Combat Magazine - November 2011

BRINGING MARTIAL ARTS TO LIFE

MARTIALARTSSHOW the

THE NEC BIRMINGHAM 12th & 13th MAY 2012

November 2011 Vol. 36 No. 11 £3.95

Steven

THEMARTIALARTSSHOWLIVE’11

Get Ready for 2012!

Seagal

What’s he really like?

PLUS..

The Pro’s & Con’s of Competition - Chi, The Balance of Power Tatsuo Suzuki, A Life of Karate - Carlos Condit, Natural Born Killer >>>

visit us at www.combatmag.co.uk

VOL 36 NO. 11 NOVEMBER 2011 PUBLISHER/EDITOR IN CHIEF Paul Clifton paul@martialartsinprint.com

SENIOR DESIGNER Kevin Thompson

WEBMASTER Nick Harley

ADVERTISING/SALES EXECUTIVE Jan Harley 0121 351 6930

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COLUMNISTS

Aran Dharmeratnam Gavin Mulholland Joe Hallett Kerry-Louise Norbury Mike Finn

PHOTOGRAPHY Carrie Austin 07716266854 Film Media Phil Hobden Mike Murphy

CONTRIBUTORS KUNG FU Brian Dossett David Wing Guy Holland Mick Clarke Peter Browne Rich Hinchcliffe Richard Thomas Stuart Rider Tom Hibbert

Derek Frearson Iain Armstrong Jeremy Yau Michael Tse Simon Lau Vince Hinde Yap Leong

COMMENT What do you plan to do whilst you switch from autumn to winter mode? Well, if I were you and I wanted to stay ahead of the masses, I would take a look at www. martial House.co.uk it’s a place that has been created, designed and made exclusively for you, the martial artist and best of all its FREE. As well as carrying all the latest news (as it happens), you can place FREE adverts for your club, list your events for FREE in its calendar section, create your own profile & connect with (publicly and privately) any martial arts people through it. It has lots of helpful tools and content (and some still yet to be released functions). So, take some time to visit a brand new entity in the Martial Arts World, take advantage of all its assets and facilities because as I said its all FREE! Think of it as your new Face book with lots of added benefits BUT for Martial Artists ONLY! Thank you to every one of you that visited, demonstrated, exhibited and supported The Martial Arts Show Live this year as you made it the GREATEST event ever and one that we can ALL be proud of. Everything went as smooth as it could and EVERYONE that I have spoken with has said that they had the most enjoyable time ever! The only criticism that we experienced was that there was just too much to take in, in one day. So, if you book your tickets before December the first, not only will you save £5 against the normal day rate ticket price – We will upgrade it to a weekend ticket for no extra charge. That’s a £40 ticket for two days for just £15.00. With 3 times as many visitors this year than last, more than twice as many exhibitors AND with 74 exhibitors already booked in for 2012 we are already set to give you a FANTASTIC Martial Arts Show for 2012 (May the 12th & 13th at the National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham). If you could not make it this year, be sure to check out the photo report in this issue and you will see lots and lots of faces with smiles on them and make yourself a promise to be there in person at The Martial Arts Show Live – YOU WON’T REGRET IT !

After a great deal of thought, I have decided to open the Martial Arts Hall of Fame up to general public recommendation. So if you would like to recommend your instructor or an outstanding member of the martial arts world for consideration, send an e-mail to; cliftoncombat@aol.co.uk and I will get back to you with the correct application forms. So that you understand what the Hall of fame is all about, all you need to do is ONLY recommend someone that you feel is an outstanding example for all others to follow. Be this because they are a great instructor, raise money for charity, have a really nice way about them or they are just a great or cool person that cares about their students. If you know of any one that deserves to be recognised for their work or contribution to society using their martial arts, please let me know. The world needs to know that there are some great unsung heroes out there that really do their bit!

P.S. If you would like to train with Joe Lewis, Cynthia Rothrock, Jeff Smith or Bill Wallace between the 28th and 30th of November drop me a line now. Limited places so do it now - cliftoncombat@aol.co.uk Until next month, Oss! Paul.

KOREAN ARTS Dave Oliver David Allerton Hee Il Cho Keith Evans Tony Vohra

KARATE

Chris Denwood Mike Finn Neil Horton Peter Allen Rannoch McDonald Ronnie Colwell Steve Arneill

THAI BOXING Dan Green Richard Smith Shaun Boland Tony Myers

SPORT MARTIAL ARTS

BOXING

Humphrey Broome Joe Hallett John Swift Neville Wray Peter Edwards

FULL CONTACT

HEALTH/ STRENGTH/ FITNESS

Luke Calvert Mark Wilson-Smith Bill Wallace Cris Janson-Piers Dean Sugden Joe Lewis Kerry-Louise Norbury Paul Hennesey Steve Humphries

Drew Price Gavin Sibson Neil Rosiak Philip Malin Silvio Simac Jon Watson

SELF PROTECTION/ DEFENCE

Aran Dharmeratnam Kevin O’Hagan Morne Swaenopal Peter Browne

PHOTOGRAPHY Carrie Austin Martyn Skipper

MMA

Carl Fisher Dave O’Donnell Gavin Mulholland Rob Nutley

We are on the look out for enthusiastic martial arts fans that would like to become area/regional reporters.

Fancy yourself as a team player? genuine and ‘real’ martial arts fans call now on: 0121-351-6930

CONTENTS REGULARS

64

6 -

MARTIAL ARTS NEWSLINE

10 -

COMBAT FILM - With Phil Hobden

16 -

THE MAN SPEAKETH! - By Robert Devane

20 -

WANT TO LEARN MARTIAL ARTS? Written by Dave J. Lomas

26 -

CHATTERBOX - With Kerry-Louise Norbury

28 -

BUNBUN SERIES - With Mike Finn

32 -

COMBAT HELPLINE - With Master Jake Ogden

144 - CLUBS DIRECTORY & CLASSIFIEDS SECTION

FEATURES

100

124

142

40 -

SHAOLIN KUNG FU A Brief Introduction

42 -

LONDON 2012 Launches Young Games Maker Programme

46 -

BUNJINKAN BUDO TAIJUTSU

52 -

THE MARTIAL ARTS SHOW 2011 The Perfect Recipe For a Perfect Martial Arts Extravaganza Showcase!

62 -

TMAS PRESENTERS... Hiking Their Way to The Top!

68 -

STEVEN SEAGAL - What's he Really Like?

74 -

BKKU SUMMER CAMP - A Rare Experience

78 -

CHI - The Balance of Power

78 -

THE GATHERING OF EAGLES The World Head of Family Sokeship Council

82 -

HAGANAHS ISRAELI TACTICAL KNIFE FIGHTING Part 2

88 -

TO CONFRONT OR TO EVADE Enter Teuk Gong Moo Sool - Part 3

94 -

SPIRIT 2 POWER

98 -

GUY BLOOM The Next Big Thing Part 2

104 -

CARLOS CONDIT The Natural Born Killer

108 -

SELF DEFENCE FOR WHEELCHAIR USERS

By Colm Whooley

112 -

NEVER PLAY CARDS WITH...

The Shaolin Warriors

116 -

THE ART OF ADHERING

By Yun-Choi Yung

118 -

THE ELITE PERFORMANCE ACADEMY The Latest Thinking in Sport Science TRADITIONAL

124 - PROFESSOR TATSUO SUZUKI - By Neil Horton 130 - THE E.S.K.K. COLUMN - With Chris Denwood 134 - STANCES - Kokutsu Dachi

138 - TANG SOO DO - By Master David Allerton 142 - USE THE FORCE

By Chris Airey

THE NEC BIRMINGHAM 12TH & 13TH May 2012

32

Shaolin Kung Fu A Brief Introduction

In the region of the Song Mountain, Dengfeng City in the Henan province lies the Shaolin Temple. Claimed to be the birthplace of martial arts, the temple is also referred to as ‘the number one temple under heaven’ and it is there, where students, monks and practitioners of various styles of martial arts, gather to practice Kung Fu and Buddhism.

The Shaolin monks have been practicing and refining their Kung Fu for over 1,500 years, originally stemming from an Indian monk called Dharma who taught the monks various methods to improve their health, and to stop them from falling asleep while meditating.

Those initial forms of exercise have been developed and single handily transformed the Shaolin Temple, and created one of the greatest/ oldest martial art systems in the world.

Bodhidaharma (Dharma) was a Buddhist monk from South India who traveled to the Shaolin Monastery.

He meditated near the temple, facing a wall for nine years. He left behind an iron chest containing two books “Marrow Cleansing Classic” and “Muscle Tendon Change Classic” known as Yi Jin Jing. The second book was used by the Shaolin Monks to develop their bodies and skill.

There are tens of thousands of Kung Fu styles in the world associated to Shaolin Kung Fu but most common traditional forms (Tao Lu) taught within the temple are Xiao Hong Quan, Da Hong Quan, Tong Bei Quan and Yin Shou Gun to name a few. Forms such as Wu Bu Quan and Lian Huan Quan have been developed for the West to learn the basics of the traditional forms. There is a list of 72 Shaolin Arts Training Methods within the temple that can produce extraordinary skills and abilities. A few of these methods are ‘Iron body’ also known as ‘steel jacket’ ‘pressure point’ and ‘nerve manipulation’ even ‘jumping’.

One Shaolin form Xiao hong quan (mandarin pronunciation) is known under various translations as; small ‘Hong’ fist, small ‘red’ fist and small ‘flooding’ fist, and in its original form is well over one thousand years old. It is one of the most traditional and oldest forms presently taught at the temple and around the world due to the popularity and spread of Shaolin Kung Fu. The name ‘Hong’ originates from Hongwu part of the Hong clan, this was the title of the reign of the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty. Xiao hong quan consists of approximately 64 steps and there are internal and external versions for all techniques. The most beautiful part of learning xiao hong quan is that it embodies all the reason why martial artists practise tao lu (forms)

by letting the individual express themselves through the movements, embracing ‘active meditation’.

Shaolin Kung Fu is not just a martial art, it is not something you practice two hours a week, it’s not for fighting, and it’s for peace. Shaolin Kung fu is a life long commitment, a way of life.

Kung fu can be transferred into any activity from making a cup of tea to most famously putting on your jacket.

It can be practiced by any age young and old alike.

‘Gong’ is that of achievement or results. The word Qi Gong is a system of ‘energy cultivation’ within your body. This is what makes some impressive Shaolin feats possible.

With Si added to the above (forth tone) Shaolin Si, the name Shaolin literally means “Temple in the woods of Mount Shaoshi”.

Shaolin Kung Fu can be practiced anywhere. Wu Shu (Mandarin translation ‘martial arts’) shoes have been developed especially for strenuous training sessions and it’s advised for Kung Fu practitioners to wear the correct shoes to train in. Wearing the incorrect shoes can restrict movement, damage your joints and support bad technique.

Robes are worn by Monks and Disciples, although it’s perfectly fine for students to wear robes with their teacher consent to connect to the Shaolin way of life.

Lightweight satin trousers and t-shirts should also be worn for unrestricted movement, specifically designed for strenuous and flexible techniques. Some students wear Chinese Buddhist pendants for protection or beads on the left wrist.

Si

This is the true meaning and translation of the word Shaolin, in Shaolin Kung Fu. 少 林 寺

Shaolin Si Sponsored by Black Eagle Martial Arts www.black-eagle.co.uk

少林

Shaolin Shaolin is a mixture of two things, shao (forth tone) and lin (second tone). Shao refers to ‘Mount Shaoshi’ in the Songshan mountain range and lin literally means ‘forest’. The monks climb the mountain and train daily at the temple below.

By Tom Metcalfe

Qi Gong is a type of Kung Fu Training for health, martial arts and awakening to ones true nature. Chi (pronounced chee and also spelled qi) is your internal energy. Life giving energy within the body, mind and spirit. Everyone and everything has Chi. Chi is the life force found in all living things and when you die, your chi is no longer there. It can take a lifetime of study to understand and develop Chi. You can improve your chi flow through breathing exercises and simple movements. With more Chi you can live a more balanced healthy life through the natural flow of your energy. Good health and strong, balanced Chi are almost one and the same. Even though your Chi is located in your whole body your dantian is the best home for your Chi. Your dantien is just below your navel and several inches in toward your spine.

寺

To read more articles like this make sure you get the next issue of fighters available from WH Smith & all good newsagents

The current Shaolin abbot Shi Yong Xin has decided to embrace modern day culture and promote Shaolin.

The official first branch in the UK was the Shaolin Temple UK set up

by Shifu Shi Yanzi who continues to teach today endorsed by the abbot himself. Similar Shaolin schools have been set up all over the world to help preserve and expand the system/ Buddhist influence.

Without Chi there is no life, there is no Kung Fu.

launches Young Games Maker programme to find 2,000 dedicated young volunteers With just one year to go until the start of the London 2012 Games, the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) today announced details of the Young Games Maker programme.

Over 2,000 young people from across the UK will be recruited to take up volunteer roles vital to ensuring the successful delivery of the Games. Approximately 250 teams of young people, who must be aged 16 or over on 1 July 2012 and under 18 on 1 January 2012, will join the adult Games Makers next summer to help stage the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

More information about the Young Games Maker programme can be found at www.london2012.com/ young-games-maker and images of young people involved in the pilot

programme at the volleyball test event are available for download here from 11.30am on Sunday 24 July 2011.

The Young Games Maker programme supports LOCOG’s commitment to inspire young people to choose sport and leave a volunteering legacy.

The programme will allow young people already involved in sport to experience sport at its highest level and explore opportunities that exist outside competition; whilst encouraging those not necessarily involved in sport now to participate and develop their skills.

LOCOG invites organisations such as youth or sports clubs, community and volunteering groups and schools and colleges that are members of the London 2012 Get Set network, to spend the next eight weeks reviewing the roles on offer and encouraging their young people to consider forming a team.

Team leaders such as teachers, coaches and youth group leaders will apply on behalf of their team and support the young people through every stage of selection, training and delivery at Games time. The team approach will ensure the young people are able to focus on their roles and have a great experience during the Olympic and Paralympic Games, and that LOCOG is best able to fulfill its duty of care commitments to the young people involved.

Team sizes range from role to role and vary between two and 18 young people, with a team leader on board for every 10 young people.

Jean Tomlin, LOCOG HR Director, explained: ‘The Young Games Maker programme is incredibly exciting as it has allowed us to identify a dedicated offering of roles which will allow us to

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harness young people’s enthusiasm for London 2012 and guarantee 16 to 18-year-olds will have the chance to play their part in the greatest sporting event on earth. With the support of their organisation and team leader, they will receive all the help they need to ensure they can make the most of this once in a lifetime chance and bring their very best to the role.’

Recruitment of Young Games Maker teams will be via a specialist or generalist route, with roles being defined by the number of team opportunities, skills required and level of training commitments. Roles recruited through specialist channels, such as National Governing Bodies of sport, include Water Polo Ball Retrievers and Table Tennis Ball People. Meanwhile, generalist applications for roles such as Athlete Kit Team members for Swimming and Athletics and Venue Results Distributors, will be made via www. london2012.com/young-games-maker.

In both cases, team leaders will be invited to apply for a specific role which best meets the skills and abilities of their team.

They will need to demonstrate that the young people within their proposed team meet role-specific criteria and the required personal attributes.

Key dates and details for the Young Games Maker application process are: Those interested in the generalist roles available will be able to review the roles, the skills required and find out more about the team application process at www.london2012.com/ young-games-maker 22 September 2011 - 31 October 2011: Generalist applications received via the LOCOG website from team leaders from all recognised organisations such as volunteer organisations, sports clubs, community groups and schools and colleges that are members of London 2012’s Get Set network.

Applications for Olympic Tennis Ball Boys and Girls and Wheelchair Tennis specialist roles also commence from 22 September.

Given the extensive training programme required for the Ball Boy and Ball Girl roles, recruitment for Tennis teams will be through Get

Set network schools in the London Boroughs of Wandsworth and Merton, and for Wheelchair Tennis through Get Set network schools in the six Host Boroughs of Waltham Forest, Greenwich, Tower Hamlets, Hackney, Newham and Barking and Dagenham.

Schools and colleges wishing to submit a team application for any Young Games Maker role will need to be a member of the Get Set network.

Find out more about the programme that recognises and rewards schools and colleges for the work they have done around the Olympic and Paralympic Values at www. london2012.com/getset...

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Bujinkan Budo

Taijutsu

“I saw your ad, was wondering about trying a class...er...what is Boo-jin-karn nin-jut...?” the voice on the other end of the phone trails off in a hopeful and confused silence.

I’m hardly surprised, I get calls like this a lot (not as often as I’d like though!). So once again I have to explain what the Bujinkan is, what budo taijutsu is and, yeah, explain the whole ninjutsu thing. The biggest hurdle to overcome is the stereotyping of ninjutsu. As soon as you mention anything that sounds like ninja for some bizarre reason the most rational, mature person leaps on that Hollywood image. The stock answers follow: no we don’t wear masks; no we don’t train in the dark; no, actually, I haven’t been on a mission to infiltrate a stronghold recently...ok I made that last one up, but you get the picture.

To start from the beginning (as all good stories should) the Bujinkan is an international organisation under Soke Masaaki Hatsumi (Soke meaning head of family). He established it in Japan in the late 1970’s and based everything we do on nine kobudo ryu (that’s old school Japanese martial arts – literally). Of those nine ryu, three are ninjutsu schools the most famous of which is Togakure Ryu. The other six ryu are budo schools – which means they were martial arts that were learnt by samurai. Soke Hatsumi inherited these ryu from his teacher Takamatsu sensei, who was also known as the last ninja. The reason

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for that is Takamatsu sensei lived in China between 1911 and 1919 and had, on many occasions, to use what he knew to stay alive and to defeat many challengers.

For 15 years between 1957 and 1972 Soke Hatsumi would travel 12hrs every weekend by train to Kashiwabara, a town in Nara prefecture in Japan, to train under Takamatsu sensei. During that time Soke Hatsumi started to make appearances on Japanese TV and in their press to promote these arts, trying to show the serious and practical side of ninjutsu. After Takamatsu passed away in 1972, Soke Hatsumi continued teaching Japanese students and some foreign students too. This was the beginning of the ‘ninja’ boom in the 1980’s.

The press suddenly started having articles from Stephen Hayes, Brian McCarthy, and others who were coming back full of enthusiasm for this art. Unwittingly they promoted an up-surge of Hollywood imagery – and so enter the way of the ninja.

Soon there was a glut of Hollywood films from Japanese productions to pure comedy fantasy, Sho Kosugi in a series of ninja movies was one of the better known, and so were those turtles. If that wasn’t bad enough the popularity of the ninja image brought out various self proclaimed ninja masters who had no connection to the Bujinkan or any actual ninjutsu school.

Unsurprisingly surrounded and almost overwhelmed by the Hollywood stereotype, being true ninja, the Bujinkan faded out of the press in the late 1990’s. Also about this time Soke Hatsumi decided to rename the art ‘Budo Taijutsu’ as it would help with distancing the Bujinkan from the Hollywood image of ninjutsu. This also reflected that six of the nine ryu were budo schools, and only three were ninjutsu schools.

As the ninja media boom died away, apart from the occasional resurgence of Sho Kosugi (Ninja Assassin) and those turtles (TMNT), the Bujinkan continued to grow. With a small core of dedicated students under Soke Hatsumi the Bujinkan would spread to 40 different countries worldwide, with high ranking instructors teaching to serious and enthusiastic students. Students came from all walks of life, from the usual martial arts type of enthusiast to those seriously invested in self preservation either in government and military roles, or because of their personal circumstances. Soke Hatsumi would travel to the USA, Israel, UK and

other countries teach to FBI, SAS and other organisations and many from those ranks would become students outside their job roles.

techniques taught principles that are used in all techniques of the nine schools of the Bujinkan whether unarmed or with weapons...

In 1987 Soke Hatsumi introduced the Ten Chi Jin Ryaku no Maki the syllabus to which all Bujinkan Dojo should work to. Within it are the foundation of budo and ninjutsu, the Kihon Happo no kata and San Shin no Kata. These forms or

To read the rest of this article why not order a back issue, visit www.combatmag.co.uk/ backissue Takamatsu Sensei

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MARTIALARTSSHOW the

A Massive Success!!!

THE NEC BIRMINGHAM 7TH & 8TH MAY 2011

Live

& The Monster of All Shows!

What a HUGE and PHENOMENAL success this year’s show really was and we would like to say a massive and genuinely heartfelt THANK YOU to everyone that contributed to its phenomenal growth and HUGE success. Whether you; exhibited, demonstrated, helped out generally, presented, modelled, competed, officiated, or attended, YOU made all the hard work and very late & long hours it took to create such a huge event, worth the undertaking and staging.

It was never going to be an easy task, bringing thousands of martial arts performers and professionals to a venue such as the NEC in Birmingham and have them all be at their peak and on time too.

However, YOU all did your part so well, that it made this year’s show a real pleasure and the most enjoyable event that we and you (according to the massive feedback) have ever experienced!

We had more than triple the amount of visitors and more and twice the number of exhibitors as last year!

It must be said that the companies that supported this year’s (and last years) show are really the companies that you should get behind as they not only put their money where their mouth is, they are really supporting the martial arts industry, playing their part in making progress possible.

It was also the first time that we offered associations, groups and clubs a subsidised option to be a part of TMAS Live and it seemed to work really well. So well in fact that we have doubled the allowance of subsidised space for anyone to take advantage of, so get booked in as soon as you can.

After the experiences of last year, I can honestly say that we had no problems this year, not one!!! As most of you will know, The Martial Arts Show Live was created to celebrate the massive amount of martial arts talent that we are so lucky to have based in the UK as well as around the World. So, along with some of the UK’s industries biggest names, we brought in several world class celebrity martial artists too, such as Cynthia Rothrock, Bill Wallace, Joe Lewis etc . .

We also had a great many fantastic martial artists that supported us, including Zara Phythian, Julie Kitchen, Silvio Simac, The Shaolin Warriors, Ross Pearson, Ronnie Green, Mick Gooch, Guy Bloom, Ian McCarron, Ryan Rudkin, Paul Hamilton, Neil Harrison, Kash Gill, Paul Smith, Lamar Davis, Dave Giddings, Yuree Mac, Peter Love, Manjit Singh, Paddy Doyle, Jonathan Bolt, Dave O’Donnell, Brian Dossett, Chris Denwood, Dragan Radovic, Jim Uglow, Paul Whitrod, Peter Brown, John Burke, John Skillen, John Ives, Kevin Pell, Lucky Madahar, Mandy Johnstone, Lak Loi, Mike Selvey, Pat O’Malley, Rene Latosa, Phil Bradley, George Bishop, Tom Braithwaite, John Broster, Stephen Butler, John

Cardigan, Jamie Clubb, Alex Coley, Combust, Andy Crittenden, Stuart Crowther, Silk Cummins, Phillip Davis, Kam Dhiman, John Evans, Derek Frearson, David Graham, Lief Hermansson, Rick Hinchcliffe, Gordon Hook, Darren Le Fevre, Lucy O’Malley, Roberto Parisi, Martin Pickering, Shaun Rawcliffe, Nick Reeves, StageTrix, Andrew Walker, Densign White, Chris Kelly, Patrick Mooney, Shaun Boland, Tony Johnson, Tony Vohra, Alan Gibson, Dave Turton, Joey Ansah, Addict Dance group, Iain Armstrong, Tolga Aykut and Many, Many more that all played their part, THANK YOU. Also, the TMAS performance team (Rubbie Planson, Joe Hallett, Chloe Michaels, Trey Drysdale), the TMAS presenters (Zara Phythian, Kate Solomons, Lee Charles, Jake Ogden, Ben Lloyd Holmes, Julian Dale, Carl Thomas, Charmaine Singh, Vanessa English and Dean Williams. the TMAS Models (Aleah Woods, Katie Wickwar, Morissa Bradnick, Holly Warner, Jantina Maria Lynch, Lewis Thompson, Sam Torr and Elliott Barker. Not to mention Jan, Adam, Nia, Sam, Dave, Mike and the army of TMAS staff that all worked so hard to bring you the quality event that this year’s show really was!

Trey Drysdale of the TMAS performance team hits a perfect, mid air, split in front of a packed show audience!

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As I said at the start of this page, I will let the pictures, taken by our intrepid photographers (Paul Bronicki, Paul King, Keith Doyle, Chris Wynne and Kevin Turton) speak for themselves.

In closing, we would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the part that all of you that visited this year’s “Martial Arts show Live”, played in its success.

We would also like to reward that input by (for a limited time) by extending a “but One Get One Free” offer to you all. To collect on this all you need to do is book your Saturday ticket and we will upgrade it to a weekend (Saturday & Sunday) access pass which should give you enough time to be able to see ALL that is planned for the 2012 “Martial Arts show Live” event.

If you have any requests for the content of next year’s show, visit our web site and let us know your thoughts as there are many ways to play your part in what will be an even bigger and better event in 2012...

For information about TMAS Live 2012 visit www.themartialartsshowelive.com

By Paul Clifton & Kwoklyn Wan.

TMAS

Presenters...

With Lions Gate films announcing the release of the much anticipated British horror flick ‘The HIKE’. It may seem a little unusual that the UK’s leading martial arts magazine and its valued readers would have much interest in this gem of a horror, but think again.

With two of our own “Martial Arts Show Live” presenters both starring in this intense psychological horror your #1 magazine grabbed the opportunity for an exclusive interview with the Lady Dragon Zara Phythian and co Star of the film and fellow presenter for “Tmas live” Ben Lloyd Holmes ahead of the flashing lights and razzmatazz of the pending London Premiere of the HIKE. The film boasts a strong cast list which includes Barbara Nedeljakova from Hostel 1 & 2, Tamar Hassan ( Clash of the Titans & Kick-Ass) and Shauna Macdonald ( Descent 1 & 2) and is directed by Rupert Bryan (Ghosted) and quite interestingly the film was written and co produced by Ben himself.

The synopsis of the film is as follows ‘ Kate (Zara Phythian) is back from a tour of duty in Afghanistan after seeing her soldier boyfriend die in combat. She is reunited with her best friends back home, who whisk her away on a ‘healing’ camping trip to a picturesque and remote area of the British countryside. The girls make their way into the woods in search of the perfect place to camp, to forget their sorrows, and enjoy their time together.

On their hike, they come across a mysterious group of Eastern Europeans, who seem to be living off the land. They quickly move on to avoid an awkward confrontation and continue to their destination. When they reach Sunset Point, they meet a group of rock climbers and form a quick and flirtatious friendship. But when darkness falls, and one of their friends goes missing, the girls will be forced to rely on each other, and the rock climbers to find their friend and get out of the woods in one piece.’

Now this isn’t one of those slash gore type horrors, not at all, The Hike is a really tense and emotionally disturbing film and not for the feint hearted. It is wonderfully shot with some amazing scenery that you’d expect on a large budget movie and helped along with good and at times, quite emotional performances, from the cast which gives it its edge.

What makes the film daunting is that this can happen and happen today! It’s not too farfetched and you really get a feeling of vulnerability but it won’t do anything for the hiking industry that’s for sure! It also adds a whole new meaning to the children’s song: ‘If you go in to the Woods today, you’re sure of a Big Surprise’!!!

As many of you will know, both Ben and Zara were prominent as presenters and played their part in the team that made “The Martial Art Show Live 2011” such a big success and of course we were aware of this movie at the time but all lips were sealed until lions gate recently announced the Premiere, DVD sales and rental release. Both accomplished martial artists, they both work very hard on their separate careers as actors in film and TV and seem to be making inroads and going in the right direction.

So how was it that these two obvious actioneers ended up as stars in this emotional rollercoaster of a horror called The Hike?

Ben let’s start with you...

You wrote and co produced the Hike, very impressive, where did it all come from?

BEN LLOYD: I’d been looking at ideas for a little while. I’d just produced BLACK BOOK, which was a web series and TV pilot and knew I wanted to do something in horror as it’s a commercially viable genre. I’d been talking to a couple of people about doing co productions or producing

their projects but nothing seemed to really grab me. So I decided to start from scratch and reverse engineer it.

Come up with what was terrifying first and then find a story for it.

Tell our readers what it feels like, to sit down and write a piece of work, then be on set and watch that work be implemented for the screen and come to life?

BEN LLOYD: When you commit to sitting down and writing something it becomes an insular process. You have to shut yourself away and get on with it, but when you finally climb out of the dark room and you look at casting it starts feeling real. However, when you find yourself sitting on set watching the character you created saying the lines, it’s amazing! It’s a testament to their belief in you and your work, and it’s that belief from everyone involved that essentially determines whether the film makes it across the finish line or not. It’s one of the most amazing experiences, to watch great actors building upon your characters.

Rumour has it you’re a bit of a tough cookie when it comes to work as a producer on set, and you get the results?

BEN LLOYD: Who’ve you been talking too? Ha-ha, yeah I’ve heard my name cursed or someone say I’m a bit too demanding, but the people who say that are generally people lower on the ladder who have no idea what it takes to actually make a movie. If someone gives me half a million quid and trusts me to come back with a finished project you can bet I’ll do it...

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Steven Seagal what,s he really like?

When someone asks who you trained with, you should be able to tell them straight. This is what happened in front of me when Steven Seagal asked an Aikido “Eighth Dan” that very question.

It was a chilled February night and the sky had turned indigo blue.

Steven Seagal, Aikido’s foremost figure was at Newcastle’s Tyneside Opera House. The venue has been popular since the Old Time Music Halls era. That blessing extended to Steven Seagal’s band, Thunderbox, whose support acts included James ‘Super Chikan’ Johnson.

I had been out of town, and hadn’t bagged a ticket. That opportunity was presented much later on down in the Big Smoke, or more accurately Sheppard’s Bush Theatre where he had his final performance in April 2007 and to which I was invited…and had thoroughly enjoyed it. In fact, I had ended up sitting a few seats away from Cat Stevens who is one of his friends.

At the least on this occasion, I’d catch sight of the Big Man himself up close…and why not? Besides, I thought I’d hand him a demo reel made up from some of my film work.

As I sat in the foyer, a smartly dressed, pork-pie hat wearing man with two gold teeth gave warm greeting as he stepped into the reception area. It was James ‘Super Chikan’ Johnson. He had felt it was a very good crowd in that night, and he was duly basking in the glow of post-performance. At first, those golden incisors were unignorable but as our conversation went on, well, you just forget about them don’t you? They went well with the thick ring, with a chicken

engraved in it. Holding it up, he elaborated that it been given to him by the Governor of Mississippi, formerly issuing him with the title of Ambassador for the Blues.

All Blues musicians are given ‘Blues names’ by their peers. They are in part, suggested by quirks of personality. Muddy Waters, Sea Sick Steve, and Big Bill Broonzy, are all Blues names. He recounted to me that Seagal, who is the ‘Mojo Priest’, who he had never met before, had called up and offered the tour... In the lead-up to the World Tour, Seagal had actively sought to include top talent that had remained generally undiscovered beyond US shores.

James Johnson had grown up poor, and spent his childhood scampering around town looking for something to do, which brought his family to call him ‘little chicken’, partly this was inspired by his fondness for mimicking the birds in cooped up in the yard. He would sit outside the doors of the Jazz clubs and just listen. He told me that it wasn’t long before he was being “taught by John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters, and all the rest of those guys”...

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Seagal seen here (& main pic) in the film ‘Machete’ WWW.COMBATMAG.CO.UK COMBAT 15

BKKU Summer Camp a rare experience

Simon Augustus reports on the British Kenpo Karate Union’s summer camp and their refreshing approach to training and teaching.

“To obtain enlightenment in martial art means the extinction of everything which obscures the ‘true knowledge,’ the ‘real life.’” - Bruce Lee Sensei Kevin Mills, founder of the BKKU, is the physical embodiment of the above quote. Built like an ox with strength to match, his presence commands the room, but he has an aura of calm and thinks little of himself as an instructor. His only wish is to pass on his knowledge and help students of martial arts discover what is useful in every style, and throw away anything that is unnecessary to their development and training. His summer camp, held for the last eleven years, is an expression of his philosophy.

When I arrived at the clearing in the middle of a forest somewhere in a sleepy part of Surrey, I was expecting to see the usual sights at martial arts camps: Students in white Gis doing line work with senior instructors. I should have known better from the expected line up of Masters who had been invited to the event: Masters such as Leroy Epperson (8th degree black belt, founder of Gaijin Ryu Jiu Jitsu and creator of the M.A.S.T.E.R system) who taught street fighting joint locks.

His sessions were the most difficult and really set the standard of training at the camp. He taught students how to use the minimum of force to prevent an attacker from causing

harm to anyone but themselves. I left the session bruised and battered and a little disconcerted by the sound of cracking joints that filled the room after Sensei Leroy subjected everyone to another technique.

Master Leroy has a unique approach to martial arts, always looking for the realistic applications of any technique.

“It’s not just the fight you have to worry about, it’s everything after: like the courts and police!” A common problem for us martial artists is the legal ramifications of defending ourselves, but Leroy has this all figured out. He showed me some simple combat techniques that look like a victim trying to protect themselves but actually work as strong attack techniques, so no one would mistake you for the attacker after taking control of a deadly situation.

I was treated to a crippling shoulder lock that completely disabled me in the blink of an eye. The move creates tension in the shoulder that makes it impossible to throw punches. Master Leroy explained that the lock would work as pure self-defence, meaning if the attacker tried to throw a punch and consequently broke his own shoulder, he was responsible for that.

He combines a little bit of acting with a lot of forethought and martial skill.

Master Leroy effortlessly inflicts blinding pain on would-be attackers 16 COMBAT WWW.COMBATMAG.CO.UK

Later that morning I had a chance to talk and train with Sensei Hans

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Hesselmann; a Kenpo master with 43 years of experience in various styles of external and internal fighting systems. Despite beginning his training in the Dutch military commando, he prefers the human touch when teaching and not the drill instructor’s heavy handed approach.

Standing outside under the sun, Sensei Hans taught us about the need to combine our internal Qi (Ki) energy with our external power. With a smile and easy-going personality, I was not expecting this 64 year old unassuming man to be so swift. I am still unsure what surprised me more - his ability to throw me, a twentythree year old, like a rag-doll or the fact that he did it all with a look of absolute serenity on his face.

Sensei Hans explained to me that the BKKU summer camp was the first real place that had managed to bring together so many like-minded students and instructors, managing to perfectly create an energy that nothing else can match. He went on to discuss the ways martial arts,

Grand Master Leroy demonstrates how easy and practical joint locks are in real life situations

and events like the BKKU, can harness a person’s potential and “build them up,” instead of knocking them down through keeping them chained to one style, one way of thinking, and one school. Sensei Hans is an unassuming man, calm and completely centred - it is easy to see why he is such a highly regarded master.

Shifu Tony Felix, who has been practising Gong Fu San Shou alongside internal Gong Fu and Indonesian Silat, also contributed his skills and knowledge to the Summer Camp. Besides his incredible martial skill, he brought a spiritual element to the weekend.

Tony Felix has travelled the world on a quest to learn more about himself through the spiritual application of martial arts, and this flowed through his teaching. His journey is an interesting one, as I learnt from my time with him sitting under the drooping branches of a Weeping Willow in the last few hours of sunlight. He brings something that

none else could - Gong Fu and Tai Qi literally saved his life when he was dying from cancer. Ever since his recovery, training has taken on a new meaning to him, and his humble personality is that of a man who has deep experience and knowledge of himself.

We all have our own reasons for taking up martial arts. Some of us are born into it and cannot remember a time when we were not practising punches, kicks and forms. Others take it up as children after deciding to take a stand against bullies. Some of us even find something spiritual about donning our Gis and robes.

We can quickly forget the reasons we took up martial arts and not realise it. The BKKU summer camp, with its unique approach to teaching, unmatchable masters with their own distinct personalities and skills, is a gift to everyone involved. I learnt a few new techniques, saw some incredible displays, but most of all I took away a renewed love for all styles and found my direction on The Warrior’s Path once again.

You can contact the BKKU on 0560 3319 558 or visit www.bkku.com WWW.COMBATMAG.CO.UK COMBAT 17

chi

The Balance Of Power

Interview with Neil Butkeraitis

Every now and then, a new company, with the best of intentions arrives on the scene and makes a splash and stab to trey and become one of the established elite, seemingly destined to make a huge and positive impact on the martial arts scene. But in most cases, they just don’t last the course and end up fading into the ether.

However, once in a while, a company, driven by the will to succeeed and the ability of experience behind them arrives to set new standards and develop new My Sat Nav took me reliably along winding roads and through some of Derbyshire’s most picturesque scenery to Welbeck, the most bizarre place I have ever seen.

The Welbeck estate is situated in 15,000 of privately owned acres and I was directed through their massive ornamental wrought iron gates along a tree lined avenue to a world (lost in the 18th century) of massive stately homes, ornate stable blocks, a complete village, with its own red phone box and reservoir.

Until recently the estate was owned by the MOD and used as a technical college amongst other things, which

seem to only add to the mystic of the setting. After a long a curious search through a labyrinth of roads and buildings I finally found the offices of UK Security and Events Company and I was there to talk with Neil Butkeraitis, founder and managing director of a diverse and rapidly expanding empire, that in Neil’s own words traces its origin back to the first day he walked into a dojo at the age of eight.

Neil thank you for taking the time out to meet with me today.

NEIL BUTKERAITIS: No problem, I’m always happy to talk to anybody about the 3 driving forces in my life, martial arts, my business and of course ( nods to a large picture at the side of his desk) my family.

Can I take you right back to the beginning, I read in an article that you relate your business success directly to martial arts training.

NEIL BUTKERAITIS: Absolutely I cannot stress it enough, my boyhood was a classic story of the eight year old bullied kid who wandered into his local karate club to learn to fight and get back at the bullies. I took to the hard training instantly, the discipline, the mental and physical training helped build my confidence, by the age of 16 and freshly equipped with a Dan grade I opened my first club. The club grew from strength to strength and I believe this energy and new found confidence in myself drove me on then as it does now to achieve more.

I gather like my-self you study Wado karate.

NEIL BUTKERAITIS: Yes I am a 4th Dan in Wado Ryu karate, which will always be the basis of what I do and teach, but over the years I have been heavily involved and influenced by free style karate and Muay Thai. I make an effort to travel to Thailand twice a year to train in the top gyms.

I’m always looking to develop and hopefully improve my techniques.

Neil (second from left) next to world Muay Thai champ Yodsanklai after a training session at Fairtex, Thailand

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From my experience Muay Thai, practiced in its most raw form, is a very tough

martial art, what took you from Wado to Muay Thai NEIL BUTKERAITIS: I loved karate sparring and kata competitions, over the years I’ve picked up my share of medals and I’m proud to say my club is still doing well in competitions.

But I have always liked to fight; I originally enjoyed the simplicity of free style but noticed some of the toughest opponents tended to be Muay Thai trained. Like all martial arts, once I got into Muay Thai I found it to be much more complicated that initially meets the eye. A lot of people just don’t realise how technical it is. I believe you should be aware of where you came from and what has shaped your past but you should also be looking to improve.

This has always been my attitude: in my private life, my martial arts and most definitely in my businesses.

Like all martial artists and I’m sure like me, you could happily talk about it all day , could you tell me a bit more about how your diverse range of business’ grew from your martial arts.

Security work, is that a polite way of saying “working the doors”?

NEIL BUTKERAITIS: Of course. When we first got going we took on a variety of work including personal security, but it was always my intention to build a serious security company. Now UK Security Company has grown into a major player in the security world, offering everything from mobile patrols to CCTV surveillance along with special events security. From running the security at events I realised I could run events myself and will be managing 3 large music festivals this summer.

NEIL BUTKERAITIS: There’s always more to come; I’m really excited about my next project. This time I’m going back to my beginnings. For the last 3 years we’ve been supplying good quality martial training kit like head guards and gloves etc. . . . to local clubs. It’s been a great way of testing the market, meeting suppliers and getting a real feel for what’s wanted in the fast changing martial arts world. As styles change and the fight scene develops the kit required to meet these demands changes.

Using my years of martial arts experience and the feed back we are getting from our existing customers we are developing a whole new range of kit .This will be a new range from start to finish specially designed for the exact needs of each fighting style. We recently set up a new company called Chi Fight Gear to research, develop and of course eventually sell the range.

When you say a new range of fighting kit, with the greatest respect is there anything new that can still be done with sparring kit.

NEIL BUTKERAITIS: There is still a big demand for standard kit amongst kick boxers, boxers and martial artists, and we see Chi Fight Gear supplying them with good value well made kit. But what really excites me is where we see the future of kit, a lot of time, money and scientific research has gone into the new range which we will be launching over the next couple of months.

There are a lot of new materials available now that will completely revolutionize the way we see kit being used in the coming years and Chi Fight Gear is determined to be at the forefront of the new technology. Of course

we will also be looking at the very fast growing fashion side of fight wear with a complete new range of designs. Linked to our pure fashion fight inspired clothing will be a special range, with technical as well as pure fashion requirements.

This all sounds very intriguing could you tell us more about the technical clothing range.

NEIL BUTKERAITIS: All I can say at this stage is that the range is being tested in the lab and on real martial artists, and will be fighting gear that does more than purely look good.

But I’m afraid this is all I can tell you before the official launch. But I can assure you that readers of Combat magazine will always be the first to hear what we are set to do.

It sounds like a very exciting and busy period for you and your team. Thank you for sharing some of your valuable time with me and the Combat readers, I’m quite fascinated to see what happens next and we wish you well with all that you do.

By John Broughton

NEIL BUTKERAITIS: Laughs...

John you’re so right, give me a fellow martial artist and I will talk for ever.

Setting up and managing my karate club, was my first step into business and gave me the confidence to move on from there. Originally I got together with a few of the higher grade black belts from my club and we started doing security work.

Sounds like your life is very full with your club, your own training and Security Company, is that it now or is there more to come.

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The Gathering

of Eagles

The World Head of Family Sokeship Council As most will know, “Grandmaster” is the most prestigious title in the martial arts.

Also known as Soke, Shodai, Hanshi, Professor, Sijo, and other honored names, they are the “eagles” of the martial arts community. The title of grandmaster transcends across all nationalities, cultures, religions, and politics. Grandmasters are the leaders and highest level teachers in their respective art, system, style, and/or organization. One common denominator that many grandmasters have is that they are members of an elite organization, that exists in the USA, the World Head of Family Sokeship Council (WHFSC).

The WHFSC (aka the World Council) is a low profile union of some of the most famous martial arts masters in the world. It is the first American grandmaster’s council, and is also one of the largest and most prestigious in existence today.

There are no membership fees and application is by invitation or member sponsorship only. The WHFSC now boasts a membership of over 250 grandmasters from all over the world. The main purpose of the WHFSC is to encourage

First meeting of WHFSC council

communication between the different systems and to promote the growth of the martial arts. The Council was founded in 1992 by the internationally known and respected grandmaster of San-Jitsu, Frank E. Sanchez, a Jacksonville, Florida based martial artist originally from Guam.

Every year, master and grandmaster members meet in Orlando, Florida for the annual WHFSC meeting: the “gathering of the eagles.” During this two day event, there is the

grandmaster’s annual meeting and dozens of training seminars that demonstrate many aspects of the martial arts. Grandmaster Ric Black stated “This is the greatest collection of martial arts talent in the world.” And then on Saturday evening, the grand finale for the Council is the International Martial Arts Hall of Fame award banquet.

At the banquet, new and senior grandmasters are recognized and honored for their contributions to the martial arts. Recognition and honors are also given to their masters, black belts, and students.

Grandmaster Gary Alexander of New Jersey commented that, “….the Council sponsors a top quality annual international forum, seminars, hall of fame and awards banquet that recognizes and honors truly noteworthy Founders and Luminaries that have (by their works), identified themselves through outstanding achievements in world martial arts.”

According to Grandmaster Jim Arvanitis (Founder of Modern Pankration), “The World Head of Family Sokeship Council reigns atop the multitude of martial arts organizations today. They have been

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in existence for nearly two decades, and embrace the highest standards for membership attracting the leading masters and grandmasters in the world. Their annual event is always top notch and reflects the honor, humility, and respect that true martial artists have for one another. Egos are checked at the door. Old friends reunite and new friendships quickly develop. Styles and systems are represented from every possible angle, from the traditional to combat sport to Reality-based. It’s all here, striking specialists, ground grapplers, MMA, and weapons experts.

Respect can be felt throughout the entire weekend. And the exchange of information is always a clear indicator of it. Those recognized at this glorious gathering have earned their place in this prestigious group because of their unrelenting dedication and committed efforts, and their unique contributions to the industry they are so passionate about. These are warriors. These are athletes. There are incredible instructors. They have been brought together collectively to share knowledge and maintain the integrity of what they believe in. It is indeed my pleasure to be a member of the World Head of Family Sokeship Council, to support them, and to proudly be recognized by its founder, Grandmaster Frank E. Sanchez, in deserving of all of the kudos in establishing a brotherhood that has stood the test of time and continues to flourish to this day. “ Mark Shuey, grandmaster and founder of Cane Masters, added, “This is the premier of all grandmaster councils. There are many out there that just give lip service and take on anyone. All of our WHFSC members are checked out and are REAL!” There are only two ways for authentic recognition as a grandmaster. One is to be designated as the legal and official successor to a martial arts system upon the death or retirement of the present grandmaster, and the other is to actually develop a new and different martial arts training style. The Council does not promote or issue rank in the martial arts. Its purpose is to only recognize those who are legitimate grandmasters.

Grandmaster Jim Arvanitis

Soke Keido Yamaue In this world of internet diploma mills, there are many who purchase fraudulent credentials and establish themselves as masters and grandmasters. The Council filters out these unethical individuals and refuses them recognition and membership.

In the opinion of Grandmaster Ron Van Clief, “The WHFSC is the best organization of its type. It is the only one that actually investigates their applicants on their ranks, qualifications, and lineage. It is my honor and pleasure to be a member of the Council, and it represents why I got into the martial arts, HONOR, RESPECT, DIVERSITY AND MASTERY in the martial arts.”

If an applicant claims to be successor to his deceased grandmaster’s system, then he/ she must submit documents proving that they are the legal heir. If an applicant claims to have developed their own style, then the applicant must submit numerous rank and lineage documents and stipulate why the new system is different from already existing arts...

Taika Seiyu Oyata

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Haganah’s

part 2

Israeli Tactical Knife Fighting

Late 2010 saw HaganaH’s Head instructor Darren Le Fevre return to Mike Lee Kanarek’s South Florida HQ. This time the theme of the training was Israeli Tactical Knife Fighting. This is the second part of his story.

What exactly is Israeli tactical Knife fighting?

ITK can be split into two components.

1) Tactical elements 2) Fighting techniques The tactical elements are the strategies involved in whatever we do. In other words, the technical elements of the knife fighting are integrated within the strategies. If you are engaged in a knife fight without any strategies, basically you have no objectives and are lost. You have no idea where you are going and will be totally reliant on only the physical aspects. To be a complete and effective operator you need to integrate the strategic with both the physical & the technical. Deployment, footwork, technical use, and weapon type are only physical attributes. Why do I do this? When do I do this? When do I not do this? are the strategic attributes dictated by technique, footwork, timing and distance etc.

Knife sparring is a key concept. Until you have had a “real time” fight, albeit only in simulation, you will have no understanding or adequate intelligence gathering into the dynamics of a real knife fight or how good (or bad) an enemy’s skill can be. Enemies do not stand still and allow you to take your “turn” as they do in a dojo, neither do they passively comply whilst you 22 COMBAT WWW.COMBATMAG.CO.UK

execute some complicated disarm that looks cool. Knife fights do not last long in reality and are generally over in a matter of seconds, from deployment to the end of the engagement. Take an enemy armed with a knife who is in the throws of an adrenal frenzy and you will be dead in a few seconds if your strategies, tactics and physical attributes are not up to scratch.

For this reason ITK is a constant building, development and maintenance of the skill level to survive a potential encounter.

“We know that logistics can and in most cases always change in a blink of a eye. It is in those moments that your true skills as a warrior will either shine or fade very fast. Therefore, in moments of chaos, how well you manage your tactics under pressure will determine your survival.” Mike explains.

Historically, the HaganaH system has its roots in the British Army’s close quarter combat as taught to the Haganah and Israeli guerrilla fighters who where the predecessors of the Israeli Defence Force. (From which the system takes its name) It is the Israeli concept of continually evolving, enhancing and adapting its methodologies to stay ahead of its enemies which makes HaganaH’s knife fighting techniques so unique. It has

no allegiance to any particular martial arts style, or system but will integrate any technique if this is expedient in enhancing it’s effectiveness . The system is regularly updated due to its links with serving operators in both military and law enforcement. Nothing is ignored if it has something to offer and ITK even incorporated concepts from the Apache Indians, but always with an Israeli methodology.

“I found the answer to the way we approach knife fighting in HaganaH from the way Bruce Lee introduced the “5 ways of attack” in his Jeet Kune Do system, and later on how my mentor in the Martial Arts, Joe Lewis, further refined it for FullContact fighting/sparring in his Joe Lewis Fighting System. Both Bruce Lee and Joe Lewis are advocates of “the one that controls the rhythm and distance, controls the fight” ...that is done in their systems with methods such as broken rhythm, specific closing the gap methods and strategies.

“Taking from these methods and applying it to knife fighting I came up with a strategy of our own in HaganaH for knife fighting, or what we call ITK...

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1

Darren Le Fevre & Mike Lee Kanarek face off

2

3

....& feeds upwards to a control position....

DL attacks with angular slash, MLK (adopting reverse grip) angles out of line of fire, hooks DL’s knife arm...

4

...& simultaneously counters with a reverse slash to DL’s abdomen

5a

5b

Pushes DL’s knife arm away and continues with a further slash to the rear of DL’s leg to attack mobility

Posture is Eve Enter Teuk Gong Moo Sool (Part 3)

Do you remember your grandmother lecturing to stand up straight? How about a school teacher or even a sports coach? Most martial arts even go into great detail into the importance of posture.

For this article, put those preconceived notions to the side for a few moments. At first glance, one of the most striking differences between the art of TGMS (Teuk Gong Moo Sool) as compared to other arts is way the body leans forward or backward in several of the techniques. Before any precise analysis goes into striking, blocking or kicking mechanisms, the body alignment must be addressed first.

When blocking, maneuvering, or striking (unarmed or armed), the body leans over between 30 to 45 degrees. Surprisingly this doesn’t result in losing one’s balance. This is due to depth and stability of the stances. This works with the concept of the body exploding or snapping like an elastic band into the target.

You could also think of a car wheel in motion. Yet another comparison could be a fencer who lunges with his blade. These ideas will become more

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obvious in the next few installments.

Suffice to say TGMS is not about points, trying to look good or being flowery. It’s life or death. Every second, every motion, every intention spells the difference between you walking way from an attack or not going home.

When kicking, the body tilts backward whenever possible. To those study arts such as Savate this idea is obvious. It makes you a harder target and adds depth and power to your strike as if your leg was a spear.

In addition this tilting or slanting or even angling (whatever you call it) can be used as a mechanism to force your opponent to shadow your movement. Think of an average person. If you suddenly shoot your hand out at their face the obvious subconscious reaction is to jerk their head back. That protects the head but exposes the lower limbs,

especially the knees for an attack.

To use another example if you leave yourself open to a kicker, he might lean back so he can throw a nasty side kick to your head, in which you can retaliate with a kick to their supporting leg. These particular motions are not new. The science behind them and the emphasis on the forward, backward and side to side motions are unparalleled in TGMS. The controlling of your opponent’s stance or gait is one of the primary concerns in a conflict. Upright striking and defending is reserved for basic training or spaces where it isn’t feasible for that kind of movement.

The photos on the following two pages depict coloured belt hyung (form) number four and the applications of it. I won’t go into much detail as I will be covering strikes, kicks and blocks shortly. It is depicted for you to notice the importance of the cause and effect of tilting in TGMS.

rything

By Master Guy Edward Larke

The form shown is, as always, detailed on this periodical’s website.

Other differences will be discussed in far more detail in further issues.

Anyone interested in learning more about this neoclassical military art can contact me or the association at http://www.tgms.or.kr.

Master Guy Edward Larke has dedicated his life from a young age to the pursuit of the martial arts, Asian culture and hopology. It led him to Korea in 2000 and has lived there since then. He lives in Seongnam city with his wife Gi-Ryung and son Alexander.

He holds black belts in Taekwondo, Hapkido, Taekkyon, Bon Kuk Kumdo, Korean kickboxing, Karate-do, Wushu, Cheonji-muye-do, and various other arts. Currently he teaches Taekwondo, Karate and Cheonji-muye-do full time in addition to writing for various magazines and running Kisa-Do Muye & Marketing. He can be contacted at kisa_do_muye@yahoo.ca...

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Spirit2Power

is a unique, feature-length docu-film which features a number of International Specialists, World Champions, Masters and Celebrity Martial Artists. The impressive line up includes Sensei Zara Phythian, (well known to Combat magazine), Ibu Cecily Fay, Sifu Rob Ho, Helen Bailey, Lucio Maurino, Haldun Alagas, Silvio Simac, Julie Kitchen, Master Kwoklyn Wan, Jack Griffiths (under 18 Champion), Master Simon Wong, Sifu Julian Dale and his Liondance team, Actor Matt Fraser, Master Huang Ping, Paul Whitrod and Master John Maki amongst others. It also features very special guest star, the legendary Queen of Martial Arts, Cynthia Rothrock.

Many of these acclaimed Artists have frequently been featured in international published media, also displaying their amazing talents within the movie world and on TV. Spirit2Power is an evocative journey into the Spirit of the Martial Arts, and set mainly against the backdrop of Turkey’s southern panoramic coastline, in places such as Patara, Kayakoy, Kalkan and Saklikent.

Filming was done in tranquil and powerful locations: amongst ancient ruins, mountainous backdrops and the ocean. This choice of backdrops is to visually demonstrate the refection of Self with Nature.

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Also the movement of Qi within ‘Self’ and our external world. Filming was also done at historical UK sites like Glastonbury, famous for its ‘ley’ lines and on magnificent country estates, amongst nature. (Thanks to Ibu Cecily Fay and Sifu Julian Dale for organizing the private estates).

The purpose of the film is to demonstrate our intrinsic connection with everything around us, and to actively inspire people to take up some form of physical disclipline, that can enhance one’s way of life.

The male and female polarities of expression (Yin and Yang) are explored in a theatrical way, within

a multi-combination of techniques from various disciplines (such as Tae Kwon Do, Tai Chi, Kobudo, Kick Boxing, Karate and Japanese Sword). This is achieved through choreographed sequences, perfomed by the artists. Visually, the content is highly stylised, rich with vivid colours and textures.

It also aims to make Martial Arts understood in a completely wholistic way. It looks at ‘esoteric’ and scientifically cutting edge components, that make ‘us’ up - as a life force, including the meridian and chakra system and human energy field. All within the context of the

Cynthia Rothrock & Gulrukh Khan

evolution of the Martial Arts, and the greater cosmic ‘reality’ we live in.

Though references to specific religious and cultural origins of various disciplines are mentioned, the aim is to dissolve any boundaries or pre-conceptions, by demonstrating Unification with ‘ALL’…..and the principle of ONE-ness.

This is a phrase much talked about these days in the wholistic world, as the human race draw closer to having more global integration, through the powers of the internet, media and social media. So we truly feel we are part of one big family called ‘The Human race’. Where hopefully,

Kwoklyn Wan

in the very near future we can see an end to injustices from wars, poverty and tyranny. These days we are already seeing the collapse of major ‘institutions’ due to their corrupt actions. As 2012 approaches, many Native cultures believe that it will be the year of change….and interestingly enough the UK will be a central focus of world media during this time due to the Olympics…

Apart from high powered action footage, poetic and spiritually related passages will be recited throughout the film, interspersed with narration and interviews. This to support the Artists’ deeper awareness of themselves as Practitioners, on ‘The

Path of Awakening to True Self and their Inner Power’. Also to encourage an ‘expanded mindset’ in the viewer.

To show them that Martial Arts, is not just about Combat, but has a deeper wisdom to it - that operates on many levels of our personal development, as people.

The film was inspired by my trip to Turkey, on a one week break in 2010, where I spent time in a lovely villa near the sea, with Sensei Zara Phythian, her partner Master Victor Marke and some of their friends...

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See www.spirit2power.com for fur details and to view the traile ther r

Cecily Fay

Guy Blo The Next Big Thing!

Guy is the creator of the Defiance Combat Flinch Response Self Defense System, He has been training in the martial arts for 30 years and has brought 26 years of Wing Chun, 15 years of Thai Boxing, 20 years of human psychology through his career as a leadership coach for international companies and a lot of stuff along the way; into a three day Foundation and Advanced instructor certification programme that operates as a stand alone offering or as a bolt on to your current system. The Defiance Combat Flinch Response Self Defense System, is designed to enable you to survive Primary Threats through the Detect, Deter, Defuse, Disengage, Defend, Don’t Die road map.

Firstly what is Defiance Combat?

Defiance Combat is simply the name I settled on as the name of the organisation that would and does hold the learning; it’s the identity and the brand, to me it is a symbolic statement about so many things. ‘Defiance’ for me means the willingness to ‘take a stand’, not ‘bullying or aggressive’, even willing to lose face or the battle but not willing to shrink from intimidation, bullying or aggression in whatever form that takes, be that emotional, hierarchical or physical.

as we all have one, and everyone knows ‘flinch’. The words stuck when I was desperately trying to verbalise the essence of where a certain move came from and the mind set that belonged with it, I ended up saying, “you know it’s like if I threw a cup of water at you, you wouldn’t adopt a martial arts stance your hands would come up; you know like when you flinch, so it’s your Flinch Response” and there it was, Flinch Response…..so I’ve been saying it for the last 15 years or so.

It’s a generic symbol of a man (could be a women or child), with his hands clenched, not in anger or aggression, but in his own determination to take a stand and be strong. The angel’s wings are unknown to him, but are the experience of what it feels like to be around him, strong, embracing, caring and protecting.

Actually when the words came out of my mouth all that time ago it was like one of the slow motion effects in a movie where the picture freezes and all the facts of a case run through the persons mind. In fact you know the film The Usual Suspects, where at the end the detective who has been interviewing Kevin Spacey suddenly looks around his room and all the facts Spacey has been referencing become clear to him, well it was a bit like that! How’s that for melodramatic, but you know it really was.

What took you to create the idea of the Flinch Response?

So what were the words Flinch Response connecting for you?

Well firstly it’s not my idea, in the sense of the words and the phrasing; the Flinch Response is a term that I have been using for most of my training career, something happens in the training room, you are surprised by a move (or life for that matter) and you flinch. So the idea of a ‘flinch response’ is not in itself a new concept for people

The point of me adopting the words came from a few things that happened to me over the years that just really stuck with me and I couldn’t shape them off.

Explain the logo?

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The first happened when I was teaching at a youth centre and there were some kids playing table tennis, one of

Part 2

om

By Paul S Clifton

them was messing about and when serving the ball, he did an overhand serve like in tennis aiming it at his friends head, he must have hit it perfectly as the ball (completely missed his mate) but flew in curve right at me; coming at me right in my periphery vision. I was talking to someone and was in the moment alert to a movement; my left hand snapped out and caught it. That’s key as first I am right handed, second I wasn’t aware of it coming, thirdly I did not process it at a conscious level and fourthly couldn’t have done it on purpose if you’d told me it was coming.

But never the less I caught it, and as I recall I caught it without turning to look directly at it, my hand just snapped up…..it still amazes me…... and what amazes me is the complete lack of processing at a conscious level that enabled me to act so quickly and precisely.

The second thing that occurred a few years later, I was doing a demo with a few students at a local village fete and one of the lads was supposed to throw a kick at me (as per the Hollywood level of choreography that we were aspiring to!) and didn’t, he threw a punch. Now I hadn’t done Judo since I was at school, I only did it for a year when I was about 8 yrs old, all I remember was throwing this lad half the length of the field as caught his punch and did a hip throw.

A move I hadn’t practised in years and ‘wham’ there it was….again the question was where that came from and how did it manage to override the techniques I was practising and for it to be so immediate and precise...

So why are these two things important?

To read the rest of this article why not order a back issue, visit www.combatmag.co.uk/backissue

Carlos Con The Natural Born KILLER! UFC Welterweight Carlos Condit is no stranger to high profile fights. Throughout his nine year career, the man known as “The Natural Born Killer,” has faced some of the top fighters in the world while making his way around the globe.

The New Mexico native began his career in September of 2002 fighting in Juarez, Mexico. From there he fought in Oklahoma before making his way back home and fighting in New Mexico. Colorado, Japan, Hawaii, California, Las Vegas, Canada and England have all seen him in action.

While fighting for the Rumble on the Rock organization in Honolulu, Condit met up with some of the sports best fighters. He faced Frank Trigg, Jake Shields & Pat Healy consecutively. The Healy fight was under the Extreme wars promotion in Oakland, CA. He would take three fights in Japan before he finally settled in and found a home with the WEC. In just his second fight for the organization he defeated John Alessio for the vacant WEC Welterweight Championship.

He would defend it twice against Carlo Prater and Hiromitsu Miura with a catchweight bout against Brock Larson thrown in between.

The UFC decided to merge the welterweight, middleweight and light heavyweight divisions of the WEC with their own and Condit didn’t waste anytime getting acclimated to the Octagon. His first fight with Martin Kampmann was a barnburner, but resulted in a split decision loss for Condit which broke his 8 fight winning streak.

He has rattled off four straight wins against Jake Ellenberger, Dan Hardy, Dong Hyun Kim and Rory MacDonald. He was awarded a Fight of the Night against MacDonald and Knockout of the Night against Kim and Hardy. He was also awarded with a fight against BJ Penn at UFC 137, the

co-main event just before the George St. Pierre-Nick Diaz UFC Welterweight Title fight.

As luck would have it, Diaz lost his shot against GSP because he missed some pre-fight promotional press conferences. Dana White and crew decided to insert Condit in Diaz’s place and give him a shot at becoming the only man to hold both the WEC & UFC Welterweight Championship. Going from Penn to GSP will make you have to change your game plan drastically, but that doesn’t bother Condit in the least.

“Actually there wasn’t that big of a change as we expected BJ to try and take me down and utilize his ground skills,” Condit told Bleacher Report. “We had been practicing my takedown defense and Jiu-Jitsu.

The biggest difference with fighting Georges is we are now training for a five wound fight, so the strength and conditioning part of my game has been a huge focus for us.

In the past GSP has been able to outwrestle guys who are a lot bigger than I am so we are putting our time in to improve my takedown defense. I am expecting to be taken down and anticipating that’s something we are going to have to deal with. We are trying to formulate a different type of game plan and hopefully causing a lot of problems for him.”

Any fighter worth their salt is in this sport not only for the competition, but to fight the best and be the best...

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dit

By Bryan Levick

Self Defence For Wheelchair Users

A recent survey in Britain (published in January 2011) stated that the number of disability hate crimes reported have risen by 75% in one year alone.

It also highlighted the shocking statistic that 50% of disabled people have recently experienced or witnessed physical abuse.

I hope that these statistics shock you as much as they did me. If ever there was a good time for those of you involved in teaching self defence to include and facilitate people with a disability in your classes. “It is now”!

Times have changed; there was a time not too long ago when your average street thug might have baulked at the idea of attacking a person with a disability. Looking at the statistics above, it is clear this is no longer the case. Doing a quick trawl on Goggle I found the examples below of attacks on people with a disability reported in the press.

Wheelchair user injured in “appalling” attack on the Honeybourne line “Police are appealing for witnesses after a wheelchair user was injured in Cheltenham in as “appalling” attack.

The 52-year-old man from Peterborough was approached by four people who pushed him along in the wheelchair and then tipped him out.

He suffered a head injury and was treated at Cheltenham General Hospital.

“This is an ex-service man who has fought for his country and as a result has to use a wheelchair. “Those responsible have targeted this man who was unable to defend himself”.

Police hunt for teenage thugs who attacked and robbed man in wheelchair “Police investigating a “despicable” assault on a wheelchair user today urged three people who may have witnessed the attack to come forward.

The 44-year-old man was trying to pass two teenagers in the Oxgangs area of Edinburgh when they punched him repeatedly and robbed him.”

Reward over attack on man in wheelchair in Salisbury, Wheelchair user attacked by gang “The 51-year-old was tipped from the chair and punched and kicked by the group in Salisbury on 1 May. They then stole his wallet.”

Wheelchair user attacked in home “A wheelchair user has been threatened with a knife during a failed robbery at her home in Wishaw, N Lanarkshire”.

These are just some examples of the attacks that have been reported in the media.

32 COMBAT WWW.COMBATMAG.CO.UK

If you do a search on YouTube and type in “Attack on wheelchair user” you will see security footage at a railway station of two youths attacking a wheelchair user and knocking him out of his wheelchair.

As a person who has acquired a disability and has practiced martial arts before and since a motorcycle accident in 1980 I can definitely say that having a good grounding in self defence has made a significant difference to my confidence.

Thanks to the support and interest of Paul Clifton of Combat Magazine, I want to introduce the concept of Martial Arts/Self Defence for people with a disability, in particular, wheelchair users to those of you in the martial arts community. Over the coming months I will illustrate some techniques to give you an insight into what is and isn’t practical.

To start with I want to remove some of the mystique that surrounds the term disabled and how martial arts can be competently practiced by a person with a disability.

This is where you the Instructors come in. First you have to consider if your particular style of martial art is practical for someone with a disability i.e. a wheelchair user.

Ideally I think the broader self defence styles like Jeet Kune Do, Krav Maga and Combatives are more practical.

I realize that disability can be unknown territory unless you happen

To read more articles like this make sure you get the next issue of fighters available from WH Smith & all good newsagents to know someone who uses a wheelchair. The reality is though; within a very short space of time I guarantee you will be surprised how quickly the person’s disability becomes secondary to the person.

I’m conscience that I do not want to create any great mystery about how to interact with a person with a disability, but the below points may help.

Your attitude can of course make a big difference. One of the most difficult barriers people with disabilities face is the attitudes and perceptions of other people that are based on ignorance and fear.

With that in mind, here are some general tips on relating to a person who uses a wheelchair to get around.

• Don’t assume a person with a disability needs your help. Ask first.

• Talk directly to the person with the disability, not to the person’s companion if they are accompanied.

• Don’t lean on a person’s wheelchair, it’s their personal space.

• Do not push the person’s wheelchair unless they ask.

I now want to give some suggestions directly related to you, the instructor introducing a person with a disability to martial arts.

The first thing to establish is the extent of the person’s disability. Have they full use of their hands and arms?

What is there balance like in their wheelchair?

What levels of control have they of their wheelchair?

How do you find these things out?

Real simple, ASK! Of course this is a two way thing, the student with the disability has to be honest with you and understand the need to know these facts.

Acquire some understanding on what it takes to tip a wheelchair over.

How good their balance is in the wheelchair and the actual dynamics of the wheelchair.

One important safety point I would recommend, is that all wheelchair users taking part in your class have ANTI TIP bars fitted to their wheelchair. This will eliminate or at the very least reduce the chance of a wheelchair user tipping back.

There are numerous bodies that you can contact for advice... SIA Spinal Injuries Association www.spinal.co.uk - SIS Spinal injury Scotland www. sisonline.org - SII Spinal Injuries Ireland www.spinalinjuries.ie

Or you can contact me at Colmjkd@ yahoo.com I would also suggest if it is possible to borrow a wheelchair, sit in it and try out some moves, if not, try out some movements sitting in a standard chair. This will help you get some understanding of what is practical. You will realise that showing a person how to punch an assailant in the face is not practical unless they can draw the persons down to their striking range.

Over the next couple of months in Combat I will cover: Adapting techniques: I will illustrate through photos some of the basic techniques that a person using a wheelchair can competently carry out.

Colm Whooley is a Level 3 Apprentice Instructor in Jun Fan Jeet Kune Do. Following on from a motorcycle accident in 1980 he broke his back. This resulted in him sustaining a spinal injury and being paralyzed from the waist. I.e. to use the correct medical term he is a paraplegic and use a wheelchair to get around.

By Colm Whooley

Never play cards with

Shaolin W A few weeks ago I got the dream telephone call from my old friend and sensei Russell Gould, who as Technical Director of Theatre Productions Ltd was responsible for managing the Shaolin Warriors UK tour. Russell said. “Would you like to write, covering stories for the upcoming Shaolin Warriors UK tour starting in Kettering? This arduous task would involve having to watch the shows, spend time getting to know the monks while trying to gain an understanding of their training.

As a practicing martial artist this was not so much a job opportunity but more of a defining moment in my life, this may sound over dramatic but allow me to explain.

In the early seventies the whole Kung Fu craze burst onto the UK scene in a concoction of big hair, massive sideburns and badly dubbed Chinese men in strange track suits. Every kid wanted to learn how to fight off a never ending supply of bad men and bullies with a short shout and a flying kick.

In the early seventies I was a very impressionable teenager and desperately bought into the whole scene. So I watched Kung Fu movies, studied Zen thinking, tried my hand at Chinese painting and worried my parents by eating nothing but boiled rice with chop sticks.

Every era produces a hero and Bruce Lee was the right legend at the right

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time bringing amazing stunts and real skill to our screens, along with a never ending supply of school boy bedroom posters and packed Kung Fu classes. But behind all the hype and raw violence was a complete way of life. Very few knew of the deeper side until the series “Kung Fu” featuring David Carradine, jumped on the martial arts band wagon in 1972. If you ignore for now the racial and political controversy behind the studios choice of David Carradine to play Kwai Chang Caine over Bruce Lee, you find one of the earliest portrayals of the life and training of the Shaolin Monks. Most martial artists but especially the Shaolins

believe learning to fight is not only a self defense, but also a way of disciplining the mind and body.

Nowadays nobody trains at the Shaolin monastery so although the environment has changed , the methods of training and the end results have not altered over hundreds of years .What makes these monks both the foundations and the pinnacle of martial arts ability is their training and total emersion in

arriors

By John Broughton

the life style. For many poor Chinese families, one of the best routes out of poverty is for your child to be accepted into a Shaolin school. So of course, these schools have the pick of the very best at a very early age, providing the students to eventually move on to become Kung Fu teachers in schools and the army, some even go into films and a proportion find work as private body guards.

To reach the perfection demanded of these students, the training system (proven and unchanged over hundreds of years) is extremely demanding both mentally and physically. For today’s Shaolin students, the average starting age is five years old and training will continue on into their late twenties and sometimes beyond.

For all the Shaolin Warriors their day will start at 5.00pm with a long run and exercises to build core strength and flexibility, followed by a short

break for breakfast consisting of porridge mixed with vegetables. The morning is broken down into 2 hour training sessions with a midday meal which will usually be very traditional Chinese fare based around noodles or rice with vegetables, meat and finished off with fruit. The afternoon consists of more intense two hour training and meditation sessions to balance the mind and body. This development from a very early age of both mind and body gives the Shaolin students an incredible confidence in their own ability, this encourages them to reach out past the mental and physical barriers we put in front of ourselves. The result of this life style is seen on the stage, but however impressive the show we can only glimpse the tip of the iceberg.

The true extent of the abilities and depth of their knowledge is too deep for us to completely understand.

Although the Warriors are true Shaolin they are not Buddhists monks and will happily eat meat and enjoy the same things as other/most teenage boys. This was particularly

evident behind the scenes at the Martial Arts Live show at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham.

The Warriors were resting between shows listening to music on their I Phones, when one of the shows girls came in, dressed in a skimpy top and shorts to ask if she could have her photo taken with the Warriors. I have never seen 12 Warriors move so fast, she was there with them for about thirty minutes while they all posed individually with her. She eventually got away looking pleasantly surprised and left saying “I thought they were monks” no I said they are Shaolin but also teenagers’. One of the Chinese interpreters explained to me that up to a few years ago the official Chinese Government view was there was no religion in China.

These days there is a lot more freedom and pride in the old religious and cultural traditions with Shenism, Taoism and Buddhism making up the largest proportion of religious following, although many families and regions have their own religion.

When I asked about the individual Warriors religious believes it was explained to me that some still follow their families beliefs, but most are young men the same the world over and have little interest in religion. A while ago the Chinese Government realised there was a huge demand for Kung Fu and the Shaolin monks around the world, these groups were representing China and its culture.

Although many of these other travelling groups are excellent...

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WWW.COMBATMAG.CO.UK COMBAT 35

Elite The

Performance Academy

The Elite Performance Academy is based in Nottingham and focuses on the development of combat sports athletes through the latest thinking in sports science.

The Academy has been set up to help athletes and martial artists recognise and fulfil their potential and focuses on boxing, Thai boxing and self defence.

The Academy has been set up to promote sports science into combat sports to allow individuals to fulfil their potential. The Academy runs weekend courses for coaches and instructors, and qualification programs.

traditional systems. However, the focus on coaching and performance is different. The tvp framework brings an Olympic training mentality to combat sports. tvp(tm) enables all participants to fulfil their potential quicker.

Boxing training is based on the tvp (Technique, Variety and Predictability) framework. Tvp is a training method based on tried and tested principles, some of which have been used in

The background to tvp(tm) is built around principles in Sport Science and are geared up to creating athletes for the Combat Sports arena. The whole area of martial arts and combat sports should be treated as any other sport. Preparation and training are essential to the success of the athlete.

We both felt there was huge potential for learning from professional sports and their methods.

A complete fighter needs to possess an ability to recover and be prepared for continuity in the fight. Without this continuity he is totally dependent on his judgement of the level of his opponent. His opponent may be more resilient than expected, so greater preparedness to continue the fight is required.

The top performers will always be top, irrespective of their art, due to their attitude and natural attributes.

The average performer is very

36 COMBAT WWW.COMBATMAG.CO.UK

dependent on the quality of coaching that is provided. tvp(tm) provides focus on core principles rather than on individual techniques. These principles are actually universal principles based on sports science that are fundamental irrespective of the sport, let alone the style being adopted. One example is the principle of locking one side when punching. This principle is based on fundamental laws of physics where the power is maximised when a punch or kick is released in a direction going towards the target. If one side is not locked then the punch or kick could be released in a slightly different direction thus dissipating the power generated.

This principle is also used in darts, cricket, football etc. tvp(tm) also makes extensive use of different forms of resistance equipment and principles learned from sports science such as contrast training. As an example contrast training is about using principles of overloading. However, sports science studies have shown that too much overload actually slows you down.

The timing needs to be sufficient so that the mind recognises the difference when the load is taken off.

The aim of the Academy is to coach Combat Sports athletes to respond intuitively in creative ways to a variety of situations.

The Elite Performance Academy have a number of qualification and grading based programmes for individuals and coaches in boxing, Thai boxing and self defence, based on common principles.. Standards are maintained to progress the quality of athletes produced in combat sports in the UK. So much work has been done in the area of sports science that is being utilised in other sports; it seems silly not to incorporate this into combat sports.

The grading system adopted in our boxing and Thai boxing syllabuses comprise the following elements which are critical to developing the complete combat athlete: * MOVEMENT - fluidity and ability to move in all required directions appropriate to grade * TECHNIQUE - quality and variety of techniques appropriate to grade * FORMS - appropriate to grade * tvp(tm) - assess under pressure * FITNESS - aerobic and anaerobic capacity appropriate to grade

Coach Profiles Owen Comrie Owen Comrie has 35 years experience in the martial arts, in Muay Thai, kickboxing and Boxing. He has held 3 British titles (PKA (Professional Karate Association), WKA (World Karate Association), WAKO (World Amateur Karate Association)), 2 European titles (WAKO European, Budakei European Champion) and was Number One Contender for the World Title.

Owen trained under legendary coaches Master Toddy (Muay Thai Boxing Champion) and Howard Brown (World PKA / WKA / WAKO Champion). Owen currently coaches boxing, Thai Boxing, Kick Boxing and mixed martial arts at the Elite Performance Academy in Nottingham.

Owen has coached world MMA contenders Dan Hardy (right) and Paul Daley over the last few years.

Rob Comrie Rob Comrie has 30 years experience in a range of martial arts covering Wado Ryu karate, Fong Yang Kick

boxing, Muay Thai and boxing. Rob has 15 years experience running a security firm, specialising in providing on door security for nightclubs all over England.

With this experience Rob has developed a a training system for self defence, street fighting and security, which embraces his extensive experience of operating in pressured situations. Rob’s system is based on practical and functional techniques and methods. .

Rocky Sondhi Rocky Sondhi has studied Pak Lei Hung Kung Fu and Shotokan Karate since 1976, and has been practicing and coaching boxing for the last 15 years.

In addition, he has been studying various elements of Jeet Kune Do. Rocky has been intrigued by the development of combat sports through science and psychology.

His approach is very much to treat the body and mind as a single unit, which should be able to move smoothly and effectively to deliver maximum impact in the most efficient and effective way possible.

Rocky, with Tommy, has previously developed the concept of coaching boxing through the tvp framework (technique, variety and (un)-predictability).

Tommy Thompson Tommy Thompson’s career began in 1974. After 69 fights he retired through injury. His coaching career started in 1981, and he is Nottingham’s only senior ABA coach. He is involved with Brendan Ingle’s boxing stable in Sheffield. He has worked with Johnny Nelson and Prince Naseem Hamed...

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IT’S BACK! RTIAL MAAMRRATTIA SL M A R T IA A L R T S M AARRSTTIASSLHOW M A R H O T RRSTATHIASRSTLHIASOLW W MAAMRRATATIA SOLWOW S ARSTHSOHW SHOW the

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