to decide their place in society.

I will also not try to be a ‘fisherman’ in the telling of the tales. Embellishment is neither laudable nor necessary. I hope the stories will stand by their own truths.

Poetic licence, MAY just exist in the odd one or two that are interesting but need filling. For the most part, however, I will simply deliver the stories verbatim.

I hope you will enjoy them as much as I will enjoy writing them. And, I feel you will agree when you realise that, as that old cliché goes, “Truth is most certainly stranger than fiction”.

The simple fact is that an activity like the martial arts often brings out the best and the worst of the many facets of human behaviour. And, with apologies for pinching and adapting the title of a Clint Eastwood western, read on and you will meet…

“The Very Good, the Sometimes Bad and the Downright Ugly”.


Dave Turton 8th Dan Self Defence Federation



Dave Turton’s Unarmed and Dangerous