A karate teacher has proved cerebral palsy cannot stop him excelling at martial arts.

Sam Broughton, of Port Lincoln in South Australia, has worked around his physical limitations to get 14 years of karate under his (black) belt.

He said he was interested in martial arts from childhood, fuelled by his adoration of Bruce Lee movies, but never thought then that the sport would be within his capabilities.

"It wasn't until a friend of mine started training in high school that I gave the instructor a call and started from there," he said.

"When I first started training no-one really worried about what I couldn't do with my legs, everyone just focused on what I could do."

Mr Broughton said he had some excellent instructors who helped him find creative ways to achieve karate moves.

Since cerebral palsy affects his entire lower body, they explored how to compensate for the moves he was unable to do.

"Mostly on the ground it limits my flexibility and the speed in which I can move," he explained.

"Whatever technique I couldn't do with my legs, I just learnt how to get the same thing to happen with my hands."

Honing skills

Mr Broughton said all martial artists adapted styles to suit their body type and he just had to do that little bit more.

He said his restricted balance and flexibility prevented him doing some of the 'fancy moves', such as high kicks but he has honed his close-in fighting techniques.

"Once I get my hands on someone and I can pull them into my world, I don't have too much trouble then that way," he said.

His adapted techniques were recognised as he ascended through the karate grades and worked for his advanced black belt.

Mr Broughton said examiners got him to teach a beginner to perform the techniques that he could not physically do.

"That proved that I knew that technique so they marked me off for my grading," he said.

Inspirational

Working with his strengths, Mr Broughton has competed in many Brazilian jiu jitsu competitions - a form of martial arts focusing on ground fighting.

He said his competition highlight was not from a match he won, but a tight contest he lost.

"I fought really hard and got out of some really, really tight positions and didn't give up," he said.

"I got a standing ovation for that, so that was nice."

Mr Broughton's passion for teaching is clear, as he thinks of others rather than his personal achievements.

He said he took a girl he trains to the Australian karate championships this year and she won gold in her division.

"As a teacher as well now it's not just about me and what I can do, it's about what I can pass on to my students and help them achieve their goals," he said.

He said as long as he kept improving in his skills, karate would remain fulfilling.

"It's shown me that there's actually quite a lot more that I can do than what I can't do and it's created a whole career path for me now."