SPORT FILIPINO MARTIAL ARTS GRADING EXAMS Last month, students of Modern Arnis Stowupland took part in their next set of belt exams. The testing was a gruelling, four-hour session of nonstop hard work, including elements of empty-hands, weapons training and sparring. The exams warmed up with students demonstrating their stick drills, showing various striking patterns and angles, both with single and double sticks, before moving on to their empty hand striking combinations. Like many South-East Asian arts, Filipino empty hand fighting includes a mix of punches, kicks, elbows and knees. Working with partners, the exam then moved to throwing and sweeping techniques, before progressing to a series of joint-locks and traps. From there, weapons were reintroduced, applying those locks with and against stick attacks. With everyone fully warmed up by that stage, weapons work really began in earnest, with techniques and drill from a huge number of variations of stick, sword/machete, knife and kerambit/dulo. Sometimes partners were using the same weapons, sometimes alternate weapons, and often using more than one weapon in each hand. Pretty exhausted towards the end, the last half hour was spent in a round-robin sparring session, with each student fighting a number of one-on-one stick-fighting matches. Then just for a last push before finishing, there were a few special matches with three people fighting against each other at the same time. While testing is obviously a great way to measure everyone’s progress, a hard four-hour session like this has it’s own benefits, consolidating and reinforcing what the students have learned so far. Those who took part are now already training towards their next exam. If you are interested in trying Filipino Martial Arts, classes are taught in Stowupland by Maestro Eric Amada, one of the most respected and popular Arnis teachers in the UK. The class caters for all levels and complete beginners are always welcome, as are students from other arts looking to supplement their existing skills. Classes take place from 7-8.30pm at Stowupland Sports Centre at Stowupland High School on Tuesday evenings. For more information, contact Eric: ericamada@hotmail.com
SEVENTH DAN AIKIDO SEMINAR On Sunday, October 30, Satomi Kai Aikido had the great pleasure of hosting a one day seminar in Stowmarket with Sensei Bill Harris. Sensei Harris has been training in Aikido for more than 40 years, attaining the rank of 7th dan, and is the chief instructor/examiner of the Kai Shin Kai. He brought with him four other senior instructors, all of whom took a slot teaching during the day. It was a good opportunity to see the range of expertise and teaching styles from other people coming up in the organisation. The overriding theme of this seminar was weapons, with much of the day focusing on sword work. Many of the techniques in Aikido have their roots in the Japanese sword techniques of the samurai, and the visiting instructors first taught a number of empty-hand techniques before moving on to show the same techniques applied against a sword attack. As is traditional after a hard seminar, we all went for a few drinks and to socialise afterwards. The post-session pub trip is always a good time to catch up with seminar friends you may only otherwise see a year or two apart. It was also lovely to see a number of students and friends who hadn’t been able to make the training itself. We had a great turnout on the day and would like to thank everyone who came along. Particular thanks to everyone who helped make it such a successful day. As well as being an excellent Aikidoka, Sensei Harris is a warm, fun and very friendly instructor. His seminars are always extremely rewarding and we look forward to hosting more seminars in the future. Some particularly keen students even travelled to Aylesbury the following weekend to cram in another seminar with him. For anyone interested in trying Aikido, beginners are always welcome. Classes run from 7pm on Sundays at Mid Suffolk Leisure Centre, or from 8pm on Thursdays at Cedars Park Community Centre. For more information, please email aikido@precepts.co.uk or visit: www.satomikai.co.uk
STOWMARKET TENNIS CLUB It’s been a very busy time at the club with lots of activity both on and off court. The biggest news is that we have now installed our airhall for the winter which means that we can play throughout the next five months or so without any disruption from the weather. A couple of exceptions to that last statement would be 90mph winds or over 15cm of snow – both of which would have us taking evasive action. Winter league is now in full swing, taking advantage of the indoor facility, with a dozen senior pairs competing most weekends against pairs from other clubs in the Ipswich & District League. Social play is also thriving with club mornings and evenings a huge success story with all courts regularly full and a few waiting players keen to get on. If your child goes to school in Stowmarket then there’s a big chance they’ve seen one of my tennis assemblies lately. Since the beginning of September I’ve delivered demo sessions at Abbotts Hall, Wood Ley, Bosmere, Cedars Park and Trinity Primary Schools plus Stowupland High School. The local cubs group also joined me at the club one Thursday evening for a spirited fun session and invitatioxns have been sent to brownies groups too. If you’re a cub, scout, brownie or guide leader, do get in touch and we can arrange for an evening session down at the club. The adult programme has introduced some new players too. Some are beginners, some played while at school, so now is the perfect time to
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start, particularly if you want to get practising before next spring. As I write Andy Murray has just been confirmed as World No. 1. He’s achieved this before even reaching the Paris final as his opponent has retired and the other top player, Novak Djokovic, was beaten at the quarter final stage. Murray was the top junior in the world which was the last time he was ranked above Djokovic, their careers evenly matched in their younger days. This is the first time he’s reached the senior top spot and broken the dominance of Djokovic who, it must be said, hasn’t quite regained his form or fitness from five months ago. We’ll have to see how long Andy can remain at the top and whether Novak finally recovers to take back the crown. We’re always looking out for the next star of the future and hold weekly fun sessions to introduce new juniors into the game. From there they can progress into a regular squad or remain in the fun session if they prefer. If you’d like to see if you have what it takes to be the next Andy Murray or Joanna Konta, then get in touch. See you on court! Senior Club Coach Chris Cunningham chris@chriscoaching.plus.com
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