I was KIDNAPPED by my TEACHER

Learning how to kick and punch, I realised karate was totally different to any other sport I’d tried before.

My parents June and Gary had enrolled me, then aged 10, and my brothers, Bubba, 12, and Mikey, seven, in classes, after my school handed out flyers.

Though I was far more into football and basketball, our teacher Jeff, then 23, was younger and more fun than any coach I’d had before.

‘Your kids have enormous potential,’ he told Mum after practice one day.

Jeff also had a group of kids who fought in interstate competitions, and he would treat them to pizza and trips to the movies for their hard work.

‘Maybe I could take