Sumar Khan was born in India. Between the ages of 9 - 16, he moved to Tanzania and then came to England and settled in Leicester. He joined the Marines and then returned to Leicester for a year when he was 21, according to his programme bio for Julius Caesar. He trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama. He directed fights for the Phoenix Theatre, Leicester's production of Hamlet and in 1983 also directed the fight for the Nottingham Playhouse production of As You Like It.