Shane has studied martial arts and self defence since 1977 of which his first discipline was Zen Do Kai. He studied this form until he joined the Australian Army in 1983 and was allocated to the Royal Australian Infantry where he completed 20 years service and was discharged in 2003. During the early years of his military life, Shane studied various forms of martial arts, from; Aikido, Tae Kwon Do, Kung Fu, Ninjutsu, Jujitsu and back to Zen Do Kai. During the last nine years of his service with the Defence Force, he was involved with Military Unarmed Combat with his main teachers being Major John Whipp (retired) and Captain Glenn Gardiner (retired). During these nine years, Shane was graded to Level B instructor in Military Unarmed Combat under Major John Whipp and later became a Senior Instructor and Qualified Assessor in Military Self Defence and Close Quarter Fighting. Shane has been a qualified Military Instructor since 1996 and has a national trainer's qualification.