Berwick began martial arts training in 1976 with Shotokan Karate and later went on to study various other traditional martial arts. After becoming intrigued with Chinese martial arts, he began studying under Bow Sim Mark at the Chinese Wushu Research Institute (CWRI) in 1982. In addition to traditional and contemporary wushu, Berwick also practiced western boxing and Muay Thai. While training at the CWRI, he became friends with Ms. Bow's son, Donnie Yen. With Ms. Bow's sponsorship, Berwick and Donnie Yen traveled to China, and became the first two foreign students to train at the Shaanxi Athletic Technical Institute under the acclaimed martial arts champion, Zhao Changjun and his coach, the pioneering wushu champion, Bai Wenxiang. With this training Berwick went on to play lead roles in Hong Kong action films (see below).