Udo participated in various sports in his youth. He was on the national youth team for modern pentathlon at the Federal Training Center in Warendorf, before moving on to boxing, aikido, and judo, and finally practicing and teaching full-contact karate for many years. In 1999, he discovered Tai Chi Chuan according to Ma Jiangbao and has remained committed to this art ever since. For many years, he studied personally with Ma Jiangbao and his best student, Martin Bödicker. He is now an instructor, continuing to practice Tui Shou according to Ma's instructions and teaching it throughout Europe.