A unique craftsman.
"Oceans Wellbeing Centre and the students of Brighton Choi Kwang Do owe a great deal to Loic Bitout and 21st century carpentry.
When we were struggling to get the centre opened up on time and our fit out had pretty much ground to a halt it was Loic who got us out of trouble even though he was busy with other projects he found time in the evenings after work to come in and help us correct various errors, finish the fit out job and get the centre open.
Loic’s two primary skills and training in life result in a unique craftsman with a unique approach to his work.
Loic’s father was a martial arts instructor and ran a martial arts school in France where Loic naturally trained as he was growing up. Loic’s martial arts background can be seen very clearly in the way he approaches his work once you know what to look for.
It’s immediately obvious that Loic takes great pride in his work as all excelleent craftsmen do, what is also obvious are the traits typical of a dedicated, focused martial artist. i.e. The expectation of perfection as a minimum standard, the undertaking of every task as almost a personal test or challenge, a quest for constant and never ending improvement in methods and results and the constant requirement to be the best at what he does.
Loic trained as a carpenter in France after leaving school, when he was forced to retire from martial arts training following a serious injury and carpentry became his total focus it seems his occupation became his new outlet to express what he previously achieved in his training. As I stop to think about it I realise that carpentry/building and martial arts have something in common at a fundamental level, especially in Loic Bitout’s case.
When striving for perfection in martial arts there two main components to consider, first off functionality, it does not matter how pretty a technique looks if it does not perform it’s required role efficiently and effectively. At the same time no serious martial artist is ever satisfied with functionality by itself and instead will strive constantly to achieve perfection so that it (what ever it might be) also looks beautiful to the eye, and therefore perfect in everyway. At least that is the aim.
In my experience a good tradesman will aim to satisfy the expectations of each customer so they can feel confident as they move onto the next job. In Loic’s case I get the feeling that very few customers expectations will ever reach the level of expectation that Loic places on his himself whether taking on a small task or a major project.
A dedicated martial artist usually believes that achieving perfection in their art depends not only on practising of the most difficult, exciting techniques but also an obsession with repeating and perfecting the basics, the fundamentals. Because of this philosophy no task is too mundane or ever boring to a martial artist, they will approach the simplest most routine task the same way they will approach their most difficult or demanding skill.
I know in my case this gave me total peace of mind when it came to the fit out of our centre. Our wellbeing centre had taken 4 and a half years of planning and preparation, we had a carefully considered outline by an interior designer but not a detailed spec or drawing to work from. There were lots of unanswered questions in the final design but once Loic new what I wanted I was able to relax, forget about it and look forward to finished item/ work of art.
It was not my intention to write this much or in this way but once stared, I began to get a clearer insight into how Loic Bitout is able to achieve the things that he does in the way that he does.
I’m also very happy to have taken the time to write this as I realise that Loic would never write it, he might not agree with everything I have written here and even if he did is too humble to even think about writing it.
If you have any questions about Loic’s work or need a to speak to a previous customer, please feel free to contact me at any time. Having said that I’d also recommend looking through the gallery of Loics work which pretty much speaks for itself.
Thank you Loic for all your help and support
Eugene Butcher
Co founder
Oceans Wellbeing Centre
Brighton Choi Kwang Do
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