Combat Magazine - March 2012

BRINGING MARTIAL ARTS TO LIFE

MARTIALARTSSHOW the

THE NEC BIRMINGHAM 12th & 13th MAY 2012

March 2012 Vol. 37 No. 02 ÂŁ3.95

5 Techniques The

Action

Martial Arts of

<<< Warrior

The DVD Released A Must See Film For Any MMA Fan!

PLUS.......

Do You Want to Become A Superhero? - Rule 21.9 Make Sure You Know All The Rules!

How Martial Arts Can Improve Your Quality of Life! - - Self Defence For Wheelchair Users - Could Stand up Finally go Mainstream? and Much, Much More!

visit us at www.combatmag.co.uk

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COMMENT

VOL 37 NO. 02 MARCH 2012 PUBLISHER/EDITOR IN CHIEF

Welcome once again to another packed edition of the UK’s number one Martial Arts Magazine.

Paul Clifton paul@martialartsinprint.com

As usual we have an issue full of the usual exciting, interesting and informative articles for you to cast your eyes over and keep your brains exercised while you take a break from physical training. All of our regular columnists are here with their monthly insights, we even welcome a new columnist this issue as Lee Laverne starts his monthly look at the world of Hong Kong film. Lee will be keeping us up to date with all the latest releases and all the breaking news. He will also be holding a few competitions where you will have the chance to win some HK Film goodies, check out his first instalment on page 40.

SENIOR DESIGNER Kevin Thompson

GRAPHIC DESIGNER Hadley Austin

WEBMASTER Nick Harley

ADVERTISING/SALES EXECUTIVE Jan Harley 0121 351 6930

HOW TO GET WORK PUBLISHED

The issue of grip strength might not be something you have given much thought to but it is a very useful thing to have in your arsenal when facing an opponent or attacker (just ask Joe Lewis). Steve Butler goes into more depth about the importance of a strong grip and how it can be a great weapon to have in your arsenal.

NEWS ITEMS

Striking, kicking, blocking, throwing and controlling are the 5 action techniques. Whatever your style or discipline, one of these will be your main technique of attack or defence. Dave Lomas takes us through these techniques, their backgrounds and how they should be used.

To have your submission published in COMBAT couldn’t be easier. Supply your written material either on disc (ASCII), typed or on audio tape. Send it together with a covering letter and some good quality photo’s (digital photographs must be 300dpi) to the Head Office (address below).

For all news related items, simply mark your envelope “COMBAT NEWSLINE” and together with a photograph (if required) and a covering letter, send it to: COMBAT, Head Office. or E-Mail: combat_news@martialartsinprint.com

CALENDAR

If you have a forthcoming event that you would like published in COMBAT Calendar. Send your entry, giving dates, times, and contact numbers, to “CALENDAR” COMBAT Head Office.

HEAD OFFICE:

COMBAT, Unit 20, Maybrook Business Park, Maybrook Road, Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, B76 1BE. Tel: 0121 351 6930 E-Mail: combat.magazine@btclick.com

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Advertise your club, school, group, Association for as little as £15 per month. Simply layout your details (using current advertisers as an example) including a good example of your logo/emblem if required and send it together with a cheque to the Head Office. Please mark the envelope “Clubs Directory” or E-Mail: combat_clubs@martialartsinprint.com

ADVERTISING DETAILS

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DISCLAIMER

COMBAT is published by M.A. Publications ltd, Unit 20, Maybrook Business Park, Maybrook Road, Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, B76 1BE. The publishers reserve the right to reject editorial and/or advertising material as they see fit.

The Publishers accept no responsibility for the return of unsolicited material. However, the Publishers will endeavour to return such matter providing that it is accompanied by a stamped addressed envelope. Any material accepted by the Publishers shall be revised or altered should the Publisher deem it necessary to do so. The act of submitting manuscripts and/or materials shall be considered an express warranty that such material is original and in no way infringes upon the rights of others. It is expressly forbidden for any part of the magazine to be reported whatsoever without the permission of Editor / Publishers. The views or comments expressed in these pages are not necessarily those of the editor or Publisher. Distribution by COMAG, Tavistock Works, Tavistock Road, West Drayton, Middlesex UB7 7QE.

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

PHOTOGRAPHY Carrie Austin 07716266854 Film Media Phil Hobden Mike Murphy

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

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

Martial arts aren’t just about defending your-self. They can be so much more than this and can indeed improve your lives on so many levels. Jake Ogden goes in depth on how martial arts can make you feel good and improve your lives in general. He tells us the 6 basic ways this can happen through training correctly.

Ever fancied being a superhero? Come on, who hasn’t wanted to climb walls like Spiderman, take on bad guys like Batman or dress up in a superman costume (ok, that last one is just me then). Well today might just be your lucky day, well the weekend of the 12th & 13th of May to be more exact! Yes, at The Martial Arts Show Live 2012 ‘Search for a Superhero’ is launched.

This is an international project designed to find an individual who will be trained in the skills necessary to become a bona fide costumed hero! So what are you waiting for, time to dig out those red underpants and use the shower curtain as your cape!

Well, we have only scratched the surface of what is in this issue, so I’d like to finish by letting you into a secret: Over the weekend of May the 12th and 13th at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham we will launch “The MMA Show Live” and it will run in its own huge Hall alongside the hugely successful “The Martial Arts Show Live”!

The weekend will be made up of: 5 interactive areas that will allow you to train with some of the MMA Worlds biggest names (approximately 50 of them)! There will also be a huge stage arena where you can ask all of our stars any questions that you wish! There will be a purpose built autograph area where you will be able to gain autographs and have your photographs taken with the stars and an enclosed purpose built Platinum VIP area where (if you but one of our limited platinum VIP passes) you will be able to hang out with all of our massive superstar guest list!!! But be sure to book your VIP Platinum tickets soon as they are limited and they will sell fast once you discover just who we have coming. You can stay ahead of the pack by visiting www.theMMAshowlive.com for all the latest news!!!

We know that tickets will sell fast so make sure you get yours sooner rather than later, especially the Platinum VIP tickets as they are limited to 500. Remember, we will have 50 plus of the MMA Worlds biggest names (K1, UFC, Pride, BAMMA etc . . ) but for now here are 4 names to whet your appetite: UFC fighters Kenny Florian and Simeon Thoresen, BAMMA Middleweight Champion Tom ‘Kong’ Watson, UFC, PRIDE and DREAM veteran Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou and Ian “The Machine” Freeman. Just wait until we release the rest of our guest list . . . “you ain’t seen nothing yet”!

See you next month – Oss.

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

KARATE

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

THAI BOXING Dan Green Richard Smith Shaun Boland Tony Myers

SPORT MARTIAL ARTS

BOXING

Humphrey Broome Joe Hallett John Swift Neville Wray Peter Edwards

FULL CONTACT

HEALTH/ STRENGTH/ FITNESS

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

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

SELF PROTECTION/ DEFENCE

Aran Dharmeratnam Kevin O’Hagan Morne Swaenopal Peter Browne

PHOTOGRAPHY Carrie Austin Martyn Skipper

MMA

Carl Fisher Dave O’Donnell Gavin Mulholland Rob Nutley

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

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

CONTENTS REGULARS

44

6 -

MARTIAL ARTS NEWSLINE

10 -

ON THE RECORD - With Steve Butler

14 -

THE DRUID SPEAKETH - By Rob Devane

16 -

WANT TO LEARN M.A? - With Dave Lomas

26 -

CHATTERBOX - With Kerry Louise Norbury

28 -

THE BUNBUN SERIES - By Mike Finn

30 -

COMBAT FILM - By Phil Hobden

34 -

COMBAT HELPLINE - With Master Jake Ogden

38 -

ARMED COMBAT - By Dave O'Neill

40 -

HONG KONG FILM - With Lee Laverne

FEATURES 44 -

MISS WORLD MEETS GI JANE @ The Martial Arts Show Live 2012

48 -

CALLING ALL WOULD BE SUPERHEROES To The Martial Arts Show Live 2012

50 -

RICKY ASH My Life is Fantastic Thanks to Martial Arts!

56 -

THE TRUTH BEHIND THE CAMERAS OF WARRIOR An Interview With Joel Edgerton and Tom Hardy

62 -

RULE 21.9

By John Broughton

67 -

THE MAIN EVENT Could Stand Up Finally go Mainstream?

70 -

PUTTING YOUR BEST FOOT FORWARD Enter Teuk Gong Moo Sool - Part 6

76 -

STREET DEFENCE

80 -

SELF DEFENCE FOR WHEELCHAIR USERS

By Colm Whooley

82 -

ENTER THE MANTIS The Chronicles of Grandmaster Donald Robert Moses - Part One

56

96

TRADITIONAL

106

88 -

THE E.S.K.K. COLUMN - With Chris Denwood

92 -

STANCES - Part 3 - Sochin & Kiba Dachi

94 -

BLACK BELT GRADING - The Big One

96 -

M.S.K.F. BRITISH CHAMPIONSHIPS

101 - AIKIDO OPENS IT'S DOORS IN LEEDS

104 - TANG SOO DO - By Master David Allerton 106 - THE ROSE OF THE DESERT

By Master Guy E. Larke

THE NEC BIRMINGHAM 12TH & 13TH May 2012

16

newsline

BRINGING YOU THE LATEST DEVELOPMENTS IN THE WORLD OF MARTIAL ARTS. IF YOU KNOW SOMETHING WE DON’T THEN WRITE OR FAX IT TO US AT Unit 20 Maybrook Business Park, Maybrook Road, Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, B76 1BE TEL: 0121 351 6930 E-MAIL: newsline@martialartsinprint.com

Formation of the English Karate Council, 24/01/2012, Leicester Four of England’s major Karate bodies held two meetings last October and December to discuss unification with all its inherent benefits. These benefits include: the creation of one Governing Body for Karate in England which will consolidate guidance on health and safety, child protection and Karate instruction/coaching. This new, unified body will also be in a strong position to apply to Sport England for recognition as the National Governing Body for Karate.

This recognition would open the door to lottery and other funding for Karate at all levels.

The second meeting of 2011 was held at the offices of the Sport & Recreation Alliance (S&RA) in London, and chaired by its Chief Executive Tim Lamb. At that meeting a paper was discussed which proposed a new umbrella Governing Body which would bring together all the major groups in English Karate. This new body would allow the constituent Karate organisations to remain intact, licensing their own members and organising their own courses, gradings and competitions. The proposed structure was designed to facilitate the continuation of the WKF mandate through the EKF, whilst allowing the freedom for the other Groups to affiliate to other World Bodies. At the time it was assumed that the published WKF Statues would permit the EKF to participate in an umbrella Governing Body for English Karate.

Although the meeting ended without a final decision being reached, Tim Lamb felt that we were making great progress and suggested that a private meeting between the four

groups should take place early in 2012; all four groups accepted his suggestion and a joint Press Release was agreed to this effect.

However the EKF have subsequently withdrawn from the process despite strenuous efforts to persuade them otherwise. This is because the EKF now consider that their participation in the new body would result in the withdrawal of the WKF mandate and this result was not acceptable to the EKF Board.

The remaining three groups; AMA, FEKO and KE therefore met on 24th January and have agreed to continue the process without the EKF, although the door is always open for them to rejoin at any time.

The groups decided the new body should be called the EKC - English Karate Council.

Further details will be circulated shortly.

Salt Soothes Sniffles and Sneezes It’s National Allergy Week from 23rd to 29th April 2012, and studies show that 1 in 3 people in the UK are affected by allergies at some point in their lives [1]. Wheezing and shortness of breath are common symptoms of allergies, and the original, patented Cisca Saltpipe® is a natural way to help people relieve these symptoms. Invented in Hungary, this dry salt inhaler contains Halite salt crystals which were formed around 20 million years ago in Hungarian and Transylvanian salt caves.

The Cisca Saltpipe®’s history can be traced back to 1843, when Polish

physician Dr. Bochkowsky noticed that salt miners didn’t suffer from breathing issues or respiratory diseases. In his book he states that respiratory diseases could be cured or treated naturally – a practice called Speleotherapy.

A clinical study carried out on Speleotherapy concluded that there was a ‘…significant decrease of the frequency of the obstructive bronchitis, asthma … pneumonias …, with concomitant decrease of the antibiotic … and Histaglobin … cures one year after ST was observed in the speleo group. No significant changes were observed in the control group.’[2] In 2002, two scientists from Budapest thought of a revolutionary way this treatment could be made available to everyone, as a portable and easy to use pipe. The Cisca Saltpipe® proved successful, with user trials showing its effectiveness as a treatment for breathing issues.

When you breathe through the Cisca Saltpipe® for a few minutes a day, the air is purified as it is drawn over the salt crystals and is very much like taking a deep breath of fresh salty air at the seaside. Daily use can improve the respiratory system for people with allergies and asthma sufferers.

The salt used in the pipe is not the same as the type used for table salt; it is pure Halite mineral Salt crystal formed during the middle Miocene period. The salt crystals have been subjected to enormous pressure over millions of years, which is beneficial, as the higher the amount of pressure, the more superior the state of order within the crystalline structure. The amount of salt that is actually inhaled is not much more than a microgram,

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newsline which allows the salt pipe to benefit breathing without affecting blood pressure.

“I have been taking the Cisca Saltpipe® as you said, I feel so much better. My breathing has improved considerably, I feel better each day. I can do so many things now, that weeks ago would have been impossible. I know it is thanks to the Cisca Saltpipe®,” says G.Langley from Brixham.

Its ergonomic design makes the Cisca Saltpipe® convenient to use as well as being comfortable in your hand. It is ideal for when you’re on the move and its compact size (the same as a mobile phone) fits easily into a bag. The device is very cost effective; lasting up to 5 years with no need for a refill.

The Cisca Saltpipe® retails at £29.99 and is available from www. thesaltpipe.co.uk, selected Holland & Barrett stores nationwide, or by calling 0191 373 4425. The Easy Saltpipe retails at £14.99 and is available from selected Holland and Barrett stores.

Keep Jack Frost out in the cold with immune supporting Arctic-D Cod Liver Oil(tm) from Nordic Naturals(r)!

Keeping warm is often the main focus of surviving in the dreaded winter months. Along with fuelling our bodies with the wrong foods; many people inadvertently neglect their health and end up getting sick. So how do you ensure that you protect yourself in readiness for the winter months? The answer is simple: Arctic-D Cod Liver Oil(tm) from Nordic Naturals(r)!

Research studies show that omega-3 fatty acids have strong anti-inflammatory properties and, therefore, may be useful in the management of inflammatory and autoimmune disease.? Over the past 30 years, more than 7,000 scientific studies, including 900 human clinical

trials, have provided evidence supporting the effectiveness of omega-3 fish oil and omega-3 EFAs in the prevention and treatment of health conditions.?

Arctic-D Cod Liver Oil combines the omega-3 essential fatty acids EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) made from 100% Artic cod with natural vitamin D3 to support a healthy heart, bones, and immune system. EPA and DHA are considered “essential” because our bodies cannot manufacture them. The best source of these omega-3s is oily, cold-water fish such as sardines, cod, and anchovies.

However, satisfying the daily expert recommendation of EPA + DHA (minimum of 500 mg/day) through diet alone is difficult.

Even if fish is consumed several times a week, it is important to ask if it is wild or farm raised. If it is farm raised, there is a good possibility that recommended amounts of omega-3s will not be absorbed because much of the farm-raised fish is fed a high omega-6-rich diet and lack significant levels of omega-3. Other factors, such as a diet high in saturated fat or a compromised immune status can also impede the absorption of these essential fats.

For all these reasons, a high-quality, purified fish oil supplement is the safest and most effective source of omega-3. Nordic Naturals’ patented nitrogen processing ensures that Arctic-D Cod Liver Oil is absolutely fresh and purified of environmental toxins.

This omega-rich formula supports cardiovascular health, brain function, and immune health. The added vitamin D3 provides additional bone, immune and mood support.

Nordic Naturals is committed to delivering the world’s safest, most effective omega oils.

1. Simopoulous AP. Journal of the American college of nutrition. 2002.

2. Maroon J, Bost J. Fish Oil: The Natural AntiInflammatory. 2006:58.

Nordic Naturals Brings Authentic Norwegian Fish Oils to the UK The extensive health benefits of omega-3 fish oils have been welldocumented – benefits with which many people are now familiar, whether in relation to their children’s brain development, their own or their parents’ joint and cardiovascular health, or other general health maintenance issues such as skincare.

But the main problem still remains that it is extremely difficult to differentiate among the ever-increasing fish oil products on the market.

Now, with the launch of Nordic Naturals, we may have found the ultimate answer. Founded by Norwegian-born Joar Opheim over a decade ago in the USA, after recognising a lack of omega-3 fish oils in the American marketplace, Nordic Naturals has become a leader in the US market with a 50% share.

Now he is bringing over decades of clinical research to introduce Nordic Naturals to the UK, with a range of scientifically proven omega-3 fish oil products tailored for adults’ and children’s needs.

Nordic Naturals manufactures all their fish oil products in Norway; where they adhere rigorously to the highest manufacturing standards, guaranteeing exceptional product purity and freshness levels that exceed the stringent Norwegian Medicinal Standard and European Pharmacopoeia Standard. Using a patented and gentle distillation process, the resulting quality is far superior to the vast majority of fish oil products already available.

The Nordic Naturals product range consists of eight flagship products, aimed at the whole population, with specific products tailored for children. Available from health food stores, pharmacies and online at Nutricentre.com.

For more information visit www. nordicnaturals.com or email info@vital-life.org.uk

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CHI001/03

newsline Film News Jay chou co star of the American remake of green hornet returns to the big screen alongside Nicholas tsui in actioner viral factor.

One movie I believe will have the major studio push is the Andy lau, Aaron kwok and Tong leung actioner Cold war.

Asian super model/actor Hu bing returns to the silver screen after a lay off to star in new horror movie Harpoon, set on a desert island it’s a deadly story of a fight for survival.

Tai chi a new film directed by actor/director Stephen fung who’s currently working with china’s biggest company the huayi brothers along with the team behind detective dee and the mystery phantom.

The crescent moon phantom is quite short on info right now but what we can tell you is that the story states a female detective that does not believe in zombies and tries to crack the mystery killings spreading rapidly.

THE MMA SHOW LIVE COMES TO THE NEC IN BIRMINGHAM ON MAY 12 th and 13 th Kenny Florian, Tom Watson, Sokoudjou and Simeon Thoresen Confirmed.

MA Inc to present the first ever MMA Show Live at The NEC in Birmingham on May the 12th and 13th in a separate hall, as a part of The Martial Arts Show Live, giving fans two shows for the price of one. Split Decision, the company founded by Liam Fisher (former Head of Business Development at BAMMA), has joined the team at MA Inc to establish a new and very much needed event for the huge and very loyal UK MMA audience and fan base.

The MMA Show Live will be an interactive fan experience dedicated to mixed martial arts from around the World. Populating a second hall at the NEC in Birmingham alongside The Martial Arts Show Live, The MMA Show Live will consist of five training areas where some of the biggest names in the business will host special group training sessions, a huge stage & screen for Q&A sessions, an autograph zone where fans can meet their favourite fighters and exhibition stands where some of the biggest brands in MMA will be selling merchandise and much, much more.

Liam Fisher, CEO at Split Decision said “Split Decision is a company made up of huge MMA fans so this is the perfect opportunity for us to help create a show that we all believe every MMA fan would want to go to.

There’s going to be over 40 fighters and MMA personalities from all over the World attending, including some A-list superstars, MMA legends and some of the most exciting up and coming talent around today. I’m immensely excited that my company can be a part of this.”

Training sessions with fighters are available for Platinum ticket holders only and are limited to 500 people across the whole weekend. For a limited period only the Platinum tickets are priced at £90 instead of £100 and for this fans will get 1 training session per day, all the benefits of VIP access to both The Martial Arts Show Live and The MMA Show Live across the weekend, exclusive access to the Platinum Room in the MMA hall where fans

can sit down and talk with the A-list fighters & celebrities, entrance to the VIP party held on the Saturday evening in Birmingham city centre, a souvenir event program, access to the fast-track line at the autograph zone and premium platinum seating at the Q&A stage.

Every Platinum ticket holder is guaranteed a place at 1 training session per day and there will be 20 different training sessions hosted by 20 different fighters each day.

Platinum ticket holders can book their preferred session on a first come first serve basis by registering each day at the registration desk open from 8am each morning although by buying your Platinum ticket now, you will secure your place as one of the limited 500 places available.

More fighters and personalities confirmed to attend will be released in the coming weeks.

Reduced price “Early Bird Tickets” are available for a strictly limited time from www.theticketfactory.com and are priced as follows STANDARD DAY TICKET £15 STANDARD WEEKEND TICKET £25 VIP DAY TICKET £40 VIP WEEKEND TICKET £60 PLATINUM WEEKEND TICKET £90 Follow The MMA Show Live on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ themmashowlive and Facebook at www.facebook.com/themmashowlive For more information go to www. themmashowlive.com rtsshowlive.com

The first four fighters confirmed to attend are UFC fighters Kenny Florian and Simeon Thoresen, BAMMA Middleweight Champion Tom ‘Kong’ Watson and UFC, PRIDE and DREAM veteran Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou.

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ON THE RECORD With Stephen Buttler

Hello Combat readers. Last month you will recall that I spoke about resistance, overspeed and core stability training methods which can be used for improved striking power and more fluid movement in martial arts/self defence. I featured a Shropshire mixed martial arts fighter, Richard Cosgrove, whose training I had been involved with for his first professional fight. It all paid dividends with Richard winning in an incredible 14 seconds via standing guillotine choke. This week I will continue with my advisory column on fitness for martial arts/self defence focusing on the importance of a strong grip when tackling an opponent or attacker.

Grip strength is often overlooked and inadequately trained by Martial Artists/ Self Defence Practitioners but is fundamental to more skilled and better performance against an opponent.

Clearly a strong grip is of prime importance because countless martial arts/self defence techniques involve forcefully grabbing the wrist.

Real life and competition techniques encompass grabbing clothing or the gi. Furthermore, being able to generate more force when gripping enhances your ability to grip an attacker or opponent as perspiration becomes more of a factor when grappling during stand up fighting or on the ground.

The inclusion of grip strength training within your martial arts/self defence training programme will improve your hand strength facilitating the generation of more powerful strikes to an attacker/opponent. Moreover, strong hands are essential to able to attack, fend off or submit an 10 COMBAT WWW.COMBATMAG.CO.UK

opponent. A lack of wrist and hand strength training will also make breaking boards and bricks all the more difficult.

Types of Grip.

There are a number of different types of grips which can be described depending on the skill being performed in self defence or competitive martial arts.

Grips utilised in martial arts/self defence skills can be classified as being either ‘power grips’ or ‘precision grips’. The hand performs actions in the former, whereas the thumb and fingers combine in different ways to produce the latter.

Power Grip.

A power grip involves the fingers, thumb and wrist when a strong grip on an object or an opponent’s body part is needed. There are two types of power grip which can be

used in martial arts and self defence performance: 1. A Palmar Grip is the most powerful in which the whole hand is wrapped around an object or opponent’s body part, where the thumb acts as a buttress whilst the fingers close around the object or body part. In these situations the volume of the object or body part influences the gripping strength, which is maximal when the thumb remains able to touch the index finger. The palmar grip is also used when making a fist with the fingers being firmly pressed into the palm.

2. A Hook Grip whereby the object or opponent’s body is held firmly between the palm and the flexed fingers with the thumb not playing any part. The grip is relatively secure but only in one direction, towards the fingers. Practically, hook grip techniques applied to pressure points where a pulse can be found, such as the subclavian pressure

point (located deep below the collar bone in the â&#x20AC;&#x153;sinkâ&#x20AC;? of the shoulder) or the hypoglossal pressure (located on the underside of the chin below the underside of the jaw) can be used in self defence, interrupting blood flow to the areas below them, compressing nerves, causing numbness or weakness to that area or limb, as well as considerable pain.

the digits, which spread around the object or surface area conforming to the shape. The muscles involved in precision gripping are the small muscles of the hand and the long flexors of the fingers and thumb.

Whilst the muscle work in precision gripping is similar to when power gripping, the strength of contraction is considerably inferior.

Precision Grip.

Precision gripping is more difficult to perform in stressful situations with the effects of elevated heart rate and adrenaline. This is because the hand movements are very precise, making your ability to manipulate small objects and surface areas and

When precision gripping the object or surface area is generally small which is seized between the pads of

conduct extremely intricate tasks highly important to your martial arts/self defence skill development.

A practical example in self defence is pinching the thin skin just above the elbow on the back of the upper arm when the palmer surfaces or edges of the nails of the thumb and index finger, or the finger come into contact.

Whilst utilising a power grip on the attackerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wrist with one hand, the precision grip pinch can be performed with the opposite hand to cause pain and psychological misdirection.

Grip strengthening exercises that can be used in your exercise training programmes for martial arts/self defence...

ON THE RECORD With Stephen Buttler

Tennis Ball Squeeze: Focusing on power grip this exercise will strengthen the small hand muscles.

Grasp a tennis ball in one hand.

Squeeze the tennis ball as hard as possible anything from 10 to 100 times then carry out the exercise with the opposite hand. Apply the pressure constantly, concentrating on not quickly releasing the pressure as the ball is returned to its resting shape. Consider performing 10 extra repetitions on your weaker side to reduce strength imbalances.

Farmerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Walk or Shuttle Runs: Here the hook grip is developed.

Weight progression should be gradual. Position two markers approximately 10 metres apart; 1. Take two kettlebells or dumbbells holding them outside the sides of your legs; 2. Walk or run for a duration between 20 seconds to 3 minutes or 20 to 100 shuttles. Of course the durations and number of sets can be progressed with grip strength development.

Towels may also be wrapped around the kettlebell or dumbbell handles as an alternative or progression.

Fingertip Push Ups: These will strengthen your fingers leading to more overall hand grip strength.

I can be contacted directly at smjbuttler@aol.com

In the push up starting position with your weight supported by your finger tips and the head, neck and trunk in alignment lower your body by bending the elbows until the upper arms are at least parallel with the ground then return to the starting position with straightened arms. If this exercise is presently too advanced consider carrying out the movement bending the elbows less or with bent knees with the lower thigh in contact with the ground. Perform a comfortable amount of repetitions and progress with strength development.

Towel Grip Hang: This will develop the hand muscles needed for gripping and crushing.

Start by draping a towel over a chin up/pull up bar evenly distributed both sides. Grasp the towel with one hand each side and lift your body up to hang from it with straight arms.

Commence training with a hanging duration of around 30 seconds then progress gradually as your ability improves. Your grip strength will also be enhanced by progressing on to and including pull ups/chin ups in your training programme from the same starting position.

Reverse Curls: This massively underused exercise will develop your forearm and grip strength simultaneously. The brachioradialis on the outside of the forearm is involved here which is

integral to gripping strength during pronation or supination (turning movements of the forearm inwards or outwards) when for instance, grappling or performing takedowns.

1. Pick up an Olympic or curl bar with an overhand grip and around a shoulder width spacing, your palms facing your body.

2. From an upright standing position keeping the elbows as still as possible, curl the bar by bending the elbows until the bar is in front of the top of the chest then straighten the arms on returning to the starting position. Try not to use body sway to assist the movement. Use a weight that allows you to comfortably perform 10 repetitions then with more training increase the weight, number of repetitions and/or sets.

Seated Palm-Up Wrist Curl: This is another exercise which will develop forearm and hand musculature strength for enhanced gripping ability in martial arts/self defence.

1. Sitting on an exercise bench grasp the weights bar with about a shoulder width spacing and the palms facing forward. Position your forearms on your thighs with your wrists outstretched ahead of your legs.

2. Keeping your forearms as still as possible lower your wrists until your hands are at full range of movement hanging below your arms, then curl your wrists up as much as possible.

On returning to the starting position repeat for at least 10 repetitions.

Here priority should be given to a full range of movement rather than too heavy a weight not permitting this.

Weights Plate Pinch: This exercise is a good developer of precision grip strength.

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Place two plates together holding them with one hand with the finger pads gripping on one side and the thumb pad on the other. Start with weights giving you the capability to grip for at least 30 seconds.

Progressions can be made by using more weight or increasing the grip duration. Pinching strength can also be improved by gripping one or two plates with just the index finger and thumb. Remember slightly longer grip durations on your weaker side can help you work towards reducing muscle strength imbalances.

Brick Lift Repetitions: The use of bricks is an innovative and affordable way to develop grip strength for martial arts/self defence.

This exercise can be performed holding two bricks together both widthways and lengthways.

From standing hold the two bricks together with the arm straight in front of your body then proceed to bend the elbow to raise the bricks upwards until they are level with the side of your head, after which you return to the starting position before repeating.

With time progression you will find it harder to maintain surface contact between the two bricks making it an effective way of developing your grip.

THE DRUID SPEAKETH!

By Robert Devane

How is everyone doing this month? I hope you are all well. When you read the title of my column this month, please don’t think I’m trying to be another Anthony Robbins. We all have things about ourselves that we would like to change or improve and this is simply an easy way to do it. All those that think of themselves as being perfect need not waste any time reading this.

I was watching a documentary recently called ‘Fat, sick and nearly dead’. It’s about a fella who was extremely overweight. He went on a 60 day juice diet and achieved miraculous results. 60 days is a lot and he wasn’t able to persuade many others to do that same amount of time. However, quite a few people took up the 10 day option. 10 days is so much more manageable to give something a go. Even if you struggle with self-motivation, I believe you could devote yourself to only 10 days.

We all have things that we would like to change about ourselves or to

learn or to improve. It’s so easy to get sucked into a daily routine in life and to neglect change. Some people think that they are who they are and change is impossible. I think giving only 10 days to changing something can really make a huge difference.

The famous quote is, “If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got”.

- Henry Ford. l Maybe you too want to clean up your diet. l You may want to avoid negative language for 10 days. l Give up smoking, alcohol or drugs. It’s only for 10 days. l You might want to try to reestablish old relationships in your life. l Start a new fitness program. l Detox by using a sauna for 10 days. l Get rock hard abs. l Finish that book you always wanted to get through. Just space it out over 10 days. l If you are struggling with a kick, technique or even stretching, don’t ignore the problem. Give yourself 10 proper days to work on it.

The list is endless and everyone has their own.

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What happens after the 10 days?

After successfully completing 10 days of commitment to your particular quest, you will have added confidence and you should be happy with yourself. You can then move onto something else or you could simply do another 10 days if you are enjoying the results. You already know that you are strong enough mentally to do it.

At the start of this piece you probably thought that the title was a little corny.

However, if you devout 10 days to a particular personal mission, it could actually change yourself and your life. You just never know. It can give you some of the control back in your life and your future that you thought you had lost or never had.

As a competitive fighter, I use this process all the time. As soon as I have a fight confirmed I have to up my training, eat better, sleep better, drink more water and remain positive.

I have to do it for longer than 10 days but it’s exactly the same process.

Oh yeah, one last thing. The 10 days have to be consecutive. You chancers!

Have a think about it and as always, I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Thanks for reading and I’ll be right here again next month.

Robert ‘The Druid’ Devane is a professional instructor and fighter.

He runs Martial Arts Incorporated which has 2 full time Dojos in Dublin.

Robert can be contacted through the website: www.robertdevane.com

WANT TO LEARN M.A?

By Dave J. Lomas

5 Action Techniques All the martial arts, with a few exceptions, are based on five basic actions or techniques that are the centre points to all the fighting styles. These five action techniques are striking, (punching), kicking, blocking, throwing, (or take down methods), and controlling, (arm locks and restraining holds). These five basic actions are the very nature of the fighting arts with more focus placed on one or more items over the others depending on the nature or structure of the fighting style in question. In the case of the Korean fighting arts like tae kwon do or tangsoodo the kick is the most important and most emphasized technique of the five basic actions while in the case of the Japanese martial art of judo the main item of focus is of course the judo throw or take down method. In the case of aikido it would be throwing techniques using arm and wrist locks while in the case of European boxing it would be hand strikes. Shaolin chin-na, known as the seizing arts, would use lock and restrain methods in much the same way as aikido.

Anyone who was around back in the early 1970’s will remember that until kung fu became very popular the fighting arts of karate and judo, although widespread, was not that well understood by the general public and many thought that in the case of karate the main form of striking was with the edge of the hand, this being of course the famous karate chop, and many thought that apart from breaking bricks with the hand and the odd kick here and there, that was all there was to it. Today of course people are far more aware of how karate works and other fighting arts like judo.

In the 1960’s the standard belief was that to use a kick when fighting was not only unfair but also cowardly and was a no-go thing to do, today however attitudes towards kicking is readily acceptable. When kung fu hit the big screen and television in the 1970’s, the public for the first time on a large scale began to realise that fighting using kicks was in some ways the main method of fighting in the martial arts. Who would have thought that the humble kick could be used in such a devastating and spectacular way? For the first time ever on such a large scale the public was made aware that fighting involved not only dynamic high kicking methods but also advanced forms of fighting and an in-depth tradition that had never been truly seen before. This in many ways made people realise for the first time that fighting was not limited to just punching each other, as in boxing, but also offered the man in the street the chance to learn how to fight, be it for competition or practical self-defence, without having to be built like a tank or super strong in the first place.

pose and the promise of learning what some would say or claim as the very best or ultimate in fighting.

In many cases the use of high kicks in films and within advertisements was to become the trademark of the fighting arts. Today after many years the effectiveness of kicks, although still a vital part of the martial arts, is no longer the main focus within many fighting styles with the exception of those like tae kwon do that focus and specialise in kicking techniques.

As kicks have always been portrayed as the most glamorous of the five main parts of the martial arts we shall look at this item a bit more closely first. Keeping in mind that the names and descriptive terms vary from style to style and are pronounced in different ways depending on which country it originally comes from, the following terms and names used are describing techniques that are common within most fighting styles.

The kick can only be used in a limited number of ways compared to hand striking methods and of these kicks the most common used are the Front Kick, which is self descriptive, the Side Kick, the Back Kick, the Hook Kick and the circular motion kicks like the Axe Kick. The simplest and most effective kick of them all, and also the easiest to learn, is the Front Kick. This kick is thrown in a forward direction using a thrusting or a snap and fast recoil action using the ball of the foot as the impact area. The kick can be targeted at the opponents head, body, groin or legs and takes only a scant few seconds to perform.

This type of kick is one of the easiest ways of kicking someone because it is less difficult to master and requires less flexibility in the kicking legs; additionally the Front Kick offers a better chance of you recovering your balance after it has been used.

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Many advertisements promoting new beginners classes would do so by showing a person in a high kicking

Although the Front Kick is in many ways one of the most practical of all the kicking methods it is the Side Kick that has gained more recognition and fame above all others. The Side Kick, which yet again is very much self descriptive, involves simply kicking in a side-on position or as the name states kicking to the side. This is without question the most famous of all the kicks in the martial arts and offers, as with all the various kicks, the advantage of being more powerful than a punch, (legs are stronger than arms or hands), and has a more longer better reaching way of striking someone. Although the Side Kick is something of a trademark for the many fighting styles, and of course very effective and powerful, more so when the kick is aimed at the head of your opponent, this type of kick is without question one of the most difficult and hard to master for those who lack flexibility in the legs therefore many clubs’ teaching the martial arts that involve the use of kicks, such as tae kwon do, will spend a large amount of time on stretching exercises specifically for the purpose of developing the required flexibility needed for this type of kick.

Unless the practitioner of the fighting arts is very good at high kicking methods it is best to avoid it because of the problem of putting yourself at risk against counter strikes due to the time required to recover your balance from this type of kick. Recovering your balance after kicking is vital when every second counts in a life or death situation. With the Front Kick it is easy to return your foot back down to the ground and regain your much needed balance. A Front Kick, if performed by an expert, can be thrown and then returned to the ground in around l/3rd of a second. In addition to the front and the Side Kick the other remaining methods of kicking are the back

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Hand fighting techniques are without question the widest ranging of all the fighting methods available to the martial artist with blocking methods on an equal footing. Unlike kicks which have the advantage of being the long range way of striking, hand striking techniques are somewhat limited to medium and short range methods of fighting, but what hand techniques lack in striking range they amply make up for when it comes to their variety and speed. Fighting at close or medium range requires the

use of good hand and eye co-ordination and fast reflex skills along with the need to strike, in many cases, at high speed. Although there are a great number of ways to strike and punch the main basic items that are common to all forms of fighting is the lunge or Thrust Punch.

These types of punches can be thrown from a high shoulder position or, in the case of traditional martial arts, from the hip with a corkscrew turn of the fist on impact.

This type of punch is used when stepping forward to close the gap between yourself and your opponent, in one of several ways, and often involves putting a degree of body weight behind the strike to enhance the technique. This type of striking method is normally taught at very basic level and is also used as part of blocking practice against this strike with a partner.

Performed normally at high speed this is very much a medium range method of striking that is used in the main in what we call an attack mode.

Opposite to this leading hand form of attack is the Reverse Punch which as its name suggests is a punch thrown opposite to the leading leg or if you refer in reverse position. The lunging or thrusting punch is always thrown on the same side, meaning that if the left foot/leg is in the forward position then the left hand is used to make the strike.

In the case of a Reverse Punch if the left leg is in the forward position then the right hand is used. The Reverse Punch is one of the most common of all the striking methods within the martial arts and can be performed with full focus, meaning to lock the punching arm on impact or with a fast recoil action in a snapping way. Many would regard the Reverse Punch as a medium range method of striking but unless the legs are used to close the gap between you and the target that you are attempting to hit the Reverse Punch remains a short range fighting technique. What makes the Reverse Punch so common with all the various fighting styles is that apart from being something of a natural way of punching in comparison to other striking methods the Reverse Punch can be used for both attack and counter strike.

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or Spinning Back Kick, the hook or roundhouse kick and the axe or circular motion kicks. Although there are a fair few variations to these kicks these are the main used methods of kicking within any martial art style.

Learning the many and various forms of blocking can be a bit confusing for the new beginner

Although the thrusting and Reverse Punch methods are the most common and most often used there are also other forms of attacking or counter striking with the hands that are just as equally effective.

There are various parts of the hand, in just the same way as the feet, that can be used to deliver a strike, this would include the use of the back of the hand or fist. The Back Fist technique, which is normally used against the side or front of a persons head in the main, is thrown in a whip like action and recoiled back in one smooth movement.

This form of strike does not require the need to lock or focus the strike with any force like the basic lunging or Reverse Punch but gains its power from the sheer speed of the blow.

The fast jab which is also common to many of the fighting arts is very much the same as the Back Fist technique for its very fast whip like action.

Many of the basic or more common used hand strikes and punches are performed by throwing the punch from the hip or side area of the body however in the case of very close range fighting methods the situation will, in many cases, not allow for long arm movements as being in a close range fighting situation, time will be vital when getting a strike out.

One of the most practical of all the striking techniques when in a close combat situation is the straight line or centre punch. Called by various names the centre punch starts not from the hip but from the centre of the chest area and is thrown over a very short distance to the opponents face or maybe the body area.

The Straight Line Punch gains its power in the same way as a Back Fist or jab by the sheer speed of the blow and if performed by an expert the punch can be thrown in around one sixth of a second. This type of punch which uses the full focus or arm locking method, unlike a recoil jab technique, is not only very effective but also one of the fastest punches available in the martial arts. Many refer to this punching technique as a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;snap and joltingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; punch and it is very hard to stop or defend against. There are many variations to the basic methods of striking or punching with the hands many of which can involve the use of the edge, palm, and wrist

or back of the hand in someway.

The available number of hand striking techniques can also include wild strikes which simply means lashing out with a hand strike that is performed in a wild or uncontrolled none technical manner.

The third of the five basic actions to be found within the martial arts is the ability to defend against strikes using what are commonly called blocks.

Blocking an opponents punch or kick is without question one of the most important aspects of martial art training and in a street fight it can make the difference between life and death.

The block can be used in one of two ways the most common of which is the method of deflecting an attackers strike or kick. This method of defence simply involves knocking away a striking fist or kick using the hand or arm in someway. The second method of defence against a strike is to redirect or push the attackers strike away in a form of controlling manner. There are at least twenty or more ways of blocking against various forms of attack including not only kicks and punches but also against being grabbed or strangled. Although there are many ways of blocking an opponents attack including the use of forearm blocks, Cranes Wing, palm blocking and sweeping hands, (note that the names for the various blocks do vary depending on which school or style of martial art you practice), all of these various blocking methods are simply variations of just a few standard methods of defence.

Blocking techniques is the one area of martial art training that normally requires more time and practice than many people would realise as it is harder to master than many first think.

Learning the many and various forms of blocking can be a bit confusing for the new beginner as it requires learning to coordinate the moves that can be a bit hard to follow at first. Having learned these various blocking methods the true difficulty is then to put them into practice against an opponent.

Unlike throwing a punch or a kick, which of course is hard to do in itself, the problem of defensive blocking is that you need to be able to stop the many various forms of striking

using not only good reflexes, speed, strength and co-ordination but also the ability to react to unpredictable moves and strikes, which may come in several different ways, rapidly one after another in a practical and fluid way. Many beginners to the martial arts having seen the spectacular kicks and punches portrayed in the blockbuster movies fail to realise that blocking techniques are in fact more vital than just being able to kick high.

Sparring with an opponent for the first few times within lessons you can often see the new beginner, especially children, attacking with the more glamorous of the striking techniques such as the famous flying Side Kick or Spinning Back Kick but with no thought at all to their own safety against kicks and strikes being thrown at them. Although in competition events the use of the many blocking methods is not required to a great degree as the main aim is to score the winning point or some form of knockout, the ability to defend however against your opponentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; strikes in a street fight is vital. The most important thing to remember in any real street fight situation is that no matter how good your kicks or punches are, if you cannot stop a damaging kick or strike with good effective blocking methods then you will be very quickly hit and hurt which in turn means that you will be unable to continue to fight and could end up losing your life.

The throw or take down method of fighting is used in many of the martial arts with only a few exceptions and of all the various fighting styles available the Japanese art of judo is the most famous of them all for their often spectacular throwing techniques and is closely followed by the Japanese art of aikido. Judo focuses on the use of throwing methods by using the body to unbalance the opponent in someway for the specific purpose of getting them to the ground. The judo throw and other forms of tripping and grappling is the trademark of this style of fighting. Japanese aikido and the Chinese martial art of chin-na also places a great deal of focus on the use of throwing methods rather than kicking or punching but the basic difference between a throw and a take down method is in how the opponent is taken down to the ground.

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In the case of judo which uses body throwing and tripping methods the term throw is used a lot as they tend to throw their opponent over their shoulder or hip in an effort to get them to the ground. In the case of aikido and chin-na which also uses various methods of throwing their opponent to the ground the term take down would be more accurate. The term take down would be more suitable to describe aikido and chin-na as they use arm and wrist locks and holds to control and take a person to the ground instead of throwing their opponent using body actions. Many martial arts include take down methods within their training in various ways.

An example of a take down method would be to sweep the leg from under your opponent in one of several ways or to apply a form of arm lock to take them down to the ground. In many cases the use of both throwing and take down techniques are used in an intermixed way and in some cases both terms could equally be used to describe a specific action.

Although some forms of take down or throwing methods can result in damaging the attacker and therefore preventing them from attacking you again the one basic problem is what to do when you have gained control of your opponent on the ground. In the case of competition events you would of course allow your opponent to get up again having scored the winning point but if this method of defence was used in a real street fight then as with all forms of fighting the option of using kicks and strikes should be considered.

Last but far from least is the control method of fighting. To control someone in a fighting situation, be it for sport competition or practical self-defence, can be done in one of two ways. The most common way to control someone is to apply a form of restraining arm or wrist lock or to hold them in a way that prevents them from moving or fighting back.

This form of control can also include holding them down on the ground in a stranglehold position or even for that matter by just getting on top of them.

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styles, this simply involves controlling your opponent’s hands and arms to prevent them from striking you.

A classic example of how this would work would be to use your one hand to push or hold your attackers striking hand against their own chest or general body area for just a few scant moments so they cannot strike you with that hand and at the same time strike with your other hand. This form of fighting is called ‘Trap and Enter’, or control and strike back, and is used very effectively when in a close range combat situation. The trap and enter technique is an ideal first stage way of controlling someone before moving into some form of arm or wrist lock method.

A further example of controlling someone would be to first use a block to prevent being hit and then turn the action of blocking into a controlling arm lock of some kind. The arm lock by its very nature would control the person’s actions and ability to fight effectively if only for a few short moments. These five modes of action are the very basis of the fighting arts regardless of style or origin and when combined together becomes very effective.

It should also be noted at this stage that certain techniques or fighting methods have been referred to on more than one occasion, but this was done purposely to help highlight the fact that all the various areas of combat are interlinked in many different ways which many fail to notice within their initial stages of training.

Based on a self-defence and not on a competitive sport combat situation the following example is to give you a basic idea as to how you would respond to an attacker using what we would term self-defence methods that involves all the five action modes of the martial arts.

Imagine the situation of being in the street and someone approaches you and attempts to hit you in someway.

As they move forward you move back to avoid being hit and then using your arm to stop or deflect the attackers punch, (the block), you then throw a counter strike to their body area with your foot, (the kick), and then taking their arm in a lock, (the control), you then swiftly use a sweep like action with your foot to their leading leg, (the

take down), which unbalances them and makes them fall to the ground.

To conclude this physical conflict you would then use a hand strike, (the punch), to finish them off. In a matter of only a few short seconds you have blocked the punch, kicked them, controlled them with an arm lock and thrown them to the floor by using a take down method and then ended the fight with a punch of your own.

Fees The subject of costs and fees is something of a grey area for many reasons. If you are paying a higher fee for your training sessions in comparison with another club just down the road then you have to ask yourself the question “Am I paying too much or am I getting value for money based on the teaching and training levels within the club that I am with”.

A large club that has several other club branches with equally large numbers of students in attendance can afford to lower tuition fees due to the large number of people paying in to lessons and covering their operating costs, but with a club so popular the instructors will understandably think that increasing costs would not stop students turning up to these popular classes and therefore they will be able to make even more profit if they was to do so. Students and new beginners will think that the teaching standards must be very high, based on the number of people in attendance, and think that the high tuition fees reflect this. Many people think that high class fees offer far better quality instruction in the same way that a very high ranking instructor would expect to be paid highly for his services but this is not always the case. Prices for equipment, membership and tuition fees can be influenced by demand and if there is a popular response to a particular club or fighting style then, in some cases; costs will rise even if the standard or level of instruction is not that much better than a less popular club in the same area.

In the 1970’s Bruce Lee had become so popular through his films that many famous movie stars joined his kung fu classes. His development of a specific fighting method, which he called ‘Jeet Kune Do’ which meant in translation ‘Way of the Intercept-

ing Fistâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; and his charismatic approach to the technical and philosophical aspects of the martial arts made him and his school very popular. Joining such an elite club, and being taught by the then famous Bruce Lee, wealthy movie stars would pay very high tuition fees for the privilege of being associated with such a famous person but in any situation of this kind paying a high fee for lessons does not necessarily mean that you are being taught a beneficial martial art in comparison with a lesser known club, or instructor, that teaches for a much smaller fee. A lesser known club will keep costs low to attract new members and, in some cases, will do a far better job in the hope of gaining a good reputation that will encourage new students to help the club expand.

When it comes to assessing the costs of learning the martial arts the new student should assess the benefits of each individual instructor on merit and not be influenced into thinking that a higher tuition fee means a better standard of instruction. In conclusion, the first thing to take into account is that the fees and costs involved should be looked at with regard to benefits and teaching levels and always remember that you do not always get what you pay for.

Warm Up It is an unwritten rule in all the sporting activities, which require physical effort, to warm the body up first before attempting anything too strenuous. In the case of the martial arts that include high kicking methods the need to warm and stretch the

leg ligaments is vital as kicking from a cold start can pull and rip tendons and ligaments very easily.

tempting these exercises but there is an alternative that some may not have thought about or fully considered.

Many clubs will take the students through a set routine of exercises at the very start of a training session so as to help avoid ligament damage and to help perform the various striking and kicking techniques much better than when the body is cold and stiff.

There are those however who say that to perform specific leg stretching exercises at the very start of a training session when the legs are stiff and cold will result in the students finding these leg flexibility routines hard and painful to a degree.

There will always be varying degrees of discomfort experienced by the new beginner when at-

After warming the body in the general waist, arms and neck areas then move on to soft and slow combat technique training. Limiting kicks to no higher than the waist area and performing all the various basic blocks and strikes without the use of speed or power will warm the body further and through the simple act of moving, walking and performing low kicks will warm the leg ligaments better for when next moving on to attempting any full-on leg stretching exercises rather than attempting to stretch the legs from a totally cold start.

Although the new beginner will still experience discomfort when attempting stretching exercises further into the lesson it should be less noticeable than attempting this requirement from cold at the very start of the lesson period.

Some combat styles such as Wing Chun Kung Fu which specialise in close combat and low kicking methods does not require the need to stretch the legs to improve high kicking flexibility but all stretching exercises for both the legs and the general body area should be practised on a regular basis and not neglected.

When the training session is drawing to a close, normally the remaining fifteen minutes or so, the instructors should then be thinking about the cooling down period of the lesson. This can be done in a number of ways such as focusing on any technical points or questions that the students have practised during the lesson rather than performing any physically demanding workouts or any high level technique training.

Practising simple wrist release or arm locking methods is a good way of cooling down as this does not require high levels of effort if restricted to simple and basic techniques.

Stretching the leg and groin ligaments to improve the range of movement in the kicking leg is not a natural function. You can go all through your life and never need to increase the range of movement in the legs, it is only when you need to kick high that this unnatural exercise becomes a vital requirement. Children normally have very little problem with leg and groin stretching techniques because their bodies are naturally soft and flexible in the joints as they are still developing but for the adult who will lose this elasticity as they get older the need for caution against ligament damage through incorrect stretching procedures is important. If you attend a martial art club that specialises in the striking arts like kung fu, karate and kickboxing and the instructors do not take you through body and leg stretching routines on a regular basis then this is often to do with the fact that the instructors are idle minded and cannot be bothered. If they do take you through these warm-up routines but do not do it themselves and only stand and watch then it would be advisable to seek out a better instructor that will teach and lead by example.

The traditional Horse Stance can be used to practice the many and various blocking and striking methods including the basic Corkscrew Punch, in addition, this stance can also be used to practice the internal exercises like â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;pushing handsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. This stance is also used when performing the traditional Thrust Punch attack technique or breathing exercises as part of a cooling down period.

A good and fast way to warm the body, both at the start and at any time during the main part of the training session, is to do squats, sit-ups and press-ups as these muscle developing routines do not involve any form of ligament stretching. Another good way to get a sweat on is the practice of the set forms which is a very good way of building stamina. Any physical workout like jogging or sprinting at a moderate pace will help warm-up the body without the risk of pulling any ligaments if done in a sensible way.

Although there are those who would have use believe that practising or teaching meditation techniques requires specialist tuition, in truth any adopted method of relaxing the body and the mind is just as good so long as the person can feel positive benefit from it. A good meditation period is normally around fifteen to thirty minutes in duration, although it can vary a lot depending on the individualsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; requirements. Sometimes a short five minute session can be just as beneficial as a long focused period.

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Stepping Stones The ideal way of cooling down at the end of a training session is to practice a simple meditation routine with the instructors but this is often neglected in many, if not all, the various combat clubs for several various reasons.

Some instructors will neglect this training exercise in favour of using the time to practice sparring or some other combat training routine because they think that this item lacks value, but in most cases, this mental discipline is disregarded by the instructors who do not know how to do it or think that it is a specialised item that requires them to be especially trained in before they can teach others.

Many people believe that meditation is all about sitting cross-legged on the floor and dozing off to sleep but although the classical way of meditating is to sit cross-legged on the floor this is not a rule that is set in stone and the belief that you just simply let the mind wander until you fall into a nice relaxing sleep is far from the truth. The following is a meditation technique that can easily be learned and practised at anytime.

The first stage is to position oneself in a good comfortable position that can be in the classical cross-legged position or even in a comfortable chair. Choosing a lying down position is also acceptable but will restrict the deep breathing aspect of the procedure. Having positioned yourself make sure that you do not need to scratch your nose or something else that will break your concentration during the meditation cycle as this will require you to return to the start of the procedure all over again.

Now in a good comfortable position commence the procedure by closing your eyes and taking big concentrated deep breaths. When taking these deep breaths avoid just breathing from the throat that we all tend to do throughout the day, (shallow breathing), but breathe in and push the air into the pit of your stomach and then breathe out after holding the breath for a few scant seconds until all of that single breath is forced out completely. Repeat this initial first stage procedure several times before you return to breathing in a more natural way. When performing deep breaths and when breathing more naturally in a relaxed way remember to always breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth.

The next stage is then to focus your physical senses on the things that are nearby. Focus your hearing on the smallest of sounds that you can detect that are near to you, focus your sense of touch on the smallest or slightest of breezes that comes into contact with your skin and also focus on any smells that you can detect within the room. Feel the sweat dripping down your face and feel the sweat running down your body, (if you have just done a physical workout), but resist the urge to move and wipe the sweat away but instead remind yourself that this sweating

action is your body’s way of automatically cooling you down which is exactly what you want. During this point of the procedure you must resist the urge to move in anyway.

The slightest movement of your leg, body or arm will mean that you have broken the vital need to remain perfectly still and you will need to restart the entire procedure again. Although you must remain still throughout the entire meditation cycle, and that also includes not moving your finger tip even in the slightest way, you can of course move your chest when breathing otherwise if you stop breathing you would end up passing out instead of felling relaxed - of course.

If you have completed this part of the exercise in the correct way then you will have now become detached from your physical self without even realising it because your mind will be focused on your senses and not your body. This can easily be compared to the fact that no one can detect or be aware of the precise moment in time when you fall to sleep and that you are completely unaware that you are indeed asleep until you wake up.

In the case of meditation however you are not asleep but you are instead fully awake and actively using your mind to concentrate on the sounds and smells around you without the time to think about your physical body. It is for this specific reason that it is vital to remain per-

fectly still during and throughout the entire procedure. At this stage in the proceedings you should now expand your search of sounds and smells to outside of the room that you are in and attempt to detect even the faintest of sounds from far away. This exercise of the senses is to help you forget your physical self and clear your mind of the normal day-to-day things that go constantly through our minds by focusing on the task in hand. There is no set time period for each of these stages as each individual will assess for themselves when it is time to move on to the next level and will in part consciously do so in an easy transitional way.

The final level can be thought of as a game for the mind and is the very level that will put you into a deep period of physical and mental relaxation. This stage involves you picturing yourself as a drawing or cartoon character standing at the top of a bottomless flight of stone steps or stairs.

Viewed in your mind from a side or angled position on a television screen or if you prefer viewed in your mind as if you were looking down this never ending flight of stairs you then proceed to take one step down the stairs every time you feel more relaxed.

Repeating this procedure you then progress down the never ending flight of stairs as you become more deeply relaxed, but without cheating on yourself, you must also take one step backup the stairs when you feel any tension whatsoever.

When you feel it is time to end this meditation period simply open your eyes and slowly give yourself a stretch in the same way that you would if coming out of a long sleep.

It will be at this stage that you will be aware that you did in fact lose contact with your physical self as you start to move again but did not realise it during the procedure. Hopefully you are now both physically and mentally more relaxed and the mind is clearer after your meditation period. You can now stand up and welcome yourself back into reality. Due to the main part of this meditation procedure which involves stepping down a flight of stairs or stone steps I have called this exercise the ‘Stepping Stones Meditation Technique’. With practice this simple relaxation technique will enhance the health of your mind and body and it will not do your soul any harm either.

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CHATTERBOX With Kerry-Louise Norbury

I am 14 years old and a points fighting British champion. However my training has gone stale and as I am getting older I am wanting a new challenge so I have started light continuous with the idea of eventually doing a ring sport, probably full contact. I am finding it hard to say the least. I am now doubting the change in style so I’m asking for some advice from you as I remember you saying in a previous article that you used to fight in points when you were younger. Did you have the same problems? Have you any tips for the change over?

It’s funny you have asked this question as we have one of our students doing the exact same transition and she is also finding it hard! I remember myself just how hard it was to convert from points to full contact even from full to k1 was hard going. It is not easy but if it’s a challenge your after the you have got it! The first thing you have to remember is no matter how good you are you will get hit and his is probably the hardest thing to comprehend as you have spent your whole fighting career training not to get hit in other words, to score and not to be scored on. The next thing is staying in and working close quarter techniques plus working them in combinations which will all be new to you and will take some time to perfect. The best advice I’d to either look at other light

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continuous fighters in your club and see what they are doing different to you or look at videos at others to see what you can pick up not forgetting there is two types of light continuous fighting.

The mat style of continuous and the ring style of light contact kickboxing the latter will be more beneficial if you want to convert to full contact as basically it is full contact rules just lighter contact where as the first one has a lot of point fighting attributes which will not help you much when entering the ring sports. Good luck and keep up the training it’s worth it!

I am due to take my black belt soon but I am struggling to work out how to train for it. The grading is 4 hours long and very intense and don’t know where to start. Can you give me some advice please?

The problem with our sport is it is an endurance sport but also an explosive sport. At the moment I am training for my kru grade in Thai boxing which will be 5 hours long and I had forgotten how to train for anything other than fighting and i had to really think about it. Obviously 99% of people can not train 5 hours a day so training has to be condensed.

Running- run for 1 hour but add interval training into the run so for example run for 10km but every kilometre do interval sprints and then run for a kilometre. In this you have interval work but also indurance.

You can do the same with bag/ pad

work train your techniques over 3-4 minutes and do them all with little rest between sets. Hopefully this will work for you the rest is mind set and correct nutrition. Good luck!

I am 37 year old and I have been doing kickboxing with my 2 boys to motivate them as I think it’s important. I started not knowing anything about kickboxing but I am really enjoying it and wouldn’t mind having a fight not to be a world champion or anything but just for me to have a goal and hopefully achieve a win or 2! Do you think I have left it too late?

Not at all! If you are doing a ring sport make sure your coach matches you up with someone the same age group and experience as you. It is no good having a young whippersnapper at 18 as naturally they will be more supple and agile that you. For most organisations the age limit for ring sports is 40-45 years however if you are doing light contact sports the age limit is around 50. In light contact you will find there are veteran sections Nd some times beginner sections to allow the more mature and the less experienced fighters to have a go without being out of their depth. Have a go you have nothing to lose just make sure your coach matches you fairly and get training!!

I have notice that some people don’t really see points fighters as serious athletes where as they do for the ring sports fighters I don’t fight personally but surely points fighters have rigorous training too?

Of course all styles of martial arts at competition level require a great deal of training and I am a firm believer in you only get out of something what you put in. Unlike ring sport style, points fighters require a lot of flexibly and agility training along with fast reactions and good foot work. I have competed at points and I will be honest and say the amount of fitness work and time training in the

gym for myself has tripled compared to the amount I did back then but that doesn’t mean I didn’t train hard.

As with all sports there are certain aspects you have to get perfect to win top level fights. The styles are totally different for example if you asked a kickboxer to fight points they most likely would be slow and not score on the points fighter. however if you reversed the roles the kickboxer would over power and trap the opposition.

Do you think the modern martial arts discipline is as beneficial as the more traditional arts and why don’t we see as much around?

Many years ago I did Shotokan karate and recently I have wanted to take it back up but I cannot find a club in our area.

When I first started martial arts I started in Wado Ryu and took my first belt however Cris Janson Piers evolved his club and changed it to freestyle karate but still with katas and the Japanese counting etc.

Unfortunately people want a more street wise style and people who want to fight prefer the full contact styles and so do audiences. I have a great deal of respect for traditional karate exponents and i owe a lot of my ways to karate. but even

kickboxing has changed more to k1 and MMA. Now days there is no bowing as you enter and leave the dojo or “Sensei” but I still believe there is huge respect for coaches and trainers from their students.

There will still be classes around but certainly not as many.

I weighed in the other month before a fight that was Arranged at 60kg but they wouldn’t let me fight because I weighed in at 62.5kg and I couldn’t get the weight off, can you give me some advice for the future if it happens again please.

Ok first thing make sure you hit your weight prior to the weigh in! You are at a big disadvantage if you have to lose weight on the day with risk of dehydration that you most likely wont be able to replenish before you enter the ring.

However if this doesn’t happen make sure you have a skipping rope Some warm clothes preferably a sweat suit.

If there is a sauna then that would be perfect as you can lose water weight with not much effort. You need to think about your health cutting weight is safe as long as you do it correctly get your diet right and plan for 1kg per week so say you have 3

kg to lose give yourself 4 weeks so you have 1 weeks safety net. If you haven’t got much body fat maybe you should think of fighting a weight up?

Why don’t more Thai boxers fight k1 and vice versa?

Speaking from a k1 fighters point of view and I’m sure this is what Thai boxers think. If you look at the techniques used in both the styles there is not much difference (apart from obvious elbows!) however the big problem is the scoring difference is miles apart. I know in k1 the judges are looking for variation in techniques good boxing, kicking and clinch work with no 1 technique scoring more highly than the other. In Thai it doesn’t work like that body kicks score highly as do strikes to the back. damage to the opponent is also a big scorer. as well as that traditionally Muay Thai is a slower pace that k1 due to the fact Muay Thai is a style where as k1 is a system meaning there is many styles that have formed k1. I would love to fight Thai but for me to do that I know my style would have to changed in order for the judges to go in my favour.

THE BUNBUN SERIES

By Mike Finn

The Journey, Path,

and Destination

part 8

I began martial arts around 1954, went by train across Siberia to Japan in 1968, there I studied with many of JapanĂ­s leading masters. I could not afford to go back to Japan till the 1980Ă­s 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.

My early Tomiki Aikido training began at the London Judo Society in 1959, under Senta Yamada when he brought this style to Britain. Before going to Japan, I also studied under John Waite. During 1968 to 1970

Finn Sensei Training in Tomiki Aikido in the 1980â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

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I trained with Oba sensei at the Gaienmae dojo, and Tomiki sensei at Waseda University in Tokyo.

In the formative years master Tomiki developed basic hand and footwork, as well as the jugohon no kata (basic 15 forms). This kata was composed of three striking forms, four elbow forms, and eight wrist techniques. In the early 1960s the 15 gave way to the new junanahon no kata (basic 17 forms). This new kata consisted of five striking forms, five elbow forms, four wrist forms, and three floating throws.

This was considered a safe kata on which to base the competitive tanto system he was developing.

I studied both kata and retained both forms as taught to me by sensei Yamada, sensei Oba, and master Tomiki. In respect of the basic 17, there have been various changes over the years, even today this kata is still undergoing transition. This is a natural process and if one can avoid any pedantic criticisms, then the value of the form will remain in tact. One of the great virtues of this kata is often overlooked, because, unlike many forms that have been developed over the years, within this kata there are responsive paired forms. By this I mean that one

technique will be performed for what it is, then the following technique deals with the response to resistance by the opponent.

The techniques within the kata that are paired are: (a) gyaku gamae ate - gedan ate. (b) oshi taoshi - ude gaeshi. (c) hiki taoshi - ude hineri. (d) kote hineri - kote gaeshi. (e) mae otoshi - sumi otoshi. are all what I term as responsive and work in harmony with their previous technique. This is not to be confused with the randori no kata counters, where tori attacks, uke performs the technique and tori counters them. In that case tori is countering an attack made against him. In randori no kata, tori is using a combination technique in response to the resistance of uke.

Here is an outline of the combinations used in randori no kata: (a) after you have applied gyaku gamae ate, you attempt the same again but the opponent blocks, then in response to this, you execute gedan ate. (b) you have applied oshi taoshi, next you begin to apply the same technique but feel responsive resistance and flow with it using ude gaeshi. (c) you have just executed hiki taoshi, as you try this again, the opponent pulls back and you flow with this,

using ude hineri. (d) you have just performed kote hineri, as you try this again you feel the opponent resist, then, flowing with the resistance use kote gaeshi. (e) you have just completed mae otoshi, you begin to repeat this and your opponent pulls away, flowing with the direction of his arm, you effect sumi otoshi.

All of the describes techniques develop a sensitivity to the opponents subtle change of movement, but if the kata are performed as if these techniques are not related, then the immense value of their application is lost. Uke must resist at the logical and appropriate moment, it is for tori to feel this change and respond by flowing with the direction of resistance, turning it to their advantage.

In this sense the kata becomes one that is the same, but ever changing, being re-born with intuitive movement each time it's practiced.

No matter what style, karate, kendo, aikdo etc, the kata should be a living text book that the exponent carries with them in their mind. Each training session, a kata should be improved upon, not just externally, but internally as well. The kata is a dynamic and powerful learning aid, provided the student knows how to nurture it. The alternative is to let it stagnate into a malignant and repetitive sequence that has to be performed each week with boring monotony. Unless such training is an inter-relationship with your personal development and skill level, then in my opinion it will have little value.

Within the Tomiki randori no kata, some of the resistance and counterresistance movements are so subtle that they are experience by the exponents, rather than seen by the observer. It is the experience of changing circumstances at this level, that are eventually perceived on an intuitive plane. In this way free style practice can become more spontaneous and more rewarding.

I am very than grateful that the masters I trained with in Japan opened my awareness to the subtle as well as the obvious. The randori no kata of Tomiki Aikido has a rich undertone that evokes the hidden subtleties of older kata.

See club directory - www.elite-int.com or Mike Finn Martial Arts Youtube

a) Gyaku Gamae Ate

a) Gedan Ate

b) Oshi Taoshi

b) Ude Gaeshi

c) Hiki Taoshi

c) Ude Hineri

d) Kote Hineri

d) Kote Gaeshi

e) Mae Otoshi

e) Sumi Otoshi

WWW.COMBATMAG.CO.UK COMBAT 29

COMBAT FILM

www.mod-life.net

By Phil Hobden

Conan The Barbarian Reviewed by Mike Parkin After his tribe is massacred and his father is murdered by the evil warlord Khalar Zym, a young Conan flees, vowing to avenge his father. Many years pass before he stumbles upon one of the Warlord’s men and finds out where he will be. Meanwhile, Zym and his witch daughter Marique are seeking a “pureblood” who will activate a mystical mask and resurrect his dead wife… Believe it or not, but this actually starts off pretty well, with a race through a wintery forest followed by a very bloody fight scene. Then things slowly go downhill, as the plot becomes a series of illogical stepping stones. I can’t fault Jason Momoa as Conan, and Stephen Lang is pretty good as the cartoonish main villain. But how can you take a film in which a battlebarge, being pulled up a mountain by elephants is able to take a city by surprise?

Action 3/5 Film 2/5 If you like this, try: Conan the Barbarian (original), Pathfinder, The Thirteenth Warrior

Abduction Review by Will Strong Directed by John Singelton (Boyz and The Hood, Shaft) and featuring a stellar supporting cast (Alfred Molina, Sigourney Weaver, Jason Issacs and Maria Bello) the signs initially look good for Abduction. Sadly five minutes in this is not the case. The story is a rip off of Bourne and Mr and Mrs Smith, the action is boring and intermittent, Singleton brings no excitement to proceedings and with the notable exception of Jason Isaacs, its all very poorly acted.

Speaking of acting – who in their right mind gave Taylor Lautner his own movie? Here is an actor so devoid of charisma, charm and range he makes Steven Seagal look like Al Pacino.

His performance brings the entire proceedings to a standstill, not once do we care about his character and he fails on every level to bring any life to this damp squib of a movie. Obviously this film was meant to appeal to the legions of tweenie “Team Jacob” fans who regularly flock in their droves to see Lautner rip his shirt off at every opportunity in the dire Twilight movie series. Seeing how it was total box office bomb when released last year, one can only hope that this is the last we will see of him.

Film 1/5 Action 2/5 If you liked this try: the Twilight films

Mortal Kombat Legacy Reviewed by Mike Parkin Over seven 15 minute episodes, Mortal Kombat: Legacy introduces the major characters of the video game series in a new, gritty and thoroughly entertaining style. Episodes 1&2 deal with Jax and Sonya Blade’s attempt to take down arms dealer Kano. Episode 3 shows how washed up martial arts actor Johnny Cage gets involved in the MK tournament. Eps 4&5 deal with Kitana’s upbringing and gives insight into what is at stake with the tournament. Episode 6 is Lord Raiden’s misadventure on his way to the tournament while episodes 7 & 8 chronicle the rivalry between Skorpion and Sub-Zero.

Considering the previous attempts to make a movie franchise out of the Mortal Kombat series, this is much more successful, and it’s episodic nature means they’re not forced to cram every thing and everyone into one story – yet. Hopefully a second series might show us the start of the actual tournament. There’s plenty of fight action in these episodes though, thanks in part to Larnell Stovall (fight choreographer for Undisputed 3 amongst others). Of the stories themselves, the first is a lot of fun but my favourites are Johnny Cage and Raiden. Kitana’s story is the weakest, overly narrated and incorporating cheap animation.

Action 4/5 Film 4/5 If you liked this try: Undisputed 2 & 3, Blood and Bone, Twelve 30 COMBAT WWW.COMBATMAG.CO.UK

Warrior Review by Phil Hobden Warrior is a glossy, big budget MMA movie that wants to be what the Fighter was to boxing films. And it is… but not quite how the filmmakers wanted. Okay let’s get this out the way…. It’s not a bad film. Far from it. It’s polished, well made and brilliantly acted. My issues is, much like The Fighter, it seems to have ridden a wave a critical acclaim that leads you to believe it’s better than it actually is. The biggest problem for me, other than it’s a touch too long, is the fights themselves, which have a very ‘action film’ feel as apposed to a realistic feel which took me out of the action every time there was a pro-wrestling style super slam or JCVD kick. More over it’s as predictable as hell, with the final act being given away almost from the first few scenes. These issues aside, I wasn’t bored and so far it’s probably the best MMA movie to date and Tom Hardy was superb.

Film 3/5 Action 2/5 If you liked this try: The UFC, Never Back Down, The Fighter Fright Night Reviewed by Mike Parkin Ex-geek Charlie Brewster is convinced by his still-geek friend Ed that his hunky new neighbour Jerry is in fact a vampire, who is feasting his way through their sleepy suburban estate, and brings in renowned vampire expert and Illusionist Peter Vincent to help. A remake of a revered 80’s classic, this works very well indeed. It stays relatively faithful to the original premise but shoots off at a tangent and brings it’s own thrills to the table. Anton Yelchin can still convince as a teen, Colin Farrell is a bundle of sleazy twitchiness early on until the façade is dropped, then he becomes a swaggering monster. Meanwhile David Tennant has the time of his life as Peter Vincent, a cross between Russel Brand and Chris Angel. The tone is consistently darkly comic, even in it’s most tense scenes – a difficult task to pull off. There are a few moments which pander to the 3D format, which stick out a bit when watching in normal 2D, but mostly these are fun rather than intrusive.

Action 4/5 Film 4/5 If you like this, try: Suburbia, Stakeland, Near Dark

COMPETITION...

This month we have 3 Copies of Horror film SHARK NIGHT 3D to give away. To win this great prize all you have to do is answer this simple question:

Which of these ISN’T an actual film? a) Jaws b) Piranha 3DD c) Deadly Squid

All you have to do is send your answer to:

sharknight3d@martialartsinprint.co.uk

COMBAT FILM

www.mod-life.net

By Phil Hobden

Mercenaries Review by Daniel Gibberd The UN recruits a group of mercenaries to extricate a hostage from a sensitive situation in the Balkans. However, stumbling upon a mass killing, things soon spiral out of control. Paris Leonti’s direction is largely very good, particularly in dramatic scenes, but the action sequences are less than stellar. Sadly, it’s with the script that things fall down with generally unbelievable scenes such as moving through enemy territory at night whilst indulging in a lively debate. Characterisation is lacking, and you don’t really know or care about the mercenaries to any real extent. Not even subtle, Predator-style differentiation via personal habits, differing uniform or weaponry choices.

It’s a passable timekiller in spite of its faults, but one you’ll probably prefer to rent than own.

Film 3/5 Action 2/5 You may also like: Behind Enemy Lines, Daylight Robbery Columbiana Reviewed By Mike Parkin

After seeing her parents murdered by a drug cartel, young Cataleya escapes to the US, seeks out her uncle and asks him to train her to become a killer. Eighteen years later, and Cataleya is bumping off key members of the cartel. When she allows her lover to get too close, an error in judgement brings not only the FBI but the Cartel right to her doorstep. This is exactly the kind of film we’ve come to expect from producer Luc Besson – good quality action decorating a rather thin plot with thin characters on top. Zoe Zaldana is great though, there’s a thrilling-if not quite believable-parkour sequence early on and a fun, one-sided gunfight towards the end. There are some great set-ups, such as the sharks in the pool and the pair of attack dogs, but a lot of inherent silliness, such as the FBI agent who refuses to believe a woman is capable of killing so many people.

Film 3/5 Action 4/5 If you like this, try: La Femme Nikita, Taken, District 13 Phil’s Quick Capsule Review (including some film’s you may have missed) YOUNG BRUCE LEE (DVD) 9th Jan - Bruce Lee. When he was young. Add lots of action and a dash of salt. TROLL HUNTER (DVD/BR) 9th Jan - Superb mock doc film about a world where giant trolls are real. No really. Actually this one is well worth a watch.. superb. FACES IN THE CROWD (DVD) 9th Jan - Timothy Olyphant (Justified) starts in this tale of a man with a score to settle. Takes law into own hands. All very Walking Tall... WWE Hell In A Cell (BR/DVD)

16th Jan - If it’s your thing then the latest WWE release is available now with big men in tights beating other big men in tights up in the ring. Or something. This time out with added ‘steel’ cage. THE SCARLET BLADE & THE BRIGAND OF KANDAHAR (DVD) 16th Jan - Hammer classics ahoy as these two are released finally arrive on shiny DVD. Oliver Reed stars in both. From StudioCanal so at least the release will be of good quality. HOSTEL 3 (DVD/BR) 23rd Jan - If 1 & 2 weren’t good enough they have only released another one. More blood, gore and bloody gore abounds.

JUMPING THE BROOM (DVD/BR) 23rd Jan - Angela Bassett stars in this star studded rom com “which explores the universal themes of love, passion and family...”. Pass. SHARK NIGHT 3D (DVD/BR) 23rd Jan - With a lack of gore, nudity and shocks this film would need a superb story to make it work. It doesn’t. BEFORE THE FALL (DVD) 23rd Jan - Inspired by true events looking into the military schools set up by Adolf Hitler. Acclaimed worldwide, arrives on DVD this month. ROLLING THUNDER (BR) 30th Jan - Classic starring Tommy Lee Jones, Linda Haynes & William Devane. Absolutely no relation to the also classic 1980’s spectrum game. Both well worth getting... STAY COOL (/DVDBR) 30th Jan - which is more than can be said for the dire Hilary Duff vehicle Stay Cool. We watch these so you don’t have to. CASH (/DVDBR) 30th Jan - Jean Reno in another direct to DVD action/thriller, this time about a thief who specialises in grand scales jobs. NINJA BATTLE (DVD) 6th Feb - Seiji Chiba returns with another dose of period Ninja madness full of twists, turns and of course… Ninjas! GANTZ 2: PERFECT ANSWER (DVD) 6th Feb - Based on the hit Manga series, arrives on DVD as a double pack that contains the original movie. PENITENTIARY (DVD) 13th Feb - A grindhouse cinema original and Blaxploitation cult classic, Penitentiary DBD arrives with the added bonus of Penitentiary 2 as a special feature. DON’T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK (DVD/BR) 20th Feb - Katie Holmes in a film written

by Guillermo Del Toro and directed by Troy Nixey, a well crafted supernatural horror movie.

32 COMBAT WWW.COMBATMAG.CO.UK

Never Back Down 2 (15, DVD) Reviewed by Matt Duddy

Behind the closed doors of a seemingly normal college, some of the student population are preparing to take part in the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Beatdownâ&#x20AC;?, a no holds barred underground MMA competition.

Four students from varying backgrounds, each with their own personal and emotional problems persuade a former MMA star to help train them. When all four are the remaining contestants, they will have to put aside personal friendships and loyalties to be crowned the Beatdown champion. Directed by and starring Michael Jai White, this is a far better film than the original, the cast is populated by MMA fighters (Lyoto Machida, Scottie Epstein and Todd Duffee) who prove they have some acting chops.

The fights are savage and realistic enough to leave the viewer with the taste of blood in their mouth.

Action 4/5 Film 4/5 If you liked this, try; Never Back Down, Redbelt, Beatdown

for every

COMBAT HELPLINE With Master Jake Ogden

info@jakeogden.co.uk - www.jakeogden.co.uk www.wjo.org.uk - jakeogden.blogspot.com

martial arts

Welcome back to my column and again, thank you for all of the emails and questions.

A few months ago, I wrote an article on why some people stay in martial arts and possible reasons why some may leave. In relation to this I received lots of questions and was asked to write more on the subject so I have jotted a few notes below for your perusal.

Over the years martial arts has changed so many people’s lives. It is not only a physical activity and form of exercise; it can provide so much more for people. Through my experience many non-martial arts people associate all martial arts as aggressive and violent.

Many people’s opinions are that it increases aggression and encourages people to engage in volatile behaviour. I have spoke to people how’s general attitude is “my son/daughter is already aggressive and getting involved in fights as it is. Therefore I do not want to send them somewhere that encourages this type of behaviour”. I have also heard people saying “violence is not the answer my child is not a violent person so I disagree with the whole martial arts and fighting scenario. I’m sure we are all aware, martial arts is not all about fighting and volatile behaviour but very often this is the common connotation to the person that has never looked at martial arts properly and also how they vary.

PE curriculum. They have been and still are extremely successful to this date; however, it was not always straight forward in getting these clubs into the schools when we first approached them. In the early days of trying to set up school related clubs I had many conversations with head teachers who hated the idea of having a martial arts club within their school. They though it would result in violence and carnage in the playground. Once I had explained the concept in more detail of what I was trying to achieve through martial arts and how it could help their pupils in terms of attention span, respect, self confidence, being responsible for their actions etc; I was able to change their opinions and concepts of martial arts. This was not an easy job and in some cases I had to deliver a presentation in-front of the governors before they would make a decision but I was adamant that martial arts could help some of the children attending the school and I was eventually successful in my quest.

I have been involved in numerous ‘before’ and ‘after’ school martial arts clubs that fall in-line with the national

I am aware that some martial arts are more ‘hardcore’ and ‘reality based’ than others and may not be suitable

34 COMBAT WWW.COMBATMAG.CO.UK

for certain sectors of the population; however, there are also some that are not as ‘hardcore, reality based’ and have more emphasis on discipline, teamwork, individual progress and being responsible etc.

The important thing is understanding why people want to take part in martial arts, what they get from it and how they will benefit. Why does it make some people feel good? What it is that martial arts can really offer people and why do so many people get so much from it. I broke it down into bite-size chunks and realised that good quality martial arts can totally fulfil human basic needs. Now, I’m not talking about fighting needs or aggressive needs, I’m talking about essential

one

COMBAT HELPLINE With Master Jake Ogden

needs for optimum health mentally and physically – the 6 basic human needs. We all share something in common as humans and that is the need to feel good! That ‘inner satisfaction’ that is ‘o’ so often lost or indeed never found within, for some individuals. Martial arts can evoke all of the feel good factors that humans crave for essential sanity and psychological well-being.

A good martial arts class should provide environments that can cater for all of these needs. If all of the basic human needs are met through martial arts and martial arts classes, clubs will be packed with happy students. The happier the students the more successful the club will be in terms of attendance, retention and achievement.

Here are the six basic human needs to feel good: • • • • • •

Certainty/comfort Variety Significance Connection Growth Contribution

1) Certainty We all need certainty to an extent, otherwise we begin to lose faith.

When signing up to a martial arts clubs its important that students can

36 COMBAT WWW.COMBATMAG.CO.UK

info@jakeogden.co.uk - www.jakeogden.co.uk www.wjo.org.uk - jakeogden.blogspot.com

be certain that the club will be on every week and the instructor will be there delivering every week or regularly for them to learn. There must also be that certainty that the instructor will be teaching the right thing in the correct way that suits the students within the class. The need for certainty is imperative in order to forge trust.

I know we can never have absolute certainty in everything we do, but people want certainty that they are with the correct club with the right instructor to suit their needs. If they have this piece of mind the first human need is met.

2) Variety As well as having certainty, we also crave variety paradoxically. Variety to combat staleness and boredom and inject excitement. We need varying activities, different levels and gradings, differentiation in abilities and variety in techniques to provide spice and adventure. We need this to keep the spark in our training and learning environment, which is what creates excitement. Variety is en essential need.

3) Significance No matter who you are, where you are from or what you look like. We all crave significance; the feeling of being important or part of something.

We want our life to have meaning and significance. For a person to be in the mind-set that their life is not worth anything is a terrible place to be. Martial arts can and should evoke feelings of welcoming, with the instructor making people feel important and worth something whether they are beginners, intermediates or advanced students.

If people feel significant another basic need is met and positive feelings will be at the forefront of the students mindset. Not to memtion the fact that like minded individuals are all trainig together and belong to something positive.

4) Connection People congregate together in all walks of life. Being part of a community/ group is an essential human need. The need to be part of something bigger, we want to be cared for and cared about and that piece of mind is invaluable when going for gradings, entering competitions, sparring and the general class/club environment.

Whilst training, knowing that the person next to you is going through the same thing can help to motivate people to keep going and not give in. When the going gets tough for one the going gets tough for all and it is that cohesion that helps people pull through.

The martial arts uniform is visible sign of connection whether it is a Gi, Dobok or T-shirt. It plays a huge part in this connection and togetherness, which is all so important in the connection thought process of the human needs.

5) Growth.

Many students that walk through my door say, “ I want to do martial arts but I’m not interested in grading! I only want to do the basics”. Which I reply “that’s fine, come in and have ago”. As they start to train they see improvements over a period of time. They are soon able to perform the basic techniques with relative ease and yearn for more after being impressed by their own ability and progress. They improve further and ask for more, they want to grow and to be stretched physically and mentally. The need to want to excel in some form or another is innate “when people are green they grow, but when they are ripe they rot”.

Admittedly the want to be excel is more evident in some than others but by-and-large the need for growth is in all of us and serves as another basic need.

6) Contribution.

As people become more apt at what they are doing the desire to contribute something of valueâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;to help others becomes more prominent. Most instructors can remember the first martial arts class they attended and how they felt: apprehensive, anxious etc. But, after training for a few months or even years the want to contribute by assisting, giving advice, hints and tips or helping somebody, becomes inherent. Personally speaking, I did not start martial arts to become an instructor. I started martial arts to feel better about myself and instructing came as a bi-product from wanting to contribute as I became more experienced in martial arts. The feeling that comes from knowing you have contributed to help make somebody feel better or become better at something gives us a feeling of usefulness. This in-tern massages the essential need of contribution which is the final element to the six basic human needs.

As you can see above martial arts can cater for the six human needs.

If the human needs are met by the class/club students will be dedicated and happy which manifests into successful classes and clubs.

Ask yourself a few simple questions to see if your club caters for your students basic needs? If it does then great! If not, maybe some changes need to be put in place. Meeting human needs are vital in creating happy students, which without would lead to no students training at all.

If you have any more questions on this matter please do not hesitate to contact me direct.

Until next time â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Always expect the unexpected. Unlock your potential and enjoy your training.

For further details please contact Jake Ogden on 01327 342611

ARMED COMBAT

By David O’Neill

January 2012 heralds the next phase of Armed Combats rise, we have a newly designed a truly awesome logo (see above) that will soon be branded on t- shirts and other merchandise, but Armed Combat will also have its own phone app.

arm wrestling. Included will be a safety talk, which will enable you to learn how injuries occur and how to prepare your arms. Basic techniques, e.g. Forearms positioning and elbow positioning. Training your mind for competitions, attacking and defending moves and complete arm wrestling strategies.

The purpose of this app will be to train anyone in the techniques required to become successful when

This phone app will not only be able to help improve an arm wrestler, but also more importantly will enable

News

beginners to take up this sport safely and accurately, this phone app will also include dates for upcoming tournaments, seminars, guest appearances and official arm wrestling training hosted by our very own former world arm wrestler champion Rod “RAMBO” Lenette.

The app will be available in March 2012.

The Grappler The Grappler is up and running at Kwoklyn Wan’s Club, Urban Martial Arts gym - St John Street, Leicester LE1 3WL (0116 253 8668), weekly Arm Wrestling training is held every Wednesday 8pm til 10pm, so come along to have a go and be trained on the Grappler, one to one coaching to gain further experience on the Grappler is available. Ladies are also very welcome.

TMAS 2012

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The next big event is the Martial Arts Live show Live, which is being held at the NEC on the 12th and 13th May 2012. So come along to join in the competition or to see if you can beat the current British Champion Rod “Rambo” Lenette.

Competition/Event

Future Plans

The next big cash prize competition will be, The Armed Combat British Challenge, held at The Martial Arts Show Live, 12th and 13th May 2012 at the NEC. Competitors will not only be arm wrestling, but will also have the chance to compete on the grappler.

2012 will see myself, Rod and the Armed Combat Team on tour around the country; we will also be visiting schools, gyms and Dojos in your area, teaching the basics of arm wrestling.

A bespoke trophy will be made for the event.

Any companies wishing to be involved or any form of sponsorship, should contact either this magazine or myself dave@armedcombat.co.uk

Branded Clothing Available through the new website shop that is coming soon, based on the new logo, T-shirts and other merchandise are currently being designed. By the end of the year competition standard Arm Wrestling tables will also be available.

Brute force, Stephen Sowah taking it all in his stride

Some dates will be released in next month’s issue.

History The ArmedCombat.co.uk website was established in September 2010 and received over 25,000 hits within the first six months with very little advertising, it is now about to undergo a huge transformation and will not only be a very informative website but will also include our new shop , date TBC

ATHLETE PROFILE Name: Stephen Sowah D.O.B: 29/06/1977 Birth place: Bedford UK Height: 6-6 Weight: 27 St Chest Size: 56” Arm Size: 24” Career Highlight: Becoming the British super heavyweight Champion Ambition: To Reign supreme, Plus to enter the world stage Training Advice: Regular consistent training Other interests/Hobbies: Cars Next Competition: TMAS Live 2012

HONG KONG FILM With Lee Laverne

Hi guys and girls, this month we have a few things that you 100% need to get down in your dairy, Lookout for MA FILMS big screenings of ‘Shaolin invincible sticks’ & ‘Monkey fist floating snake’ both out on January the 20th.

You can check our website for details and information on more up and coming screenings, www.kungfumoviecinema.co.u k .

New releases

Feature profile

Hong Kong news

Arrow films release the slick vampire movie Vampire Warriors starring Yuen Wah, Chin Sui Ho and current it girl cutie Chrisse Chau.

Ricky Hui was one of Hong Kong’s funniest actors that ever lived so it was sad to hear the news of his death on November the 8th from a heart attack.

The release for ‘Princess and Seven Kung Fu Masters’ is very thin on information right now regarding actual storyline etc, but with that aside the word is it’s a kung fu comedy and with such a great kung fu cast such as Samo Hung (Eastern Condors) Yuen Wah (Dragons Forever) old school kung fu hero Bruce Liang (Gallants) we can expect nothing but fireworks.

Its bad vampire Yuen Wah vs good vampires Chrisse and Ho with Jiang Lu Xia stealing the show, she’s like a modern day Yukuri Oshima.

Supporting cast In every film you may recognise a face but just can’t put a name to it. Well we at MA FILM will shine a light on them.

SANDRA NG - Born 1965, age 46, Entertainment career spanning 20 years. Over 100 film and tv shows.

Best actress award in 2003 at the golden horse film festival Taiwan for the movie golden chicken.

Sandra’s career was built on making fun of herself and being picked on and my recommended viewings are Return of the silver fox, Ghostly vixen and The 8 hilarious gods.

Ricky’s career started at Shaw brothers from 1972 to 1976 starring in films such as The Lizard, Rivals of Kung Fu and many more. His big break came in 1975 alongside his brother Sam Hui in The Last Meassage and from here he starred in 61 movies.

In the west he will always be remembered for his fantastic role in the 1985 classic Mr Vampire alongside the late great Lam Ching Ying, any fan or non fan that has not seen this needs to check it out asap, it created a whole new Hong Kong genre.

Ricky Hui, gone but not forgotten.

Our condolences are with his family.

Rest in peace ricky you gave us so much to remember.

Ricky Hui

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This is surely the one to watch out for in 2012.

Competition Every month MA FILM will be holding an exclusive competition and for the lucky winner there is the chance to win a host of fantastic prizes, so to be in with a chance to win all you have to do is answer this simple question...

Which female actress fought the lovely Moon Lee in the 1987 classic Angels?

Send your name and answer to:

hongkongfilm@martialartsinprint.co.uk

Gossip In the latest stateside news Karen mok has been signed up and announced as the female lead in Keanu reeves directional debut Man of Tai chi.

Karen plays a police officer in the movie while Keanu having been coached by Chen hu plays the villain.

Hopefully the fights are far superior to the matrix with less flash editing and cuts.

TMAS Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t forget to come and check out MA FILM at TMAS Live as we will have a stand there to chat and interact and a whole host of other things.

Each month I will keep you up to date of the new MA FILM developments happening leading up to TMAS.

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M AY 1 2 - 1 3 N E C B I R M I N G H A M

Book NOW: For Tickets Call - 0844 338 0338 or Visit www.TheTicketFactory.com www.TheMMAShowLive.com - www.TheMartialArtsShow.com

WE’RE BACK!

& THIS TIME

WE BROUGHT FRIENDS

at the NATIONAL EXHIBITION CENTRE, BIRMINGHAM, UK

Saturday the 12th & Sunday 13th May 2012 Get your tickets now from www.theticketfactory.com

www.themartialartsshowlive.com

miss wor

ld meets gi jane! @

The UK’s 1st all female (Fighting) Fitness competition has at last emerged, ‘Miss Galaxy Universe’ is an all new show focusing on both femininity and functionality, developed by World Fitness Champion Sarah Donohue. Think Miss World meets GI Jane.

Bored of seeing the same bikini and bodybuilding type shows time and time again with nothing new emerging from the wealth of knowledge in the UK fitness arena, Sarah decided that it was time for a shake up and the best way forward was to give women what women want. A longer presence on stage, more glamour, less intimidation as a new competitor, an easier entry into the fitness industry no matter a girls background or age, more confidence, a new way of training, and a place where the girls can get to know each other well in advance of the show itself. Basically a fun environment with great rewards both mentally and physically.

Sarah also wanted to ‘show’ just how hard the girls work to get on that stage, from those who are competitive aiming to win their class, to those who are aiming for a healthier lifestyle and to build confidence. In most UK shows the girls are lucky to get 10 minutes total on stage during the whole day.

With this new plan, Sarah intends to have them on and off stage all day and having a great time doing so, showcasing the girls as athletes and present them both as sportswomen as well as glamorous women.

‘The Galaxy Girls’ would have an early start with weigh-in taking place from 6pm the day before the competition, to 7am the day of. This is a private weigh in and done purely to fix the weight on the bench press discipline which goes off a percentage of body weight. This is the only reason the girls should be dieting down for the competition, and it should be done mainly in the last few days, with water reduction time spent in the sauna, no different to a fighter. A healthy diet is essential and I don’t want the girls eating like a bodybuilder cutting out too many carbs and starving! I want them to have more of a fighter’s diet.

No different than how I win my World Titles. Train hard, eat well. I weigh in at 119.2 lbs, 24hrs later I weigh 136.2 lbs. I am extreme, but it works.

It puts me in the weight category I can smash.

‘We have 11 fitness tests in all, 7 of which are in a circuit. 1 minute on, 1 minute off. Standing Long Jump. Best out of 3 attempts, step-ups, tricep dips, sit-ups, press-ups, skipping, sprint drill. We start with 1 girl on the course, eventually there are 7 girls on the course with 1 more joining and one finishing, every rest period. All girls start on Long Jump and finish on the Sprint drill. This is The Ultimate Fitness Challenge. Then we have the Fitness Skills. The girls will then prepare for 3 disciplines. All will do 1 at a time before moving onto the next.

The first will be Bench press. The second will be 1/2.m high box jump and the 3rd will be a shuttle run. All disciplines have an individual scoring system graded on skill level, age of the competitor and time/reps/distance.

Sarah has developed these during the training camps where 14 girls maximum enjoy a Sunday afternoon training hard, picking up punishment burpees and getting to know each other. These camps are also tailored to the individual and although there may be an accomplished GB sprinter and dancer off the X Factor, both practising fast twitch daily’, Sarah makes sure that those girls who are joining the Galaxy Girls on a different level, can also enjoy the day and be pushed to the max of their ability. In 2013, Sarah intends to bring in an assault course for the girls to tackle.

The camps are run at Hooks Gym, home of the London Shoot Fighters.

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Alexi, owner of shoot fighters says, ‘it’s great to have so many women taking such a keen interest in fitness at this level. They spend all afternoon practising drills and working on plyometrics. Sarah works them pretty hard from what I’ve seen.’

The fitness tests are only one part of the show. The girls are then given plenty of time to prepare for the rest of the day which involves a swimwear round and a very glamorous evening wear. Sarah has split swimwear into several categories as well as age groups. Beach body, Fitness model, Newcomer and Yummy Mummy. But it should be noted that should anyone just want to take part in the fitness and not wear swimwear, there are allowances for this, and vice versa.

Not everything is mandatory. Unlike other shows, this show gives the women a choice. ‘We must account for the fact that some women don’t want to wear a bikini for all sorts of reasons.

And there are some that might only want to wear a bikini but don’t want to do the fitness tests. So we certainly encourage athletes who are fit, but don’t want to be bothered with bikinis’.

‘The beauty about many of the competitions I compete in, over in the USA, is that they are formulated to show the girls at their peak fitness and with great athleticism in their physical abilities and their body shape. What I have developed takes away the

need to diet to stand on stage, the unhealthy living so many bodybuilders and fitness models adopt. Myself having been trained by, in my eyes one of the best conditioning coaches, whose clients include Jess Liaudin (UFC/MMA) understood that my training took care of my body, so if I focused on fitness tests and developing my skills, the shape of my body would become a by-product whist also being multi functional, powerful, explosive and the main one, like a Duracell Bunny. On a bad day I can do over 80 good push-ups in a minute and 50 x ½ metre high box jumps in 42.3 seconds and 60% of my own bodyweight on bench press an easy 50x. The idea is to have a good cross-section of all skills and a high average, as everyone has strengths and weaknesses.

With a coach like mine, he doesn’t allow for any weaknesses, only strengths, so he goes to work on me until my lungs are about to burst, I puke, but even that doesn’t make him back off, or until my training time runs out’.

Sarah doesn’t expect all her girls to adopt this harsh level of training ‘yet’, but once they get a taste for this show, there will be elite girls who are hungry for the main title of ‘The Supreme Champion’. ‘Training to look good is one thing, training for functionality in a sport is entirely different, but as long as all the girls have a great day, learn something new and stay healthy, then my work is complete. It means I can bring on the assault course in 2013!’

Another New Feature...

An International project has just been launched, to find and create the world’s first officially recognised superhero.

“Search for a Superhero” is a competition designed to select an individual who will be trained in the skills necessary to become a bona fide costumed hero.

The competitions judges include: criminal law barrister Jo Sidhu, female private detective Arabella Mazzuki, martial artist Kwoklyn Wan, medical training advisor Jason O’ Flaherty and celebrity publicist Kizzi Nkwocha.

Search for a Superhero is being advised by real-life working superhero, Mr Justice Nkwocha (whose clients have included

Dragons Den entrepreneur Levi Roots and boxer Chris Eubank) said: “There are very few people who have not dreamt of one day becoming a superhero and “Search for a Superhero” is THE chance to turn that dream into a reality.

“Once the correct individual has been chosen, he/she will be trained in martial arts and self defence, crime detection, understanding and applying the Law and given knowledge of first aid.

They will also have their own publicist who will promote their exploits and Mr Justice will be on hand to advise and guide them.

Chris Eubank

The response to the competition so far has been amazing. We have had over two hundred applications already from all over the world simply through word of mouth.

It seems that 2012 will be the year of the superhero.”

To find out more visit the link below and stay tuned to Combat for more details but be sure to take advantage of this fantastic opportunity and you too could be at The Martial Arts Show Live as the Worlds newest “Super Hero”!

The search for a superhero site is at: www.searchforasuperhero.com

Levi Roots

Kizzi Nkwocha

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ky ash

my life is fantasic thanks to martial arts!

Born in Nottingham England Riky Ash started his Kung-Fu career in 1988 by joining Master Vohras Martial Arts School in Nottingham.

With his normal daytime occupation being a Cabinet Maker Riky dedicated all his spare time to his Kung-Fu training, even converting a storeroom at work into a training area so he could practice at lunchtime.

Riky progressed through his grades and in 1989 represented Britain at the German Open in Hannover Germany.

Riky holds the level of being a Sixth degree in Shaolin Kung-Fu Throughout his life, Rikys passion was always to make it in the Movies and after several years of training Riky became a fully qualified Stuntman and was finally welcomed onto The Equity Stunt Register in 1993.

To date Riky has worked on over 500 productions in Television, Feature Films, Music Video’s, And Commercials. He has performed over 1000 stunts and worked as Fight Co-ordinator on many movies and major television programs and his Stunt Company, Falling for You” has grown from Strength To Strength.

When not working hard as a Stuntman, Stunt Co-ordinator & Actor, Yes Riky also acts, you may remember him as “The Tango Man” in the Tango Commercial and on many television programs feature films and commercials, Riky is also a Motivational Speaker and Author.

He was even awarded a place in The 2000 edition of The Guinness Book Of Records for being The World’s Most Versatile Stuntman (who standing at only 5’3’’ tall) he has doubled for every Artistes height from 3’6’’ right through to 6’4’’

Riky puts his amazing success down to his Kung-Fu training and strongly held beliefs in that the Martial Arts are an excellent way for one to build up their personal well-being to a much Healthier Confident and most of all Happier life. “If it was not for taking up Kung-Fu I firmly believe I would still be that quiet shy and negative person I was in my teens” Riky says.

Riky you have an amazing story to tell, one that will inspire anyone who is thinking of taking up Martial Arts, how did it all start for you ?

Riky Ash - My first instructor was Master Tony Vohra from Nottingham where I was born. I used to drive past the school and see the Martial Arts sign and be very tempted to have a look inside but I did not have the courage back then. I remember many times picking up the telephone and dialling the school to enquire about Kung-Fu lessons then putting the telephone down because I was scared of joining.

In January 1988 I decided I had to make the move and make the call as Kung-Fu was something that I wanted to practice for many Years, I am so pleased that I did as it lead onto my amazing Stunt career and changed my life for the better. The best advice I could give to anyone who is contemplating taking up any form of Martial Art and who is currently in the position I was in is to make that call, you will find whatever school you attend everyone has experienced exactly what you are going through as we were all beginner’s once. Everyone will be very helpful and friendly, you will also meet some fantastic people and make some great friends as whilst learn an art that will benefit you both physically and mentally for the whole of your life, provided you practice of course!

How often do you train at Kung-Fu? RIKY ASH: I train weekly and have done since starting Kung-Fu in 1988.

When I started to train for the stunt register I found that my Kung-Fu training helped me so much as I had strength and suppleness which were great assets to my stunt work. As a working Stuntman & Stunt Co-ordinator I do have to fit training in around my work but I manage this very well and I always say, “You can always make time for something you really enjoy”

Why did you chose Shaolin Kung-Fu? RIKY ASH: The truth is I began Kung Fu to learn how to fight, at the time of taking up Shaolin my knowledge was not too great on the Martial Arts and I had no idea what Shaolin Kung-Fu was.

I am not a Sportsman and have no interest whatsoever in any kinds of Sports. However, Kung-Fu really interested me as I have so much respect for dedicated practitioners, as the Art is a very difficult one to master. I suffered bullying and entered a stage in life when I thought I either needed to do something about it or continue suffering a miserable life.

I really do enjoy the Fighting and Destruction aspects of Kung-Fu. When One Free Fights it can be very rewarding to see all the techniques one has learned come to fruition.

With destruction there is a great sense of achievement when you come to realise just how powerful and conditioned your body has become.

What do you believe is needed to become successful at Kung-Fu or any Martial Art? RIKY ASH: To be successful at Kung-Fu or any form of Martial Art, One needs to constantly train, a little bit everyday will bring great rewards in time, be patient as you will have to dedicate your life to your chosen Art if you intend progressing through your grades.

I would say the main physical requirements to be successful as a Kung-Fu practitioner are flexibility, strength and stamina. You need to keep yourself at peak physical fitness coupled with keeping your body fit and healthy. One should never neglect Ones fitness it is like owning a Lamborghini and not properly maintaining it when you come to need it, it will not deliver optimum performance. Maintaining a high level of fitness will reward you in later Years and it will be only then when you will appreciate looking after your greatest asset, Your Body.

I have a simple way of measuring effectiveness with my Kung-Fu, it keeps me happy and healthy that is all that matters to me. I have competed, I have been very successful when competing, I have performed in demonstrations, I have taught, used my Kung-Fu skills in Television & Film, but to me the most important thing is my happiness. If one is happy and healthy everything else just falls into place.

What advice can you give to a new student who is just starting out on their journey into the world of The Martial Arts?

RIKY ASH: I believe it is a combination of Practice, being a very good listener, listen to good advice, also watch others, these are very good ways of learning new skills. Show respect towards your piers (regardless of whether you like them or not) and most of all be patient, you are not going to become good over night, it will take many Years but believe me it will happen if you have dedication.

You need to be dedicated and focused, keep training and rewards will eventually come your way.

What is it like Co-ordinating a Kung-Fu fight for Film & Television?

RIKY ASH: Completely different from the real world of Kung-Fu and fighting. Take for instance, the Kung-Fu fight I Co-ordinated on the BBC Television comedy “Ideal”. For this we had Two Artistes having to perform a Kung-Fu fight in a confined space. The set we were working on was very small so sometimes you have to change a kick to work for camera and you know when you do this, viewers who know how to perform any form or Martial Arts will look and say “That kick was not done properly”. We also have to work with the Director and sometimes they may want something done which is not in keeping with the style of Martial Art you may be portraying. However, it is very enjoyable working either in front of camera performing my KungFu or behind camera Co-ordinating.

What was your first Television / Film job where you were able to use your Kung-Fu? RIKY ASH: It was on a Channel 4 production called “Jo Brand Through the Cake Hole”. It was a comedy sketch show with Jo Brand back in 1994; I played the Role of a scruffy layabout who ends up on an out of control game show hosted by Jo Brand. My character, Young Master Gibson, performed a Jumping reverse crescent kick, knocking another contestant (who was played by a Stuntman) through the scoreboard.

It was an amazing scene when all edited together and I felt very proud that all my hard work it had paid off.

You have recently become an Author how did all that come about?

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RIKY ASH: When I was younger I lacked confidence, was very negative and saw my life going nowhere. My life changed for the better when I began Kung-Fu, it instilled an amazing confidence within me and a very strong positive thought process. I was

often giving people advice and getting some very good feedback from them saying, “What you say really does make sense and work” so I decided to write a book about my thought process and my success, hoping that others out there who lack confidence and need that motivation, would be able to read my life’s events that have lead onto my amazing Stunt Career.

I have a simple theory: If you want your life to be better, leading you onto a much happier and healthier life, then you and only you can make it better; You have to make it happen!

You are also a Motivational & After Dinner speaker, tell our readers a little about that?

RIKY ASH: The After Dinner speaking is mainly about my journey from my days as a Cabinet Maker, to Kung-Fu practitioner which lead onto my amazing work as a Stuntman, working on so many productions and Stunt doubling some amazing

Artists like Norman Wisdom. I had the great pleasure of being Norman’s Stunt double on “Last of the Summer Wine” guests find stories like this very interesting.

The Motivational Speaking is targeted more at Business personnel and individuals who aspire to be successful. I use my Stunt Skills to help people deal with fear, help acquire a more positive outlook/ manner leading them onto a more successful and happier life.

I emphasise the word Happy because happiness is one of the most important assets in all of our lives. My aim as an Author, After Dinner & Motivational Speaking is to ultimately make people happy.

What is the greatest thing that Kung-Fu has developed within your-self?

RIKY ASH: One of the most poignant characteristics about Kung-Fu to me is the amazing confidence and self

belief it has given me. Kung-Fu gave me a strong positive direction in life that I followed, which has continually lead me onto amazing successes and greater happiness. I will always practice Kung-Fu and for all those that read this, whatever Martial Art you chose to practice, I hope that it will give you the amazing pleasure, happiness, success, positivity and great health that is has given me.

The founders of Martial Arts are very special people. We only have to look Worldwide where many Martial Arts are practised. My respect will always go out to The Shaolin Monks who developed Kung-Fu, for if it was not for these very dedicated Men we would not have Kung-Fu or any of the Martial Arts; as long as we keep training we are keeping their Development alive.

More of Rikys Amazing Stunt Work can be seen by visiting www.fallingforyou. tv and information on how to purchase his book “With Confidence” can be found on Rikys Motivational website www.successfully-you.tv

MArtial Apps Martial Arts in the palm of your hand

Tim Tackettâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Jeet Kune Do

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The truth Behind the Cameras of

WARRIOR An Interview with Joel Edgerton and Tom Hardy Let’s start with the obvious – how fit were you both when you signed for the movie and how fit were you when you finished?

TOM HARDY: “No, not really.

JOEL EDGERTON: “Well, you can see kind of how fit we are when we finished. I was always relatively fit, I kept pretty fit, but we definitely weren’t a picture of a fighter going into the movie. I think Gavin [O’Connor] really wanted to get two actors that were right for these characters and drag them towards the cage rather than drag two fighters kicking and screaming into the world of acting, which would have been weird, maybe weirder.

TOM HARDY: “The shirts off days.

That was the thing, wasn’t it – it was like, okay, TX minus 30 minutes shirt off day, it was like 3-2-1, GO! It was a definite shirt-off day.

So because the film’s shot out of sequence, are there scenes you can both watch where you think, ‘I’m supposed to be bulkier there but I wasn’t, because I wasn’t at that stage of my physical development’?

JOEL EDGERTON: “It was sort of planned properly, in a way. But leading up to the blocks of fighting where we were shirtless in a cage...

Was there a difference in approach to your two training regimes because you physically look quite different in the films? Was that deliberate or did it just happen organically?

JOEL EDGERTON: “I mean there was differences to the training regime – I did a lot more wrestling and ju-jitsu than Tom’s character had to do, so our training regimes reflected that. But also, you put two separate people through the same training regime and feed them truckloads of food and it’s going to affect them all in different ways.

Tom, how are you handling all the hype, that you’re the Next Big Thing and there are all these stories about you?

Do you sort of ignore it or do you pay it any attention?

TOM HARDY: “Well the thing is it’s got to be normalised, hasn’t it, really?

What does that mean? At the end of the day I’ve been doing this job for 12 years. Nothing has changed in the way that I approach my work. All that has really changed is that I have more opportunity to do other, bigger – you know, on a bigger field.

“There’s probably more financial support and different teams of people. I haven’t noticed anything else. So I think – there’s not been any fall-outs with paparazzi or people chasing me or anything like that, there’s no drunken falling out of nightclubs, there’s no hitting reporters.

Not yet...

TOM HARDY: “Well, there isn’t. I mean, I’m ultimately quite boring. I do my job.

Would you consider leaving England and moving to Hollywood? Do you still live in the UK? TOM HARDY: “Yeah. My son’s here.

I mean he’s three and he lives with his mum and her husband and I can’t – I’m not going anywhere because my little boy’s here, so the bottom line is how am I handling it is that I’m someone’s dad [laughs], first and foremost and that’s very grounding.

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“And that other hyperbole part of it all is, you know, that I take people really as I find them, so I’m not going to not walk to and from my shop to go and get milk or take the tube or drive around town with the rag down and the music up because I’m still as lairy as I ever was and I’d continue to be so anyway, whether I was working or not working.

Speaking of hitting reporters, did either of you get injured on the film?

JOEL EDGERTON: “Yeah, my shining moment during the shooting was getting my MCL ligament torn, a grade 3 tear, getting thrown over by Jace Jeanes one of the stunt guys. I tore my ligament and had to go to in for six weeks of rehab for that.

“Apart from that, the odd elbow or punch in the face. Everybody was getting knocked around – you couldn’t really be an actor during this process, in the sense that you act – it was just surviving.

TOM HARDY: “It was so annoying – I just want to act! He keeps hitting me. Not my face. But what was it Gavin said? ‘it’s a fucking MMA movie, it’s not a fucking kite-flying movie, man up!’. ‘But it hurts!’. ‘Get back in there!’ ‘It really hurts!’.

JOEL EDGERTON: “He literally said that, that day.

You were presumably aware of that before signing on though?

TOM HARDY: “Yes, but you know – I’m not as manly as I thought I was.

When push comes to shove, you know what I mean? I start heading for the fucking door.

JOEL EDGERTON: “That was definitely the brief, leading into it.

Gavin was like, ‘I expect this and this and this of you’ and, you know...

TOM HARDY: “You just say yes, don’t you? It’s like when someone asks you can ride a horse. ‘of course I can. Absolutely!’. And then they go, ‘this is a horse,’ and you go [girly scream] ‘Aaah! That’s a horse!’.

Was it a world you were familiar with or did you learn a lot about it when you took the film on?

JOEL EDGERTON: “No, I didn’t know much at all. I mean I knew it was there.

TOM HARDY: “You start learning pretty quickly when people start throwing punches at you though, don’t you? ‘What’s this Muay Thai thing? I need to learn some more,’.

JOEL EDGERTON: “Through the eyes of the film, I mean through the eyes of any film you get to enter a world and thereby learn about it and all its furniture and all that and that was our introduction to MMA, was the crash course in becoming a fighter.

Shy of actually getting knocked out.

JOEL EDGERTON: “Yeah, I had a shotokan background as a kid.

TOM HARDY: “I got knocked out

by Shia LaBeouf, actually, yeah.

In Wettest County, apparently, behind the scenes. No, he did, he knocked me out, sparko. He got very aggressive and knocked me out cold.

He’s a bad, bad boy. But anyway..... he’s quite intimidating, as well.

JOEL EDGERTON: “Oh man yeah, it’s a totally different thing. A completely different situation.

“He’s a scary dude. He just attacked me. He was drinking moonshine. I was wearing a cardigan, and it went down. I woke up in P’nut’s arms.

[Pnut (pronounced ‘Peanut’) is Tom Hardy’s personal trainer, in the room at the time].

JOEL EDGERTON: “Eight weeks of seven am to about three or four in the afternoon, every day, starting with a light stretch and ending with a – you know – we would literally get to the gym at seven in the morning and then just start with kicking and punching drills, stand-up fighting first. I would go off and do a bit of wrestling, ground and pound and all sorts of stuff until we’d all head off for a big steak together at the Western Steak House or something.

“He was concerned for me. I was like, ‘what was that? It was lightning fast.’ He was like, ‘that was Shy,’. I said, ‘Fuckin’ hell. Can we go home now?’. ‘No, we’ve still got three weeks to finish,’.

“So anyway, the long and the short of it is that no, MMA, we’d played it on the X-Box, when we were doing Black Hawk Down it was on the tv we used to laugh about it because it was so fucking brutal, but never really trained, I’ve never been inside a dojo. You had a black belt in shotokan, didn’t you?

TOM HARDY: “It didn’t help you though, did it? Do you know what I mean? When you get in the ring with those UFC boys, it’s a completely different thing.

What was the training process like and how long did that go on for?

TOM HARDY: “Or pulled pork.

JOEL EDGERTON: “The pulled pork jokes never get old. The t-shirt on the woman who first served us – we were cracking jokes and then she came over with the t-shirt: ‘pulled pork jokes never get old,’. It’s true, you guys are bright guys, you could come up with a few.

TOM HARDY: “But we couldn’t keep eating pulled pork, sadly, because there came a point where the pulled pork had to stop and we were only allowed chicken and broccoli.

JOEL EDGERTON: “Like clean chicken and broccoli. But then in the afternoons we would lift weights, so it was a full day of complete dedication to our bodies and our skillset and that got us prepared for the beginning of filming.

“And the filming was a whole new challenge because then you’ve got to figure in a 12 hour shooting day.

I mean a movie like this was good because it’s like two cars racing against each other. Tommy would shoot and I’d go and train while

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he was shooting and then I’d be shooting and then Tommy could go and train.

TOM HARDY: “And then we had to switch, with your MCL...

JOEL EDGERTON: “Yeah, we had that stadium hired for six weeks straight of fighting and one week into that, a quarter of the way into the fighting I had to do, I smashed my knee and then it was all up to Tommy.

It’s like, ‘over to you – I’m just going to do scenes from the waist up for a while’. So we had to rehire the stadium about six weeks later and complete, particularly our fight.

Were you united in the fact that a Brit and an Aussie presumably have a lot more in common than perhaps the American guys that live in that world? Was there a common sense of humour that got you through some of the tougher experiences?

TOM HARDY: “I was just thinking about the Brits that went over to America and the Brits that went down to Australia and I was thinking about the history of that, looking at American friends and thinking, ‘hmmm, are we all related somehow, anyway?’.

JOEL EDGERTON: “Yeah, at some point one of your great-great uncles stole a sheep, got caught and became my family. You know, look – I don’t really think about it in those terms at all. All I know is that Gavin saw something in Tommy for the character of Tommy and something in me for the character of Brendan that was right for this movie, regardless of where we were physically, that I’m very glad, in hindsight, that he did.

“And actually I was halfway through filming when I kind of found out that Gavin had his own battle in casting Tommy and I, because when you think about it, at the time when this movie was made, neither of us really had the right to be there when you think about Hollywood being the stockmarket that it is, completely driven and fuelled by decisions based on money.

TOM HARDY: “They wanted Jake Gyllenhaal and Hayden Christensen.

JOEL EDGERTON: “Yeah, yeah, that’s who the movie should have been, so............

TOM HARDY: “No-one wants them.

Really, they want them in the ring, to watch it really go down, but not on the film. God, no, you wouldn’t do that.

You have a really touching scene with Nick Nolte, who plays your father. Was that harder to play than the physical stuff?

TOM HARDY: “No, because that’s where I come from, that kind of background. You know what I mean, it’s like drinking stock. That was me doing the bit that I’d done years of training on already, before I arrived on set.

“Not being flippant, genuinely, but the whole addiction/abuse storyline to me is not a shock and it’s not far from home, or friends and family and understanding addiction.

Understanding addiction and living with addiction, it’s not something that’s difficult to access or facilitate.

“I’m nine or ten years going on sober now anyway, so I’m a long, long, long way away from my last drink but I know people in and out of recovery and I know people who’ve died, so that territory for me is actually a space which I feel responsible, to be part of work that’s involved in that, because actually I’ve got something that I can use.

Do you feel it’s quite important to speak out about it?

TOM HARDY: “I think it’s relevant. I think one has to be very careful how much you talk about it, because it’s one of those things unfortunately whereby it takes lives. It’s not to be taken for granted – it’s not a fashion accessory, alcoholism and addiction, it’s a really fucking dangerous illness, it kills people.

“If you have it, it’s something that needs help, you need help and the help is there. So yes, to be aware of it is one thing, to promote it is bad taste, but I think it’s important to be part of where you’re from and participate in life on life’s terms.

And addiction is part of my story, so it would be futile to ignore it and pretend it doesn’t exist, because part of living with addiction is being part of it.

“So it’s nice when it comes up in a story where you can do some justice with it. I think those scenes were – I really enjoyed doing them and I thought Nick was brilliant in them. And when I watched it, I cried, actually, because I’d been in places

like that, and I was just very glad that what we were doing made sense.

When I watched it back I was like, ‘yeah, okay, cool. Tick the box, so we can feel like we lived it,’.

The scene by the slot machines with Nick – he’s very reactive and you get the sense he’s simmering and you’re chucking coins at him. How was it to do and what was it like working with Nick Nolte generally?

TOM HARDY: “Nick Nolte is like carved from the rock of actors. He’s as prevalent in my life as a Digestive biscuit. He quintessentially exists. [To Joel] In England, Digestive biscuits are like a staple part of a child’s diet – you know it’s there, you know the brand, like Marmite or something.

“Nick Nolte is the American – he’s like an American brand of type of actor, he’s the craggy faced, this lived-in hard cop, you know, tough guy, been through the fucking mill, working class with a huge heart.

“Huge grizzly bear with a thorn in his side but a huge sensitive child-like clown inside and he is as wonderful to work with as he is to watch. And he is mercurial and funny and enigmatic and full of life as he is when I watch him on screen, and he is as troubled as you can imagine he probably could possibly get at times too.

“And probably the most exciting thing – apart from working with Joel – the most exciting thing about working on Warrior.

And for you, Joel?

JOEL EDGERTON: “Who’s Nick Nolte?

TOM HARDY: “He worked with Eddie Murphy.

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JOEL EDGERTON: “Oh yeah, that one. No, everything he said. I don’t know if I could ever put anything as eloquently as Tom can, but there’s a lot of privileges that come with being an actor and having special lives, you get to enter these worlds and we get to live the life of a fighter..........

TOM HARDY: “Nick Nolte is the question. The question is about Nick Nolte...

JOEL EDGERTON: “Yeah, yeah, I’m getting there. I’m trying to make a bigger contract of my answer than you usually do. Part of the privilege of being an actor is the people you get to work with.

“And when you know you’re heading down the barrel of heading with a great actor like Nick, it’s just something you – you could either get really scared and freak out about it or you just kind of charge into it and you get excited about it.

“But everything that Tom was saying about him – he’s very special and – you know, and one of the great things I find about Nick too is that as he gets older he doesn’t sort of relax and turn in half-performances. In fact, I think this film proves that he......

TOM HARDY: “Tell them about the six in the morning...

JOEL EDGERTON: “Yeah, me and Nick did that scene on the lawn. That was my first scene in the movie that was part of the acting component, the ‘no punching component,’, I call it.

TOM HARDY: “Six pages long, as well.

JOEL EDGERTON: “Six page scene, 6pm to 6am, Nick’s closeups were shot as the sun was coming up the next morning.

TOM HARDY: “And he’s almost 70 years of age.

JOEL EDGERTON: “And he was as dedicated in every moment and as heartbreaking in every word and every gesture and every breath up until six in the morning. Including when the camera was clean of him onto me, he was not going to give me anything less than the best and I really respect that and it made me respect him more, knowing everything I know about him already, that I got to be a part of that with him.”

‘WARRIOR is out on Blu-ray, DVD and Download to Own on February 20, courtesy of Lions Gate Home Entertainment’

Its Saturday morning, you put on your karate suit and head to the dojo for your weekly training session. Like most of your fellow students you’re probably worried about the kata you’re trying to learn and your upcoming grading, but that is the limit of your involvement. You know your club name obviously, you may know your association name and if you are really attentive you may have noticed on your paperwork or licence youare part of an international group. For a large percentage of students training in halls and leisure centres around the country this is as far as it goes, but even if you have no intentions of entering competitions locally or nationally rule 21.9 is having some effect on your training.

Rule

So what is rule 21.9 and where does it come from, what effect is it having on karate in the UK? The WKF is an international governing body with localised affiliations around the world, and like any governing body they use rules to establish continuity of standards across its members. The rules set by the World Karate Federation (WKF) are voted for by the representatives of the member countries, and then adopted as rules of the individual local governing bodies. In the UK this will be passed down to the local federations such as British Karate Federation, English Karate Federation, Welsh, Scottish and Northern Irish Karate Governing Bodies. One of the many rules filtering down from the WKF through the regions and to the individual clubs is 21.9 that states...

“The WKF expressly prohibits their National Federations, and their components, from the double affiliation with any karate organisation as it may be determined by the WKF Executive Committee to be a dissenting organisation.

National Federations and their members are prohibited from 62 COMBAT WWW.COMBATMAG.CO.UK

having sporting relationships with these dissenting organisations, or with a member country of the WKF which National Federation is suspended due to non payment of fees or for disciplinary reasons.”

On the EKF web site they explain the effects of 21.9 as . . .

“National Federations (NF’s) and their components simply means all members of that National Federation”.

“If you think of the WKF as a “family”, then you cannot have sporting relationships with anyone who is not a member of that “family” i.e. not recognised by the WKF. This applies to your Federation both at National and at International events”.

So basically in layman terms rule 21.9 means you cannot belong to non WKF affiliated association if you belong to a WKF affiliated club, which also means you cannot enter a WKF sanctioned competition at any level unless you are WKF registered.

And furthermore if you are WKF registered you are restricted by rule 21.9 from training with or competing against non WKF clubs.

So what is the problem? The WKF is a massive international group with

well organised competitions for everybody from local club run events to world championships. If competition is what you are looking for as part of your karate training, then the WKF or indeed any of the other major governing bodies has everything you need without straying beyond your own association. If you join an association it is fair to expect to abide by their rules, but if those rules are having an effect on karate beyond the confines of that association then it may directly or indirectly affect us all.

To see why rule 21.9 is having an affect on karate in the Uk (whatever association you are in) we need to go back a few years. We need to look into the vast and complicated list of associations that eventually morphed into the main governing bodies around today. This is a history laced with politics, splits and reformations, intrigue, strong personalities and empire building. In the UK from the early days in the 1960s Karate groups grew around the Japanese instructors that brought their own styles and affiliations to the country.

Some of the splits in styles and associations came directly from the followers of the founders; their students

grew in confidence eventually going their own way forming new associations. Many smaller clubs rapidly grew into larger groups that wanted to control their own rules and finances and so formed their own associations. These associations quite often stayed within the original overall international group, whilst others joined loose connections with emerging associations to form their own internationally recognised groups.

The history of the rise and fall of the

the main governing bodies are the WORLD Karate Federation ( WKF) and the World Union of Karate Do Federation ( WUFC).

Founded in June 1970 the WKF has the aim of promoting, organising, regulating and popularising the sport of karate all over the world. The WUFC grew from an amalgamation of associations in 1970 and has emerged from a troubled early history to be an international governing body with the aim of

heart of all the main associations and federations is the development of their sport, improvements in safety and standard of the represented martial art.

But even taking the differences into account this would not be a major issue for karate students in England if it was not for the need for Sport England recognition. To quote the Sport England web site “ We invest National Lottery and Exchequer funding in organisations and projects that will

many associations and governing bodies for karate in England is a mine field of good intentions beaten by politics, mistakes and missed opportunities that is unnecessarily complicated for the purposes of this article. If you are interested look up the EKB and EKC that eventually became EKGB in 1991, which also briefly became Karate England 2005 Ltd. Nowadays

offering a home to the groups that were not covered by the organizations that are either pure style federations or multi- style groups. So although there are many similarities between the associations one of the main differences is that WKF has rule 21.9 which limits any cooperation with non WKF members whereas WUFC is open to all styles and associations. In fairness at the

“http://www.sportengland.org/about_ us/what_we_do.aspx” grow and sustain participation in grassroots sport and create opportunities for people to excel at their chosen sport Sport England is the government agency responsible for building the foundations of sporting success, by creating a world-leading community sport environment of clubs, coaches, facilities and volunteers.”

21.9

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So Sport England amongst the many benefits they offer is crucially the main point of contact for Government financial support for any English athletes. The stumbling block for Karate is that Sport England will only recognise a sport if it has a governing body that is democratically elected, accountable and represents the majority of participants in the sport.

The crucial words within this statement for karate are “represents the majority of participants in the sport”, and none of the separate associations can make that claim on its own. By not having Sport England backing for karate in this country we are holding back the future development of our sport and students. If you go on the Sport England web site you can see the list of sports and their governing bodies, Aikido, boxing, Chinese Martial Arts, Judo, Jujitsu, Kendo, Taekwondo ,Tang Soo Do and even Yoga are there but nothing for Karate. The restriction on Karate recognition has always been the divisions within the Karate world, with some groups citing rule 21.9 as the main reason. Rule 21.9 is an excluding regulation which goes against Sport England’s requirements that governing bodies are open to all and encourage inclusion at all levels.

One option would be for all clubs and associations to come under the WCF banner and so offer a unified front to 64 COMBAT WWW.COMBATMAG.CO.UK

Sport England, but this would cause a problem for some of WUFC associations that are multi style like AMA and Shikon . The other option would be to establish a council that represented all the associations and so gave a united establishment for Sport England to deal with. Over the last few years there havebeen several attempts by the hierarchy of Karate in England to get together and create a working party that could eventually present a united front to Sport England .For a variety of reasons they have failed in the past to reach a consensuses that would allow them to represent the majority of karate students. To get a better insight into what is happening to the progress to unification in karate, I meet up with Peter Allen the Vice-president of the AMA association at his new purpose built dojo in Bury. Peter is a very experienced martial artist, 7th Dan in Shitoryu Karate and over the years has been involved at many levels with the EKB, EKGB, England Karate and for years with the AMA and through them the WUKF at national and international levels.

Combat...Thank you for taking time out from your busy life to talk to us.

Peter... I am glad to have the opportunity of letting Karate students in England know what has been happening behind scenes regarding karate recognition by Sport England.

As a competitor, a trainer and an official at competitions around the UK and the world I feel very strongly that we are missing out from lack of recognition.

Combat...I understand that although rule 21.9 has been cited as the main reason for failure to establish a unified council by the representatives of the different associations, there has also been a lot of infighting and politics involved.

Peter...No I would have to disagree with you on that last point, even though there have been some differences of opinion in the last couple of meetings, these are people who have known each other for years

and many are old friends. Everybody that attended are true martial artists that genuinely have the wellbeing of karate and karate students at heart.

We are all putting a lot of work into making this happen.

Combat...Why do you think there have been so many splits within karate associations?

Peter...In my opinion and in fairness the problem has not necessarily been with the associations, if you look at the larger associations that are around now they have been in existence successfully for 20 to 30 years. It tends to be when governing bodies are formed that the problems start, I feel that sometimes they start out with the right intentions but they loose their way because they don’t then listen to the will of the members.

The boards try and run things as they think rather than how the members think it should be run, rather than the board controlling the members the members should be controlling the board. To me the culprit in failure is the fact they have allowed the world sports side to dictate via the national federations in each country.

Combat... So what is it that is stopping everybody getting together now?

Peter...The biggest problem we have at the moment is rule 21.9, it was around in the EKGB days, but it is the interpretation now and the way it has been used as a tool wrongly.

Originally rule 21.9 was there to prevent fighters at national level competing for more than one federation, but it was changed to say national fighters and their components. The addition of one word “components” meant everybody and made a huge difference; this now meant that not only the fighters but all their support team and everybody right down to grass routes karate could not cooperate with each other unless they were in the same federation. This means that you could not run a class or a seminar for the club up the road if they are not in your federation. You now have a world body that is controlling everyday lives of grass roots karate students, so this is affecting students that are never going to enter competitions. Only around one percent of karate students ever enter competitions and yet you have a

governing body making rules for that one percent that affects the other ninety nine percent who may never want to do competition.

Combat...What steps have been taken so far towards a possible unified governing body in England?

Peter... On the 28th of October 2011 a karate Unification meeting was arranged at the Sport and Recreation offices in London and was attended

by AMA, FEKO, KE and EKF. A lot of points were raised at the meeting not just rule 21.9, it was agreed to meet again on 16th December to see if we can push forward the plans for a unified governing body. At the second meeting the four major karate groups attended, it was hoped that we could move things on fairly rapidly but there still were several points that needed further discussion so it was agreed to meet again in the New Year.

Combat... With all the differences still apparent within karate in England do you think you will ever be able to create a unified governing body?

Peter... Absolutely, with out a doubt there will eventually be a karate governing body because all the groups involved are keen to see it happen. Not just because of the benefits of Sport England recognition but because we all want to see the spread of good practice within karate and the highest standards set right across.

Combat... Peter thanks for your insight into what is understandably a complicated and delicate negotiation process and we wish you every success.

At Combat Magazine we have no direct link or affiliation with any martial arts associations or federations. We try to represent all sides of any issue, and report the views as researched and presented to us. If you have any views on Karate unification in England please email them to Combat Magazine at â&#x20AC;&#x153;mailto:office@combatmag.co.ukâ&#x20AC;? office@combatmag.co.uk and we will endeavour to print a cross section of all views expressed.

By John Broughton WWW.COMBATMAG.CO.UK COMBAT 65

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the main event

could stand up finally go mainstream?

Stand up fighting fans have always debated “if”, “when”, “how”, “why” stand up fighting would ever go mainstream. After all the UFC, particularly now being on mainstream American TV has and the atmosphere is at its highest when the fighters are striking. Everyone thinks their art is the most exciting but let’s be honest, there’s a lot that needs to happen to take it to the top.

Skilled, entertaining fighters are a must! The UK currently now has some of the most skilfull stand up fighters in the world - the likes of Liam Harrison, Andrew Tate, Jordan Watson and Dean James are technically the finest we have ever had. Despite the continuous growth of MMA, the UK has come leaps and bounds in recent years in terms of stand up fighting and there’s a huge amount of incredible talent coming through - Chad Sugden, Solomon Wickstead & Sam Omogobe to name just a few.

Being a skilful fighter though isn’t always enough. For the sport to capture the interest of “Joe Public” it’s got to ultimately be great entertainment from start to finish.

An event has to also have a) First rate production - lights, sound,

fireworks, big screen replays, top class dancers/cheerleaders b) Second to none organisation from start to finish c) A great venue where not only everyone gets a good view but in the right location d) TV exposure.

Whilst the sport itself will always be the main focus, all other sports that are mainstream now have those ingredients for their top events. Many promoters over the years have taken a stab at it but only a handful, have ticked all the boxes. For stand up fighting to capture the hearts of the mainstream though the events also need to be regular.

So could stand up ever go mainstream?

Well it looks like The Main Event could at last be the show to take it

there. A new event that sees not just two, but three regular top Manchester promoters - Dan Green, Daz Morris & Darren Phillips - pool their resources, put aside politics and work together to take it to a new level.

Taking place on 31st March 2012 at Event City, right next to the world famous Trafford Centre with easy motorway access, The Main Event looks set to start with a bang.

The promoters have promised a classy production, non-stop entertainment and of course some of the greatest fights to be seen in the UK. With a rumoured TV deal in the works this could finally be the world class UK based event that all the fans have been craving.

The card so far features: Liam Harrison (Bad Company) vs Andrei Kulebin (Belarus) Tim Thomas (Nak Soo) vs Andy Thrasher (GFC) Dean James (Pra Chao Sua) vs Stephen Meleady (Ireland) Daitan Jackson (Salford Thai) vs Jono Bracken (Ireland) Andrew Tate (Storm Gym) vs Joe Mcgovan (SDF Sheffield) and many other great matchups...

The Main Event - set to take British stand up fighting to new levels?

For further information see www. themaineventmanchester.com WWW.COMBATMAG.CO.UK COMBAT 67

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putting your best

Enter Teuk Gong Moo Sool (Part 6) Kicking has been synonymous with martial arts in the West as long as the esoteric “Judo chop” seen in early movies. Bruce Lee and the HK movie genre introduced us to a myriad of possibilities using the legs (ironic where Jeet Kune Do’s kicks are far from flashy). Maybe “a kick is just a kick” maybe not. But they are spectacular to watch and can deal with a wide array of situations.

In TGMS the system is mainly a Korean one, so a wide array of kicks is to be expected. Some seem to be the same as a majority of other arts, while a few are unusual to say the least.

GM Park teaches that in addition to the three striking ranges (short, medium and long) there are 3 “principles” or basic “types” of kicks for lack of better terms. They are as follows: 1. Direct or straight – should be fast and penetrating like a spear thrust 2. Diagonal – replaces horizontal movements or strikes, targets muscle groups weak points in bones 3. Circular – building momentum to use as the generator of power GM Park asserts it’s not enough to plan a kick and judge distance; you need to pay attention to your adversary’s breathing so you can gain an advantage.

What follows is a written description of the 18 basic kicking maneuvers and a pictorial application (on the following double page spread) for each. Much more detail is available in the book/ DVD series. In there will be details and spinning and jumping varieties of many of the kicks as well.

1. Ahp Chagi (“Front Kick”): This kick uses the 1st principle mention before. As with punching, all kicks in TGMS are finished with a slightly bent joint for extra power and to save injuries later in life.

Also with all kicks there is no need to focus on leading with the body 70 COMBAT WWW.COMBATMAG.CO.UK

2.

3.

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or the knee; just focus on using the foot and relax until just before impact. (Pics 1-6) Yeop Chagi (“Side Kick”): This is also a number 1 type. Extend the leg 90 % and thrust forward like a fencer lunging with his foil.

(Pics 7-12) Chik-uh Chagi (“Chop Kick”): Although this seems to a regular Roundhouse Kick there are differences. It is down horizontally or downward, NOT upward. This is to ensure penetration power.

This would be classified as the 3rd type of kick. (Pics 13-18) Ahn-dohl-uh- Chagi (“Inside Kick”): This Wheel Kick variation can be done two ways. If it is done in the conventional sense (in a TGMS fashion of course) it is of the 1st variety. If it is used as a 3rd type it can be used to go up and over a hand strike. (Pics 19-24) Bah-kaht-dohl-uh Chagi (“Outside Kick”): This is a fairly standard Crescent Kick so it would be classified as a Type 3 strike. If your target was slow, you could make it more direct, hence a Type 1. (Pics 25-30) put 1923 before 1921) Ahn-dohl-uh Chah-nae Chagi (“Inside Drop Kick”): A Type 3 kick it starts like a Wheel Kick and crashes downward like an Axe Kick. (Pics 31-36) Bah-kaht-dohl-uh Chah-nae Chagi (“Outside Drop Kick”): A Type 3 kick it starts like a Crescent Kick and crashes downward like an Axe Kick.

8. Chah-nae Chagi (“Drop Kick”): This Axe Kick variation (3rd type) can be used to catch a quickly oncoming assailant in the jaw on the way up (changing to #1). (Pics 37-42) 9. Ahp Cha-eul-ri-gi (“Rising Kick”): Usually reserved for stretching, this Type 1 strike can be used to surprise a taller aggressor after feinting. (Pics 43-48) 10. Bahl-doong Yeop Chagi (“Slant Kick”): This 2nd type of attack is fast, deceptive and very hard to defend against as it shoots up to the inside of an opponent’s defenses. (Pics 49-54) 11. Ahn Jok-do Chagi (Sole Kick”): This unusual strike is more of an interception and a #2 variety strike.

It is hard to execute properly, but also nearly impossible to avoid.

Incidentally it’s GM Park’s favourite kick. (Pics 55-60) 12. Dwee-goom-chee Ahn-oo-roh Chee-kee (“Heel Hook”): This is more of a lead into a take down more than anything and uses the 3rd principles, although if the strike is very low it could be more of a #1 type. (Pics 61-67) 13. Dwee-goom-chee Hoo-ri-gi (“Heel Slap”): This Hook Kick is obviously of the 3rd kicking variety.

(Pics 68-74) 14. Hwae-chook Chagi (“Whirl Kick”): This is the TGMS version of the Spinning Hook Kick. Obviously it is of the 3rd type, but it could be turned horizontal (Type 2) and hit the shoulders or the ribs. (Pics 75-80)

foot forward

By Master Guy Edward Larke

15. Dwee Yeop Chagi (“Backward Side Kick”): This Spinning Back Kick made famous by the legendary Chuck Norris is of the 1st category. (Pics 81-86) 16. Moo-rup Chagi (“Knee Kick”): This is of the 1st style, but if it’s done “Thai-style” it can be a Type 3 and target the side of the body.

(Pics 87-92) 17. Ha-dan Hwae-chook Chagi (“Lower Whirl Kick”): The Spinning Leg Sweep may exist a lot in movies and video games, but in real; combat it needs to be used with caution. Timing is crucial.

Because of the needed momentum it falls into the 3rd Type. (Pics 93-98) 18. Bahl-dung Ha-dan Chik-uh Chagi (“Lower Chop Kick”): Once this awkward kick is mastered all 3 types of execution can be performed. They can be excellent attacks or defenses.

(Pics 99-104) Knife defence techniques will be covered next issue. Anyone interested in learning more about this neoclassical military art can contact me or the association at http://www.tgms.or.kr. Seminars can be arranged and there are books and DVDs available for sale.

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Master Guy Edward Larke has dedicated his life from a young age to the pursuit of the martial arts, Asian culture and hopology.

It led him to Korea in 2000 and has lived there since then. He lives in Seongnam city with his wife Gi-Ryung and son Alexander.

He holds black belts in Taekwondo, Hapkido, Taekkyon, Bon Kuk Kumdo, Korean kickboxing, Karate-do, Wushu, Cheonji-muye-do, and various other arts.

Currently he teaches Taekwondo, Karate and Cheonji-muye-do full time in addition to writing for various magazines and running Kisa-Do Muye & Marketing. He can be contacted at kisa_do_muye@yahoo.ca.

JKD001/02

MSK001/01

Street Defence The Street Defence system was put together by Colin Lee Berry and is a mixture of all the best techniques he has learnt over the many years of his martial arts experience. One of the main reasons this system stays at the top is that the system is always evolving as threats on the streets always change and Colin’s belief is that there is never a perfect system, thus systems need to be constantly striving to find more effective techniques.

Colin has been a martial arts enthusiast for many years and has studied many systems such as – Tae Kwon Do, Jeet Kune Do, Shaolin Kung Fu and Krav Maga.

In 2005 Colin gained a silver medal competing in the British Championship’s Heavy Weight Sparring category and then finished in the last 16 of the World Tae Kwon Do Championship’s fighting in the same weight category. What makes this even more of an achievement is that the British Championship’s was only Colin’s second try and competing at an event.

After competing in Tae Kwon Do, Colin moved his attention to studying Commando Krav Maga which is a reality based self defence system and in 2007, Colin become an instructor.

Then in 2009, Colin decided that he had obtained so much knowledge in martial arts and reality based self defence systems over the years, that he would develop his own system using all his knowledge.

The Street Defence system was born in October 2009 and has gone from strength to strength from day one.

Colin has used the system to train body guards, children and even police officers. Colin feels that the Street

Defence system can be picked up by anyone, even if you have not had any training in self defence before.

Training includes choke escapes, hand gun disarming, knife defence, and punch defence, ground attack survival, pressure points, dealing with surprise attacks and headlock escapes. Self defence specific drills are also used to help all the techniques become second nature and most importantly to become a reaction.

Contact info: Chief Instructor/ Founder: Colin Lee Berry Phone: 07919 350290 E Mail: streetdefence@hotmail.co.uk Web Site: www.streetdefenceuk.com

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WRS001/04

What Does the WRSA offer you?

•

Insurance for Fighters, Instructors and

Promoters So you are fully protected

Already 40 planned for 2009. See Website for details.

Each Belt Grade Certificate is Unique

The WRSA encorages experienced fighters and coaches to take our judges and referees course so they understand what judges are looking for

Meetings so member can express their views of how the WRSA is being run.

What they think is good and what they feel needs improving.

First aid courses run by qualified instructors.

Training courses for ring craft, weapons course, etc.

It does not restrict you or your fighter as to which shows you fight on.

Kickboxing Clubs, Thai boxing clubs, Kung Fu Clubs, Traditional Karate clubs.

• • • • • • •

Regular Tournaments around the country.

Gradings with Specially designed certificates and badges.

Courses for Judges and Referees.

Regular Meetings Courses

The WRSA does not interfere with how you run your club.

The WRSA welcomes

For Further Information contact the WRSA or Steve Humphrey, Cressdene, Evesham Road, Offenham, Evesham, Worcestershire, WR11 8SA Tel: 01386 48452 Mobile: 07881 784839 Email: ukcba@lineone.net

www.worldringsportsassociation.com

WAKO Welcome to...

WORLD ASSOCIATION OF KICKBOXING ORGANISATIONS President: Tom Hibbert M.B.E., F.S.M.A.

Founded in 1970 WAKO is the largest unified kickboxing organisation in the World with over 100 nations currently in membership. WAKO World H.Q. is based in Milan.

WAKO HISTORY WAKO started its activity in Europe in 1976. The founder was Mr Georg Bruckner from Berlin, who promoted the first ever World Championships in semi and full contact karate (as it was called in those days) back in 1978 with 110 competitors representing 18 countries. WAKO immediately created the rules and regulations for the new fighting sports and acted, since the very beginning, as the authentic Kickboxing Federation of the world. In our Championships, only national teams are accepted.

Each member country can present only 1 competitor in each weight class.

The WAKO World Championships are NOT open competitions therefore each representative is the premier competitor in that category, from their country.

World Governing Body for Kickboxing World and European Amateur Championships Title Fights held continually both Amateur & Professional Regional Competitions are held throughout the year British Amateur Championships to choose British Teams Full-Contact, Light Continuous-Contact, Semi-Contact, Musical Forms Licence, Membership and Insurance available to all of U.K., Southern Ireland and Republic of Ireland Coaching courses, Referee Training, Seminars and Training Dan Gradings and WAKO certificates for all Members For upto the minute details of all forthcoming W.A.K.O events visit our website To see national wako listings of over 13,000 instructors/clubs on the web, type: www.bt.com/thephonebook then in â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;businessâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; type: martial arts and town Contact: WAKO, 66 Chaddesden Lane, Chaddesden, Derby, DE21 6LP Tel: 07973 507716 / 01332 663086 or Fax: 01332 280286 Email: info@wakogb.co.uk

www.wakogb.co.uk

WAK001/27

In the last article I talked about the targets available to a wheelchair user.

In this article I want to talk about the mechanics of striking as a wheelchair user.

As a wheelchair user, the dynamics of striking effectively are different than they are for an able bodied individual. When you are standing, yours strikes are helped by how you pivot your hips and upper torso. As a wheelchair user, in most cases this is not an option. Also as a wheelchair user you are striking from a non anchored point. i.e. your wheelchair moves.

There are three significant points that facilitate effective strikes as a wheelchair user. *Striking within their zone {the zone refers to an area close to the wheelchair user that does not involve overextending} *Anchor Hand, Hold and Trap *Diagonal and Crosswise Strikes

Striking within your zone It is important as a wheelchair user that they strike within their zone and not over stretch chasing a target. This means snapping strikes that do not overextend. “Make your assailant “come to you”. It is important that they don’t over stretch; this will reduce the power of their strike, but will also upset their balance.

Anchor Hand, Hold and Trap By getting an anchor hand on their attacker they increase their balance and striking power. This is why it is so important for the wheelchair user to anchor themselves by using their attackers balance to their advantage.

Colm strikes the Focus Mitt held at a height that represents a real target

by James Devine

A good example would be a Lop sau, from Jeet Kune Do. Also when we are talking about an Anchor hand, you will notice in the photos accompanying this article that we are anchoring the attackers arm with our forearm, pulling down and in towards our body.

This has a number of benefits, it forces the attacker to lean forward and down which brings his head closer for the wheelchair user to make a strike to the eyes with a Bil Jee (finger jab) or a chin jab for example.

Diagonal and Crosswise Strikes Striking diagonally, downwards (Hammerfist) or upwards (A palm strike to the chin) improves the force of strikes. Whereas a straight punch reduces striking force because of limited balance. However punching diagonally increases the power and reduces the issue of balance.

Focus Mitts A good place to start training how to deliver effective strikes is with Focus Mitts. This gives you the opportunity to get a sense of what range and balance your trainee has when they execute a strike or parry. It also helps you to get a sense of how their wheelchair will move when striking.

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In a real self defense situation it is important that the trainee’s wheelchair brakes are not locked on, as this will increase the chances of the wheelchair tipping backwards, and will seriously reduce maneuverability.

Colm shows how trapping the attackers arm facilities balance and the force he can strike the attacker

However while learning how to strike initially, it helps to have the brakes on because the trainee can just focus on the mechanics of striking, while getting a sense of striking within their zone.

It is important that you look at the height the mitts are held for the trainee. The height and distance the focus mitts are held is very important.

It is important that they represent real targets as they would present themselves. When an attacker moves to strike or grab he will be standing above the wheelchair user. So it is important that the trainee gets used to striking in an upward direction.

Paul Tobin practices the Bill Jee on the Pad held By Martin Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Neill Jeet Kune Do Ireland Inductor

Paul practices a Face Mash on the Pad held

By Martin

So start training with the brakes on so the trainee can get an idea of range and distance. When the trainee becomes comfortable with this, get them to take the brakes off, the first thing you will notice is that this reduces striking power. Striking within their zone and Diagonal and crosswise Strikes will help reduce this problem.

In the next article I want to focus on the different strikes that work really well for a wheelchair user.

If you have any questions I can be contacted at: colmjkd@yahoo.ie

By Colm Whooley Level 3 Trainee Instructor in Jeet Kune Do

Enter theâ&#x20AC;Ś

Mantis?

The Chronicles of Grandmaster Donald Robert Moses - PART ONE

My Time with David Carradine

By Guy E. Larke

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Most martial arts experts aren’t on your TV screen or on the covers of magazines. Due to a lack of exposure or desire to be publicized (sometimes a bit of both) they fall between the cracks of the martial arts industry. But they, more often than not, have greater insights and more interesting experiences than you and I put together.

This short series is about a unique figure in the martial arts world that went from star struck fan to trainer of one of his heroes. GM Moses had the privilege of training and developing a close friendship with maverick actor David Carradine. In this particular interview he shares his memories of him and gives rare insights into the movie and TV icon we all knew and loved.

How did you know of David Carradine?

I knew of David C. from seeing him on film. Long before Kung Fu, I had seen him in different movies. I recall that there was always a certain familiarity and intrigue, that seem to emanate from the characters he would play that would make you think to yourself...”Hey, there’s that cool dude again!”

How did he affect you?

The effect David had on me was extremely positive; that goes from long before we met. David had that certain something that few people are able to achieve. It’s difficult to say exactly what it is, charisma, maybe? An energy of some type that resonates off of the big screen, CEOs, politicians, movie stars, or royalty. But in David, it was earthy.

Do you think it was ironic that the first martial arts school you found was run

by Kam Yuen?

Ironic or fate, those kinds of outcomes feels as though it was just meant to be. Nobody planned it that way, but our meeting was no accident.

What did he say of David or the show?

Kam Yuen was a great sifu. We were aware that he had worked on the show, but at that time, the show was over. So it wasn’t a big deal. We

were training. Working hard without question was the standard at the Tai Mantis Kung Fu Academy.

Was the training what you expected?

Yes and no. When I first went to watch a class, I saw familiar moves that I had seen on the show. However, there was so much more to it than that. You would get information, and then you would have to sort it out for yourself; go over it and over it.

Flexibility, control, and understanding: those things must be ingrained. Kam Yuen was intimidating, so we worked hard always. My first teacher was Joel Akada. He was the school’s top disciple at the time. Joel wasn’t so scary. He taught me how to give my all to the moves -how to truly love the journey. Sifu Kam was tough; a force of nature. Joel was extremely talented, and also very kind. In hind sight, they were the perfect balance. I remain grateful to those times.

How was Kwai Chang Caine instrumental in your success in kung fu?

At the risk of sounding silly, Quai Chain Caine is still my mentor and my hero. For Quai Chain, kindness was his strength. He sought to collect friends, not enemies. He enjoyed the time he spent in his own skin, and he respected his elders. He was a great healer, and he always kept his cool. It was hard work and good ethics that made him believable, like Chuck Norris or John Wayne. Sure there was a mystery to the character, but not so unachievable like Jesus or Yoda. Quai Chain Caine was all about respect for life and all the best things that come with it. The best things are the people.

When did you get to meet David?

I first met David in the early 80s. Kam was becoming a chiropractor at the

time, so he was very busy. David needed help preparing for Lone Wolf McQuade. Kam felt I was the right choice, and that David and I would get along just fine. He said, “neither one of you guys like to wear shoes.”

What was your first impression?

My first impression was interesting.

I took a day off from building chain link fences to work with him. I got there at his house on time in the morning, knocked on the door with no answer. I was a bit nervous so after knocking again and waiting and waiting, I began to stretch. There was a bridge from his front gate to the door, so I figured, “What a great day! Might as well stretch and warm up.” About then, 3 dogs came in the gate -an Irish Wolf Hound (Joe), a pit bull (Russell), and a retriever with a squeaky toy (Champ). One thing led to another, and lucky for me we all got along. Then by the time David came to the door, I was surrounded by friends with my foot above my head. David’s first words were, “Whelp! My dogs sure seem to like you. You must be Rob. Come on in!”

He made me feel at home.

What was it like to switch from fan to sifu?

It was organic. I think Joe, Russell, and Champ had a lot to do with it.

How long did it take for you the two of you to get close?

Well, we hit it off right away, but we became close a while later. Before “Kung Fu – The Legend Continues”, he called me in for another series of training sessions. I would be on time, he would be late. After a frustrating period, I returned a check to him, and said, “I will teach you for free, but I can’t miss work anymore. Let me be here in the afternoons.” From then on there was no pressure on either of us to behave a certain way.

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If you or he studied different systems from the other do you think your futures would have been altered? Would you have still befriended one another?

Difficult to say. I’m just grateful to have such a remarkable life experience and such a good friend to share that with.

What are were some of the most memorable projects the pair of you worked on?

“Kung Fu – The Legend Continues” was 4 amazing years in Canada.

That was the highlight where we were living the dream. I collected lots of students and friends. David and I became fun, trusting and loyal to each other. The DVD extra for the original “Kung Fu” series was also an adventure of a lifetime. We filmed for 10 days in China. We got to go to the Shaolin Monastery. The people we went with were fabulous. Then “Kill Bill” was fun too. After that I moved to Hawaii for a few years.

What were his strengths/ weaknesses in kung fu?

David’s strengths were his acting ability and being so very smart.

He could tap into the essence of mastery, and had an uncanny ability to project it on camera. He also had a double jumping front kick that could knock down a barn or give him the ability to jump over one. He would also go when they said, “Action!” With David, they

got it. There was never any fear with David. If he ever lacked in technique, he would more than make up for it. Other than being human, weaknesses weren’t weaknesses at all. He never made claims to be anything other than David Carradine. David was both fearless and impossible to embarrass. He wasn’t really concerned with living up to anybody else’s standards. It is the nature of the public to criticize celebrities. David humorously stated, “There is no such thing as bad press.

As long as they’re talking about you, it’s good.” With David Carradine, you got David Carradine. That takes balls and he had them. No apologies.

How similar was he to his iconic character?

We’ve all got hidden aspects of ourselves. As an actor, storyteller, musician, scholar, beatnik, Renaissance man, David was able to share his inner gods and demons. He could get it out of his system and put it on camera. He hid behind nothing.

I respect that. As far as Quai Chain Caine, the Universe selected David to play that role. He nailed it. I don’t feel that anybody else could have done a better job.

What was it like to work with him on film?

Working with David on film was an honour and a privilege. He told me to just listen and be myself. When I played Master Khan, lucky for me, the character did most of his talking with his feet and weapons.

When there was dialogue, it was at a minimum, and with David there, it was play. We could pretend for the day. He had a way of convincing you that having cameras around was no big deal. I never really liked cameras, but David said, “Try to enjoy yourself.

They’re just part of it.” He said, “Do Kung Fu -it’s what you’re good at!”

it was “Never mind all this jumping around, what’s the bottom line?” A lot of David’s questions are what turned me into an alchemist. He’d say, “Give me the eye of the storm,” and I would go out and beat the crap out of myself in high winds until I discovered the Golden Spiral (the Fibonacci sequence). I figured it out on my own, as far as its relationship to martial physics. His questions drove me to go further by being the best that I could be; for not only him, but for the future of the arts.

How much of David was cut out of Kill Bill 1 and 2?

Sometimes things are cut out, other times they are rearranged for a reason. There was David action removed from the original script, but it was done so with the intent of strengthening and mystifying David’s character. Quentin Turpentine is smart. There is a method to his madness. David’s performance was stellar. I don’t see how it could’ve been improved upon. It was a case of less is more. David kicked ass in that movie.

Do you think they would have been better with those parts included?

It worked out the way it did, for all the right reasons. Again, Quentin is smart.

How did David’s passing affect you? The rumors?

When David pasted, I lost my best friend. His daughter, Kansas, called me that morning at about 4am.

She told me the news and what the rumours might be. I shut off the TV for about 2 weeks. I didn’t want to buy into how things get twisted.

David Carradine was a great friend, an honest man, and extremely talented. God rest his soul.

What would you like the readers to remember about David?

To David, the art of swordsmanship represented “cutting through the bullshit.” He would tell the truth regardless. He stood straight up, like he owned the place. He always had dogs, none of which had ever been put on a leash. He was smart, talented, loyal, giving, super fun to hang around with, and he had a great sense of humour. I can still sense his antics as though his playful spirit is looking out for me. And furthermore, Quai Chang Caine, changed martial arts for the better of the universe.

Always remember that.

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

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

How did David affect your own training and martial philosophies?

David had a profound effect on my Kung Fu because he would ask great questions, and his needs were a lot different than most. With him, WWW.COMBATMAG.CO.UK COMBAT 85

AMA Amateur Martial Associations

AMA is the largest Martial Arts Organisation in the British Isles. It is the Governing Body for over 6,000 clubs and 90,000 members. Most of these have been with us for over 35 years. We must be doing something right!

Join the AMA now and get the best national and international recognition, the best access to courses and competitions, national and world-wide.

Over 35 years experience of growth.

Whatever the size or style of your group or club you are welcome in the AMA. We are here to serve you.

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AMA is affiliated to:

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To see national AMA listings of over 13,000 instructors/clubs on the web, type: www.bt.com/thephonebook then in ‘business’ type: martial arts and town For an information pack without obligation, call us, alternatively you can fax or post the coupon to the address below.

AMA LICENCE RETURNS and CRB ENQURIES:

AMA General Secretary Peter Allen AMA, 169 Cotswold Crescent, Walshaw Park, Bury Lancs, BL8 1QL Name:

Address:

Office Hours 9am until 4pm Monday to Friday All other times please leave a message.

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AMA001/12

Tel: 0161 763 5599 Fax: 0560 150 2065 E-Mail: office@amauk.co.uk

THE ONLY MAGAZINE DEDICATED TO ALL KARATEKA

TRADITIONAL

Aikido Opens its Vol. 24 No. 03 March 2012

Doors in Leeds BLACK BELT GRADING The Big One

THE ESKK COLUMN

Makiwara, Essential or Outdated? Part 2

STANCES

Sochin & Kiba Dachi

Visit the Traditional Karate Magazine website @ www.karatemag.co.uk

THE E.S.K.K ® COLUMN With Chris Denwood

the makiwara:

essential or outdated?

part 2

In the first part of this article I explained a little about the history and development of the makiwara, the concept and importance of impact training for pragmatic martial artists, along with some of the benefits and downsides specifically associated with makiwara training. This month, I’ll be discussing why I think the makiwara possesses unique qualities that still very much make it a useful tool for impact training to this day, plus I’ll share with you some general guidance for use and some specific exercises to practice.

Functional power in striking comes from not only the way in which energy is issued from the ground (the delivery system), but also from the way in which reactive energy is absorbed and redirected back through the body (reaction system). Newton’s laws mean that we must consider both systems if we are to fully utilise the body and make it as efficient as possible. The uniqueness of the makiwara is its ability to challenge not only the delivery system, but also the reaction system through its inherent springy quality. Whatever you give the makiwara it will return with interest and regular practice of coping with this feedback helps greatly to produce a powerful strike when applied on a ‘real’ target and this is why I think this tool is so special to karate when compared with other implements used for developing impact. Regularly facing the makiwara will help make your hands become relaxed, charged and heavy. It will also test your resolve because you will be challenged with a degree of discomfort in order to develop and grow. No matter how many times you strike, the makiwara will always prevail and remain upright as you walk away day after day.

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respect for this very valuable teacher as it will waste no time in revealing your errors. In addition to the physical values associated with makiwara training, there is also a mental component that comes from the constant and rhythmical repetition of technique, striving for that unattainable state of perfection.

Personally, I find makiwara training very valuable aspect for my study of karate as a whole.

Using the makiwara The makiwara is generally used to apply the lessons associated with structural alignment and dynamics for effective functional power.

Begin by facing the makiwara with the left leg forward with the front foot turned inwards slightly towards the base of the post and the rear foot also in vertical alignment. The weight should be evenly distributed and legs evenly flexed at the knees.

Start with only a few repetitions of each movement both sides and after a couple of weeks start to increase the numbers gradually until you can complete a few hundred repetitions. By varying the exercises, it is not uncommon for experienced

practitioners to perform around 1000 strikes per session. However, quality must always come before quantity and it is most important that you strive for improvement in technique over increase in repetitions. So performing 50 correct strikes is far better than performing 500 bad strikes - remember that it’s not ‘practice’, but ‘correct practice’ that makes perfect!

It is expected that your knuckles will become red and a little sore, but if you break the skin at all then you should not face the makiwara again until the

The makiwara pad is traditionally made with straw. Leather is a more modern alternative that is generally more forgiving to the skin.

Showing the contact points for the ¾ turn fist (nanameken)

I also like to vigorously shake my hands for a minute or so after training in order to help promote blood flow to the area. The ways in which to strike the makiwara are limited only by your imagination. However, below I’ve listed a few very basic drills to get you started. These concentrate on using the fist as a weapon, but it must be noted that a whole range of weapons can be developed. However, for open handed strikes such as tenohira uchi (palm strike) and shuto uchi (sword hand strike), I personally like to make use of the ishi (stone) instead.

Exercise (1) isolating dynamics

wound has completely healed.

Re-opening cuts on a daily basis is very counter-productive, it goes against the natural recovery process and in doing so will put you on the road to eventual failure. Breaking the skin can be quite irritating, not only from a physical point of view, but also if you are eager to progress. After some practice however, it is possible to gauge your training so that your knuckles are challenged to a point just before the skin is liable to break.

Achieving this consistently is a fine art though and not always successful.

As the hands gradually become more conditioned to repetitive impact, the potential for broken skin will begin to diminish. Therefore in the initial stages of training, it pays to be patient and strike the makiwara only when the hands are healthy enough to do so.

I would also personally recommend that you make use of a good quality conditioning liniment. The ingredients will help to promote natural healing, increase blood flow, reduce any swelling and disperse bruising, as well as toughening and protecting the skin, bones, ligaments and tendons.

Iron Palm liniment or dit da jow (literally ‘iron fall wine’) is ideal for this and now, with all the shops of the world at your fingertips via the internet, this (along with other liniments) can be obtained from a number of suppliers. Rub a little into your hands before training and then again afterwards, making sure to massage well into the areas used to strike the makiwara and that the liniment is fully absorbed (i.e. hands are completely dry) before performing your first strike.

back fist (uraken)

Place your rear hand against the makiwara with the palm against the pad and the fingers hooked over the top of the post. By focusing on the connection made by your feet against the ground, explosively push the palm into the pad. This action should come from the whole body using the posterior chain in addition to the effective use of gravity by ‘dropping the knee’, the principles of sequential delay, elastic (stretch) potential and use of the koshi (hips). The movement should not originate from the arm, which should ideally remain extended throughout.

This exercise is a great starting point for those new to makiwara training and for more experienced strikers, a suitable initial drill before moving into to more advanced level striking. It helps the mind/body connection and promotes a greater understanding of

how body dynamics and timing are used to support the tsuki (thrust) – this being a key principle within traditional karate. When many people first face the makiwara they tend to concentrate on striking as hard as possible and more often than not overemphasise the use of the arms for power generation. In close range affairs, this would be a luxury seldom enjoyed and from a pragmatic perspective, the upper limbs should merely be used to transmit force into the opponent, with the main functionality coming from the lower body and core. Since the hand is already at rest against the pad during the exercise, it forces the use of the body and inherently reduces the emphasis placed on the upper limbs.

Also, because of these distance related restrictions, the only way to achieve more output is to incorporate the dynamic principles already mentioned above to good effect.

From a structural point of view, the elbow should remain low and not pointing out to the side. In addition, the shoulder of the striking arm should be pulled down with the waki (arm pit) closed. Any structural inaccuracies will be felt and probably seen very quickly and should be corrected as soon as they become apparent. Ensure that the hips and sacrum are aligned correctly so that the connection between the lower and upper body is sound. The whole idea of this exercise

and sword hand (shuto)

is to feel as though you are striking from the ground (or more accurately, with the ground) and that any emphasis at the feet is transmitted through the body and into the WWW.COMBATMAG.CO.UK COMBAT 89

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A fundamental exercise before moving onto actual striking involves making contact with the makiwara and developing a dynamic and explosive push through the target.

makiwara via the striking limb.

Regular practice of this exercise will help ingrain the application of this concept and slowly but surely, increase the effectiveness of your tsuki.

Exercise (2) - reverse thrust This is the application of gyaku zuki (reverse thrust), which is effectively a progression of the first exercise by adding movement of the upper limb.

The fist should make contact with the first two knuckles and for me, preferably extended in the naname ken (three quarter fist) position. I find that this technique helps to ensure good structure, especially with the elbow joint, which is naturally brought to the side more in the sei ken (regular fist) position. Begin in the same stance as the previous exercise and with each repetition, focus on feeling for energy at the ground, travelling up the body and out through the limb. At the same time, ensure the structure is such that any reactive energy is absorbed and redirected back into the ground. Here, you can also apply concentration to the front foot and practice dropping the knee momentarily before impact, therefore utilising gravity to aid the strike. Lastly, bring your attention to the principle of sequential delay and work on a smooth transition of force through the joints of the body from 90 COMBAT WWW.COMBATMAG.CO.UK

the ankles to the wrist and all other in between.

Exercise (3) - adding foot movement The next progression of the gyaku zuki is to add foot movement via both a step and a hitch. Each of these transitions is different and helps to emphasise certain aspects of dynamics. For example, since the hitch relies on a strong drive from the rear leg, principles such as ‘elastic potential ‘and’ triple extension’ can be practiced more easily.

In contrast, the step is a great way of learning about bodyweight manipulation, alignment and dropping the knee.

Exercise (4) – changing the angle Following movement of the body, you can also progress to changing the angle of the thrust slightly so that the strike penetrates in different directions. Just before the moment of impact, apply either an inward or outward emphasis, or either an upward or downward emphasis.

This allows you to feel the effects of ‘fine tuning’ the strike and employing different ratios of muscular recruitment. It also increases the level of control you have over your striking limbs and the way in which you issue force through them. In application, this can completely change the effects of a strike Changing the angle of strikes has a good conditioning effect too, since the striking surface of the weapon will achieve much more uniform exposure to the target.

Exercise (5) – closing the distance In self-protection, distance is a luxury seldom enjoyed, so once you have become competent at hitting the makiwara, it is then useful to purposefully restrict the distance of each technique so that you are then forced to find power through efficient technique. One useful drill is to do this

through gradual steps, by reducing the range a couple of inches following each strike. Then when you are at the stage that your knuckles are almost touching the makiwara, begin to progressively increase the distance again in the same way. Aim for the whole drill to be completed in around 20 to 25 strikes so that you can repeat it a few times in succession with both hands. During the drill be very mindful of where the power originates, try to find the most effective path and resist as much as possible the urge to pull back (telegraph) before striking.

Well, that’s all for now. So until next month, if you have any questions or comments then please don’t hesitate to drop me a line – it’s always nice to hear from you!

Chris Denwood has been Gyakuzuki (reverse thrust) from a standard reference position.

This is the most basic way to strike the makiwara and represents the core for endless development.

practicing karate since childhood.

He is founder & chief instructor of the Eikoku Satori Karate-Do Kyokai and author of the book, ‘Respecting the Old, Creating the New’ - available NOW from both LuLu and Amazon.

For more information about Chris and his approach to karate, you can visit his web site at www.eskk.co.uk, sign up to his FREE mailing list, plus follow him on Facebook and YouTube!

by Chris Denwood

Stances part 3 Sochin & Kiba dachi Over the last 2 months I have talked about stances and how they can be broken down into two categories. This month we are going to look at Sochin and Kiba dachi. In case you missed any of the previous articles I have repeated the basic description of formal and informal stances.

Formal • • • • •

Zenkutsu dachi Kokutsu dachi Sochin dachi Kiba dachi Hangetsu dachi

Informal • Neko ashi dachi • Renoji dachi • Teiji dachi 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 their 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.

Having covered the basics for Zenkutsu dachi (forward leaning) and Kokutsu dachi (back stance) this month I would like to move on to the fundamental basics of Sochin dachi (diagonal stance) and 92 COMBAT WWW.COMBATMAG.CO.UK

Kiba dachi

Sochin dachi

Kiba dachi (straddle stance).

As with all the formal stances the same basic rules apply so we are still looking at the length, depth, and width, of the stances. Having read the last couple of articles you will now have a good understanding of these terms and what they mean.

Kibba dachi contain the same basic elements and are executed in the same way with one major difference Kiba dachi is performed in a straight line and Sochin dachi is performed on a 45deg angle. Even though both stances are executed in the same way using the same theory and foot positions etc they have very different applications. Kiba dachi is much harder to move in and out of due to the fact that the feet are perfectly in line. Now comes the part where conflict may exist how many old moves do you see lines of students standing in rows sitting in Kiba dachi facing the front punching to the instructors count. I also use this as a training tool to strengthen legs and improve the hikate (hip action) of punching.

But this presents your opponent with a full frontal target area and

Before we move on to the details of this month’s chosen stances I cannot stress enough the importance of practicing and maintaining basics.

Whether you are competing, grading, or unfortunate enough to have to defend yourself in real life it will always be the basics that make or break the outcome. Bad foundations will not support solid buildings.

Sochin dachi & Kiba dachi Both of the stances Sochin &

offers very little resistance to head on attacks due to you not being able to lock your feet into the floor. This makes you very easy to knock off balance backwards. But if you use the stance in straight lines with the head facing left or right the target area is now minimised.

The sides or blades of the feet can be dug in making a very strong solid base whilst presenting only the side of your body to your opponent. Sochin dachi as described earlier is exactly the same except itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s performed on a 45deg angle.

The weight distribution in both stances is 50/50 front to back.

As with Zenkutsu dachi the body position and back must be straight and proud with the shoulders in line with the feet in Kiba dachi and off square in Sochin dachi.

Length of stance (How far apart your legs are measured from foot to foot.)

As with all stances this varies with the individuals build,

flexibility, age, and even sex.

Use the formula (explained in the last article) length of stance equals half your height as a rough guide line.

Depth of stance (How far down you are.

(Measuring from floor to groin.)

Both stances are exactly the same. Having established the length of stance bend the knees and lower your body down until the thighs are almost 90deg to the lower leg. As in Zenkutsu dachi you are aiming to get the knees level with the end of your toes. When the correct position is achieved the legs should be square from floor to knee across to the opposite knee and back down to the floor forming a letter.

Width of stance Kiba dachi has no width as the feet are in line as you can see by the photo the line cuts straight through both feet all equal. Sochin dachi shares a lot in common with Zenkutsu

dachi I have used both the following descriptions in my class to get students to understand and perform the correct foot positions.

Execute a Kiba dachi stance correctly then pivoting on the back foot draw an arc with your front foot (like a compass) until your front foot is making a 45deg angle from your back foot. Or stand in a correctly executed Zenkutsu dachi and instead of locking the back leg bend the knee out, the foot will want to go with it then adjust the front foot a fraction so both feet are parallel. The end result is still the same it just depends which description a particular student understands. Most common mistakes when using these stances are letting the feet turn out (this then becomes a different stance) this also has the effect of making the stance very unsettled and week. Failing to keep the knees pushed out to maintain the boxed look of the stance and letting your back side stick out. Executed

correctly both these stance offer great strength, and resistance to sweeps when fending off strong attacks.

Need help or advice?

Please feel free to contact me with your questions or problems.

Remember Life is for living so live it.

Sensei Paul Smith Chairman and head of the M.S.K.F Phone 07977697689 Mail paul@mskf.co.uk Mail mskf@mskf.co.uk WWW.COMBATMAG.CO.UK COMBAT 93

Black Belt Grading

The Big One. The light at the end of the tunnel, the prize at the end of the road, whatever it means to the individual karatika it’s the one thing you have all been working for over the last few years the fabled Black Belt. Even though you will have trod the boards in your Dojo many times to get you to this point on your journey, there is still something very special about your 1st Dan. No other belt feels like it before or will again.

So what makes a good Black Belt ?

That’s easy, all you have to do is be able to destroy all enemies no matter who or what they are, jump thirty six feet in the air without a wire, a figure that over the years has been open to some exaggeration imagine trying to jump forty feet come on. Be able to destroy multiple attackers multiple being ten or more and no Black Belt

94 COMBAT WWW.COMBATMAG.CO.UK

would be worth anything if he wasn’t able to catch bullets both in his hands and teeth. So there you have it not an exhaustive list just a few things that spring to mind. Believe it or not I have over the years been asked if I am capable of some of the above I mean how stupid can people be no one can really jump thirty six feet in the air. In some ways the above list might be easier to do, it takes

a special person to make it all the way to Black Belt special in a way no amount of money can buy no short cut can take you there and it is a journey only understood by those who have already completed it. To me a Black Belt is someone who is basically

a good human being , honourable without question, trustworthy, loyal, someone who will not roll over curl up and give in whatever the fight physical or mental, if the going gets tough they will dig in and try harder all of these traits will be put to test on your Dan grading.

What to expect on the day.

This will depend on the criteria laid down by your instructor most are similar. I have been fortunate to have sat on the panel of various gradings over the years from different clubs and organisations and even though they differ they still all cover the same basic elements required of a Black Belt.

The following is a laid down criteria for a 1st Dan grading in my club.

The grading consists of eight sections each marked out of ten.

You will be issued with a set of twenty questions all to do with Shotokan Karate things you should know as a first Dan for example.

Who was the founder of Shotokan Karate? What is the name of the group of islands that Okinawa belongs to?

What is the mysterious inner power or strength called?

What Kata has the moves Jodan Juju uke followed by gedan Juju uke in it ?

You will have twenty minutes to complete the questions on completion your score will be converted to a figure out of 10 and added to your grading total.

Second test will be on the mat for terminology. Japanese commands in combinations all off the cuff nothing rehearsed this lasts for around twenty minutes again marked out of ten.

Next section Kata. You will have to now perform all Katas from red/white belt to Black Belt this consists of 19 Katas done one after the other with short breathers in sections. This tests fitness and mental strength. As

the body tires the brain starts to starve of oxygen and the mind starts to wander so you have to keep concentration under extreme physical conditions as well as fighting the fatigue in the body.Your next section will be Waza, techniques with a partner 5 on each side left and right at both Jodan (head height) and chudan (middle level) next comes defences against kicks mygeri (front kick) yokogeri (side kick) & mywashigeri (roundhouse kick) You are expected to block and counter your opponent and disable the attack. Half way through now about two and half hours into the grading. Short break then straight back on the mat for gion kumite this consists of somebody attacking you five times while you step backwards blocking them, on the last attack you then counter. You will have to show an understanding of stances and distance as you step backwards each step back will compound the pressure you are under from your opponent your aim is to rule the distance with strong stances and accurate techniques to force your attacker into poor positions. Now comes the final technical section before the fighting, knife techniques.

You will be attacked at jodan and chudan levels and will have to disable and remove the knife from the attacker on all accounts.

To be able to remove the Knife successfully you will have to show an understanding of the mechanics of the arm to enable you to lock the arm up and force the knife to be dropped. A full understanding of the limitations of knife techniques will be tested knowing what techniques require a strike and where to strike prior to the lock are essential to success. At last we have only two sections left kumite (fighting) competition and free fighting.

Mitts and pads on the area is marked out and you will now have two point scoring fights each fight lasts for 3 minutes or 4 wazaris (points). Sharpness, skill and thought are all required now, this is not a blood bath battle but one of skill. You are trying to out smart and out manoeuvre your opponent ending the fight as

quickly as possible with minimal effort showing that you are in complete control of the situation.

Final section this will now test your ability to push yourself beyond the pain barrier, past the point that you feel you can’t go on, through and beyond the point when you curl up and give up. This after all you have been through will test every ounce of your mental and physical strength the free fight. No rules just get stuck in trying to keep control when your legs are wavering your heart exploding you struggle to lift your arms up but some how with the enthusiastic encouragement of your sensei you manage to keep going you take a few blows you fall down you get back up everything seems disconnected at last what seems like an hour later you hear some where in the muffled distance with your head spinning the words yamahi its done. Slowly you recover returning back to the real world pushed to your limit with a sense of relief you have done all you can do. The marks come in and you are awarded the grade 1st Dan Black Belt while you are pleased with this monumental achievement something still feels strange almost disappointing then it hits you you’re now wearing the one thing you longed for all those years.

Need help or advice Please feel free to contact me with your questions or problems.

Remember Life is for living so live it.

Sensei Paul Smith Chairman and head of the M.S.K.F Phone 07977697689 Mail “mailto:paul@mskf. co.uk”paul@mskf.co.uk Mail “mailto:mskf@mskf. co.uk”mskf@mskf.co.uk

By Paul Smith

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Paul Smith 5th Dan

Mike Judd 4th Dan

Karen Allen 4th Dan

Midland Shotokan karate Federation BritiSh ChaMpionShip Clubs from across the midlands once again merged for the prestigious event hungry to compete in our own championships for the first time in two years. The MSKF have been in existence for 8 years started by three original clubs and their heads forming a professional modern none political organisation with one aim to further the teaching of Karate.

The event was scheduled to start at 10.00 sharp with competitors registering at 9.15 all went smoothly and the first event started on time.

This year for the first time the MSKF came in line with the current English Karate Federation Kumite rules dropping the old wazari ippon scoring system for the red and blue flag system. To help 96 COMBAT WWW.COMBATMAG.CO.UK

facilitate the change we had during the year held a course with Dale Gamble senior referee for the EKF to train our officials ready for the event. The changes in the rules not only affect the officials but also have huge ramifications for the athletes competing. So again to help with the transition a course with the legendary Wayne Otto 8 times world champion and head coach for the EKF was held to educate the competitors in what was now acceptable regarding scoring techniques.

Those that have competed will know how frustrating it can be when your scores are not being recognised by the officials because they lack a particular element required for that competition. Real life and competition require very different elements for a successful outcome.

For some the day was a huge learning curve dealing with new rules and for others it was their first competition. A huge highlight for me on the day was to be reminded how Karate is

for everyone and not just the gifted few. We had athletes from 5yrs to 60yrs old and an outstanding performance from one gentleman with special needs who performed his Kata to a standing ovation, a sight sadly forgotten in this day of modern competition.

The day ran without any serious problems with all competitors holding true to the spirit of Karate.

Congratulations to all those that took trophies on the day.

And to all competitors that took part. The very fact that you entered the competition makes you all winners.

Midland Shotokan Karate Federation British Kumite Champions Boys Kumite 5-8 years Charlie Harris - 1st Boys Kumite 9-10 years Jake Cartridge -1st Chandler Smith - 2nd Daniel Chew - 3rd Boys Kumite 11-12 years

Richard Hill, Mike Carr

Jack Harris - 1st Ethan Wall - 2nd Joshua Devey - 3rd Boys Kumite 13-16 years

Nici Nixon, Hannah Burdett

Owen Cartridge - 1st Charlie Marshall - 2nd Ryan Skelton - 3rd Mens Kumite Richard Hill - 1st Mike Carr - 2nd Aaron Dry - 3rd Masters Kumite Jason Huckle - 1st Ladies Kumite Hannah Burdet - 1st Nici Nixon - 2nd Roderisa Simms - 3rd WWW.COMBATMAG.CO.UK COMBAT 97

Roderisa Simms

Midland Shotokan Karate Federation British Kata Champions

Richard Hill, John Hill, Mike Carr

Leigh Simms

Mixed Kata 5-7 years Charlie Harris - 1st Jack Hoti - 2nd Alfred Owen - 3rd Mixed Kata 8-9 years Daniel Chew - 1st Robert Saliba - 2nd Jessica McGrady - 3rd Mixed Kata 10-11 years Jack Harris - 1st Callum Perrins - 2nd Ben Edwards - 3rd Boys Kata 12-15 years Joshua Devey - 1st Ahmed Miakhail - 2nd Girls Kata 13-16 years Roderisa Simms - 1st Hannah Burdet - 2nd Bethany Wall - 3rd Mens Kata Leigh Simms - 1st Mike Carr - 2nd Richard Hill - 3rd Masters Kata Jason Huckle - 1st John Hill - 2nd Ian Barlow - 3rd Team Kata Elite Samurai - 1st Elite Giants - 2nd 98 COMBAT WWW.COMBATMAG.CO.UK

John Hill

Need help or advice Please feel free to contact me with your questions or problems.

Remember Life is for living so live it.

Sensei Paul Smith Chairman and head of the M.S.K.F Phone 07977697689 Mail HYPERLINK mail to: paul@mskf.co.uk

MSK001/01

FEK001/07

AIKIDO Opens Its Doors In Leeds.

On the 22nd of August, Shinko Aikido held an open day for the general public at their Morley dojo to offer an insight into what Aikido (and Shinko) is all about.

Shinko was set up in 2009 by Senior instructor Sensei Ashley Scholefield, a student of 7th Dan Sensei Shane Riley (of the White Rose Aikido Association which Shinko is affiliated) who is very proud of the success Shinko has achieved so far and for them to be associated with the White Rose Aikido Association. The importance of Sensei Riley’s input in making Shinko Aikido successful cannot be overplayed.

Carrying forward Riley Sensei’s style, Shinko Aikido Leeds trains in a very ‘true to life’ form, focusing on the self-defence applications whilst retaining the tradition of the techniques. Shinko was born out of a desire to teach Aikido to the general public in the Leeds area and now with two dojos, despite the many difficulties many people experience with the running of a martial arts club.

The club is now a well-known member of the Aikido community and has travelled to various courses and grading days across the UK and will soon travel internationally to play a greater part in the development of Aikido.

Many Aikido associations around the world emphasise the long flowing movement, big sweeping circles etc… This is where Shinko differs to other Aikido associations, putting self-defence first and to their wide range of students from a variety of backgrounds, showing that this appeals to many members of our community in the Leeds area.

At Shinko Leeds, they believe that BASICS are very important. However they also believe that Aikido should not be overshadowed by excessive philosophy and deep lectures. Above all Shinko aims to teach real Aikido, to help people in whatever situation that they may face.

During the open day they aimed to

show that Aikido is suitable for all members of the community: from women to public servants and the benefits that come from training in it.

Not just the health benefits but also as a mechanism for effective self-defence, whatever forms that may take. From minor incidents to potentially life threatening events, both domestically and in the field of frontline civil duty protection. They also looked at attracting teens and young adults to join, to help get them off the streets and help protect themselves from both unarmed and armed attacks, specifically knife crime which is blight on our society that many people have lost their lives too more recently.

The open day sessions consisted of a basic warm up session (to help relax the muscles and work individual muscle groups) to prepare for the training. They then moved on to basic techniques from grabs as at Shinko they follow the idea that you will build up your knowledge and technique prowess over time to deal with the situation with an appropriate response.

Finally they staged a full demonstration to show how Aikido progresses, including weapon attacks specifically knife work as this is something that Aikido deals with in its repertoire. A skill which is as useful in today’s modern world, taught as it was when the techniques were first developed.

Many attended the

day and it was a resounding success and since then, Shinko have held a demonstration and taster session at a NHS manager’s conference in Leeds.

Shinko Aikido is proud of what they have achieved in the relatively short time they have been established as a club. They now have a wide range of students from different backgrounds which is very important to them as Aikido should not just be for one group of individuals, it should be accessible to all people and groups to help spread to knowledge of Aikido as both a martial art for self-defence purposes and as a method of refocusing the mind to help resolve daily life issues, violent and non-violent.

WWW.COMBATMAG.CO.UK COMBAT 101

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TAEKWONDO

& KOREAN MARTIAL ARTS MAGAZINE VOLUME 15 ISSUE 10 MARCH 2012

Ancient Energy Excersises of Tang Soo Do

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

grandmaster

dominic giacobbe The Tang Soo Do Interview Part 1

“The Way of the Warrior is the most important concept in the study of Tang Soo Do”.

There begins a publication by GrandMaster Dominick Giacobbe which takes us on a journey from the feats of courage by the Hwa Rang warriors to the present day where we all face the stresses and obstacles of everyday life. Positive attitude and the will to overcome; developing the strength of character to lead a peaceful and successful life are now the ultimate aims. This is a book for everyone regardless of rank and I highly recommend it. I was intrigued to know more so I sought out the author for an interview and this is what transpired.

Firstly though a little background information to whet your appetite.

His first Instructor was GrandMaster Jae Chul Shin beginning in 1968 but special training with GrandMaster Hyun Chul Hwang (the founders son) and GrandMaster C.S. Kim make his pedigree impeccable. GrandMaster Giacobbe travelled to Korea and was taught ancient techniques of mind power derived from internal Chi energy. I wanted to pursue some of these higher aspects of the art for the benefit of our readers and begin with the principles of Tai Chi.

Sir, at what stage in your development did you learn the Tai Chi form and who taught it to you ? How do you feel it follows the cycle of life from hard to soft and young to old ?

KJN DOMINICK GIACOBBE: Something that is unknown to many Tang Soo Do practitioners is that the final hyung in Tang Soo Do is a traditional Yang style Tai Chi form.

The full circle is completed where the “hard” meets the “soft” - I began learning Tai Chi when I was a 7th Dan in Tang Soo Do. I knew Tai Chi was the final form of Tang Soo Do so I was eager to learn about Tai Chi. In 1993 I brought Grand Master Jin Lu of China to the USA for a year. He taught me 104 COMBAT WWW.COMBATMAG.CO.UK

Tai Chi. I practice it for developing internal chi and for balance.

The concept is that a person can practice for an entire life beginning hard and physically active to becoming soft and relaxed. I also continue to practice Ti Ji Nae Bu, which is a military Yoga. Ti Ji Nae Bu is similar to Tai Chi but in Tai Chi movements are continuous in The Ti Ji Nae Bu you move slowly to a position and hold it for 10 or 15 seconds concentrating on the Chi.

Where you also taught the practical applications or movement alone ?

KJN DOMINICK GIACOBBE: I learned the traditional Tai Chi and also Chi Dao which is the meditation. I practised the push hands and learned a lot about how to make a person use his weight against himself.

I ask because there appears to be some difference of opinion over the Ho Sin Sul or Personal Protection side of Tai Chi. Some exponents do not relate very well to the dynamic disposal of an adversary which although meeting the non-opposition of force criteria may

incorporate single knuckle strikes to vital points or employ the 4 Corners including pulling and striking, takedowns, use of shoulder and hip, elbow and knee to repel an attack. Many prefer the image of an old Master using his Chi power to control the attacker without apparent physical effort.

As a Master of “Mind over Matter” I would be interested in your opinion ?

KJN DOMINICK GIACOBBE: I think it is the mind which gives us the power to be victorious in battle. If you are truly mentally more determined than the person you are in combat with you will defeat him. I think it would take many years of intense practice for the Tai Chi movements to be effective in self-defense and I would feel more comfortable with the strikes and blows of Tang Soo Do. However, the idea of using the opponents weight and energy against himself is very effective. The concept is this - if you throw a punch at a Tang Soo Do stylist he will use force to block it and then counter with another attack. In Tai Chi you will take the punch and not resist its force but you will allow his punch to continue and by simply pulling or

TANG SOO DO

By Master David Allerton (5th Dan)

guiding him in the same direction the person punching falls off balance.

In Tai Chi the counter attack is then applied. It is a very difficult application because our natural reaction is to block a punch with force. I do not know which concept is better I think both concepts are effective, it is the level of the practitioner which will determine the effectiveness. However it will take much longer for a person to learn self-defense through Tai Chi than it would take in Tang Soo Do.

Sir, in your book you refer to strikes to the occipital ridge or the point of the lower jaw. How much importance do you attach to these techniques in self defence where you are faced with an aggressive adversary raging with adrenaline or worse ?

KJN DOMINICK GIACOBBE: I strongly believe in the vital point strikes. These points are weak spots on the human body. When you direct an attack to one of these points you will do damage to the body. It does not matter if a person who is attacking you is pumping with adrenaline, if you were to poke him in the eyes or strike him in the throat or any other vital point, it will have the same effect. The idea of a vital point is that you can not tighten a muscle or make it not be a weak spot so it will always have the same reaction.

Following on from this, in circumstances of a violent confrontation where our own adrenaline is high what methods can we use to remain calm enough to apply precise strikes or do you think we should resort to a handful of simple techniques to vital points ?

KJN DOMINICK GIACOBBE: As

far as staying calm this will come with years of training. The more experience you have the better you will react. I strongly believe in the concept of “Simple is Effective”. It’s better to do something very simple than to try something complicated

I notice that the 12 characteristics of hyungs on page 27 of your book follow those of GrandMaster Hwang Kee. Did you ever receive instruction from him personally ? Do you have any memorable experiences which you can relate to us either with GrandMaster Hyun Chul Hwang or Grandmaster C.S. Kim ?

KJN DOMINICK GIACOBBE: I was very fortunate to learn Tang Soo Do from several of the top Tang Soo Do Grand Masters in the world. My first teacher Grand Master Jae C Shin is a unique man. He was very strict and a man of strong principles. I began with him as a white belt and he taught me personally. When he moved he was like a cat very fast and smooth. I remember one time I was an orange belt and he pulled me out for free fighting; he came at me so quickly I was amazed. Master Shin had the fastest front kick, sometimes I thought it was like a snake when you went to block it he would adjust his direction and still get it into your body with extreme force. In 1972 Grand Master Shin was opening a second school in New Jersey so he brought over Master Chun Sik Kim. Grand Master Kim was also an amazing Tang Soo Do Master but very different from GrandMaster Shin. He was much shorter but he was husky and very strong, he had very large muscles and was extremely powerful. His arms were huge like a weight lifter. I was now a red belt when Master Kim came to the USA. He was very intense and a great instructor, very motivational

and demanding. Each class he free sparred me, he was a fierce fighter.

He had a very powerful side kick and a powerful reverse punch. He was my first instructor who demonstrated the power of the mind. We not only practiced Tang Soo Do but we also practiced meditation and breathing exercises. I thank GrandMaster Kim for developing me into a teacher. I obtained my Black belt and credited him for getting me there. In 1975 Master Hyun Chul Hwang, the son of Tang Soo Do founder GrandMaster Hwang Kee, came to the USA. He stayed with Master Shin and it was my job to pick him up every morning from Master Shin’s house and bring him to my school. We spent many hours together training Tang Soo Do and he was so informative. He had unbelievable technique. He was so fast and his movements were quick with great balance. When we practiced he always challenged me with his speed. It was my job to teach him about the American customs and how to operate a Tang Soo Do school in the USA. I was gaining valuable knowledge unaware he was the son of the Grand Master. We spent 7 months together everyday. In the evening I would drive Master H C. Hwang back to Master Shin’s home and we would all eat dinner together.

I credit Grand Master Hyun Chul Hwang for developing my technique and my Hyungs.

I had the great honor to attend 3 classes with the founder of Tang Soo

The Rose of the Desert A

lthough it seems obvious to the world at large, we as martial artists are artists as well. We use our hands and feet as brushes and the open space (or our opponents in some cases) as our canvases. Once we think of ourselves in that way why shouldn’t we consider ourselves in the same vein as painters, sculptors, composers or musicians?

If you go to your public library or bookstore, where do you find a good book on Shotokan Karate or Russian Sambo? Not in the arts section or even alternative lifestyle or philosophy. Rather the sports section. Now in some cases that may be appropriate, but it is a gross oversimplification.

To be taken seriously as artists we must first see ourselves as such.

For that reason I will begin a short series on artists that directly or indirectly have some bearing on martial arts spiritually or esthetically.

After almost a decade of living in South Korea I have met hundreds 106 COMBAT WWW.COMBATMAG.CO.UK

of masters in all fields of endeavor. Through one of my masters, a retired action star who now goes by the name of Wong-Ho (formerly known as Casanova Wong) many have been artists of other fields. One of the extraordinary ones was a performer/ traditional Korean paper artist who went by the name of Rose Park. Her performances mixed mysticism, history, classical beauty and spirituality all at the same time. Upon my good friend Paul, my wife and I getting to know her, we found a very open minded and unique individual that we knew had to be part of the Martial Arts Show Live in 2012!

Here’s her story…

Rose (Park Ok-Kyung) was born in a small town called Seong-ju in the north part of Gyeung-sang province in South Korea on February 16th, 1963. She was the youngest of seven children. She looks back know and sees herself as the last colour of the rainbow. Her father was truly multi-faceted. He was a pilot, musician, actor, director, and writer among other things. All of those things he studied in his youth in Japan (at that time that

was a young person’s only option for higher education). Her mother also studied in Japan and met her husband-to-be there. Her mother was working with han-ji (traditional paper) sewing. After Korea freed themselves from Japanese rule, the pair returned to the newly freed Korea in 1945. Although not famous, they busied themselves by always doing something in the arts.

Today Rose herself is always busy writing, painting, dancing, singing and working with han-ji. She sees this as ingrained in her.

After her parents returned to their home country they opened a small school to re-educate the public in traditional arts. Tragically when the Korean War broke out in 1950 they were outcasts and seen as kind of bourgeoisie and in addition, the father was repeatedly assaulted.

After a time the father couldn’t really do much art anymore. By the end of the Korean War most artists in “South” Korea started visiting the still affluent Park family.

During those times the visiting artists would entertain certain families or communities in exchange for money or (more often than not) food for a few days. As the Parks

grew up surrounded by art, music, and laughter, would later dedicate her life to the arts. It was only obvious as many say.

Although she never studied art formerly there was really never any need to. She ate, breathed and slept art for her entire childhood. Later when she became a national success, people said her performances were very Avant Garde. She thinks the last step of any art form is performing with it. So all her performances carry a part of all the art forms she practices.

Many years and many shows later my wife and I find ourselves sitting and chatting with this unique individual discussing her life, her future and art in general.

understood the hardships of artists in the nation they had more sympathy than others.

This was the environment that young Ok-Kyung grew up in. No surprise that the young girl who

Trad: You are renowned throughout Korea for your art.

Did you ever practice any martial arts?

Rose: One of my older brothers (a kwon-jang) taught taekwondo to me in elementary school from

1st to 4th grade. I guess I was a bit too good and was usually paired off against boys. Sadly as Korea was still far from a sexually equal society I had to stop. That was not a good thing for a growing girl to fight.

Trad: Do you have any interests outside your work?

Rose: I also enjoy writing poetry and columns for magazines and newspapers. When you show everything you know all at once, THAT is a performance. I’m also very interested in helping people.

Through a performance you can express so much but it doesn’t just sit or hang there like other visual arts. Through my performances I want to send a message of love, peace, and beauty. So many people have hard lives. I want to be akin to a shaman where I can heal people spiritually through my art.

Trad: When did you actually begin working with traditional paper and roses?

WWW.COMBATMAG.CO.UK COMBAT 107

Trad: Do you have any famous customers?

Rose: The internationally famous designer, Andre Kim was one.

He loved my white roses. A few famous politicians, C.E.O.’s of big companies and even a number of military generals in addition.

In Won-Ju City there is a famous Korean paper museum. One of my pieces is on display there as well.

Trad: Do you have a favorite piece?

Rose: I liked to play with other kids, but I really loved nature.

Everything in nature I wanted to take in. I also played with dolls made of traditional Korean paper which we call Han-ji . It has a 2000 year history. Claims state that the paper is so durable that if it is protected, it can last up to 1000 years.

As far as art, I started drawing at the age of 3 and did painting (Western and Asian style) later. In middle school I made a rose out of han-ji on a whim. Something just clicked. It felt so natural.

I never looked back.

Why a rose you might ask? It’s not only beautiful; it is sacred, mysteri108 COMBAT WWW.COMBATMAG.CO.UK

ous and divine at the same time. It is very familiar and has such a tremendous impact on art throughout the world. If you think about it, an open rose is a circular shape. It could also be seen as symbolic of a woman’s womb. Through the rose I can create new life and beauty as does a new born mother. Putting that plus Korean traditional paper plus my experiences equals what you seen when I’m stage.

As far as colours I have no favourite, but I tend towards white. Koreans refer themselves commonly as the “People of White”. Since it is not a dramatic colour it can easily change or adapt to any colour.

Rose: I have one piece I call Tempest. It’s my pride and joy.

I also love wearable art. When someone wears a jacket, skirt, hat or vest of mine they can feel they walk into a whole new world.

When I do a fashion show my energy blends with the model’s energy and in turn mixes with the piece’s energy. That trinity produces an amazing result.

Trad: Did you receive any formal dance training?

Rose: As I said I didn’t have any formal art training of any. When I was young I learned traditional dance from various visitors who came to our home. That’s all. However for six years I was the team leader for a ballet company and I

led them in shows across the country.

Trad: Have you been to other countries with your work?

Rose: So far I have been to China, Vietnam, and a few other Southeast Asian countries.

Trad: What are your future plans?

Rose: Sometime in February there is going to a Korean museum opening in Austria and I will have a piece on display. In May I will be attending a special martial arts show in Birmingham, England run by a gentleman I met a few months ago here in Korea. I will be performing there as well as contributing some of my pieces to the fashion show.

Trad: Lastly, what advice would you like to give to artists of any kind?

Rose: In brief? Be the most creative being you can be. Be unique.

Believe and never, ever, give up.

By Guy E. Larke

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