Sensei Patrick was born in Mol on February 7, 1960. He started as a 13-year-old boy with
Kyokushinkai Karate and become fascinated by this art.

After three years of training, his teacher met Sensei Morio Higaonna, so that from 1976 he
started with Okinawa Goju-Ryu Karate. In 1978 Sensei Patrick obtained his Black Belt. In
1979 he started his own Goju-Ryu Dojo and it has grown quickly. A few years later, in 1982 he co-organized a European Gasshuku in Leopoldsburg, where he met Higaonna Sensei for the first time. He immediately realized, that he will not find a better Karate master.

In 1993 Sensei Patrick was asked by Morio Higaonna Sensei to become Chief Instructor of
Belgium. August 1998 he also met An´ichi Miyagi Sensei and Shuichi Aragaki Sensei for the first time and was amazed by their knowledge, enthusiasm and friendliness. In 2018 Sensei Patrick obtained 7th Dan (Nanadan) at the Honbu Dojo in Okinawa under the watchful eye of Morio Higaonna Sensei.

He can no longer imagine life without Traditional Okinawan Goju-Ryu Karate. It is not only a
martial art, but it has also become an important part of his philosophy of life. As Higaonna
Shihan has said several times: “Never give up, you come and you grow!”