Harrison SmithInstructor – Newtown, Wellington (New Zealand)
It’s safe to say that as a child, I had no shortage of energy, and plenty to spare! My parents had also noticed early on that I had a keen interest in watching martial art movies, and was particularly fascinated with the super human feats the characters depicted. I was soon signed up to Aikido; a well-fitting, first step for a kid like me. This would become my first experience with the martial arts world, and I’m thankful to have gotten a start at such a young age.
I trained in Aikido in Hamilton for a number of years. As I grew comfortable within Aikido, I realized I wanted to expand into an art that better resembled the stunts I had seen in the movies and TV shows. I narrowed my search, and started learning Tae Kwan Do, alongside my dad. I pursued Tae Kwan Do into my early teenage years, before putting training on halt to focus on other aspects of life.
A few years went by, and I decided to pursue martial arts again. Aikido and Tae Kwan Do had set the foundations of my learning and were enjoyable experiences, but I always felt as if ‘something’ was missing. I needed to experiment further. In 2012, I came across Gao Can Mun Nam Pai Chuan, though at the time, I simply knew it as ‘Kung Fu’. I attended my first class in Hamilton, and even from that early on, I was eager to learn and find out more. Even though I had spent years watching old Shaolin and Jackie Chan flicks, I was always under the impression that a traditional art that encompasses what Nam Pai Chuan has to offer, didn’t exist in this day and age. I was as much surprised, as I was exhilarated, in finding such an art could be taught this close to home. For me, it felt like I’d finally found what was previously missing.
In 2014 I moved away from my hometown of Hamilton, to Wellington, where I continued my training within GCMNPC. Along the way I have met many people, from fellow students to instructors, who have played an important role in my life. In 2016, I began teaching once a week at one of the Wellington clubs. In 2018, I had the great privilege of opening the Newtown School, and is where I currently teach.
It is my philosophy that everyone has the opportunity to enrich or improve the quality of someone else’s life. I am lucky that through my involvement in GCMNPC, I have found something that not only means so much to me, but is an art I get to share in with others. I don’t believe in one style to be superior to another, but I do believe that there is something out there for everyone and finding what suits you is part of the journey. As I have discovered, the most important step is simply taking the first step, as that it the one that opens up the possibilities to do so much more.