December 22, 2021 - 934 views
A former North Wales Police officer has been honoured with a national award for his ongoing work teaching self-defence classes.
Chris Corcoran, who retired as Detective Chief Superintendent in 2010 after 30 years of service, was presented with the ‘Neil Braithwaite Memorial Award for Community Service’ at the Midland Hotel in Manchester last week.
Chris is the Senior Instructor of the North Wales Police Self Defence Section and has been a member for over 40 years.
During this time Chris has given up his time to instruct Police Officers, staff members, family, friends, and members of the public in self-defence.
Chris also puts on bespoke courses such as self-defence courses for women, children and people with physical and mental disabilities.
Up until recently Chris was also heavily involved in taking disabled children on an annual trip to Lourdes.
Chris was accompanied to the ceremony by Supt Paul Jones, one of the club’s black belts who nominated him for the award.
Reflecting on the honour, which was presented by North Wales Police Chief Constable Carl Foulkes, Chris said: “After more than 40 years of training people in self-defence, this recognition is nice to receive both for myself and for the club.
“After a good career with the Force, I felt it was important to give something back to the community.
“Receiving this award from the Chief felt great. It gives me the motivation to continue training and teaching, which is good for the physical and mental health of everyone who takes part.
“We work with a big cross-section of the public, with people of all ages and backgrounds in our classes.
“I feel that working with young people, particularly those from hard-to-reach communities, has really helped to break down barriers that can arise between the police and parts of the community.
“That type of engagement is so valuable, I think and very rewarding when we see the results that occur.
“We’ve also had real emphasis recently in working with girls and women, as well as the most vulnerable people in our society, and that’s something we feel is important to continue, in order to give confidence and some sense of security to those attending.”
The club is open to everyone aged 12 and over and of all abilities and backgrounds.
There is no charge for the tuition, which teaches the martial art of Kung Fu and basic self-defence and allows members to progress through gradings.
Sessions run every Tuesday between 7-9pm at Police Headquarters in Colwyn Bay and St Mary’s Catholic Church, Hall, Regent Street, Wrexham.
For further details call: Chris on 07528711857 or Hayley on 07597901547.
