My name is Mumtaz, I’m 35 years old. I was born in Little Horton, the Bradford 5 area. I’m a ju-jitsu teacher so most of my students call me Sensei, which is the Japanese word for a teacher of martial arts. I founded Onna Ju-Jitsu club. I chose the name because I wanted something that would represent me and the word Onna translates as ‘woman’ in Japanese. It started off with just me and two loyal students, Ian Margerison and Shannon Gibbon. And now I lead a group of instructors, delivering to over 800 people a week and almost 50% that learn are female and the numbers are growing. Maybe some of them will participate in the Olympics in 2012!

My parents came from Peshawar, so they’re Pathan, and I think it was the late ‘50s. My dad came over first, and he was working and established himself and then my mum came over. I’m the youngest of seven. The three eldest were born in Pakistan, and the other two brothers, one sister and myself were born here. My mum was born in Pakistan obviously and she was orphaned at a very young age, maybe three, and was brought up by aunts and uncles. It's a completely different culture to where we are and a different time as well. You’ve got to remember she was born in 1929 so when she married my dad, she was about 12 and he was about 16. They were first cousins as well so they both shared the same grandfather, which is not uncommon within the culture. She’d had children very young as well. I think she’d had four that were stillbirths. My mum couldn't read or write anything. She could speak some English but very basic. No education whatsoever! But it was never an issue that she couldn't read. It didn't matter.

Growing up skin colour wise, because I was fairer than some of the other children that I used to go to school with, they always assumed that I was of dual heritage – what they called half caste.