Michael Donnelly began his training in Martial Arts at 10 years old, with Karate. By the age of 14, he was National Karate Champion of Ireland; and at 16, he received his 1st degree Black Belt in Shotokan, in Dublin. This was just the beginning of Mike’s Martial Arts journey. In the following years, he opened his first Karate school in Drogheda, and subsequently began training in Kickboxing. He entered many competitions and in 1990 he became both the National Full Contact Kickboxing and National Karate Champion.