Karate king Neil will fight for our campaign
 He’s the chop — the current Scottish karate champion (and he has been for five of the last six years), British Champion in 2000 and the Scottish karate team captain.
By day he’s a PE teacher at Carluke High School, but his spare time is dedicated to his karate passion. The 30-year-old from Hamilton is a second dan black belt.
On August 10, Neil is competing with another 32 karate experts — three from Scotland — in a karate competition in London, which will be televised on Sky Sports. It’s called the £10k karate and the lucky winner takes the whole £10,000 prize.
And that’s where the charity comes in.
Neil was so moved by what he heard about CHAS, he decided if he wins he’s going to give half of his winnings to our campaign.
He said, “It sounds like such a worthy cause and this is the first time I’ve ever fought for money so I thought it would be a good gesture as I don’t typically play for profit.”
Win or lose, Neil plans to spread the word about the hospice. He’s organising a trip to Rachel House for his colleagues in the Scottish karate team.
He said, “Myself and the rest of the team are looking forward to meeting the kids.
“I really hope I can win this money for them, although I’ll be playing against professional guys, one who’s been nine times world karate champion.”
The “open weight” knockout competition means any weight can participate. Neil will fight five others for three minutes. The fight can end early if a competitor is eight points ahead.
Neil laughed, “I’m a middleweight, so not one of the bigger guys — wish me luck.”
He might only have a middleweight body, but — like so many of our readers — Neil has a heavyweight heart. |
You can e-mail us at:
hospice@sundaypost.com
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Neil limbers up for the competition. 
