Mr. Daniel Chaganis was born in South Shields in 1939. Having developed a keen interest in Martial Arts, Mr. Chaganis departed for London in 1965, to begin his training under the instruction of Mr. Tatsuo Suzuki, who arrived in London earlier that year from Japan. He joined the Honbu Dojo in Landor Road, Clapham North, under the instruction of Mr. Suzuki. Mr. Suzuki held 'Special Training' nights every Friday for students who showed exceptional talent. Mr. Chaganis was soon selected to attend.
In addition to his training at the Honbu Dojo, Mr. Chaganis also attended training sessions every Tuesday and Thursday at a club in South Ealing. However, his weekly training schedule did not end there, he would also religiously take part in the circuit training sessions at Wimbledon Rugby Club on Sunday Mornings, which included rigorous 'Iron Boot' training. After several months of this intense training, Mr. Chaganis began private, one-to-one instruction under Mr. Suzuki at Ravells Gym.
During this time Mr. Chaganis used to make regular visits, where possible, back home to South Shields, to teach his students what he had learnt from Mr. Suzuki. On occasion he would also organise and promote special visits to the North East of England for Mr. Suzuki.
Mr. Chaganis became a personal friend of Mr. Suzuki with whom he always held the greatest respect and he strictly adhered to the teaching methods of Mr. Suzuki, which is still taught today by Mr. Reece Wilson, Chief Instructor (4th Dan), the star pupil and successor to Mr. Chaganis. However, should excellent techniques be discovered from other forms of Martial Arts, they will be absorbed it into the training system.



