Combat February 2011

BRINGING MARTIAL ARTS TO LIFE!!!

MARTIALARTSSHOW the

THE NEC BIRMINGHAM 7TH & 8TH MAY 2011

W W W. C O M B A T M A G . C O . U K FEBRUA RY 2011

Vol . 3 6 No. 7 £3.95

TMAS T1

Takes The UK’s Tournament Scene

By Storm!

KUNG FU PANDA 2

A Sneak Peak at This Summers Blockbuster

PREPARING TO TAKE A GRADING

The Pugilistic Prayer-Sayer

How to Prepare Yourself

MAXIMISING PERFORMANCE How to Use Nutrition to Tap Into Your Full Potential

LESSONS FROM INSIDE THE CAGE Attacking From The Back and Escaping From The Guard

NOAH MARTIAL ARTS & CANCER Can it Enhance The Quality of Life For Survivors?

Why Should Self-Defence Hurt? - How to Ensure Your Child’s Safety!

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VOLUME 36 NUMBER 07 FEBRUARY 2011 PUBLISHER/EDITOR IN CHIEF Paul Clifton paul@martialartsinprint.com

GRAPHIC DESIGN Kevin Thompson

WEB DESIGN Nick Harley

ADVERTISING/SALES EXECUTIVE Jan Harley 0121 351 6930 HOW TO GET WORK PUBLISHED To have your submission published in COMBAT couldn’t be easier. Supply your written material either on disc (ASCII), typed or on audio tape.

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ADVERTISING DETAILS To take out a subscription to Combat magazine, just send your cheque for the correct amount made payable to M.A. Publications Ltd. to: Subscription Dept. Unit 20, Maybrook Business Park, Maybrook Road, Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, B76 1BE. or telephone: 0121-351 6930 12 issues = UK @ £44.95 EUROPE @ £75 (Airmail) REST OF WORLD @ £90 (Airmail)

COLUMNISTS Aran Dharmeratnam Gavin Mulholland Joe Hallett Kerry-Louise Norbury Mike Finn CONTRIBUTORS Brian Dossett David Wing Guy Holland Mick Clarke Peter Browne Rich Hinchcliffe Richard Thomas Stuart Rider Tom Hibbert

FILM MEDIA Phil Hobden Mike Murphy KUNG FU Derek Frearson Iain Armstrong Jeremy Yau Michael Tse Simon Lau Vince Hinde Yap Leong KOREAN ARTS Dave Oliver David Allerton Hee Il Cho Keith Evans Tony Vohra

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COMMENT Before I launch into what’s been happening or what’s in this issue I would like to ask you to join me in welcoming Combat’s newest team member, Chris Jackson.

Chris starts a new monthly column in this issue, providing us quite literally, with some ‘Food for Thought’. Each month he will be looking at the importance of Nutrition in our diets and how the right foods could help you improve in your chosen field. Chris’ expertise also extends to knowing how certain foods can play a vital role in your well being and physical potential. An important read for anyone that values their health and ability to perform to their maximum potential.

‘The pugilistic prayer sayer’, sounds like a bit of a contradiction? Well that’s exactly what our cover star, Noah is and does. The former amateur Welsh boxing champion doesn’t just like bashing people and bibles; he also likes bashing out a few tunes too. We caught up with Noah while he took a rare break from his very hectic schedule, to tell us more about himself, his background and his aspirations.

It really is awe inspiring stuff!

We also have lots of helpful training tips for you in this month’s issue to keep you on your toes! Check out our Stances article on page 55 which details how a better stance will help you achieve a stronger foundation.

We all know that exercise is good for us, but can it help someone recover, after suffering a serious illness? It is widely believed that it can and of the all exercises that can be undertaken, martial arts are one of the best! Our article entitled ‘Martial Arts for Cancer survivors’ on page 70 takes a look at how Taijiquan (more commonly known as Tai Chi) is being recommended by the Chinese government to not just help people keep fit but also help aid many cancer survivors on their return to full health, a very interesting read! Another light exercise that’s beneficial for well-being is Yoga.

Not widely regarded as a martial art but more of a lifestyle, including spiritualism and of course quite a bit of stretching, Yoga is seen by many as more of a hobby practiced (mostly by women). But is that really all there is to Yoga or have people got it all wrong? Be sure to take a look at pages 88-91 and Decide for yourself.

Why do people take up a martial art? Usually to help them learn to defend themselves and to help improve their general health and fitness, right! Possibly, but do all martial arts really improve your health? With injury rates rising in many types of classes we take a look at what are the best and worst styles of martial art to practice when it comes to keeping your body injury free. Make sure you check out our article on pages 74-77.

Over the years I have come to learn that you won’t succeed at anything unless you have the proper mindset! And whilst these are wise words, especially helpful for any martial artist preparing for a fight, a grading or even your next training class, how do you develop a winning mindset? Does it just come naturally or can it be learned? Take a look at pages 84-87 and find out for yourself, but if you put your mind to it, you may discover that you really can achieve almost anything!

The safety of our children is obviously and always will be of paramount importance! But how can you be confident they are ok at all times? We have a few tips which you will hopefully find helpful in ensuring your child’s well being in many different situations, check out pages 95 and 96.

Well, that’s all for another month so read on, enjoy and I’ll catch you again next month for another informative issue of Combat magazine!

Until then and if you can make it, try and come to our T2 tournament event (www.tmaslive.com) and make sure that you say hi. T1 was a fantastic event and T2 is set to be even better so check out the site and hopefully I’ll see you there (Sunday the 20th of February)at The Wild Cats Arena in Nottingham.

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

FULL CONTACT Bill Wallace Cris Janson-Piers Dean Sugden Joe Lewis Kerry-Louise Norbury Paul Hennesey Steve Humphries

THAI BOXING Dan Green Richard Smith Shaun Boland Tony Myers

SPORT MARTIAL ARTS Humphrey Broome Joe Hallett John Swift Neville Wray Peter Edwards

BOXING Luke Calvert Mark Wilson-Smith

PHOTOGRAPHY Carrie Austin Martyn Skipper

HEALTH/STRENGTH/FITNESS Drew Price Gavin Sibson Neil Rosiak Philip Malin Silvio Simac Jon Watson MMA Carl Fisher Dave O’Donnell Gavin Mulholland Rob Nutley SELF PROTECTION/DEFENCE Aran Dharmeratnam Kevin O’Hagan Morne Swaenopal Peter Browne

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

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CONTENTS REGULARS

48

6 12 14 20 22 24 26 30 36 38 40 144 -

MARTIAL ARTS NEWSLINE MIKE FINN - Real Life Encounters - Part 6 FOOD FOR THOUGHT - With Chris Jackson THE NEGOTIATOR - By Aran Dharmeratnam LESSONS FOR THE CAGE - By Gavin Mulholland CHATTERBOX - With World Champion Kerry-Louise THE FORMS FORUM - With Joe Hallett COMBAT HELPLINE - With Master Jake Ogden THE MAN SPEAKETH! - By Robert Devane SHINOBI SOLDIERS - An Investigation Into The Ninja SHAOLIN COMBAT - With Iain Armstrong CLUBS DIRECTORY & CLASSIFIEDS SECTION

FEATURES

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19 48 54 56 60 64 -

70 -

128

74 78 84

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88 92 96 98 102 110 114 116

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KARATE KID COMPETITION MICHAEL JAI WHITE - Explosive Black Dynamite THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LAW AND JUSTICE? How Many Innocent Victims Fall Foul of The Justice System?

STANCES Form The Foundations For Everything You do in Martial Arts NOAH’S ART Is This Pugilistic Prayer-Sayer The Next Big Musical Sensation?

CANE-FU EMPOWERS DISABLED TO TAKE CONTROL Secure Living Online Presents Three Techniques For Real-World Threats MARTIAL ARTS FOR CANCER SURVIVORS An Effective Intervention For Enhancing Quality of Life in Cancer Survivors SELF DEFENCE - Why Should it Hurt?

ELIJAH GRINELL - A New Type of Shaolin Warrior DEVELOPING THE PROPER MINDSET FOR SELF PROTECTION You Won’t Succeed in Anything Unless You Have a Mindset That is Conductive to Success OUT OF MARTIAL ARTS YOGA EMERGED Shugendo Yoga - An American Yoga THE EVOLUTION OF A MARTIAL ART SYSTEM Chapter 4 - Mixed Martial Arts, The Modern Phenomenon SAFETY OF OUR KIDS - Bully Proof Your Child THE MARTIAL ARTS MAZE Are You Getting The Most From Your Training?

JAKI MCVICAR - 7th Degree Black Belt BKKA ISKA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS BSK OPEN KARATE CHAMPIONSHIPS THE KING’S BATTLEGROUND

140

124 - THE ESKK COLUMN - With Chris Denwood 128 - SENSEI ROBERT HERINCX - Pieces of a Puzzle 131 - KARATE CLUB ‘BACK UP’ A WORTHY CAUSE

- TANG SOO DO - By Master David Allerton - TAEKWONDO - Excellent For All Children!

- TAGB BRITISH CHAMPIONSHIPS

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BUNBUN SERIES

By Mike Finn - Leading World Authority

The Journey... the Path...

& the Destination

Part 3

I began martial arts around 1954, went by train across Siberia to Japan in 1968, there I studied with many of Japan’s leading masters. I could not afford to go back to Japan till the 1980’s and at that time continued my studies. In total (in lay persons terms) through endeavour and hard work, I qualified in Japan with 40 black belts in 10 martial arts, this was both my great personal achievement and my curse.

On my return to Britain in the 1970s my knowledge and qualifications were met with vehement hostility in the martial arts world, this led to a whispering campaign directed at discrediting those qualifications, which in truth were so easy to verify. If I had known the result I would never have sat any exams in Japan. After all, a belt is something you wear round your waist, but training with Japan’s leading masters and attaining their knowledge is both enduring and incomparable. In this series I will talk frankly about martial arts,

the masters I have trained with and the truth about martial arts training.

It seems like yesterday that I walked up past the Kodokan and onward to the Tomisaka dojo, to find out whether I would be accepted as a student of the last grand master of Shindo Muso Ryu, Takaji Shimizu dai sensei.

That was a little over 40 years ago now, I was in my early 20s and had recently arrived in Tokyo.

I trained with the master from 1968 to 1970, it was a remarkable and personal experience.

Shimizu dai sensei had a unique

A rare picture of master Shimizu at the police dojo in Tomisaka, Tokyo, together with members of Shindo Muso Ryu. (photo taken in 1968)

Finn sensei on the roof of the Tomisaka dojo, sitting next to master Shimizu. Behind are Quintin Chambers, Donn Draeger and Alan Turney. (photo taken in 1968)

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method of teaching, which was in the true ‘seiryoku zenyo’ (minimum effort, maximum efficiency) tradition. During my training sessions most of the 6 or 7 students were westerners, however, I would also train at the Toyama Dojo in Omori with master Shimizu or Master Kuroda, and at that time the only other student was Pascal Krieger. Each practice usually lasted between 3 to 4 hours.

Donn Draeger sensei often helped translate any complex concepts the master was explaining to me, as I regret at that time my Japanese was not accomplished.

During my stay at the dojo, master Shimizu was still developing the Jodo Seitei Kata for the Zen Nihon Kendo Renmei, he was kind enough to explain to me, some of the subtle changes and implications from old to new.

Training was hard and disciplined, Shindo Muso Ryu was taught in the old ways. In fact you always felt that a moments loss of attention, one simple error could be more than life threatening. At that time it was still not uncommon for students to die during training, I have a

whole selection of press cuttings to testify to that. I remember at one exam, I saw a student performing pair form kata. He had the bokken (wooden sword), and as he moved forward to cut, he took a momentary glance at his girlfriend nearby. That change in timing caused him to walk into the sweeping movement of the Jo, which almost completely severed his nose near the top.

Master Shimzu personally taught me the sort stick and police arrest skills, that I might enlighten the police forces in Britain (a story in itself). The old ways of teaching Shindo Muso Ryu Jojutsu and the system itself were like a time machine that gave you an insight into the minds and skills of the samurai of 400 years ago. Even as you stepped into the dojo you could feel the clock spinning backwards. Much was so subtle, it could only be passed on by direct experience.

Our modern pace of living does not facilitate the dedication and mind set of that ‘old ways’ genre. I remember Shimizu Dai Sensei making reference to the Seitei Jodo, explaining that in the future it would be there to give modern exponents just a taste of the old traditions, while fitting into a changing modern society. No one knows why he did not designate the next Grand master, only speculation fills the empty void, but perhaps this was a contributing factor.

Finn sensei returned to Britain in 1970 and introduced Shindo Muso Ryu Jojutsu.

I was the first dan grade to return to Britain, qualified in Shindo Muso Ryu Jojutsu. For many students here Jojutsu was just too intense, I taught a small class at the London Judo Society and continued to practice and improve, while over the years a few exponents came to my dojo from Japan. By the time I had saved enough money to return, master Shimizu had sadly passed away. It was not until the 1980s I was again able to make a number of visits to Japan and train with both Master Kuroda and Master Kaminoda.

Finn sensei returned to Japan during the 1980’s, he both trained and qualified in various skills. Here he is taking a national Jo exam in Tokyo.

The history in brief - During the early 1600s Master Muso Gonosuke studied Katori and Kashima Ryu skills, he was reputed to be over 6 feet tall, toured Japan testing his skills and in time favoured the 6 foot staff.

According to tradition, among other encounters, he fought famous swordsman Miyamoto Musashi, who defeated him...

To read the rest of this article why not take out a subscription by calling +44 (0) 121 351 6930

The Kanji in this picture reads ‘Jodo’

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FOODFORTHOUGHT With Chris Jackson

Maximising Performance

Through Nutrition There are three major components in the consideration of athletic performance in martial arts or indeed any other sport: talent, training and potential. Of the three, potential is the foremost, for on the foundation of potential will depend the capacities for and qualities of expression of the other two categories: talent and training.

Talent can be God-given. It can also be learned, a skill honed by hours of diligence and training in and out of the dojo. It can remain in a raw, undeveloped state, or it can be matured to maximum perfection. But, without availability of potential, talent is restricted, like a sailor on a boat without a sail.

Training and conditioning are certainly vital to the development of peak performance. However, without

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the availability of full potential, the fruits of training and conditioning are wasted. Of what benefit are training and conditioning to you if you develop flu the day before a competition or if you have no energy left part way through a grading?

TAPPING FULL POTENTIAL So, just what is meant by potential?

Potential refers to genetic capacity,

design limit and inherited abilities: physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. Every martial artist has a different design limit; Some are gifted with speed, others with strength and endurance. Some are creative and intuitive, while others are more logical, rational thinkers. But, whatever the unique combination of genetically inherited capacities one may possess in one’s potential, the ability to express and utilize one’s full potential is highly dependent upon the presence of one essential, imperative ingredient: ENERGY. If you don’t have the energy needed to express your full potential, whatever talent you possess will be limited; whatever training and conditioning has been accomplished will be wasted. Whatever aspect of life is considered, energy will be found to be the basic consideration for the quality of that aspect of life.

Competitiveness, drive, motivation, emotion and the sustained will to win are all dependent upon your body’s energy production and its sustained availability. Similarly quick

reaction time, focus and awareness are all dependent upon energy availability, as is all physical activity.

If ever there can be said to be a bottom line ingredient necessary for the manifestation of peak performance in the martial arts it is energy.

The ability to manifest one’s genetic potential, to reap the rewards of training and conditioning and to express the fullness of your talent, all require peak and sustained production of energy by the body, the realisation of optimum health.

WHERE DOES ENERGY COME FROM? So where does energy come from?

How is it produced and maintained in the body? There are three major areas in the body that are involved in the production and maintenance of energy: the autonomic nervous system; the oxidative system (the intracellular combustion of nutrients with resultant energy production); and the endocrine system. Through the numerous processes of metabolism, an interaction, or energy exchange, occurs between the body and the environment. Air, water, light and food are used by the body for the maintenance of life.

All of the nutrients found in food, vitamins, minerals, enzymes, etc. comprise the fuel for the cells, the body’s engines of metabolism and the underlying battery that allows you to perform in the dojo, on the mat and on the street.

Then, all one needs to do is to eat a well-balanced meal and everything will be fine, right? Wrong, or at best, only half right. Enter metabolic individuality and the need for Metabolic Typing.

ENERGY INDIVIDUALITY Every human being is unique. We are as different from one another in all the facets of our beings as we are in our fingerprints. Genetically inherited differences in size, shape, strength and efficiency extend from the outward physical structure to the internal makeup of organs, glands and systems, right down to intracellular processes of metabolism in the cells.

These differences translate into variances in energy output on the part of the cells, organs, glands and systems, which in turn give rise to individuality and infinite variation in physical characteristics; psychological, behavioral and emotional traits; and conditions one becomes prone to.

Just as each human being has inherited unique characteristics and capacities, so too has each inherited specific genetic requirements for the raw materials (vitamins, minerals, enzymes, etc.) necessary to maintain life in a state of optimum health.

Any variation from this genetic requirement causes a loss of homeostasis, a metabolic imbalance, which automatically results in deficient energy production. Hence why a dietary program that works well for one martial artist may have a negative affect on another martial artist.

MAXIMIZING STRENGTHS MINIMIZING WEAKNESSES Whatever the situation, Metabolic Typing provides the capacity to maximize and maintain the strengths and minimize or eliminate totally the weaknesses inherent in your metabolism.

By understanding (1) how to determine the individual biochemical (nutritional) requirements and (2) how to influence the autonomic nervous system, the oxidation rate and the endocrine system, Metabolic Typing can provide the proper fuel for your individual metabolic type. This will influence your potential capacities before, during and after training and competition.

Those who have speed can build endurance. Those who have bulk can develop tone and flexibility. Whatever the weakness, it can be turned into strength. During training or a fight, instead of your talent diminishing with fatigue, peak performance can be sustained until the end through the insurance of the optimum fuel supply for the energy systems being provided for your individual metabolic type...

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

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& THIS TIME IT’S

BIGGER at the NATIONAL EXHIBITION CENTRE, BIRMINGHAM, UK

Saturday the 7th & Sunday 8th May 2011 www.themartialartsshowlive.com

THE

KARATE KID competition

The Karate Kid is out now on DVD and Blu-ray courtesy of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

To celebrate this release we have a big screen Sony LCD TV & DVD player plus 5 copies of the film for runners up!

To be in with a chance of winning one of these fantastic prizes simply answer this question...

Who plays the part of Mr Han in ‘The Karate Kid’ (2010)? a) Pat Morita b) Ralph Macchio c) Jackie Chan Email your name address & answer to...

© 2010 Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. All Rights Reserved

karatekid@matialartsinprint.com

COMBATHELPLINE With Master Jake Ogden

Preparing for and

Taking Gradings When writing my columns, I always try to cover a broad range of areas that will be familiar and appropriate to a multitude of people : instructors, students and indeed parents and carers of those who participate in martial arts. I have also been in the martial arts game for a long time so hope that my comments and views will help you and or children on your/their journey to mastery.

This month I want to cover the area that so many people of all ages and abilities struggle with and its that of psychological preparation leading up to a big event i.e. grading, competition, fights etc. In this instance I’m going to apply this to gradings in particular to keep it simple but it can be applied to most other test/exam situations. All of my students that are entered into a grading are always physically competent to deal with the demands of the event. But, that’s only part of it; psychology also plays a huge roll in students being successful.

You may ask yourself what qualifies me to do such things? Well

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that’s a good questions but I can tell you that I have been an international athlete and competed on the national, international and the world stage in 3 different sports at varying times in my career. Rugby, martial arts, athletics (sprinting and triple jump).

I was also a professional athlete for 7 years of my life competing in front of many thousands of people at a time. This requires an immense amount of concentration, motivation and collectiveness. I have also lectured at some of the countries leading sports institutes not to mention the university of south Carolina and the university of south florida in SAQ

and performance. But most importantly I also care about people.

I help to prepare all of my students mentally prior to the big event which helps them excel and cope with the demands of the grading; its all about setting the game up to win.

Just a few simple words can make a huge difference in an individual’s mind and really help them to deal with the coming situation. Generally I do this in two sections. Firstly I do this via a group talk, prepping my students collectively about the grading protocol and what to expect. I also know my students well individually, so I’m aware of certain individuals whom I know will struggle when coming up to and maybe during a grading. Because of this awareness that I have, I ensure that I am always monitoring their progress and giving them words of encouragement leading up to the event. It’s all about them controlling the situation mentally as opposed to the situation controlling them. I also use similar techniques for my personal clients helping to inspire and motivate them through motivational techniques and physical activities.

Challenge should be embraced, relished and overcome. When I decided to write my first book and indeed the following articles, I imme-

diately saw a challenge, which I took up in true martial arts spirit. But when I thought back to my very first grading or before a championship competition, my feelings were that of immense apprehension. When I thought deeper I realised that the first thing I learnt from martial arts was that very often your biggest adversary is not the obstacle standing before you, but apprehension from within you, and fear of the unknown. It is this that causes us to achieve or fail. As human beings we are all capable of achieving our dreams if we are bold enough to say yes to the challenge instead of saying no to the challenge and opting for the easier route out. Too many people sit back and wait for things to happen, instead of going out and making things happen. Say yes to the challenge and go for it. If it doesn’t work at least you tried it and hopefully learnt from it.

No matter how old or young my students they are always nervous about their next grading.

The truth of the matter is; you’re always going to be nervous about gradings no matter how many you have done. However; once you have been bowed in you haven’t got any time to be nervous; you simply react. I have been grading for 30 years and I still get nervous prior to a grading. Its all about how you approach the situation and how your brain deals with preparing for it and what it associates with it. If you always think about how hard its going to be and how long it will take that is what you will focus on.

However; if you look forward to receiving your belt and how good you will feel after the event that is a more positive view and you will be more sure to move towards this notion. Remember focus on the end result, not what it takes to get there.

Nervousness will always vary between different individuals. Some people suffer with stress more than others. For those people, it is important to learn some stress reduction techniques which can help to calm them down which we will visit a little later in the article.

Lets look at what makes us feel nervous. Notice: I said “we.” Nervousness about grading is a universal reaction. As humans we deal with

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Launches With A Bang!

The TMAS LIVE tournament series is an idea that was born from the huge success that was The Martial Arts Show 2010 as well as a need and calling for fair, unbiased and exciting format tournaments. Events that were completely open, totally unbiased and above all, enjoyable! With 600 plus in attendance at the first T1 event, all of whom went home happy, it was proof enough that T1 was just what the people ordered and that the unique format and event layout was a breath of fresh air that, according to those in attendance, was very much needed in the overall scheme of things!

So, rather than dwell on the semantics of a minute by minute blow account of what happened, I have decided to let the results speak for themselves and the photographs detail just how many happy people came together to create a little bit of history.

If you would like to be treated fairly, openly, impartially, make sure that you attend the next event on Sunday the 27th of Febraury at the Wildacts arena in Nottingham (visit ; www.tmaslive.com) for all the details.

You can bet that you will be made most welcome! See you there.

Finally, Great events are only great because they are run by dedicated and commited people so a HUGE thank you goes out to Zara, Vic, Juliet, Nia, Dave, Sam, Owen, Lee, Eddie, Jan and ALL those that played their invaluable part in making the event not only run well but ensure that nothing went wrong by doing all that they could - Thank you, to you ALL!

Boys Point Sparring

-5ft Intermediate 1st Luke Bulpin 2nd James Bulpin 3rd Robert Eastwood

Girls Point Sparring

-4ft Nov/int 1st Ibrahim Panchbhaya 2nd Ryan Parnell 3rd Max Bunch -4’4’’ Novice 1st Lewis Erasmus 2nd Blazej Jan 3rd Bradley Allen -4’4’’ Intermediate 1st Tom Symons 2nd Adrian Gawrysiak 3rd Jack Wardell -4’4’’ Adv/black Belt 1st Callum Glover 2nd Marcus Ainsbury 3rd Mark Royle -4’4’’ Black Belts 1st Marcus Ainsbury 2nd Callum Glover -5ft Novice 1st Macauley Cole 2nd Kyle Brady 3rd Matthew Armstrong 14 COMBAT WWW.COMBATMAG.CO.UK

-5ft Adv/black Belt 1st Joseph Watkins 2nd Daniel Balch 3rd Ethan Buck -5’4’’ Nov/int 1st Michael Bulpin 2nd Keller Moore -5’4’’ Adv/black Belt 1st Sam Keen 2nd Ryan Worth +5’4’’ Nov/int 1st Michael Bulpin 2nd Thaiyub Malik +5’4’’ Adv/black Belt 1st Courtney Challenger 2nd Stephen Ellis 3rd Luke Golder

-4’4’’ Nov/int 1st Rachael Hughes 2nd Charlotte Gardner -5ft Nov/int 1st Amy Stupar 2nd Sadie Carder 3rd Jessica Ryan -5ft Adv/black Belt 1st Chloe Buck 2nd Aimee Hibbert -5’4’’ Nov/int 1st Renee Rubio-richards 2nd Klaudia Gawrysiak -5’4’’ Adv/black Belt 1st Paige Thompson 2nd Casey Marshall 3rd Shannon Bartlett +5’4’’ Nov/int 1st Stacey Robinson 2nd Karan Rehill 3rd Deryn Cole

To read the rest of this article take out a subscription, visit www.combatmag.co.uk/subscribe Men’s Point Sparring -75kg Novice 1st Darren Hemsley 2nd Michael Alan Barass

-80kg 1st 2nd 3rd

Int/adv Kev Fairish Lee Crowder Rob Carder

-80kg Novice 1st David Wilson 2nd Colin Simpson

-85kg Int/adv 1st Shane Morgan 2nd Barney Loughran

+90kg Black Belts 1st Andrew Hicks 2nd Elliot Stevens

-85kg 1st 2nd 3rd

Novice Ben Clarke Progesh Chris Iles

+90kg 1st 2nd 3rd

Women’s Point Sparring

+90kg 1st 2nd 3rd

Novice Matthew Cooper Matthew Lowe Seweryn Szamot

-70kg Black Belts 1st Darren Chapman 2nd Majid Hussain | Safian Malik

-70kg 1st 2nd 3rd

Int/adv Jon Hazel Daniel Reid Geerthanan Selva

-75kg 1st 2nd 3rd

Int/adv Wayne Radford Ashley Dickinson Alan Bailey

Int/adv Darren Williams Perry Hinds Keith Hodgkins

-75kg Black Belts 1st Josh Males 2nd Craig Newton -80kg Black Belts 1st Gavin Hughes 2nd Steve Clews

-85kg 1st 2nd 3rd

Black Belts Chris Adams Tim Pardoe Trevor Hodgkins

-65kg Novice 1st Shriya Malhotra 2nd Martina Buchannan -60kg 1st 2nd 3rd

Int/adv Helen Sharp Nicola Morgan Nicola Moore

-65kg Int/adv 1st Naomi Molyneux 2nd Donna Blinko +70kg Int/adv 1st Naomi Hamilton 2nd Lucinda Overbury

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Michael Jai Explosive Black Dynamite When the chance of an interview with actor Michael Jai White, famed for his parts in The Dark Knight, The Legend of Bruce Lee and Blood and Bone, arose I literally jumped at the chance. Michael is a true martial artist, an enthusiast who amazingly holds black belts in seven different martial arts. With his latest film, Black Dynamite, recently released by Icon Home Entertainment it was an ideal time to catch up with the star.

Michael, you have a stunning pedigree of martial arts behind you. How did you get involved in them, where did you start and who with?

MICHAEL JAI WHITE: Well, I started training at the age of seven in Kyokushin under a guy called Rex Lee, who was a student of Mas Oyama. As I expect you know, Oyama was a Korean who lived in Japan with the Oyama family and who eventually adopted their name.

He was the founder of Kyokushin. From there I studied Shotokan, then later Taekwondo and Tang Soo Do. I have this belief that once you get to black belt in one style you start at white belt again in another. You never stop learning.

Which style of Taekwondo was it that you studied, ITF or WTF? MICHAEL JAI WHITE: WTF originally, then I joined the USTU. I trained originally under Jhoon Rhee, before he moved his business to Washington DC, and also studied Tang Soo Do in one of Chuck Norris’s academies.

What is it about martial arts that really grip you; is it the patterns, sparring, or the whole ethos?

Michael in Black Dynamite

MICHAEL JAI WHITE: I was bought up in a really tough neighbourhood and originally it was to build a form of armour around myself against the angst and aggression surrounding us; basically to have a safe haven. So for me it’s the entire thing, something to lose yourself in and be part of.

If there was one martial art that held a special place in your heart which would it be and why?

MICHAEL JAI WHITE: It has to be Kyokushin, as that’s what I started out in. You have to understand the hierarchy and adhere to it, to know and respect that there’s one person who stands exulted above all others. There’s still a strong and cohesive worldwide organisation and we all train exactly the same way. Yes, as in all things, there are some disappointments but generally it’s as it always has been.

If you look at the martial arts the world over, and there are so many of them, people keep breaking off and starting their own thing; why? There’s doesn’t seem to be any loyalty these days. It’s like someone splitting off from an army and forming their own, just so that they can be the general of it; their ego being the centre of their universe. Kyokushin is one of the hardest and most respected styles. You can train for ten years and not be a black belt in it and I firmly believe that not everyone should be able to attain the rank of black belt. These days you see children of 8 years old or so running around with a black belt on. How can that be? Martial arts are regimented, much like the military. Could you imagine these guys being eight year old soldiers?..

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White

By Mark Iles

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The Relationship Between Law

& JUSTICE? Whatever next? The government are making cuts to save money whilst Judges, lawyers and police play games with taxpayers money. You will not believe the following but it happened. The question is, how many innocent victims are in prison or on bail for doing nothing?

This is a story that effected one of our own martial artists. This involves a lady who claimed to be a victim and was a major police witness for several unsolved murders. She claimed two men on a Surrey Common assaulted her.

Although both men were acquitted the volume of evidence supporting one of those men demonstrated how our police force uses lies and corruption. This is about 36-yearold father of four Stephen Dossett the Son of grandmaster Brian Dossett. Stephen is a renown and respected kick and MMA fighter and became the real victim of these circumstances. This case was part of one of the biggest murder cases the police have had to investigate and Stephen Dossett was used as a tool to further police investigations. His accuser was a

major witness to several murders so was heavily protected by the police. This alone must have cost taxpayers thousands of pounds and not only effected Stephan Dossett’s future career within the MMA fight circles but also his family especially his children. In this report we will refer to Stephen Dossett as S/D and his accuser as “A”.

On Friday 26th June 2009 it was claimed that S/D assaulted “A” at 11am in a Surrey Park 30 miles away from where S/D was.

S/D was staying at his parent’s home thirty miles away from the place the assault was supposed to have taken place at. Thursday 25th June S/D was having his last training session before departing the next morning to travel to Dublin to compete in a Steve in action recently @ EFC ‘The Ultimate Battle’

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fight of the night charity bout.

Saturday 27th June was fight night with S/D suffering a broken arm in the 2nd round leaving him to return back to the U/K on Sunday 28th June. After an emergency operation S/D was out of action for a month until 22nd July 2009 which was to be a day he will never forget.

On July 21st S/D parents went on holiday overseas leaving S/D to enjoy two weeks quality time with his children.

But on July 22nd the house was attacked by a heavily-armed police team, with guns, shields and batons supported by a helicopter hanging over the house for an assault he had nothing to do with. He was arrested in front of his children who were handed over to other members of the Dossett family who failed to understand what was going on.

The front door was smashed, all rooms were searched and left in a disgusting state until Soke Brian and his wife returned from holiday.

On their return they heard what had happened and swiftly made there own enquires. There first question was if the assault took place on 26th June why was S/D arrested a month later on 22nd July? An arrest should have been made during the weekend S/D was to compete in Dublin. However, the fact was

S/D was in Wansworth prison for three weeks whilst Soke Brian produced CCTV evidence showing where his Son actually was at the stated time. On this evidence a plea was made to get S/D released based on mistaken identity. CCTV proved on Friday 6th June at 11am S/D, his father and two other persons were at London Airport outside Air Lingus checking in desk.. Although this evidence was produced at the Old Bailey to a high court judge the nightmare still began. The police witness changed her statement from 11am to 9am resulting in S/D returning back to prison pending further investigations. After yet another four weeks more CCTV footage proved that S/D was at a coach station at 9am that day. Once again another trip to the old Bailey became a nightmare because although for the second time CCTV proved S/D was at a coach station with his father at 9am the witness changed her statement for the third tine claming it was 7.30am. We could not believe what we were hearing and above all we could not believe the judges decision. The judge clamed that based on the witness claiming it was a positive identification S/D was once again returned to prison for three months and there was a suggestion he could be in for longer pending further investigations.

What was going on? We proved two statements were in question yet the law allowed a third statement. Justice was now in question along with those who judge the facts, in this case proven CCTV. S/D trained hard for four weeks up until Thursday 25th June. Just one day before the supposed assault. That evening he trained witnessed by over 50 persons at his training venue. At 9pm both S/D and his father biked home, had a shower and retired to their beds in preparation for the trip to the coach station transported by Mrs Susan

Dossett. It was suggested by the prosecution that S/D could have got out of bed, travelled over 30 miles, assaulted a lady and travelled another 30 miles to get back into bed without his parents knowledge.

Both parents were interviewed without a solicitor present knowing they had nothing to hide and knowing where their son was. In addition to the witness changing her statement three times there was further untrue statements made by “A� relating to the exact place the attack was supposed to have taken place. For example, she claimed she went past a refreshment bar in the park at 8am but evidence proved the refreshment bar did not open until 8.30am. The Motor highway experts stated the traffic would have been busy between 7-9am on the M25 at that time of the morning.

In addition the junction involved was known to be very busy and impossible to have travelled 60 miles within that short period. All his evidence did not move the high court judge so we were beginning to think S/D would be another victim of the poor relationship between law and justice...

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Stances

Stances form the foundation for everything you do in martial arts. If you build a house with inferior foundations then don’t be surprised when it all comes tumbling down around your ears!

Stances can be broken down into two categories formal and informal. Formal stances are Strong, deep and regimented, informal stances are lighter and faster. Listed below are some stances and the categories they fall into.

Stances can be broken down into two categories formal and informal. Formal stances are Strong, deep and regimented, informal stances are lighter and faster. Listed below are some stances and the categories they fall into.

Formal ● Zenkutsu dachi ● Kokutsu dachi ● Sochin dachi ● Kiba dachi ● Hangetsu dachi

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Informal ● Neko-ashi dachi ● Renoji dachi ● Teiji dachi The odd one out being sanchin dachi which can be placed in both categories depending on your interpretation and use of the stance

Formal stances and their application Strong, deep and regimented, as the description suggests you should feel all of those things confident that your stance will hold under extreme pressure from your opponent. General use would be for defending against powerful attacks meeting your assailant with a brick wall approach.

Informal stances and there application Lighter and faster used for deflection and evasion. Due to the nature of the stances you should be very fluid in these positions allowing very sharp balanced moves to be executed.

Fundamental basics of a forward leaning stance zenkutsu datchi.

Students will often ask “how long should my stance be?” “how deep should my stance be?” how wide should my stance be?”. First of all lets clarify one important aspect, Often when I ask a student to get deeper in their stance they respond by moving their legs apart trying to perform the splits. Followed by the comment I can’t move very well from this position. So the difference between long and deep is:- Long means how far apart your legs are from foot to foot, depth is how far down you are measuring from floor to groin. Your back leg should be locked straight as possible and the foot of your back leg turned as far as possible to face the direction you are going.

This has the desired effect of forcing the back leg straight. Your front leg should be bent at the knee almost 90deg with the front foot pointing straight ahead (more on that in a moment) Body position should be back, with the head as far back as possible out of range. Back to foot position your aim is to get as much purchase to the floor as possible you achieve this by angling the feet slightly both front and back.

When a skier turns on there skies they will dig in the side or blade of the ski to stop it sliding across the snow and turn. You’re aiming to do the same with your feet jamming them into the ground giving the effect of pushing against each other and so locking your stance.

Length of stance is dependant on the individuals build, flexibility, age, and even sex.

It is very hard to give exact guidance as to the absolute

length of stance.So I had the brilliant idea of measuring my own stance which was 3ft long, then measuring my height 6ft on a good day with the wind in the right direction, and the equation the length of your stance is half of your height was born! So off to class that night armed with a tape measure, I chose a selection of student’s male, female, adult, child and it would seem I have some students that should be 8ft tall. One junior in particular who was 8.5 feet tall! So now you see the problem stance is definitely an individual item. You need to be deep enough to lock down strong to resist attacks, but not so long that you’re unable to move fluidly from stance to stance. The equation isn’t a bad starting point but definitely not an exact science.

your stance should be shoulder width apart. An easy measurement from standing in yoy datchie (ready stance), you just have to maintain the same parallel positioning of the feet once you execute your stance...

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Depth of stance Once you have decided what length of stance your using (half your height) depth is much easier to sort out. With your back leg locked straight, front leg bent at the knee your toes on the front foot should be just covered by your own knee. If you can see your toes then lower your stance (remember don’t move your feet towards the splits) just sink down on your front leg altering your centre of gravity and balance as you lower.

Width of stance For a beginner through to brown belts, possibly even first Dan WWW.COMBATMAG.CO.UK COMBAT 21

JKD001/01

Noah’s Art Article by N. Axe

The ‘Pugilistic Prayer-Sayer from Tiger Bay’ kind of sums up the next big musical sensation, that seems destined to storm our charts; in the shape of a man called Noah.

A former Welsh Amateur Boxing Champion, dedicated youth worker, & now with his own newly recorded album ‘Five Decades Below’ it is fair to say that Noah looks set for great things; for a start he has already toured with rock legend Lenny Kravitz!

Previously, fronting for rock band Ellis, he also found himself touring with the likes of Slayer and Puddle Of Mudd; selling out London’s Astoria and appearing at the Reading, Leeds and Download festivals.

Paradoxically he is both painfully youthful & yet ruggedly lived-in in his good looks & he is now being touted throughout the music industry as the ‘Vin Diesel of Rock’ with his tracks being proclaimed as pure “genius” by the likes of Q Magazine, &, Time Out have even gone so far as to claim that Noah has “a better voice than Seal and David McAlmont put together” which is no small statement of this man’s talent.

All of the aforementioned is therefore pretty impressive stuff for a lad that began his journey on a Welsh council estate, but, here is where Noah is so much more than just another wanna-be chasing his fifteen minutes of fame.

For Noah’s has been a long & at times arduous sojourn through the rigors of an eclectic entertainment industry training regime. One that has seen him submerge himself in everything from the cabaret singing circuit he enjoyed with his father, through the screaming girls freestyle dancing championships he endured as a youth, & then finally onto gaining a recording contract & it’s accompanying Global (Big Machine Media) press team; who are intent on bringing a little taste of the Noah musical experience to an ear near you.

Hi Noah, thank you for taking the time out of your rather hectic schedule to field this interview.

NOAH: Not a problem, though I must admit that after being on the PR grindstone for over 24 hours... I’m kind of all done in (laughs).

So, Noah, when was the last time you managed to climb between the ropes & get a bit of sparring in?

NOAH: That would be a few months back at a Gracie Jiu Jitsu gym on the Harrow Road in London. I tried out a little bit of MMA with the guys there & had the great pleasure of nearly being choked-out with a very friendly chap’s black belt. He was excellent & even managed to reset my jaw’s alignment for me (chuckles).

Seriously though, I just loved the venue’s vibe, as it had Doormen from all over the Capital turning up to get stuck into a bit of training & you even had guys that were so dedicated to their preparation they were actually sleeping on-site. I just love that level of dedication to the sport.

For anyone not familiar with your music Noah, how do you feel your martial experience (boxing) has influenced how you write, &, can people train to your tunes?..

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Martial Arts for Cancer Survivors

By Yun Choi Yeung

Research evidence suggests that exercise may be an effective intervention for enhancing quality of life in cancer survivors. But the effects of exercise on biomarkers, cancer recurrence, other diseases, and overall survival are unknown. Martial Arts are recommended as a form of exercise for cancer survivors but there is no relevant study on the subject. In facts, it is difficult to formulate any valid and reliable study because there are many variables in any type of exercise programme. It is now more or less standardized that exercise programmes should include the components of warm up stretching, aerobic, anaerobic, and cool down. In a way, exercise from low-intensity to supervised high-intensity is safe for cancer survivors.

The point is to be active, as inactivity is the biggest enemy of cancer survivors.

Tai Chi Chuang (Taijiquan) are often recommended because of the promotion effort made by the Chinese government as a kind of health exercise for everyone in China. The political objective is quantity and not quality, and the requirements for Taijiquan instructors in Taijiquan stations all over China are very low. Maybe this is why the finer things in Taijiquan such as not to use brute force, the use of torso power, rotation of the hip, pushing hand techniques, adherent fighting techniques, etc., were no longer practiced or taught in mass teaching.

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This is why that thousands of research studies on Taijiquan just to find out that the subjects were not doing Taijiquan at all, as they violated the basic principle of not using any brute force or the shortening of muscle fibres. Since practitioners are using brute force then it is not possible to differentiate Taijiquan from any other light exercise. Actually the techniques in Taijiquan are very difficult to do them properly, and there are many complications when doing them slowly with brute force. There are many reported cases of bad knees and lower back pains resulted

in doing Taijiquan. Therefore harmful techniques such as prolonged one legged movements, low crouching down, pushing forward with the rear leg, pushing backward with the front leg, pushing upward with one leg, pushing against the body weight on a rear leg stance, bending the knee in the wrong direction, etc., should be avoided. There is nothing wrong in doing Taijiquan movements or routines as light exercise, after all light exercise is also exercise which is better than inactivity. But once Taijiquan move away from the traditional values of a fighting art without

using brute force, it is very difficult to say what it will become.

Qigong exercises are also recommended for the meditation component in additional to the exercise components. In a way this has made scientific researches even more difficult to prove the benefits of Qigong exercises. Furthermore, there are many types of Qigong exercises from sitting meditation to static postures and dynamic exercises. There are reports of some success with the Guo Lin Qigong Groups in China but they are functioning more like support groups than promoting a certain type of Qigong. In any case the founder Guo Lin (1909-1984) was not an expert in Qigong but a cancer survivor who had tried various means to survive.

There are two types of dynamic muscular actions namely concentric contraction and eccentric contraction. Methods with the eccentric component such as plyometrics are getting more and more popular in extreme performances. And stretching exercises are being emphasised in all forms of exercises and sports.

Scientists discovered that eccentric contraction of muscle is a cause of muscle damage and delay onset muscle soreness , and there are massive research data on the subject in recent years. Evidences support that eccentric contraction of muscle has additional 30% or more in terms of muscular strength compare to concentric contraction of muscle, increase the production of Interleukin-6 (IL-6) proteins and consume less calcium, does not effected by age, etc. And muscle-derived IL-6 might have some beneficial effects on cancer survivors.

In a study of pure eccentric movement in Chinese Martial Arts it is found that there are many eccentric aerobic and anaerobic techniques. And the problem of muscle damage is avoided by starting from slow to fast and from light to heavy.

The idea of non-concentric or not to use brute force is a unique development in Chinese Martial Arts which can trace back to Song Dynasty (960-1279) but technically speaking the idea is not fully refined until more recent development of Baguaquan in the eccentric movement of major muscle groups to generate power in the limbs.

Advance learners of Baguaquan can

utilize the stored elastic energy of muscles upon stretching. It is possible to utilize the gravitational force of the body falling forward as the front leg relaxed when striking the ground in stepping forward. Furthermore, eccentric contraction can be subdivided into passive and active eccentric contraction and induced recoils from passive and active actions. It is quite an art to manipulate these variables, and it is difficult to differentiate and measure these variables in scientific researches.

Exercises prescribed to cancer survivors can focus on eccentric movement capitalize from Martial arts with the additional strength in stretching. The technique to increase the length of muscle fibre is simply rotational stretching to generate the additional tension on the muscle fibre and increase strength at the same time.

For example, a simple palm strike would consist of the followings: 1. Forearm rotating outward with fingers pointing upward 2. Elbow pointing to the ground 3. Shoulder stretching downward 4. Arm stretching forward 5. Rotating the midsection by stretching the abdominal muscles 6. Rotating the hipbone by stretching the buttock and thigh muscles 7. In a forward stance, there will be a combination of passive and active stretching to maintain balance and moving forward 8. Additional stretching can be done by stretch the upper back muscles with chest relaxed, or stretch the abdominal muscles with the lower back muscles relaxed.

This palm strike technique can be performed as a static stretching posture, slowly in low-intensity as a stretching exercise, quickly in higher-

intensity as an aerobic exercise, or pushing against a weight as an anaerobic exercise. There are many handstriking, kicking, blocking, and stepping techniques can be executed as aerobic and anaerobic exercises without brute forces. It is just a question of being more selective in prescribing exercises for cancer survivors.

The advantage of martial arts is the reservoir of techniques aiming at extreme performance, and the case of cancer survivors is that they can be extremely weak. These techniques not only will strengthen them in terms of aerobic and anaerobic fitness but also introduce to them techniques to assist them in their daily activities. And there are lots of torso movements in martial arts which can help cancer survivors to exercise when they are lying down, sitting up, standing up, stepping, or lifting up a weight. In any case, stretching is the best way to loosen up stiff muscles and to encounter muscle fatigues.

The disadvantage of martial arts is the difficulty in differentiating between non-concentric movement and concentric movement. Most people confused light exercise for nonconcentric exercise, as light exercise is mostly mixed mode using a bit of concentric and eccentric strengths.

Once this is clear then it is not too difficult to breakdown any non-concentric movement in terms of various types of stretching for static stretching, dynamic stretching, aerobic and anaerobic workouts, and recoils...

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Self Defence Why should self defence hurt?

I think it’s a very fair question to ask. There are 2 main benefits which most people state they are looking for as their reason for joining a Martial Arts class. These are the desire to learn to defend themselves and also to improve their health by getting fit. Yet the traditional methods of Martial Arts training do not lend themselves to enhancing the Martial Art practitioner’s health.

A George Washington University study1 indicated that the injury rate for marital arts practitioners was similar to the injury rate of rugby players. They found that there was roughly one injury in every 48 hours of practicing, while rugby has a one injury in every 50 hours. They also found that women suffer a significantly higher injury rate than males in martial arts with Traditional Korean Martial Arts such as Tae Kwon Do being the most unsafe for women with injuries being double that of other Asian martial arts.

What is it then about the traditional training methods which cause such high incidences of injury amongst its practitioners? To better understand why traditional arts put you at a high risk of injury you only

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have to look at the origins of the arts. The traditional martial arts were developed many years ago to enable people to fight and kill during rougher times. The focus was on learning on how to harm an opponent and toughen the body through conditioning, i.e. hitting wood over and over to toughen the knuckles, or taking a blow over and over to get used to the pain and be able to deal with it. This no pain no gain macho mentality, certainly made people tough and resilient, but the damage to the body builds up over time. The focus was certainly not on how can we train safely and effectively to defend ourselves while improving our health. From that mentality the teaching methods used to teach self defence in most traditional arts has developed. Talk to many martial artists and they will tell you that sparring, which is effectively having two people in close proximity trading blows, is the only way of learning to defend yourself. They will quite happily tell you that you need to learn how to take a punch or kick in order to effectively defend yourself.

If we used that way of thinking in other aspects of life you would learn to deal with a car crash, by repeatedly crashing your car into other objects. When you think of it in those terms this method of training doesn’t make sense.

Another thing to bear in mind with traditional martial arts is that they were created at a time when we had less knowledge of the human body

and the effects that certain movements and training techniques can have. Back then they didn’t know that punching or kicking with power in the air and locking out the joints would cause you serious damage to your joints and connective tissues.

As our knowledge of the body grew and as we better understood bio mechanics and kinesiology (the science of human movement), the traditional arts couldn’t take advantage of this knowledge as to really do so would mean they would have to completely scrap the punches and kicks that were taught for decades.

That kind of change requires a huge change in thinking, especially in an instructor who has invested many years in learning the moves and philosophies. It’s akin to one day waking up and finding everything that you truly believed in was wrong.

To many, it’s simply easier to bury your head in the sand and carry on regardless and it takes a lot of courage to be able to make the decision to change.

One person who came to this conclusion was Grandmaster Kwang Jo Choi. Grandmaster Choi was a senior instructor in the Korean art of Tae Kwon Do...

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Elijah Gri Elijah Grinell is one of the Shaolin Tigers trained by Shifu Shi Yanzi and Shifu Yan Lei. Known for his determination, ferocity in the ring and absolute dedication to his training, he has become a figure of fear and loathing for other contenders in the world of Sanshou and mixed martial arts.

Elijah is the new face of an ancient art, bringing Shaolin to a new audience and infusing its traditional methods with the modern fighting world. He has fought in Ringmasters and recently exploded onto the UCMMA scene in his fir4st bout. He is taking Shaolin Gong Fu to places it has never been before. I had the privilege to interview this rising star and learn more about what it’s like to be a modern Shaolin Warrior.

You have studied Shaolin for years, who has been your biggest influence and what have you learned from them?

ELIJAH GRINELL: My biggest influence personally has been my masters - Shifu Yan Lei and Shifu Yanzi. They have a lot of real skills. When you watch films you watch guys doing crazy combinations and flying kicks, but it’s not real. If you see Shifu kicking a bag you know it’s real. You hear it. You feel it.

Would you say Shaolin is unique and distinct from other martial arts, and why?

ELIJAH GRINELL: Yes. In this country, the difference between us and Thai boxers is they’re purely external whereas here we have internal and external training, which is balance. I haven’t seen anywhere else where they do Qi Gong as part of their training. Here (Shaolin Temple U.K.) you can go to Qi Gong for an internal class, then go and kick a bag for an hour. Other places are more external. It’s a trademark of Shaolin to have both aspects of training.

How has Shaolin Gong Fu given you an edge in the ring?

ELIJAH GRINELL: Definitely. It’s in the attitude. You know the difference between us and other schools, other fighters. When we go to a fight we stand there, we’re humble, we’re calm. I’ve been to fights and you get people coming up and telling you that your friend is going to get knocked out, or you’re going to get floored.

The way Shifu Yanzi has taught us is to be modest, then show your skills in the ring. Now you find people who are aggressive and have a certain kind of mentality. Our attitude is; we know we’re good. We’re not going to push it in your face. Wait till you get in there and we’ll prove ourselves. We have been taught to completely control the fight, so we control ourselves to control our opponent.

What would you say is the most important quality for a Shaolin fighter to possess?

ELIJAH GRINELL: Honour. People fight for different reasons, but for me I fight because I want to make the Shaolin fighting style known. When any of us go out there it’s to prove something. What we do is just as good as any other style mixed martial artists pick up. We have to constantly try to overcome ourselves.

Does Shaolin have a place in the MMA ring alongside more popular martial arts?

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A new type of Shaolin Warrior ELIJAH GRINELL: Any martial art has a place. The benefits gained from Shaolin and Sanda aren’t well known, because not many fighters have trained in it.

There needs to be more Shaolin fighters at a higher level in this country, we’re the only people doing it.

When you enter the ring, does the pressure of representing Shaolin ever affect you?

ELIJAH GRINELL: You always have personal baggage within you. I do feel some pressure. Its not the same as being trained by some guy in Camden with a gym. We’re flying under the flag of Shifu Yanzi and Yan Lei, so, for me, there is some pressure to represent them well. Shifu Yanzi is considered to be one of the best fighters in China, so there is an added pressure to perform, especially in my last fight. Boy, yeah I feel it sometimes.

Could you summarise your daily training schedule and how meditation comes into it?

ELIJAH GRINELL: I do Qi Gong. I do meditation when my mind is tired. Its time to yourself, in silence. Clear your mind. In terms of physical training I do a lot...

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Pictures are by Vilam Vuong

nell

By Simon Augustus

Developing Proper Mindset for

Self Protection You can’t succeed at anything unless you first have a mindset that is conducive to success. The world’s top athletes do not win competitions purely through their physical prowess. In the world of sport, very little separates the winners and the losers in terms of physical fitness and skill levels. What really separates the winners and the losers is mindset. Winners spend a great deal of time working on getting the right mindset that will lead them towards success.

Similarly, the military spends a lot of time in making sure their personnel have the right mindset in place before they are sent out into the field. The military understand that it is not just a matter of showing a person how to fire a gun; you also have to get that person psychologically ready to fire that gun under extreme pressure, otherwise you don’t have a soldier, you just have a guy with a gun in his hand.

The same thing applies to self defence. You can teach a person all the physical techniques in the world but unless that person has the right mindset that will allow them to use those techniques when it truly matters (when they are under extreme pressure) then what you end up with is another person walking about with a proverbial loaded gun who doesn’t have a clue how to use it when it

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counts. There are loads of people out there who, to stay with the same analogy, are over-confidently waving guns around, firing shots of into the air in an effort to impress themselves and others. It is only when they find themselves in a situation where they have to use that gun for real do they find themselves badly lacking in the mental attributes necessary for success. The thing that they put so much misplaced faith in to protect themselves is swiftly taken of them like it was nothing and shoved where the sun doesn’t shine. They are left feeling shattered, physically, mentally and emotionally and wondering what went wrong.

The field of self defence has come a long way in recent years, thanks to the teachings of people like Geoff Thompson, Peter Consterdine, Dennis Martin and oth-

ers who have spent many years immersing themselves in the realty of brutal violence, testing to see what worked and what didn’t work and then coming up with workable systems to teach others what they have experienced first hand. Thanks to these trailblazers, most people now understand that successful self defence demands a whole different approach to that of the approach expounded for many years by traditional martial arts. Proper reality training has very little to do with martial arts, or at least traditional martial arts. To meet the demands of the street you have to train for the street and that doesn’t involve doing complicated and unworkable techniques, nor does it involve doing techniques which haven’t been thoroughly pressure tested, either through first hand experience or through properly formulated pressure drills in the dojo.

These last few years has also seen many self defence practitioners realise the importance of having good awareness skills, of having the ability to be switched on enough that you spot trouble before it even happens and thus avoid it before its too late. We even have systems in place now to teach good awareness skills, such as the Jeff Cooper colour code system and the John Boyd OODA Loop, both excellent systems for keeping people switched on to their surroundings and giving them the chance to pre-empt trouble before it happens.

There is no doubt that great advances have been made in the way we approach self defence train-

ing these days, but despite these advancements, there is still one vital ingredient that is still missing from the mix, one which you could be forgiven for thinking is almost incidental to everything else, and that is mindset. In my opinion (and I’m hoping over twenty-five years of martial arts experience, two years working the doors and more than a few street fights count for something), the correct mindset is more important than any of the physical tricks we spend so much time perfecting. Many martial artists seem to underestimate (or completely overlook due to ignorance) just how vital the correct mindset is when it comes to surviv-

ing real violence. The fact is, if you don’t have what security professional and self protection guru Marcus Wynne calls “ferocious resolve”, or the will to survive at all costs, then all the physical techniques in the world are not going to do you any good. This is why we hear so many stories about experienced martial artists who fall apart at the seams when they have to try and use their skills for real. They haven’t taken the time to find out what it takes to win against a real determined opponent, nor have they educated themselves about their own mental and physical

reactions to the effects of adrenaline and fear. They are going into situations blind, in other wards.

It is also why so many martial artists flit from one style to another, because they think there is some holy grail of a system out there that will make them invincible. Style has nothing to do with it. It comes down to the man using it and what kind of mindset that man has...

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Out of Martial Arts

Yoga Emerged

By Max Holton

Shugendo Yoga - an American Yoga When one thinks of “yoga system” what comes to mind? For many here in the west it is a healthy lifestyle of eating right, classes of stretching, possibly intertwined with Hindu spirituality and having a guru. But truly yoga is more. The word yoga comes from the Sanskrit and often is interpreted to mean “to yoke or join” with the Divine.

Simply put it is a vehicle for the individual soul to steadily progress toward union of the God-soul; a merger for two to become one.

Typically when one thinks of yoga they think of systems emerging from India as old as civilization itself, but “yoga” is in all cultures albeit called by different terms. It is put into practice slightly differently, but always with the same goals in mind.

Traditionally one concludes that a yoga system, from India, has stretching exercises with cool interpretations of the Sanskrit, includes chants and kirtans, spiritual teachers called a guru, and highly fit- traditionally female here in the west- persons in tight fitting clothes doing what seem like impossible poses for the average American. Often these “traditions” have become commercial in limiting most yoga schools today here in the west to merely exerciserelated approaches, and then only 34 COMBAT WWW.COMBATMAG.CO.UK

practiced regularly by the deeply committed practitioner. But what if there was a yoga system for the everyday common man and woman that were simple, adaptive, and effective in healing? One that had influences of “Old India”, but also incorporated Traditional Chinese Medicine, holistic healing theory, knowledge of western medicine, and yet was spiritual and not religious?

What if this yoga was purely American; a new system of the blending of the old traditions? A melting pot of traditions used to reach new awareness and transdimensionality? If such a thing existed, and it does, then it would be Shugendo Yoga www.shugendoyoga.com .

Born out of the mind and implementation of a registered nurse with over 25 years experience in critical care, rehabilitation, and teaching; Christopher Bashaw combined traditional healing practices and theories

from around the world. Bashaw, a New Hampshire native, created Shugendo Yoga in hopes of promoting a practice where the individual actively participates in his or her own healing process. By combining practices used in tai chi, martial arts, yoga, and fitness training with the understanding of spiritual concepts Shugendo Yoga has taken flight.

Bashaw states; “The Shugendo Yoga classes are a mix of gentle exercises - a unification of gentle stretching, ancient energy cultivation exercises, self healing techniques and meditation accompanied by gentle breathing and relaxation techniques. It is designed as a spiritual aid to enhance all belief systems as well as a potent self-healing modality for the body, mind and spirit.”

To further understand Shugendo Yoga let’s look at the word Shugendo as used to identify this unique yoga system. Shugendo is a Japanese

deep-rooted way of searching and knowing, and in turn understanding what Man and Nature are and are not. Shugendo originates from the ascetic spiritual practice of the Japanese Mountain priests known as the Yamabushi.

Shugendo evolved as a blending or fusion between Buddhism and several other religious influences in Japan around the 7th century, including but not limited to Taoism and Shintoism.

In modern times, Shugendo is practiced by the Yoshino Yamabushi of Dewa Sanzan (Tendai sect), Kinpusenji and Ishiyama-dera Shingon sects, but it retains an influence on modern Japanese religion and culture.

Shugendo literally means “the path of training and testing.” It centers on an ascetic, mountain-dwelling lifestyle and incorporates teachings from other eastern philosophies. The focus or goal of Shugendo is the development of spiritual experience and power; some might even call this power magik. Some of the Japanese martial arts claim they are derived from the profound knowledge of Shugendo, but many of these arts no longer recognize and/or have forgotten this aspect of day to day training.

Keeping in mind that the word yoga is from the Sanskrit, meaning to ‘yoke God and man together’, Shugendo Yoga is designed to harness the esoteric, mystical practices which link man to the Divine Wisdom of Creation through Natural Law...

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Safety of our With the school holidays upon us, our children’s safety and well being is of great concern.

Here are a couple of useful tips to ensure your child’s safety during these holidays...

Safety at Home For some families school holidays mean more relaxed time together.

This offers an excellent opportunity to build children’s boundary setting skills and review family safety rules about what is and is not okay to do when you are at home. Good awareness and the ability to express a clear boundary can stop most problems before they start. You can: Model effective boundary setting.

If the children in your life are doing something that crosses your boundaries - perhaps by climbing or jumping on you, throwing balls in the house, or using words that you find offensive - tell them clearly and respectfully, as soon as you can.

Model maintaining a boundary in the face of resistance!

Use sibling bickering as a learning opportunity.

When one child is feeling upset about another’s behavior, try coaching the child who is feeling bothered to express a clear respectful boundary.

Coach the other child to listen. Deal with the crossing of appropriate personal boundaries with the same firm

clarity you would apply to hitting, kicking, or spitting.

Set clear boundaries about physical aggression.

If your children are getting physically aggressive when they are upset, stop the behavior. Direct children toward more appropriate and effective ways of managing their conflicts.

Review safety rules for answering the door or phone.

Revise rules based on your children’s development of skills and possible changes in your living situation. I recommend that young children check with the adult in charge first before they answer the phone or open the door, even when a parent is home.

Update safety rules about going.

I recommend that young people do not change the plan about where they are going, whom they are going to be with, or when they will be home without checking with their parent or other adult in charge first.

It is important for everyone to be clear about what the expectations are.

Review and practice emergency plans.

What if someone gets hurt? What if there is a fire? Practice safety strategies for various emergencies.

Safety during various holiday programs For many young people, the holidays is a time to participate in fun activities with different people. Those activities and people often offer new interests, new friends - and new challenges!

You can: Set up clear safety plans for pickups, drop-offs, and getting help.

Review your clear - and, we recom36 COMBAT WWW.COMBATMAG.CO.UK

mend, VERY SHORT - list of people the child can go with at pick-up time without checking first. Role-play how they will follow your family’s rules about checking first. Make sure that they have or know where to find all important phone numbers.

Acknowledge differences.

Meeting diverse new people can mean meeting people who are louder or quieter; who stand very close in conversation, or farther away than you are accustomed; who initiate play more subtly or in a ways that seem overbearing; or who use words and vocabulary differently than you do.

Hearing that these kinds of differences are normal can ease anxiety and open the door to conversation about experiences and challenges.

Discussions can lead to ideas for how to deal with those challenges.

Mingled with all these new and normal ways of being might be someone whose behavior is truly causing a problem, and your talks might help uncover any potentially dangerous situation that needs adult attention.

Safety in the Community Less time in school can mean more time in the community — visiting friends, going shopping, going to movies and shows, going to the library, and visiting parks. You can: Grant freedoms based on demonstrated skills. Before giving your children more independence, expect them to demonstrate the skills needed to manage it safely. For example, a child wanting to use public transit independently will need to demonstrate a willingness to get space between himself and a person making him feel uncomfortable; the ability to ask for help and persist, politely but firmly, until he gets help; and the willingness to get off the bus, take a different bus, or call for a ride if

kids those are the safest choices.

Make and practice Safety Plans. I want young people to have a picture in their minds of where safety is so that if they have a problem, they are moving toward safety, not just away from possible danger. It is normal for people to think of a familiar place or person as “safety.”

However, in an emergency, we want our children to get help as quickly and as safely as they can. Role-play ways of getting help in emergencies where they cannot check first.

Give permission to use self-defense skills appropriately. Any strong resistance will stop most assaults. However, young people often won’t protect themselves because they don’t want to get in trouble.

Have a frank discussion about when it is okay to hurt somebody to stop that person from hurting you.

Safety on Trips Travel is a time when we are dealing with many changes, and children need to know what to do if there is a problem. You can...

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By Morne Swanepoel Bully Proof your Child www.CombatCoaching.com

By Paul Leworthy

Jaki McVicar 7th Degree Black Belt BKKA My name is Paul Leworthy and I have had approximately twenty years in the Kenpo world, but a great deal of that time was spent shut away in a very insular fashion within a great but small organisation in the South West UK. In 2007 I stepped out of this group and began a great journey along with my fiancée Fran Lewis, this journey culminating so far in us becoming the UK representatives for Professor Jeff Speakman’s Kenpo 5.0. where she had amongst others given several seminars, Mills Crenshaw posted the following online, titling his piece “A Shocking Surprize at the Jeff Speakman Training Camp”.

He wrote: “One of the compelling reasons for attending the annual Jeff Speakman Training camp is the opportunity to attend sections taught by some of the finest instructors in the world. The different skills, teaching methods and specialized techniques present a feast of knowledge difficult to find

‘‘

In front of the class, 7th Degree Black Belt Jaki McVicar transformed into a TIGER. Her skills as an instructor were remarkable. Her movements were precise and powerful. When she delivered a forearm strike she EXPLODED! I managed to keep my jaw off my chest, but her presentation was so exacting that it was an electrifying shock. I had seen that same type of movement once before. Jaki moved just like Ed Parker had. Not a copy, not an imitation, but with the same dynamic power and precision that were “The Old Man’s” trademark.

I have deleted a paragraph that was here as it is one of Jaki’s quotes that will later be repeated in this article, but Mills Crenshaw continued: In previous posts I’ve warned that no woman is capable of defending herself against an adult male intent on doing her harm, unless she has the element of surprise and attacks his most vulnerable targets.

Jaki McVicar may be the exception to that rule. I pity the idiot who tries to steal her purse! Actually....I’d pay admission to see that one!

It was an honour to meet her”.

‘‘

But as part of this continuing journey we met and have since become great friends with Miss Jaki McVicar, a 7th degree BKKA and AKKS black belt based in Torquay, Devon in South West England. It now seems incredible that we had to travel five thousand miles to Los Angeles and meet with Professor Speakman and some of his students to find out about this amazing lady, considering she was only thirty minutes from us along the south coast. That is a journey we now make as often as we can!

This is a long overdue feature on an incredible lady of the martial art of Kenpo; Miss Jaki McVicar. I am going to tell you about her by first briefly telling you about someone else; Mr Mills Crenshaw. Stick with me, it will make sense!

Mills Crenshaw goes way back in the world of American Kenpo and was graded to Shodan by the genius that was Grand Master Edmund Parker in 1963; that makes him one of the first!

He was instrumental in the formation of the Inter-national Kenpo Karate Association and helped to head up the IKKA with Ed Parker. If you read different websites you will get different versions of this, but either way Mills Crenshaw was there from very early days.

After attending the 2010 Jeff Speakman Annual Kenpo 5.0 Training Camp as one of the distinguished testing panel, at which Miss Jaki McVicar was also on the panel and

you have to hit with your entire body, not just a part or you will not get the desired effect

38 COMBAT WWW.COMBATMAG.CO.UK

anywhere else.

I have already posted a tribute to Ted Sumner talking about his outstanding class. However, there was another section that came as quite a shock.

Among the attendees was a sweet little, white haired, British Lady who stood five feet and a smidge. She had the most charming, soft, British accent that made you think of cottages, cookies and tea. If you have the chance to meet Jaki McVicar I think you’ll agree she would be Central Casting’s choice for someone’s genteel grandmother.

Then I attended her class!

One Man’s opinion.

Mills Crenshaw.

So now hopefully you can see why I briefly told you a bit about Mills Crenshaw. For Jaki McVicar to gain

praise like this from someone such as himself is praise indeed. Couple this with a comment from Professor Jeff Speakman at his Kenpo 5.0 seminars in Utrecht in 2009 where he said “If you want to see how Ed Parker moved then look right here!” as he pointed straight at Miss McVicar, you know such comments are justified.

So...Jaki McVicar. This lady is certainly one of Europe’s top Kenpoists, and quite frankly after seeing many a high graded black belt gob smacked by her in Vegas at the very same seminar that Mills Crenshaw witnessed, I think she is probably one of the best Kenpoists globally!

Born in Torquay in South West England she is a full time professional instructor and has run the Torquay Kenpo Academy since she founded it in 1981.

She began her training in the martial arts when there was nothing like the choice that exists today, starting in Judo when she was about 15 years old but not doing it for long. She took up Shotokan Karate under instructor Bob Davis in Torquay, getting to somewhere around green belt, and took some of her grades under Terry O’Neil and Sensei Tomita.

One day in 1978 a work colleague gave her a less than perfect flyer for Kenpo Kung Fu classes that were being opened in Torquay by Bob Rose. She went along and enjoyed it, so she continued. Shortly afterwards Bob Rose saw Phil Hegarty in Cornwall doing Kenpo and he then contacted Grand Master Edmund Parker in the U.S who put him in touch with Rainer Shulte from Germany. After Rainer Shulte and some of his students visited the UK to evaluate the students of Rob Roses’s group they and the Torquay club were accepted into the International Kenpo Karate Association.

Unfortunately some years later there were some organisational upheavals which then led to Jaki, along with Gary Ellis and Mervyn Ormand, setting up the British Kenpo Karate Association in 1981.

This allowed them to follow the path that they wanted to in the art that they loved...under the person they loved; Mr Parker. Even to this day though, Jaki is still eternally grateful to Bob Rose for introducing her to the art of Kenpo.

Over subsequent years the BKKA and others would repeatedly bring Mr Parker over to England for training seminars as well as to glean those valuable morsels of information from him during personal tuition sessions...

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I.S.K.A.

World Championships New I.S.K.A. Amateur Director Mr. Clifton Findley went to the recent I.S.K.A. world championships with a point to prove. He wanted to show that I.S.K.A. England is still a force to be Reckoned with, so after careful selections at the Nationals back in May in London and also Monthly Squad training sessions Team Directors Paul Gilmore, Owen King, Matthew Winsper and Joe Hallett selected a Team of 90 strong fighters ready for action and ready to prove a point.

Alicante city in Spain was the venue. This beautiful city with golden sand and its beautiful seafront couldn’t be any better for the 43 countries and over 800 participants from all over the globe in semi/light/full and forms.

First up for England was the hungry Joe Pollitt, who couldn’t wait to get on the mat to prove he was a worthy champion. He dominated this section from start to finish, bringing back England’s first medal in the boy’s -28kg semi contact. He also went on to claim to the boy’s -28kg silver in light contact.

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Jake Hurst stepped up next in the boy’s -30kg to secure England’s second gold medal with a vintage performance. He made it a double by taking the gold in the -30kg light contact as well.

Matthew Hosking did England proud by taking a Bronze medal in the -40kg light contact. Kyle Gregory just missed out on gold to take Silver in the boys semi contact -45kg. This is because Sam Heeman was in fine form to over come Gregory and took his first Gold Medal.

Jack Beetlestone missed out on two finals but was happy with a Bronze Medal in the -45kg Light Contact Boys and Bronze in the +45 Junior Boys.

Over in the girl’s section, Megan Mingle, lead the way destroying all of the opponents put in front of her to take gold medal with her excellent final fight.

Niamh Bruntlett nearly clinched gold but lost by one point to take the silver in the girls -30kgs. So did Ebony Kirk over in the girls -42kg semi contact.

Eden Benny fought Tremendously in the junior girls -55kg to take gold for England, she also took a Bronze medal in light contact -55kg. Not to be out done by her team mate and training partner, Laura Easterbrook followed down the same path by claiming gold in the junior girls -63kg.

Sam Derby came close to gold but had to settle for silver in the boy’s semi -30kgs and a bronze in the light contact -30kgs.

Kieran Higson-Walker managed to hang onto silver in the -40kg semi contact, while Ryan McLusky brought home two gold medals in the boy’s -50kgs semi/light contact, well done.

Junior Boys -51kg saw an informed Bradley Byrne sweep to Gold in a great final showdown while his brother Ben Byrne stepped into the Ring for Low Kick and put in a good show to claim a Bronze medal.

Gold also went to Callum Hawthorne who fought like a true warrior in the 67kg junior boy’s semi contact.

Team mate Tony Banks followed in his footsteps to claim his first gold in the -71kg junior boy’s. Silver medal went to Dan Gregory in this tic for tack match in the junior boys +75kg.

Not to be left out was George (the beast) Reece, with gold in the 57kg in semi contact.

Rachel Wainwright was in fine form when she made it to the finals in -55kg semi and light contact, but she had to settle for two silver medals, running from mat to mat.

My thoughts if she had focused on one section, she would have taken the gold. Only next year will tell.

Tamara Stallard settled for a Bronze Medal in the -57kg Junior Girls while Andy Chapman lost by one point in the finals but said he will be back next year for that gold in the semi contact cadets -57kg.

Anthony Cridland and Nathan Pugsley each got silver and bronze while Josh Hayward received silver in the -63kg semi contact.

Joe Dadson fought hard to take two bronze medals in semi and light contact. Andy Kavanghan also came away with a Bronze in the -71kg Junior Boys Light Contact, while Phil Peverelle put in a fine performance to take silver in the -71kgs.

Adam Cork missed out on silver but took a bronze in the -57kg.

Nathan Gregory took a Silver medal while James Cheetham took the Bronze in the -91kg semi contact.

Andy Desa fought like a demon possessed in the light contact -67kgs to secure silver in a close fight which could have gone either way.

In the men’s semi, Chris ‘The Dream’ Green, lead the way by taking the adult’s gold in the men’s -63kg in semi contact. The likes of Lewis Morrison, Kyle Findley, Chris Lowe, Raj Patel and Andy Desa all dropping at the first hurdles. This shows how tough this championship was.

Out came Ryan Pacey, this young man was so hungry after seeing many team mates fall. He pulled out all stops to win in convincing style to take our second gold medal in the -81kgs in the semi contact.

Mark Brown, who joined the team at the last minute, had the perfect timing and took out two fighters on the way to the finals with a clear ten point victory. In the finals he met

Ross Lavine from the team USA. This fight lived up to all expectations with Mark blitzing and Ross countering. Heavy shots were going in both directions, but it was Lavine who came out on top to take the gold and a creditable silver for Mark.

Barry Plechowicz took a well deserved Bronze medal in the +35 years and +75kg semi contact while Steven Hocking follow suit by claiming Bronze in the Veterans +40kg and Bronze also in the +75kg semi contact.

Leasha Morrison fought in the finals of the ladies -57kgs, nobody could stop this world champion. She won in fine style to take the gold medal home.

Carrie Hilton, also from the same club managed a bronze medal in the ladies -50kg. Alice Glasspool fought well to take a bronze medal in the 60kg in her first ISKA outing. Mel Evans fought well to take a Silver in the +63kg in light contact and a Bronze in the +63gk in semi contact...

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The Kings Battleground This year saw the first ever Kings Battleground event which was held at the Nottingham Trent FM arena on Sunday 14th November 2010.

All Photos were provided by MMA Pundit Daryn shaxted, and DE Photo 42 COMBAT WWW.COMBATMAG.CO.UK

This was a landmark event which brought together many different disciplines under 1 roof.

There was a buzz of excitement in the air as hundreds of spectators and competitors gathered at the arena well before the doors were due to be opened.

The event started at 10.30 with many different styles of martial arts competing which included, Submission grappling (Jason Tan, Ground Control National championships), BJJ (Grab and Pull) Freestyle Kickboxing, Point fighting, Light Contact as well as Traditional and musical forms.

There were also lots of free workshops that were taught by world class fighters and instructors.

The all start line up of instructors included Paul Taylor (UFC Fighter), Victor Estima (BJJ), Owen Comrie (Thai Boxing), Jav Khaliq (Boxing), Christian Smith & Wayne Buck (MMA), Zara Phythian (Screen fighter seminar),Junior Bryan (Breakdance), Milton Russell (Street Dance) and Peter Cope (Kickboxing).

All of the big names and top promoters in freestyle martial arts like Neville Wray, Alfie Lewis, Del Sampson & Curtis page turned up to show their support for this historic event.

With European and world champions in attendance like Mark Brown, Michael Page, Drew Neal, Daz Ellis, Brendan Mitty. Lee Matthews, Dwayne Reid, Robbie Hughes, Richard Phillips, Jason O’Grady, Bev Sturzaker, Mieke Hink, Ros Wilson & Katy Wasiukiewicz to name just a few, you could see the depth of talent that was in attendance.

The day kicked off with 19 matted areas all running simultaneously with the various disciplines.

The ground control nationals had hundreds of competitors in attendance to compete in their National championships.

The skills levels were very high and some of the transitions between the positions were so fast and smooth, it was great to watch.

The technical ability of some of these competitors was nothing short of inspiring.

It was easy to see why the Ground control nationals are the UK’s premier grappling tournament, with so much talent in all sections from beginners through to advanced it’s obvious that if you want to take you’re grappling to the next level and test yourself, then this tournament is a must.

Here are the results of the superfight tournament: Super fight Marcos Nardini vs Luiz Tosta Marcos Nardini Points Super fight Oli Geddes vs Simon McGovern Oli Geddes via Kneebar

Results for the team event Team Results 1st Leicester Shootfighters 2nd GB Derby 3rd MMA Academy Liverpool

The free workshops were busy throughout the whole day with spectators taking full advantage of the top quality coaching that was on offer at this event.

To start the seminars we had Paul Taylor (UFC Fighter) teaching MMA on the main area.

It was a very busy class with Peter Felix and his team Nemesis kitted up and ready to go.

Speaking to Peter briefly after the session he said that it was a hard and enjoyable session and they were here to do as many training sessions as possible, and learn as much as they could throughout the whole day.

Next up on the centre area was the original Cobra from Nottingham, Owen the Cobra Comrie...

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TRADITIONAL

KARATE

Vol. 23 No. 10 February 2011

Pro-Active

Kata Bunkai There is no First Attack in Karate!

Visit the Traditional Karate magazine website at www.karatemag.co.uk

THE ESKK® COLUMN

Pro-Active Kata Bunkai

(Part 2 of 2)

With Chris Denwood

‘Karate ni sente nashi’ (there is no first attack in karate) is probably one of the most well-known phrases for traditionalists of the art, but at the same time one of the most misunderstood maxims when aligned to a pragmatic model for self-protection.

Fig 1

Fig 2

Fig 3

Fig 4

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In last month’s column, we discussed the principle of pre-emptive striking with respect to combat ranges, visual reaction and the two main components of ‘distance’ and ‘time’. We also briefly looked how the law in the UK views pre-emptive striking and highlighted the fact that there’s a wide range of protection and support available for honest law abiding people who may simply be trying to protect their own (or someone else’s) safety.

Finally, I suggested that the interpretation of kata needs to be ‘proactive’ as well as ‘reactive’ if we are to create a more complete self-protection strategy. This month, we’ll take this subject a little further, consider what the pioneering masters of karate wrote about pre-emptive tactics and I’ll provide some suggestions to help transform your view on kata to include more proactive use of the movements held within the solo forms.

To properly understand ‘karate ni sente nashi’, we need to first understand what is meant by ‘first attack’.

Is this a maxim to be taken and followed literally, or rather, is it a phrase that describes how we should ideally act as martial artists?

After all, it is awareness and subsequent avoidance skills that make up the most important tactics for selfprotection, along with of course the desire to never be part of a violent

Fig 5

situation. In actual fact, the word ‘sente’ is more appropriately defined to mean ‘initiative’. Almost instantly, this makes a significant difference to the meaning of the precept because ‘initiative’ is not the same as ‘attack’.

In a self-protection situation, it would be both foolish and dangerously unsafe to wait until the opponent has unleashed a physical attack before responding, since the ranges and reaction times in realistic dojo training alone prove the extreme difficulty in recovering from these situations to come out completely unscathed. We have to of course acknowledge instances where pre-emption may not be possible, for instance, due to a genuine ‘surprise’ attack. However, if you are aware enough to notice and register a situation developing then it would be nonsensical to mindfully opt for a reactionary strategy, since this would create an increased risk in what could already be a potentially life threatening scenario.

The view of considering preemption as a viable tactic is supported by the law in this country and interestingly enough, also by a significant number of past Okinawan masters of karate including the likes of Choki Motobu, Kenwa Mabuni and of course, Gichin Funakoshi, who was the person to really promote the ‘no first attack’ principle.

Here are some quotes from their writings: “When faced with someone who disrupts the peace or who will do one harm, one is as a warrior gone to battle, and so it only stands to reason that one should get the jump on the enemy and pre-empt his use of violence. Such action in

Fig 6

Fig 7

Fig 8

Fig 9

no way goes against the precept of sente-nashi.” - Kenwa Mabuni (Kobo Kenpo Karate-Do Nyumon).

“When there are no avenues of escape or one is caught even before any attempt to escape can be made, then for the first time the use of self-defence techniques should be considered. Even at times like these, do not show any intention of attacking, but first let the attacker become careless. At that time attack him concentrating one’s whole strength in one blow to a vital point and in the moment of surprise, escape and seek shelter and help.”

- Gichin Funakoshi (Karate-Do Kyohan).

“Karate ni sente nashi is a term that is terribly misunderstood, especially by those who interpret it literally. I simply don’t believe that attacking first is wrong. However, in the same breath, let me also say that it’s not budo spirit to ever attack

anyone without just cause.

Therefore, in my opinion, karate ni sente nashi is a term that should remind us all to never unscrupulously strike or harm anyone without just cause and to maintain control at all times.”

- Choki Motobu (Watashi No Karate Jutsu).

If you attempted to commit an unlawful act and ultimately failed then according to UK law, this does not mean you will not be charged.

In other words, it is the intent to commit a crime that is taken into consideration...

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TAEKWONDO & KOREAN MARTIAL ARTS MAGAZINE

VOLUME 15 ISSUE 05 FEBRUARY 2011

T.A.G.B. British Championships

Visit the TKD-KMA magazine website at www.taekwondomag.co.uk

TAGB

British Championships

The event was once again run with tremendous professionalism with the officials arriving at 8 in the morning to set out the 28 areas. The tournament started at 9.30 a.m. and finished at 4 p.m. The officials then stayed on and took up all of the areas and put the equipment back onto the lorries. The TAGB would like to thank all of the hardworking officials who gave up their day to make this championship the success it was.

Both the English & British championships will be held in the same venue next year. With onsite hotels & amenities and being virtually in the centre of the country it is now a favourite venue with both competitors and officials alike.

Telford International Centre has already been booked for the 2012 Taekwondo International world championships. We will see you there!

Despite it being the coldest November for two decades, 1,500 competitors turned out for the TAGB British championships at Telford International Centre in Shropshire. Competitors from Wales and Scotland travTo read the rest of Taekwondo & elled through some appalling conditions to make this Korean Martial Arts Magazine event, not to mention the visitors who came from overwhy not take out a subscription seas - Norway, Holland & Poland. This is the penultiby calling +44 (0) 121 351 6930 mate championships on the TAGB calendar for 2010.

Warren Vice added another British championships to his amazing track record, which will be his last one as a single man as he is tying the knot in December. We all wish him the very best. Tyrrell Belony also turned in another amazing performance and seems to just get better and better. Once again Tamsen Clarke showed her pedigree by lifting the British title and making her the woman to beat. Most of the black belt divisions were very large with

competitors trying to score points towards their selection for next year’s Taekwondo International US open in Dallas, Texas where the TAGB will send a large squad.

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