Richard Wagstaff, 27, could have been a musician. That’s where life pointed him for most of his childhood and adolescence: years playing the french horn in the National Youth Orchestra; four years studying music performance at Trinity College of Music.

But he isn’t. By the second year of his degree, Wagstaff knew that he didn’t want to be a professional horn player. When he graduated, he spent a year working in PR before moving into journalism. The idea was that he could ultimately combine his interests in writing and music, although his actual job was assistant editor on a magazine called Car & Accessory Trader.

“There were only two of us on the magazine so I did everything, from the cover story to the admin,” he says. “I did it for two and-a-half years and really enjoyed it.”

But despite establishing himself in journalism, magazines were his day job, not his vocation. His passion was reserved for Fujian White Crane kung fu, which is a martial art that was developed by a woman in China about 400 years ago.

“I’ve always been physical. At school I played rugby a lot, and I enjoy sport, but kung fu provided something more than that. It’s not just about moving your body – it’s mental and spiritual as well.”

He began by taking a couple of lessons each week but soon realised that he’d found something to which he could devote his life. Not long after, he increased his training to include classes of up to three hours every day. “I had decided that I could make my living as an instructor... [but I was] not yet ready to start training other people.”

What followed was a long and intensive learning period. By the time he reached an appropriate level of expertise in the discipline, Wagstaff joined his club’s instructor training scheme, which meant that he spent two years unpaid running his own “satellite club” in the evenings while working as an editor in the day. During this time his mentor – an experienced instructor from the club – paid all costs, such as marketing and hall fees, so that Wagstaff was able to learn the ropes without fear of financial catastrophe.

“That time is there because it allows you to make mistakes and get it wrong,” he says.

By June last year, his apprenticeship was complete and his client list was strong enough to allow him to set out on his own (all Fujian White Crane instructors are sole traders but they meet regularly for training sessions and to discuss business; in some ways it’s a little like a franchise).

It is such a big part of his life that he is now mentoring one assistant instructor and is engaged to another. “I do have friends who don’t do kung fu but they understand that this is my life, this is my business and it comes first.”

Even injury wouldn’t stop him from going in to work. “You can still train,” he says. “If you injure your leg you can sit in a chair and train.”

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