LDG: I wanted to challenge myself and give the martial arts community something special. Originally, I wanted some sort of Expo just for Self Defence and Reality. This was because I felt it wasn’t being showcased enough at other events. Anyway, it ended up being for all arts in the end including reality! I remember the first time I went to SENI at the Birmingham NEC and seeing legends like Neil Adams, Royce Gracie. For me, my ultimate Seminar would be teaching on SENI. I was impressed with TMAX at Coventry arena, for me that was the best Expo ever and I aim for Kaizen to reach that standard! I was lucky enough to teach twice on the UK Martial arts show in Doncaster. I basically, just woke up one day and thought to myself , I’m gonna do an Expo! Not wanting to bite off more then I could chew, hence the reason why it was only a one day event with a zero budget! NB: Why did you think that the martial arts community needed another martial arts expo? LDG: The Martial arts world is big enough for another Expo! My city, Nottingham has never had one! I wanted to put Nottingham on the map and give Kaizen a permanent home. SENI has London, UKMAS has Doncaster. Kaizen has Nottingham. And on the plus side, Nottingham has some amazing talent to showcase, instructors including, Simon Oliver, Owen King, Zara Phythian and the list goes on. Kaizen is about bringing the martial arts community together. NB: How difficult was it to put together? LDG: I very nearly pulled out - It scared the crap out me! I had no money to put it together. 2017 has just been a nightmare for me, I’ve had a lot of personal issues to deal with. There was a lot of sleepless nights and worry. I was lucky enough to have some amazing friends giving awesome support. Tony Pillage called me on a regular basis to advise me and put me the right track. The Martial Arts Guardians Magazine gave me unlimited advertising and support. Without all that and the instructors who helped spread the word, I don’t think I could have done it! NB: What in your view makes Kaizen different from the host of other events currently available? LDG: What we saw at Kaizen, was not only that every seminar packed, we also saw a massive mixture of different styles! We showcased traditional to reality based arts. We had amazing vendors. People could spend their money on quality products at affordable prices. To be honest, I didn’t know what to expect. I think people just wanted to be a part of it . The line up, in my opinion, was the strongest I’ve ever seen. People were waiting to come in from 8.30 am despite the doors opening at 9.30 am! We had the best of the best with about 500 Martial artist smiling through out the day. That’s what made Kaizen Martial Arts Expo a great event! NB: How has the martial artist community responded to Kaizen? Was the response as you envisaged? LDG: Absolutely brilliant, Nasser! It was all over social media people, wouldn’t stop talking about! Most of the stands and sponsors have already sold out for June 2018! It was needed in the Martial arts community and was well received . There were, admittedly, a few mistakes I made but, as I’ve stated, I was on a zero budget and did it all alone!
Lift Hands Vol 4 December 2017
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