Alan has been training in white cloud since 1999 and has been a black belt and instructor since November 2004.  In August 2024 he was awarded the rank of 5th Dan, making him one of the more senior instructors at the Academy. 

​

Alan has always preferred the internal aspects of the White Cloud syllabus, with a certain commitment to Tai Chi. In as much, he also has associations with the Chi Tao Tai Chi Society and trained at the Daolin centre where he studied the Chen style of the art.