Arneil was born on 29 August 1934 in Krugersdorp, Transvaal, South Africa
When he was 10 years old, his family moved to Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia)
He began training in kung fu, judo and boxing in Zambia
At age 16, he was selected to represent Northern Rhodesia in rugby
By the age of 17, Arneil had earned black belt status in judo, and he had also practised kenpo and karate
He moved to Durban, South Africa, for tertiary studies in mechanical engineering
In Durban, Arneil trained at a judo dojo (training hall) that also offered karate training
He made a practice of going down to the harbour and asking arriving Japanese people if they practised karate
In 1959, Arneil left South Africa, bound for Southeast Asia
2015 will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the British Kyokushinkai Karate (BKK) organisation with main celebrations taking place at the 39th British Open Knockdown Championships in Crawley on 17 October.