Biography: Karate & Judo
Master Nigel "IRON PANTHER" Scantlebury is a 5th degree black belt with over 30 years of Martial Art experience, including Grappling, Judo, Wrestling, Jiu-Jitsu, Karate, Taekwondo, Boxing, Kickboxing and Muay Thai.
Master Nigel Anthony Scantlebury was born in Surrey, England and at the age of 3 was sent to Barbados to live with his grandmother, Elsie Scantlebury. At the time, his mother, Phyllis Scantlebury, was studying nursing and was unable to manage working, studying and taking care of Nigel. Phyllis also had five other siblings still residing in Barbados who could perhaps help take care of Nigel.
Building a close relationship with his Aunt Cora who resembled his mom created the precedence for a spiritual bond between them. They interacted as mother and son. He often referred to Cora as mom. Fascinated by the old Chinese Kung fu movies Cora would bring Nigel with her to see such legendary stars as Chen Sing, Wang yu, Yatsuki Karata and of course the infamous Bruce Lee. Nigel Scantlebury was exposed to martial arts.
By age 7 Cora enrolled Nigel in his first karate and judo school. Shotokan Karate, being a very hard form of karate, with wide stances, forceful punches, kicks and blocks. Nigel obtained his 1st degree black belt at the tender age of 13.
 Elsie |
 Phillis |
 Aunt Cora |
Judo, taken from the self-defense system of jiu-jitsu, is formally recognized today as being more a sport than a martial art. It depicts the concept of using your opponent's energy, mastering sensitivity, balance and control. At the time, Judo was based on 50% throwing and 50% ground grappling (Ne Waza). As an Olympic sport today, Judo primarily addresses the throwing aspect. Not too long after his first black belt, Nigel, obtained a 1st degree black belt in Judo.
"Looking back today, I believe one reason Cora involved me in martial arts, was because she was a fanatic about the Chinese Kung Fu movies. Cora, having no children of her own, and I, being an active child, with a physical disability, being that one of my legs was shorter than the other, insisted and enrolled me in martial arts. When playing soccer and someone would run next to me, this interrupted my balance and I would trip and fall. Geeze, I have so many scars that you could play connect the dots. The stretching exercises of martial arts helped me gain balance and coordination. Today my legs are even."
"We've all heard about ultimate fighting championships and extreme fighting, but this is nothing new to us. As children we would play to that extreme. Gathering about 20 or so of our friends we would make three teams. These three teams would then be divided into pairs. Making a radius that would only allow us to maintain a certain circumference, we would then pursue and hunt the opposing team members, removing a piece of clothing and gathering them until returning to base. Then we would count the number of items gathered to determine the winning team. Since Rudy and I were the only two who studied martial arts, we were not permitted to be on the same team. Most of the other guys also intrigued by the old Chinese movies would mimic some of the moves they saw. Even though they didn't have true martial art experience some of them were very good. Sometimes we fought to a point where the guys would get badly hurt, with cuts and broken bones."