AS TOLD TO BC PIRES

My name is Adam Chin Leung Kam and I am a pioneer for the development of multiple martial arts.

I’ve been all over Trinidad, Grande Riviere to Icacos, and I’m not saying west is better than east, central or south.

But I had a wonderful childhood roaming the streets of Woodbrook and the hills of Glencoe.

I live in Diego Martin now.

My father Brian was, is, this huge martial arts personality and did extremely well on a world level for Trinidad. He is one of very few eighth-degree shotokan karate black belts in the Western hemisphere!

My title was always “Brian Chin Leung’s son.” His shoes were huge to fill.

I realised (early) I was not a talented martial artist. I was a workhorse. Nobody had to tell me to train every single day after school for four hours.

Martial arts was my legacy. That (legacy and my) hard work got me to where I am as a teacher and as an international competitor.

I have a family myself, my son Raiden and my daughter Harleigh.

We had tried every single name for our son. And then my ex-wife’s cousin saw the name Raiden in a baby book and my ex-wife liked it. Now my wife had no idea but I well knew Raiden was the main character in the video game Mortal Kombat. I said, “Oh, Raiden is a phenomenal name!”

Right after I got his name on to the birth certificate, she met a friend, a guy, who asked what our son’s name was.

He said, “What? You mean Raiden, like Mortal Kombat Raiden?”

And my ex was, like, “What?”

Raiden means “lord of thunder and lightning” and he is an extremely talented martial artist.

Much, much, much better than I am. He could even be better than Dad. He just turned 12.

I went to Blackman’s Primary and Fatima College.

I never thought I’d do well enough at A-levels to go to university, so I never applied. But, one day, lo and behold, I got an acceptance letter from York University in the mail!

I thought, “How is this even possible?”

I was dating a Canadian girl and she wanted me to come to Canada so bad, she applied on my behalf without telling me.

My dad was fully supportive, although it cost a pretty penny.

People say a university degree is the most important thing for life and work, but I believe my business administration degree was only a lagniappe.

Living in Toronto on my own is really what developed me into the business entrepreneur that I am.

This relaxed environment I was accustomed to in Trinidad, it was very, very fast-paced in Toronto. My thinking became such. In all my businesses, I’ve always pounded the pavement and hustled. I think that’s what university really taught me.

An education and love are first and foremost in the things you want to give your children, for sure.

But other than that, more than anything else, the ability to defend themselves is huge.

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