Black Belt International  Executives Profiles - United Kingdom

 

Name: Mark Noyce                                     

Club Name      Location: Peterborough United Kingdom

Mark Noyce

Martial Arts Styles:  Kung Fu Karate Mugendo Tang soo do   Grades: Black belt – Kung Fu Black belt – Karate Black belt – Mugendo Black belt – Tang soo do   Qualifications:    Titles and appointments: I.C.K.F World forms champion W.U.M.A World forms champion World Classic forms champion WKA British forms champion MAI series forms champion FSK forms champion Ricochet forms champion Links and Associations:   Affiliations: BBI BNMAA

Photo Profile

Bio

Mark Noyce's martial arts career started at the age of 6, studying Lau Gar Kung Fu under Sifu Nigel Thompson and Master Jeremy Yau. Mark's Father had originally taken him to instill some confidence and discipline into his Son. It soon became apparent that Mark was destined to take this much further than just a general hobby, and by the age of 10, Mark was training 7 days a week and winning National Kung Fu titles.

At the age of 13, with 7 years Kung Fu experience and amassing many major titles, Mark's Father thought his Son should take some time off competing and learn another style of Martial art; believing that to become a good Martial Artist it was important that you experience as many styles as possible. After nearly 6 months of convincing Mark and touring all the different schools, he finally took him to study Iwa Kai Karate with Sensei Bill Holmes.

Starting as a white belt again felt like a backward step for Mark, but speaking about it now Mark recalls that this was a turning point in his life and one of the best things that could have happened to him at that time.

"I was a 13 year old kid who thought he knew it all. To go to a club as a white belt was a massive bruise to my ego. But it wasn't long until it became painfully obvious that I still had substantially more to learn, and I will always respect both my Father and Sensei Bill Holmes for teaching me that"

It was during Mark's time training with Sensei Bill Holmes that he met his now long time friend Robert Tyler, and over the next 3 years Robert would take Mark training with him several nights a week at various Martial Arts Schools.

In 1990 and after 4 years away from the competition scene Mark firmly set his sights on his return to the circuit. His friend Clifton Findley, with whom he had become close friends with during his Kung Fu days, was now a major force on the competition circuit and he advised Mark to take 6 months to prepare.

Mark recalls "I had trained with Clifton back at my original Kung Fu school in the early 80's and when it comes to competition he's been there and done it all. I asked him the truth as to whether I was good enough to mix it with the best and he was brutally honest and told me no. He advised that I spend 6 months preparing for a comeback . I went with Clifton to every major competition in the country seeing what was out there and weighing up what I needed to do"

The following 6 months saw a huge change in Marks training regime which consisted of 20 hours a week Martial Arts training and 10 hours a week gymnastic training.

"It was possibly the hardest 6 months of my life. I couldn't afford to fail and I knew I would have to put in the hours if I wanted to even come close to the standard that was about at the time. With some element of gymnastics skill now almost compulsory I went to a gymnastics school and pleaded for private lessons. At first they weren't convinced but I managed to eventually convince them to give me a trial run. The agreement was I had to put in a minimum of 10 hours a week or they weren't interested, so that's what I did"

Marks return went better than even he had expected, and in his first year he would capture both British and European titles.

Mark's return as the country's number one forms competitor caught the eye of promoter Ian Pauly (owner of the worldwide renowned Paulys gym) and he invited Mark to his gym for a chat.

"I received an invitation to speak with Ian, who on my arrival congratulated me on my recent successes (Mark had originally met Ian in the early 80's when he competed for Sifu Nigel Thompson) and he asked If I would be interested in a sponsorship deal. I was absolutely overwhelmed, I shook his hand and accepted his offer there and then"

The new sponsorship deal (which was widely reported in the Martial arts magazines at the time) was a huge step forward for Mark and a partnership and friendship was created that still holds strong today. Mark now had access to one of the best fully equipped gyms in the country and all travelling expenses and cost were covered by the sponsorship.

Over the next 6 years Mark would go on to become 3 times World forms champion.

As the current British, European and World Champion, Mark announced a decision that surprised almost everyone in the Martial arts world, and retired from competition. But the decision came as no surprise to friend, coach and sponsor Ian Pauly who had apparently discussed this many times with Mark and fully backed his decision. A lot of speculation has been made as to the reasoning behind his decision. Many still feel it was premature, but Mark feels he made the right choice.

"I didn't feel I had anywhere else to go, everyone on the competition scene had seen me, and any competition I went to I was expected to win. I much prefer being the underdog and having it all to prove but those days had gone. I'd had many discussions with my Coach Ian about it and he had seen that my training was suffering from it, so he agreed that we needed to look at something new"

Mark continued with his training even though he wasn't competing  and performed the occasional demonstration for Ian Pauly and Thai boxing legend Master Sken. During this period Mark received a phone call asking him if he wanted to audition for a part as an executioner in the stage show Turandot - (the part for which Mark auditioned was played several years before at the same venue by Bey Logan)

Mark auditioned by performing one of his forms and he was instantly offered the part. (Ian Pauly also played the part of a Villain in the show)

"I absolutely loved it! To perform in front of a different audience was great. It was extremely hard work as I had to perform a lot of acrobatics without any mats which I found extremely hard at first, but it was a new challenge and that's what I was looking for."

Mark would go on to become a regular theatre performer and choreographer and has played a wide range of characters. Along with his theatre roles Mark has done some TV work and been offered numerous film roles. However, as a happily married man he chooses to shun the film work and stick to performing live.

"I've been offered numerous TV and film roles but it isn't for me I'm afraid. The offers came at the wrong time in my life. I was actually offered my first film role while I was on my honeymoon. I've no interest in being away from my Family. Also, the small amount of TV work I've done wasn't as exciting as I'd have thought, performing in front of a camera instead of a live audience just doesn't appeal to me as much"

Mark is rarely seen at Martial Arts events these days. He still trains religiously and is still affiliated with Ian Paulys gym. When questioned whether he would be making a return to competing he didn't totally rule it out.

"It's not something I'm actively working towards right now but never say never! I don't particularly like the latest XMA craze so If I feel I need to return to point forms back in the right direction, who knows"

 

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