While working as a builder in the 1960s, Sandy Simpson agreed to go along with a friend to try out something called “karate”.
The Japanese pursuit had just arrived in the UK at the time, and a none-the-wiser Sandy went along to see what it was like out of sheer curiosity.
Little did he know, it would come to shape his life.
And 60 years on, if you take a visit to Fraserburgh Community Centre on a Tuesday night, you’ll find this particular pensioner is not quite sitting around putting his feet up.
Even now, the proud Brocher is still going strong at the age of 81.
He has dedicated the past 60 years of his life to teaching generations of youngsters across the country, and shows no sign of stopping any time soon.
Now he has gone from being Fraserburgh’s answer to the Karate Kid to a real-life Mr Miyagi – and he can be found passing down wisdom he learned from some of Japan’s highest-ranking karate masters.
“My whole life has been around this… It’s driven my wife Sylvia nuts for years,” the sensei chuckles.
I took a visit to Sandy’s home in Fraserburgh to hear the untold stories of his life-long dedication to Karate, including:
- How he has travelled the country with some of the sport’s greats
- How a Japanese sensei reacted on a tour of a famous Broch attraction
- And how he manages to keep going despite being in his 80s
Who is Sandy Simpson?
I popped in to visit Sandy at his home in Fraserburgh, keen to learn more about the decades he has spent pursuing his passion.
Spread out across the living room floor and coffee table are photo frames and books charting his life in karate.
It was only introduced to Scotland back in 1962 and Sandy recalls how he got into the ancient form of martial arts.
‘I just went along to see what it was like’
Looking back, Sandy remembers: “I was actually just working as a builder when I came across karate.
“I heard about it from a friend of mine who had taken it up, and he encouraged me to give it a go.
“I just went along to see what it was like… It was so long ago, but I’ve now got four of my own grandkids starting karate!”
By the time he was 20, Sandy became a founding member of the Fraserburgh club.
And he soon began training with Aberdeen’s very own Ronnie Watt, another pioneer of the sport who is still teaching it today.
It was through his teachings all over the north-east that the Brocher had the opportunity to train with some of the discipline’s biggest names…
Sandy’s unique piece of karate history
After showing me through the collection of photographs, Sandy carefully unfurls his prize possession.
This piece of memorabillia is the one he is most proud of.
Over the years, he has amassed a huge collection of signatures on his Fraserburgh Shotokan flag, some dating back more than 50 years.
Each one comes with a story attached, and some are poignant reminders of friends and inspirations no longer around.
The names include the likes of Hirokazu Kanazawa, Hideo Ochi and a whole host of former world champions.
Sandy smiles: “This goes back a long time.
“That flag, there’s nothing near anything like that in the world.
“Most of the karateka (karate practitioners) trained in their own associations, but this covers every Shotokan teacher in the world.
“When the Japanese used to see this on the courses, they would gasp. They were just amazed!
“But sadly most of the people on my flag now are gone.”
Sandy showed karate legend around Fraserburgh
The father-of-five then draws my attention to a picture on his side table.
Admittedly, I had very little knowledge of karate before visiting, so to my untrained eye all I saw was a photo of a younger Sandy and three other men.
But then Sandy begins to explain that it features a man remembered as “one of the most respected traditional karate masters of all time”.
“That’s me with Hirokazu Kanazawa, and you don’t get photographs like that with him unless you’re a really good friend,” he tells me with some pride.
“He came to my door in Fraserburgh!
“He actually wanted to see the Lighthouse Museum, because it was all to do with Thomas Blake Glover.”
Throughout the latter half of the 20th century, Hirokazu Kanazawa travelled the world teaching the sport, including this trip to Fraserburgh where he met up with Sandy.
The Brocher recalls how Hirokazu was interested by Thomas Blake Glover, a famous entrepreneur from the north-east who went on to the lay the foundations for massive corporations such as HSBC and Mitsubishi in the Far East.
So what did Hirokazu Kanazawa think of the Broch?
“He really enjoyed it!” Sandy laughs.
‘It’s been a whole lifetime of training’
Sandy has dedicated almost his whole life to the sport, and still managed to find time for karate whilst working as a scaffolder offshore.
He recalls spending weeks away from home braving harsh North Sea conditions, and then spending his time off travelling the length of the country on karate business.
The great-grandfather tells me: “It’s been a whole lifetime of training.
“I was never just in my own bubble with karate, that’s why I travelled about so much for 40 years.
“At the time when I started, the whole of the north-east was starting as well, so we were all really close.”
A lifetime of promoting karate in Fraserburgh
As the black belt gears up to teach his weekly karate class at Fraserburgh Community Centre, I still have one lingering question on my mind.
Just how is Sandy, who now has six great-grandchildren, still at it?
The Brocher’s answer is quite simple: “It’s probably because I’ve been doing karate my whole life.
“It’s just been a whole lifetime of training and trying to promote the sport.
“That’s what it’s all been about for me.”
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