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BRINGING MARTIAL ARTS TO LIFE!!!

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MARTIALARTSSHOW the

THE NEC BIRMINGHAM 7TH & 8TH MAY 2011

W W W . C O M B A T M A G . C O . U K NOVEMBER 2010 Vol. 36 No.5 £3.75

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OPEN TAEKWONDO INTERNATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

GIVE CANCER THE CHOP How Karate Helped Me Through My Cancer Ordeal!

MAKE WEIGHT... & Keep That Sweet Tooth!

BIG FIGHT NERVES

How to Overcome The Pre-fight Jitters

TEAM RESURRECTION Party Like a Rockstar!

WIN: 12 Months Subscription to Combat, See Inside for details...

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VOLUME 36 NUMBER 05 NOVEMBER 2010

COMMENT

PUBLISHER/EDITOR IN CHIEF Paul Clifton paul@martialartsinprint.com

SENIOR DESIGNER Mark John Davies

GRAPHIC DESIGN Kevin Thompson

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

Send it together with a covering letter and some good quality photo’s (digital photographs must be 300dpi) to the Head Office (address below).

NEWS ITEMS 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

CLUBS DIRECTORY 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 If you would like details about advertising in COMBAT please write, telephone or email the Head Office to obtain details, deadline dates and costs etc...

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 Chris Crudelli Gavin Mulholland Joe Hallett Kerry-Louise Norbury Mike Finn Mike Murphy Phil Hobden Silvio Simac CONTRIBUTORS Brian Dossett David Wing Guy Holland Jamie Lee Baron Mick Clarke Noel Crowley Peter Browne

Rich Hinchcliffe Richard Thomas Stuart Rider Tom Hibbert FILM MEDIA Phil Hobden Mike Murphy KUNG FU Derek Frearson Iain Armstrong Jeremy Yau Michael Tse Rash Patel Shi Yan Lei Simon Lau Vince Hinde Yap Leong

4 COMBAT WWW.COMBATMAG.CO.UK

As you may have seen from the advert in this issue, The Martial Arts Show Live is set to take place again at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham over the weekend of May the 7th and 8th 2011.So, if you would like to be involved, would like to find out how your club, group, organisation could possibly attend TMAS Live and have a stand for FREE! Drop a line to info@themartialartsshowlive.com and request a FREE stand info pack for clubs. There are even more and much bigger things happening next year and as it will be the only show of its kind, make sure that you get the most out of it and get involved early on as I feel space will, due to demand, be very limited even with increase in size of the show from last year.

Content in this month’s issue is as usual very diverse in-line with our promise to cater for every practicing martial artist and style out there today. However, if you would like to see something in particular, drop me a line. After all it is YOUR magazine and your feed back is what inspires me to carry the material I do. Traditional, sport, MMA, practical, Student or Instructor alike we aim to give you what you need or want.

Finally, if you would like to win a year’s FREE subscription to Combat, send me in the funniest, strangest or most interesting photo of you or your friend/s doing martial arts or martial arts related “thing” and if I choose to share your photo with the readers of Combat, I will give you a FREE 12 month subscription! Good Luck. Details of where to send your entries can be found opposite this page or online to FUNYYPICS@martialartsinprint.com If you are an MMA fan, don’t miss out on the UFC Expo that is taking place at Earls Court on Friday the 15th and Saturday the 16th of October, See you there???

Until Next Month . . . Oss! Paul S Clifton.

KARATE Andy O’Brien Chris Denwood Gavin Mullholland Iain Abernethy Mike Finn Neil Horton Peter Allen Rannoch McDonald Ronnie Colwell Steve Arneill

FULL CONTACT Bill Wallace Cris Janson-Piers Dean Sugden James watling Joe Lewis Kerry-Louise Norbury Neil Holden Paul Hennesey Steve Humphries Tim Izli

THAI BOXING Bob Spour Dan Green Lee Green Richard Smith Shaun Boland Tony Myers

HEALTH/STRENGTH/FITNESS Drew Price Gavin Sibson Neil Rosiak Philip Malin Silvio Simac Jon Watson

KOREAN ARTS Con Halpin Dave Oliver David allerton Hee Il Cho Keith Evans Nigel Hudson Rob Govern Tony Vohra BOXING Luke Calvert Mark Wilson-Smith MMA Carl Fisher Dave O’Donnell Gavin mulholland Rob Nutley Sam Dyson

SELF PROTECTION/DEFENCE Aran Dharmeratnam Kevin O’Hagan Morne Swaenopal Peter Browne PHOTOGRAPHY Carrie Austin Martyn Skipper SPORT MARTIAL ARTS Brian Beck Curtis Page Humphrey Broome Joe Hallett John Swift Neville Wray Peter Edwards Rob Smith

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CONTENTS REGULARS

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6 13 14 24 28 30 34 36 40 44 46 50 144 -

MARTIAL ARTS NEWSLINE DVD REVIEW - Acorn’s to Oak Trees COMBAT FILM - With Phil Hobden JKD FOR ALL... - By Kwoklyn Wan LESSONS FOR THE CAGE - By Gavin Mulholland THE NEGOTIATOR - By Aran Dharmeratnam THE MAN SPEAKETH! - By Robert Devane MIKE FINN - Real Life Encounters - Part 6 CHATTERBOX - With World Champion Kerry-Louise THE FORMS FORUM - With Joe Hallett SHINOBI SOLDIERS - An Investigation Into The Ninja COMBAT HELPLINE - With Master Jake Ogden CLUBS DIRECTORY & CLASSIFIEDS SECTION

FEATURES

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TEAM RESURRECTION - Party Like a Rockstar WORLD BUDO DEVELOPMENT SOCIETY LIBERATE YOUR WORKOUT WITH THE FREEDOM TRAINER

By Guy Holland 76 THE STORY OF JACKIE CHAN, THE KARATE KID & A VERY WRONG FILM WRITER...

By Phil Hobden GRAND MASTER KIM YONG HO 80 Taekwondo - A Lifetime’s Work 82 WHEN EAST MET WEST IN THE WEST COUNTRY Karate Masters Visit The West Country to Instruct Karate Ka From All Over The UK 85 BFKKO TEAM GB - Kicking Their Way to Success 86 ANGELITO MANGURAY - Karate 4 MMA 0 90 AN OUTDATED & POINTLESS BELT SYSTEM?

By Ian McCranor 92 CRAIG FAIRBRASS - The Footsoldier Has Risen 94 THE EVOLUTION OF A MARTIAL ART SYSTEM Black Belt and Beyond...

The Beginnings of Modern ‘Cross-Training’ 100 - INFINITY SOUTH WEST & BEYOND ISKA South West Championships 102 - ISKA FREESTYLE OPEN 2010

106 - THE ESKK COLUMN - With Chris Denwood 110 - BADGES, BELTS & BOWING Are Our Critics Right?

114 - THE IMPORTANCE OF CONDITIONING

By Mark Kirton 116 - BUNKAI CLINIC - By John Burke 120 - CAN KARATE GIVE THE CREDIT CRUNCH THE CHOP

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126 - 9TH OPEN TAEKWONDO INTERNATIONAL WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS 132 - FROM BEGINNER TO BLACK BELT AND BEYOND With Grand Master Tony Vohra 137 - UKTDC - National Championships 2010 138 - BRITISH TAEKWONDO & MUDO ACADEMY A New Way of Thinking 140 - ITS FIGHT NIGHT - In Scotland

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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

SUPPORTING OUR TROOPS! Military Staff Sergeant reaches out to New Blood Fight Gear for moraleboosting donation. Mixed martial arts clothing company, New Blood Fight Gear <http://newbloodfightgear.com/> , recently received a unique request from Military Staff Sergeant, Alan J Wolfer, deployed in Kirkuk, Iraq.

An MMA enthusiast for the past twelve years, Sgt. Wolfer, who makes combatives (MMA training) a regular part of his troop’s Physical Training Program, reached out to request a donation of New Blood tshirts to boost their morale.

Clayton Maxfield, owner of New Blood Fight Gear, was thrilled to hear from the Sergeant. “We appreciate what our troops are doing over there and felt so fortunate to have Sgt. Wolfer reach out to us with a specific care packages request that we could fulfill,” said Maxfield.

According to Sgt. Wolfer, “Everyone says they support the troops <http://troopssupport.com/> but most don’t do anything more than wear

the t-shirt or put a bumper sticker on their car.”

Sgt. Wolfer first noticed ads for New Blood while looking through a Magazine and was drawn to the company’s Native American Thunderbird imagery. “I have a love of Muay Thai fighting,” said Sgt. Wolfer. “The Thai traditions of the sport are similar to Native American views of combat and respect.”

Looking to elevate the art of MMA, Maxfield had chosen the Thunderbird for his company’s brand because of its legend of strength, cunning and power. “We want to reach a wide audience and help them appreciate the intensity of discipline and training involved in MMA,” said Maxfield.

That put Sgt. Wolfer ahead of the pack in terms of his passion for and training in the sport of MMA. “I stuck with it all these years and compete at everything the Army has,” said Wolfer. When stationed with the U.S. Military in Germany, he used a 3-day pass to train in Holland in a session

with Cor Hemmers. His training and love of the sport paid off when he recently competed at a tournament in the Joint Base Balad (JBB) in Iraq and placed third.

Sgt. Wolfer and the two dozen soldiers under his direction, continue to train in Iraq in their New Blood fight gear. Communicating with Sgt. Wolfer made a big impression on New Blood’s Maxfield. “At one point we lost touch with Alan and were worried with him being in Iraq,” said Maxfield. “He was alright, but it really hits home at a time like that, what our soldiers are doing for us over there.”

About New Blood Fight Gear New Blood Fight Gear was launched in late 2009 offering mixed martial arts fans an alternative to traditional fight gear. Owned by a young man and his father - founded while the son was still in high school - New Blood makes high quality sports clothing with unique designs created to elevate the art of MMA. http://www.NewBloodFightGear.com

REGIONAL WRITERS WANTED; JOIN US, JOIN OUR TEAM!

Supporting Our Troops!

Genuine Martial Arts enthusiasts with a desire to write and report on martial arts in their county WANTED!!!

If you have ever wanted to help martial arts and become a part of the Worlds greatest martial arts magazine, now’s your chance.

Spread the word and help gain (martial arts in your area and around the World), the respect it deserves.

We’re looking for regional reporters and it doesn’t matter if you are a Karateka, Kickboxer, TaeKwonDo practitioner, Kung Fu practitioner or MMA exponent.

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newsline Join others across the country as they provide a wealth of local information, insider perspectives, helpful resources, and a view into a variety of the arts their events and activities within your region.

The positions available are unpaid BUT they are VERY important as if selected, you will become integrally involved in creating awareness for the martial arts in your county, a sort of regional roving reporter and information provider to the WORLD!

CONGRATULATIONS! Congratulation to Brychan Davies on passing his 1st DAN Black belt, also Hywel Morris on passing his 2nd DAN and Instructor Anthony Evans with his 4th DAN. All 3 train at First Strike Kickboxing Club, Clydach Swansea and all are members of the UKCK Welsh Team. Anyone interested in Joining First Strike kickboxing Club can contact Anthony Evans on 01792 846261 or 07792534968 or email anthonyevans39@hotmail.com

M-1 GLOBAL RAINING GOLD IN OCTOBER? Forging the development of tomorrow’s MMA superstars today, M-1 Global will proudly announce the kick-off of the highly anticipated M-1 Challenge on October the 28th at the glamorous Ice Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia, where the first ever M-1 champions will be crowned.

At this historic evening, M-1 Global will crown three world champions and for the first time ever in M1’s history, championship belts will be awarded in the lightweight, middleweight, and heavyweight divisions. These are the culminating battles between theM-1 Selection regional champions.”

Lightweight Title Fight: Artiom Damkovsky, M-1 Selection Eastern Europe 2010 champion (104) will clash with Mairbek Taisumov, M-1’s Selection Western Europe 2010 champion (12-2).

Middleweight Title Fight: Magomed Sultanakhmedov, M-1 Selection Eastern Europe 2010 champion (28-4) will meet Rafa_ Moks, M-1 Selection Western Europe 2010 champ (5-2).

Heavyweight Title Fight: Maxim Grishin, M-1’s Selection Eastern Europe champion (7-4) will battle the undefeated Guram Gugenishvili, M-1’s Selection Western Europe champion (8-0).

The Welterweight and Light Heavyweight championship bouts are being scheduled for later this year in the United States, establishing M-1 Challenge champions in all five weight classes. Once executed, a true contenders system will be established to fuel events throughout 2011, driving M-1 Global’s growth as a leading brand in the US and international markets.

2011 includes a full slate of M-1 Challenge events held in the United States and Europe. These are mega-event spectaculars where Champions will be crowned, titles defended and contenders’ positions (on the ladder) will be determined.

Feeding the stable of fighters will be two Selection tournaments in 2011 with details being announced shortly.

Free broadcast coverage of the entire 2010 M-1 Challenge event schedule will be available at a later date to viewers worldwide on www.M-1global.com and selected affiliate partner sites.

Visit www.M-1Global.com for additional information.

KEEP ON RUNNING WITH SCHOLL Reoccurring sports injuries can prove troublesome, especially when you’re trying to maintain your fitness.

In the past you might have fought through the pain and discomfort but now Scholl is here to help.

Make sure you’re ready and start your workout with Orthaheel Orthotics by Scholl. Brilliantly designed to help you relieve a variety of aches and pains in your feet,

knees and lower back. These inserts are a must have for any gym bag.

When you take part in a high impact sport or any other physical activity your body comes under stress. Extra pressure is put upon joints and muscles during your workout, which over time can lead to muscle damage and repetitive aches and pains.

Injuries such as sore muscles, torn tendons and angry knees are a common complaint amongst gym goers and can be incredibly painful.

Tendons in particular don’t have much flexibility so it’s important to make sure you do your best to look after them.

You might not think it but one of the best ways to look after your legs, and all the important bits attached, is to ensure that your feet are in the correct position during a workout.

The human foot wasn’t designed to walk on hard and flat surfaces so when put under force it can flatten and turn inward. With your foot being at an unnatural angle during a workout more pressure is being put onto your legs than normal, this can be when things start to hurt.

The Orthaheel Shock Absorber and Orthaheel Sports Orthotics are specially designed to help prevent this from happening. By realigning the foot and lower limbs to their natural angle, the initial stress already on your body is removed, leaving you free to enjoy your workout.

The Orthaheel inserts can also help with the pain that many people feel around the knee. Often caused after softening happens to the underside of the knee cap, making sure that your foot is aligned correctly can reduce the friction that occurs and the pain that you feel.

The Scholl Orthaheel Orthotics range can simply be inserted into your trainers or running shoes to help your lower body during exercise.

Ensuring that your foot is at its natural angle is one of the easiest ways to prevent those nasty pains getting in the way of future gym sessions.

The Orthaheel Orthotics range includes Regular, Slimfit, Gel Heel

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newsline Pain Reliever, Workforce, Sports, Shock Absorber and NEW Sensitive Feet and is widely available in pharmacies (including Boots) and supermarket pharmacies across the UK, as well as online at www.scholl.co.uk Fed up with being in pain during your workout? Then why not see how the Scholl Orthaheel Orthotics range can help you.

The Scholl Consumer Help Line is 0800 074 2040 or you can visit the Scholl site at: <http://www.scholl.co.uk>

About Cad and the Dandy: Cad and the Dandy were founded by banking professionals James Sleater and Ian Meiers in 2008 after they were both made redundant from their jobs in the city. With shops in the City, Canary Wharf and Savile Row, Cad and the Dandy offers highend, bespoke machine- and handstitched tailoring at a competitive price. The company is growing fast and will turn over £1.3m in 2010.

CHRIS EUBANK LAUNCHES NEW BUSINESS VENTURE.

Interested in writing for Combat?

We’re also looking for passionate, knowledgeable locals in many areas around the UK and Worldwide.

We’re looking for people that have something to offer the industry as a whole, So if you see yourself as a key player in your region, chosen field or style - get in touch and help us put martial arts on the map in a very comprehensive way!

COMBAT IS GROWING !

Lisping former World boxing champion and bankrupt Chris Eubank is hoping to launch a new career with his ŒJodhousers‚.

Mr Eubank has designed a hybrid between a Jodhpur and a suit trouser which he believes will become the next big thing in men‚s fashion. Chris Eubank‚s range also includes a wedding suit and a frock coat.

It is just one of several Œfashion design‚ projects he has undertaken with bespoke London tailors Cad and the Dandy.

Ozwald Boateng coined the term bespoke couturier and took the suit to the catwalk. We shall have to wait and see what Chris Eubank can contribute to male elegance.

Chris Eubank Launches New Business Venture

Photographers Also Wanted.

If you are an amateur photographer and would like to attend events with a view to supplying photo’s again, get in touch.

If you would like to join the team that is, dedicated, diligent but above all else Passionate about Martial Arts, GET IN TOUCH NOW, We need people like you!

E-Mail ... Countyrepswanted @martialartsinprint.com or call us now on 0121 351 6930.

MARTIAL ARTS: IMPRESSIVE GODBEER RECORDS FIFTH STRAIGHT WIN 26-year-old Mark Godbeer, fighting out of the All or Nothing Kickboxing and MMA camp, took on Milton Keynes fighter Frazier Opie at the South-West Fighting Championships in Torquay recently. Opie has an extensive Thai boxing background as well as an impressive mixed martial arts record, but it took Godbeer little under three minutes of the first round to submit his opponent with a guillotine choke. Despite Opie’s obvious strength, Godbeer maintained his head and attacked with submission attempts from beneath his opponent. His opponent remained resilient but Godbeer was attacking with a variety of options, which lead to him wrapping an arm around Opie’s undefended neck and throat, forcing him to tap out.

More than 100 travelling fans from Bridgwater and Taunton cheered Godbeer on, in what was his toughest test to date. He will be fighting in Bristol in October before facing a French fighter in the next Bridgwater home show in November.

Fellow Nothing fighter Danny Poulsom impressed in his third mixed martial arts bout against Thai fighter Colin Freel. 38-year-old Poulsom made good use of his footwork and defied his age by relentlessly punching his opponent’s head and body. Freel tried to get back into the fight but exposed his head and Poulsom’s left hook saw the Torquay man hit the floor.

The match was ended when Freel’s corner man threw in the towel.

Poulsom’s stablemate John Allen took on Mark Brown and won with a technical knock-out following an impressive second round performance. Newcomer Martin Greedy took his first ever fight with just a couple of days notice. Although winning the first round, brave Greedy was stopped in the last ten

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WANDERLEI SILVA ON THE WAY TO SCOTLAND FOR MASTER CLASS. LEGENDARY Brazilian cage fighter Wanderlei Silva is set to give a martial arts master class in Paisley. Silva - whose nickname is the Axe Murderer - is on a unique tour as he recovers from knee surgery and the owners of the Paisley Academy martial arts centre have pulled off a coup by persuading the 34-year-old to give a two-hour seminar.

Academy director Matt McLachlan said: “This is like Ronaldinho coming to train a football club - it’s massive.”Wanderlei is likely to return to fighting early next year so I doubt he will tour again to give seminars. “This is probably a oncein-a-lifetime chance to meet him.”

Silva’s seminar will be held on October 27 at the academy - which is based in the Glasgow Airlink Industrial Estate near the airport.

McLachlan said: “Tickets are on sale now and we are aiming to sell 100 of them. But people can also spectate.”

Tel: 0121-351-6930 for details /bookings

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seconds of the final round. You can watch these fighters in action in Bridgwater at Junction 24 on November 21. For more information about mixed martial arts, contact club coach Arthur Meek on 07765-042414.

‘I’M GIVING CANCER THE CHOP!’ Mother uses techniques honed in karate classes to help fight rare form of the disease When Linda Adley took up karate, she could not have imagined that studying martial art would help her find the strength to live. The retired administrator from Surrey was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer, in May 2001. Although the tumour that had formed behind the peritoneum (a tissue membrane lining the inside of the stomach) was removed, five years later the cancer returned. This time, surgery was unsuccessful as the tumour was close to a major artery.

Wanderlei Silva on the way to Scotland for Master Class

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newsline Linda recalls: ‘A couple of years after my first operation, my 14-yearold son Jack started karate lessons.

It looked like such fun. ‘My consultant said there was no reason I shouldn’t give it a go, so I did. I was instantly hooked and went to as many classes as I could. But I had no idea karate would have such an impact on my life.’

Linda progressed quickly, continuing to practise the martial art after finding out that the cancer had returned - and achieving her brown belt just before her second operation in January 2007. ‘I remember that being a milestone for me,’ she says. ‘I had to have that belt before going into hospital. I wanted to keep fit and I also used karate as a form of escapism.

Linda underwent a six-week course of radiotherapy and is now having chemotherapy, which will end in December, in an attempt to shrink the tumour further. She says: ‘If you go into an aggressive cancer treatment feeling as well as you possibly can, it makes sense that you’re Bolly Wood Acknowledges Akshay Kumar

going to fare better. I have gone into the chemotherapy feeling strong, thanks to the karate.

‘When I am doing Karate, I feel strong and in control of my body. I don’t feel ill anymore and I can’t think about cancer. ‘At the moment, I’m limited as to how much karate I can do but I really credit karate with helping me cope with living with cancer. Doctors believe exercise is a key part of a patient’s treatment and can also help reduce the side effects and toxicity of treatments, including fatigue and nausea She says the martial art has given her mental as well as physical strength.

‘There is an overwhelming body of evidence showing the benefit of exercise for cancer patients,’ he says. ‘A number of studies have proved that patients who exercise regularly are associated with a lower risk of their cancer returning and generally surviving longer.

‘For example, with breast cancer, if you exercise for more than two hours a week, you reduce your

relapse rate by about 15 to 20 per cent, which is the same benefit you’d get from chemotherapy. ‘A healthy body is better equipped to withstand cancer treatment and perhaps is also more able itself to fight off the cancer.

Linda can vouch for the importance of exercise while living with cancer. ‘Having cancer makes you feel negative about your body, but karate helps me focus on the positives,’ she says. ‘I’d recommend it to anyone with cancer who is physically able. ‘I am determined to continue and get my black belt as soon as I can.’ Linda supports Cancer Research UK’s Run 10k nationwide event series this autumn (www.run10k.org).

BOLLY WOOD ACKNOWLEDGES AKSHAY KUMAR. Bollywood superstar, Akshay Kumar, is proud to sponsor the Akshay Kumar Second Invitational National Karate Championships 2010 for the second consecutive year. The free to enter tournament, aimed to promote Karate among India’s youth, will be held at Andheri Sports Complex, Mumbai from 28th - 31st October.

The Tournament, organised by Nippon Budo Sogo International India and Nihon Gojuryu Karate-Do Kuyukai India, is the biggest Karate contest in India. Following Akshay’s commitment to youth, the Championships help promote Karate and Martial Arts to the remotest corners of the country and aim to create a platform on which young and budding talent from all over India come together in a world class fighting event.

Akshay Kumar is renowned for his passion for Martial Arts, which he has been practicing since the age of 14. In relation to this year’s Tournament, the superstar says,”I’m very much looking forward to the event. I wish the participants all the best. Focus well and train hard.”

While last year’s turnout saw around 2,400 students participating in the Tournament, this year’s contenders have already crossed 3,000.

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newsline Eight individual winners will be selected in the Contest and trained to represent India at the International Karate Championship in Japan in 2011. Last year’s winners won one Silver and three Bronze medals at the Championship that was held in Japan in July this year.

With more than 120 films under his belt, Akshay Kumar is recognised as a global ambassador for Indian cinema who continues to build ties with the mainstream. The screen icon has worked alongside the likes of Kylie, Snoop Dogg, Sylvester Stallone and Brandon Routh, all of whom made their Bollywood debuts alongside the international superstar.

Akshay has also recently announced a further Hollywood project, producing upcoming film Breakaway, directed by Robert Lieberman and starring Emily Van Camp.

Look out for our exclusive interview in a future issue of Combat.

SWEAT HELPING CHILDREN KICK AT NINJAS, AND CANCER

By Corey Kilgannon Work it Out The defenceless 7-year-old boy was surrounded by a crew of evil ninjas trying to kill him, when suddenly a team of New York City police officers responded to his call and, with flying kicks and spectacular karate chops, beat the ninjas into submission.

This is not some action film or video game, but a mental exercise in the imagination of the boy, Philip Califano. Philip has a severe brain tumour. The exercise was part of an unusual - and, yes, completely unproven - therapeutic effort: a martial arts class run by a police officer turned rabbi in a Queens’s yoga studio. “I want you to go inside your body and find those evil cells that are attacking you, and beat them up - punch them, kick them,” said the instructor, Gary Moskowitz.

Mr. Moskowitz, 53, took up martial arts to survive as a scrawny, yarmulke-wearing teenager facing much larger thugs on the tough

streets of the South Bronx. During his nine years with the New York Police Department, he said he earned the nickname “Rambowitz” because of his penchant for detaining violent suspects with kicks and chops.

These days, Rambowitz squares off against infirm children, trading punches, kicks and blocks in the hope of helping them cope with their terminal illnesses. He offers free classes and Cancer Camps on Sundays in Queens, where he lives with his wife and three young children.

He began the “Combating Cancer” programs last year, teaching children to practice punching, kicking and stick-fighting for exercise and helping with balance training. For children too delicate to practice martial arts physically, he devised a noncontact game called “virtual karate,” in which the two fighters stand apart and throw air punches and kicks.

As visualization aids, Mr. Moskowitz provides drawings of the black-robed cancer cells and the heroic officers.

“If they visualize the pain as a band of villains, they can fight it and the pain subsides,” Mr. Moskowitz said. “As a city kid and a police officer, I was in a lot of fights, and learned to turn the pain off - that’s what I teach. I teach them to take their mind and say, ‘I’m above all this.’ “ He described his method as a kind of hypnosis “that commands the brain to destroy the cancer, like the immune system would attack any foreign body.”

“But I’m not a doctor and I’m not God,” he added. “If nothing else, this changes their spirit and helps them feel stronger. It gives them spiritual and emotional support.” Philip’s young body has been weakened to the point where he sometimes has trouble standing, but his tumor has stabilized. His aunt said Mr. Moskowitz’s sessions had strengthened the boy’s resolve to survive.

“He’s gotten stronger and he’s standing up to the tumor,” she said. “It’s mind over matter, and he’s surviving.”

Jackie Chan Sees kung fu as Olympic sport

JACKIE CHAN SEES KUNG FU AS OLYMPIC SPORT Martial arts action legend and film star Jackie Chan has called for Wu Shu/Kung Fu, to be recognised as an official Olympic sport. “I love Wu Shu and I would love to see it included in future Olympic Games”. He said.

The International Olympic Committee recognises Wu Shu as a sport but has not included it as an official event in the Games, unlike other Asian martial arts such as Taekwondo and Judo that are now part of the global Olympic gathering that takes place every four years.

However, the IOC did allow China to organise an international Wu Shu tournament at the same time as the 2008 Beijing Games to showcase the sport — an event that was attended by fellow martial arts action star Jet Li, another Hollywood actor and kung fu star.

Chan explained that Wu Shu’s many styles of fighting and different schools could have hindered its inclusion as an official Olympic sport, the report said.

“This makes it difficult for Wu Shu to make a unified impression to international audiences,” he said. It would appear that the problems which exist in the UK are also prevalent around the rest of the World too.

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newsline SELECTION CHAMPIONS CAP THE NIGHT AT THE M-1 GLOBAL - AMERICAS FINALS New York City, New York (September 20, 2010) - The M-1 Selection 2010 Americas Finals captivated a live audience on Saturday night at Bally’s Casino Hotel in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Tournament returnees and newcomers to the M-1 ring fought an excellent undercard as the Selections championship bouts went down; Selection tournament winners will now fight for the M-1 Challenge belts later this year.

“The American Selections tournament has been a remarkable undertaking,” says Evgeni Kogan, Director of Operations for M-1Global. “We now have all our Selection champions in place and the crowning of the first ever M-1 Global world champions begins starting October 28 in St. Petersburg and December 11 back in Atlantic City.”

The Final round bouts feature rising American stars pursuing their last victory in being crowned the M-1 Selection champion in their respective weight classes.

Results for the Final round bouts: Josh Thorpe def. Brendan Weafer via unanimous decision Bristol Marunde def. Shane Primm via unanimous decision Byron Byrd def. Daniel Vizcaya via triangle - 2:43 of R1 - (Selections LHW Final) Luigi Fioravanti def. Woody Weatherby via TKO - 2:51 of R1 Mike Winters def. Jose Rodriguez via unanimous decision Tyson Jeffries def. Mike Geurin via triangle - 3:43 of R3 - (Selections MW Final) Kenny Garner def. Pat Bennett via TKO - 2:31 of R1 - (Selections HW Final) Jose Figueroa def. George Sheppard via verbal submission - :34 of R2 - (Selections LW Final) Tom Gallicchio def. Len Bentley via rear-naked-choke - 4:38 of R1 - (Selections WW Final)

The M-1 Selection 2010 Americas champions will next fight for the M-1 Challenge championship belts in the coming months.

The M-1 Challenge events are positioned to drive the M-1 brand further into the US and European markets as event mega-spectaculars. October 28 in St. Petersburg, Russia is set for M-1 Challenge XXI: Guram vs. Grishin and M-1 Challenge XXII hits Atlantic City December 11th; February 2011 marks the first of six M-1Challenge events with M-1 Challenge XXIII where the newly crowned M-1 Champions will look to defend their titles against the top fighters in the contention system.

Fuelled with stacked undercards featuring new and returning warriors, the M-1 Challenge events will rival promotions for unsurpassed excitement, delivering live audiences and viewers worldwide the ultimate fan experience.

2011 marks a full calendar of mixed martial arts action as M-1 Global continues to build upon a highly successful Selections tournament. Being added next year are two full Selections tournaments featuring 12 live events across Eastern and Western Europe and the Americas; future superstars will begin mapping out the steps necessary to become M-1 Champions. These Selections tournaments will drive the depth of the contenders ladder in each weight class as warriors cross oceans to battle for the right to face M-1 Global champions at the live, mega-spectacular M-1 Challenge events scheduled throughout the year.

Go to www.M-1Global.com for additional information.

M-1 GLOBAL PARTICIPATING IN NOVEMBER’S MMA WORLD EXPO New York City, New York (September 16, 2010) - As a leader in developing new mixed martial arts talent, M-1 Global proudly announces its participation in the 2nd Annual MMA WORLD EXPO,

taking place on its new dates of Friday, November 12th and Saturday, November 13th at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City.

“Participating in this year’s MMA World Expo is a great opportunity for M-1 Global as we continue to develop the brand throughout the US,” says M-1’s Director of Operations, Evgeni Kogan. “This is an exciting time for the sport of MMA and M-1 Global. We complete the Selections tournament in America on September 18th and will give fans a chance to meet our American tournament winners.”

M-1 Global’s presence at this year’s MMA World Expo is sandwiched between M-1 Challenge XXI: Guram vs. Grishin going down October 28th in St. Petersburg, Russia and M-1 Challenge XXII on December 11 back in Atlantic City New Jersey. At the close of these two events, M-1 Global will have crowned all five champions in their respective weight classes and the coveted contention system will be fuelling 2011’s Challenge cards in the US and overseas.

WELTERWEIGHT CONTENDER CLASH ADDED TO M-1 CHALLENGE XXI: GURAM VS. GRISHIN Rashid Magomedov vs. Igor Araujo New York City, New York (September 9, 2010) - Veteran of the M-1 ring, Rashid Magomedov, collides with submission specialist, Igor Araujo, on October 28 at the glamorous Ice Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia, in a battle for welterweight contention at M-1 Challenge XXI.

M-1 CHALLENGE XXI ADDS SAMOILOV VS. OMAROV TO A NIGHT OF CROWNING CHAMPIONS New York City, New York (September 7, 2010) - On October 28 at the glamorous Ice Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia, M-1 Challenge XXI will not only crown M1 Global’s first-ever champions, it will also feature a thrilling undercard of bouts featuring rising stars and

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newsline returnees to fuel the contender’s ladders; Dmitry Samoilov vs.

Gadzhimurad Omarov will square off in an epic light heavyweight clash

Matchups include: Alexei Nazarov (9-3) vs. Alexei Belyaev (10-4) Welterweight

LIGHTWEIGHT BATTLE ADDED TO M-1 CHALLENGE XXI: GURAM VS. GRISHIN ALEXANDER SARNAVSKIY VS. VICTOR KUKU

Alexander Sarnavsky (10-0) vs. Victor Kuku (7-5-1) Lightweight

New York City, New York (September 13, 2010) - One of the most promising young fighters from Russia, Alexander ‘The Tiger’ Sarnavskiy meets one of Western Europe’s most outrageous mixed martial artists, Victor Kuku, in a lightweight contenders battle at M1 Challenge XXI: Guram vs.

Grishin; M-1 Global to crown its first ever champions in the lightweight, middleweight and heavyweight divisions.

“The first Championship belts in M-1’s history will be awarded at M-1 Challenge XXI,” says Evgeni Kogan, Director of Operations for M-1 Global. “Making the night even greater is the stacked undercard of contention bouts which will begin driving the Challenge series into 2011.”

M-1 CHALLENGE XXI: GURAM VS. GRISHIN ADDS WELTERWEIGHT BATTLE ALEXEI NAZAROV VS. ALEXEI BELYAEV New York City, New York (September 17, 2010) - As the contender’s picture begins to take shape, young fighters are determined to shorten the line for their shot at a title fight. Welterweights Alexei Nazarov and Alexei Belyaev are set to square off at M-1 Challenge XXI: Guram vs. Grishin where M-1 Global will crown its first ever champions in the lightweight, middleweight and heavyweight divisions.

“The undercard for this event continues to get better,” says Evgeni Kogan, Director of Operations for M-1 Global. “These are the contention bouts which will begin driving the Challenge series into 2011where our Champions will be defending their titles.”

Rashid Magomedov (6-2) vs. Igor Araujo (18-5) Welterweight Dmitry Samoilov (8-5-1) vs. Gadzhimurad Omarov (5-0) Light Heavyweight Additional undercard bouts to be announced Lightweight Title Fight: Artiom Damkovsky, M-1 Selection Eastern Europe 2010 champion (104) vs. Mairbek Taisumov, M-1 Selection Western Europe 2010 champion (12-2) Middleweight Title Fight: Magomed Sultanakhmedov, M-1 Selection Eastern Europe 2010 champion (28-4) vs. Rafa Moks, M-1 Selection Western Europe 2010 champ (5-2) Heavyweight Title Fight: Maxim Grishin, M-1 Selection Eastern Europe champion (7-4) vs.

Guram Gugenishvili, M-1 Selection Western Europe champion (8-0).

The Welterweight and Light Heavyweight championship bouts will be awarded at M-1 Challenge XXII, December 11th in Atlantic City, New Jersey, establishing M-1 Challenge champions in all five weight classes. Once executed, a true contenders system will be established to fuel events throughout 2011, driving M-1 Global’s growth as a leading brand in the US and international markets.

2011 includes a full slate of M-1 Challenge events held in the United States and Europe. These are the mega-event spectaculars where Champions will be crowned, titles

defended and contenders’ positions on the ladder will be determined.

Feeding the stable of fighters will be two Selection tournaments in 2011 with details being announced shortly.

Free broadcast coverage of the entire 2010 M-1 Challenge event schedule will be available at a later date to viewers worldwide on www.M-1global.com and selected affiliate partner sites.

Go to www.M-1Global.com for additional information.

About M-1 Global: Founded in 1998, M-1 Global has established itself in the realm of mixed martial arts (MMA) as the premiere entity for discovering and developing the world’s next-generation of superstar fighters. With offices in St. Petersburg, Amsterdam, New York City, Washington DC, Los Angeles and affiliates in Kuala Lumpur, Seoul, Tokyo and Paris, the M-1 brand stages its M-1 Selection and M-1 Challenge events worldwide and its co-produced Strikeforce events in the United States; captivating the live, television and broadband audiences with its superior production values and match-ups. 2011 marks a breakthrough year for this MMA powerhouse. With two Selections tournaments across Eastern & Western Europe and North America and a full calendar of Challenge events, M-1 Global’s World Champions will rank amongst the greatest in the sport and the contention system will fuel spectacular cards around the world.

M-1 Global’s greatest asset is the number one heavyweight fighter in mixed martial arts history, Fedor Emelianenko. With daily coverage on all MMA-related websites in the world, and articles in Time Magazine, LA times and New York times, Fedor and M-1 Global make a lifetime match serving as the catalyst to grow MMA in the 21st century.

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Ip Man: The Legend is Born

By Mike Fury

An Interview with Leo Au Yeung Leo Au Yeung is a Martial Arts Master with the unique credentials of being the only appointed Wing Chun instructor for the hugely popular Ip Man movies. Born and raised in Hong Kong, Leo subsequently travelled to the UK in order to study at University. As a keen and heavily devoted practitioner of Wing Chun, he was able to train under some of the most prolific instructors in the world today. It was through his strong connections and impressive teaching abilities that he was invited to work as the Wing Chun consultant and assistant choreographer on the original Ip Man movie, in addition to the forthcoming prequel, Ip Man: The Legend is Born. Having returned to the UK upon finishing the film, Leo was kind enough to discuss his work on the Ip Man movies.

Leo, firstly could you tell us how you came to be involved in the Ip Man movies?

I started my Wing Chun training with Master Yip Chun 15 to 20 years ago. After two years of study I came to England but would still visit Master Yip Chun and train with him every summer. During this time I went to all the classes and trained around eight hours a day! After University I got a job in Preston, Lancashire, and met Master Samuel Kwok. Since we lived so close together and I was seeing him maybe five or six days a week, I became his teaching assistant. Whenever he was away, I would teach his classes and trained very intensely with him for four years. Later I came to London and met Master Sin Kwok Lam who taught me a lot of other martial arts in addition to Wing Chun. He was also responsible for getting me involved in Ip Man.

How did you meet Sammo Hung?

When I worked as the Wing Chun consultant for the first Ip Man movie, he was also working as the action director. Sammo talked about how he’d used Wing Chun before when he made The Prodigal Son, but wanted to try some new ideas this time around. Firstly, my job was 14 COMBAT WWW.COMBATMAG.CO.UK

to refresh his understanding of Wing Chun because it was so many years ago that he made The Prodigal Son (1982). Then I had to teach Wing Chun to the actors and stuntmen to make sure they could pull off the look of being Wing Chun experts. This meant I was working closely with the choreographers of the movie and had the opportunity to work with Sammo.

How much involvement did you have in Sammo’s choreography?

When the storyboards are created early on, we know in advance how many minutes and seconds each fight scene will last, where it takes place, how many people are involved and so on. So before we do anything, we understand what the motivation and purpose is behind each fight scene. For example, whether Donnie Yen is going to be very aggressive, or hold back and only touch his opponent. During the choreography, Sammo would ask me when the opponent attacks Ip Man in a particular way, how a Wing Chun expert would defend it. From there I’d show a variety of different applications and he’d pick the one he thought would work best, both in the story and in capturing it on camera. The fights were constructed in this way one stage at a time. There’s so much time and planning that goes into creating these

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scenes. For example, the first fight scene from the original Ip Man movie only lasts about 30 seconds but it took one week to coordinate everything! This is how it works: step by step.

What was your personal objective in bringing Wing Chun to the screen?

My idea was always that if there were an opportunity to portray pure Wing Chun, I would do it. For example in showing hand movements, even if there was only enough time to show five hand movements, I’d want the actors to demonstrate this in the most accurate way possible. I wanted it to look really authentic.

Did you spend much time with Donnie Yen? Unfortunately I didn’t have much contact with Donnie because while I did a lot of preparation work with the actors, stuntmen and choreographers in China, Donnie was on his own schedule in Hong Kong. However, he was able to work with my teacher, Master Sin Kwok Lam, in preparing for the movie. They trained for a whole six months before filming any of Donnie scenes. It was a shame not to work more closely with Donnie but good that he was able to dedicate this much time to training and preparing for the film.

After the recent release of Ip Man 2, fans are excited to hear about the prequel. Can you tell us more?

Ip Man: The Legend is Born explains the events before the first film. For this movie, we really wanted to demonstrate to the audience why Ip Man is a legend and how he learned Wing Chun. In terms of the fight scenes we had a very strong objective which was to make the

COMBAT FILM/INTERVIEW action better than what we saw in the first film! To do this we took a step back and decided to examine everything you can do in Wing Chun. For example, Wing Chun in short distance or close-quarters fighting, Wing Chun against ground fighting and basically showing the style against different Martial Arts. We’ll show Wing Chun against Karate, Boxing, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and of course Wing Chun itself. We also wanted to show more of the traditional weapons because the first film didn’t go into too much detail about the long pole or using knives. It was an opportunity to pull out everything we missed before and bring something fresh for the audience.

Tell us about the story...

This film follows Ip Man’s life from when he was 18 to 28. It looks at how he learned Wing Chun and where he learned it. It looks at his early training in China right through to his father sending him to study in Hong Kong. He met a guy called Leung Pak who inspired him in his training and took his Wing Chun to the next level.

In this movie, Yip Chun will be acting as Leung Pak. Even though a lot of facts are covered, being a movie and not a documentary we had to change some parts of the story to create good guys and bad guys. Ip Man obviously plays the good guy and Fan Siu Wong will be returning as a bad guy, playing a different character from the first movie. In the story, they start as brothers at the same school but when Ip Man leaves for Hong Kong, Fan Siu Wong’s character leaves to study Japanese Martial Arts and learns Karate, using swords, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and other techniques. When they face off, this is how we were able to apply the different styles and show something new. The story also shows how Ip Man met his wife and gives the background to their relationship.

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Yuen Biao, ‘little brother’ and long-time collaborator of Sammo Hung and Jackie Chan also acted in the movie. What was it like working with him?

Yuen Biao and Sammo Hung both have acting roles in the film playing kung fu brothers. Yuen Biao plays Ip Man’s teacher in Mainland China. The great thing is that we have a fight between Yuen Biao and Sammo demonstrating different techniques within Wing Chun. Yuen Biao would sometimes watch the fight scenes we were choreographing and make some comments or add ideas. He was a good guy and it was nice to work with him. Chen Zhi Hui who was in the first Ip Man movie will also be returning but this time playing Ip Man’s father. A lot of the team from the first movie came back for The Legend is Born.

Is there potential for more in the Ip Man series?

With these two new movies released this year, I think it’s best to see what the audience thinks first. If the movies do very well and everyone enjoys them, I’d definitely like to see more. I can say there is a film in the very early stages which could form Ip Man 3. The story would

focus on Ip Man’s four major students: their lives, how they learned Wing Chun, their relationship with their teacher, Ip Man and so on. This is a project which could start up in the future if the next two movies do well.

Is there anything new you’re working on right now?

Since so many people associate Ip Man with Wing Chun, we were thinking about a movie to portray Hung Gar. Everyone is already familiar with Jet Li playing Wong Fei Hung in the Once Upon a Time in China movies so we didn’t want to repeat that. Wong Fei Hung’s senior student, Lam Sai Wing had a student called Lau Cham. Lau Cham was similar to Ip Man in that he brought Hung Gar to Hong Kong. He was also the father of Lau Kar-Leung, the legendary Shaw Bros filmmaker and actor. Since Lau Kar-Leung is also my grandmaster, we’d very much like to get him involved. Hopefully we could get started on this within the next year.

Thanks to Leo Au Yeung for participating in the interview You can visit Leo’s website at: www.chinesekungfu.co.uk

14 Blades (TBC, DVD) Review by Richard Hawes Donnie Yen’s a man of few words but many weapons in Daniel Lee’s latest, a fantastical period film with great style and action by Huan-Chiu Ku (Kill Bill, Chandni Chowk to China). A loose remake of the Shaw Brothers film The Secret Service of the Imperial Court (1984), the title comes from a collection of weapons carried in a mechanised wooden box and entrusted to Yen’s character, the leader of the Jinyiwei, a highly trained hit squad. Though set six hundred years ago, during the Ming dynasty, its plot is not too different from many modern action movies. Yen’s an emotionless killing machine who finds himself on the run, uncovering a conspiracy and teaming up with a beautiful woman on the way. Worth a watch.

ACTION 4/5 FILM 3/5 If you liked this try Ip Man, Three Kingdoms - Resurrection Of The Dragon, The Warlords

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COMBAT FILM/REVIEWS

Dead Cert (18, DVD) Review by Matt Duddy Freddy “Dead Cert” Frankham (Craig Fairbrass) is a boxing promoter who is just about to open a new gentleman’s club, things take a turn for the worst when Freddie wages the club deeds on the outcome of a boxing match. After losing the club to the sinister Dante Livenko (Billy Murray), Freddie attempts to take the club back by force, unaware that the club is now being run by Eastern European vampires who will stop at nothing in their quest to take over the east end. A gratuitous mix of ghouls and gangsters, Dead Cert is a cross between Lock Stock and From Dusk Till Dawn. Boasting an impressive cast of east end hard men including great turns from Dexter Fletcher, Craig Fairbrass and Billy Murray, this is a British film not to be missed!

ACTION 4/5 FILM 4/5 If you liked this, try: From Dusk Till Dawn, Rise of the Footsoldier, Near Dark

Kamui: The Lone Ninja (15, DVD) Review by Richard Hawes Set in 17th century Japan, Yoichi Sai’s film tells the story of a young ninja warrior hunted by the clan he was trained by. Kamui (played by Kenichi Matsuyama) finds himself amid a small island community and seems to begin to find peace. But like Raizo in the similarly themed Ninja Assassin, his violent past eventually catches up with him once more and has a devastating impact on the people he has developed affection for. Ninja fans expecting black pyjamas will be disappointed, but there’s a fair amount of furious swordplay and a novel bit of shark slaying action. But this aside there’s very little that’s memorable or exciting about this live-action adaptation of Sanpei Shirato’s 60s Manga which features far too much bad CGI. ACTION 2/5 FILM 2/5 If you liked this try A Man Called Hero, Storm Riders, Storm Warriors

Chanbara Striptease (18, DVD) Review by Daniel Gibberd Hapless heroine Lili is the inheritor of Sayama Hashinryu, which is ‘strictly a martial art for harming others’...and fighting topless. One sip of psychedelic Sake at the ascension ceremony and Lili finds herself in feudal Japan, thrown into conflict with Lady Okinu, the unwitting inventor of Sayama Hashinryu, creating a temporal paradox whereby Lili cannot harm her with the techniques! Whilst low budget, it’s unremittingly professional. The character design of the villains is particularly inventive and looks like some bizarre live-action manga. Fight scenes are well done inbetween the gratuitous slow motion close-ups of Japanese jubblies a jigglin’...the climax to the final battle literally has to be seen to be believed! Think Kill Bill with tits...on acid. Post-pub nirvana.

ACTION 3/5 FILM 4/5 You may also like: Chanbara Beauty, Machine Girl, Tokyo Gore Police,

Invisible Target (15, DVD) Review by Richard Hawes Distributors could have titled Benny Chan’s 2007 film Gen X Cops 3 or Another Police Story, for it has much in common with some of the stylish director’s previous hits. There are three cop heroes played by young stars, the villains are a dangerous gang, the cinematography is slick and the action is tightly choreographed and completely over-the-top. Formulaic though it is, Invisible Target is still one hell of a cops-and-robbers movie. Nicholas Tse and Shawn Yue are the principles but it’s actually Jaycee Chan who makes the biggest impression. This film shows him emerging as a fine young actor and action star. Loaded with hours of extras, including a commentary by Bey Logan and the stars, the DVD is a must for genre fans.

ACTION 5/5 FILM 3/5 If you liked this try Dragon Tiger Gate, Dragon Squad, Divergence WWW.COMBATMAG.CO.UK COMBAT 17

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COMPETITIONS We have 3 copies of the rather good LEGION to give away this month.

To win all you have to do is answer this easy question: Who stars in legion?

A Paul Bettany b Paul McGann C Paul Hobden Answers on email to legion@martialartsinprint.com We have 5 copies of the latest Jackie Chan film JACKIE CHAN & THE KUNG FU KID to give away this month.

To win all you have to do is answer this easy question: Who HASN’T Starred alongside Jackie Chan in a film?

A Jaden Smith b Will Smith C Chris Tucker Answers on email to kungfukid@martialartsinprint.com

Circle of Pain (15, DVD) Review by Mike Parkin After injuring his best friend in a sparring session, Dalton Hunt (Tony Schiena), an MMA fighter in the Revolution Fight Club, hangs up his gloves forever. However, the new owner of RFC (Bain Ling) pulls him back in, threatening his friends and family if he doesn’t have one last fight, challenging Colin “The Brick” Wahle. This is a really terrible movie on just about every level. The story is pedestrian and holds no surprises. The fight scenes are incredibly badly done and overdubbed with scuzzy rock music. The only interesting aspect comes from a couple of members of the cast - Bai Ling looking and acting like a tramp, Dean Cain as a wheelchair-bound personal trainer and Louis Hertham as Dalton’s yoda-like trainer. Kimbo Slice (prison rapist #1 from the far superior Blood and Bone) makes an appearance, but not enough to deserve such prominence on the dvd cover.

ACTION 1/5 FILM 1/5 If you like this, try: Wrong Side of Town, Twelve, Blood and Bone.

Jackie Chan & The Kung Fu Kid (TBC, DVD) Review by Daniel Gibberd 2009’s ‘Looking for Jackie’ gets retitled in time for the impending ‘Karate Kid’ remake, with errant schoolboy Zhang having one purpose in life: To meet Jackie Chan. His quest is complicated because having grown up in Indonesia, he can’t read Chinese particularly well, but still sets off in pursuit of his goal. Infiltrating film sets, impersonating police officers...he’ll stop at nothing!

Chan himself is used sparingly, yet still manages to appear everywhere in one form or another, taunting our hero at each near miss. The film contains plenty of in-jokes and cameos to amuse even the most ardent Sino-cineaste. Ultimately, a great family flick about respecting your elders, and doing the right thing, ideal for younger viewers (if they can stomach subtitles!).

ACTION 2/5 FILM 3/5 You may also like: Sidekicks, Looking For Eric, Be Like Mike, Bend It Like Beckham

IMPORT CORNER: Prince (12) Review by Richard Hawes It’s been some time since Bollywood produced a really fun action movie, but it’s been worth the wait. Stylised, amusingly convoluted and packed with absurd action, Prince is a mish-mash of various Bollywood and Hollywood action hits and great fun because of it. Imagine putting some recent superhero films and Bond movies in a blender with The Matrix and XXX and topping it off with a bit of John Woo’s Paycheck and you’ll get some idea how crazy this film is. It’s pretty hard to summarise its plot. Basically it’s about a supercool thief who loses his memory and finds himself pursued by the government and his associates for possession of a priceless antique coin; but there’s a whole lot more to it than that.

ACTION 4/5 FILM 4/5 If you liked this try Dhoom 2, Don, Mission Istanbul PRINCE is available online from all leading DVD importers.

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COMBAT FILM/REVIEWS

Storm Warriors (12, DVD) Review by Matt Duddy In the Pang Brothers follow up to 1998’s Storm Riders, our hero’s, Cloud and Wind, must defeat Lord Godless, however, this time Wind has to give in to the “darkside” to gain enough power to defeat Lord Godless while Cloud invents 23 new sword styles in 2 days! This movie clunked worse than a suit of armour falling down the stairs, although impressive at times, there is far too much CGI, this is mainly used as a substitute to actually using any martial arts. The storyline moves at a slow often boring pace while the two main leads overuse their menacing stares while delivering some of the worst dialogue committed to film. If sword and sorcery is your kind of film you may enjoy this, for everyone else be warned; the next instalment is on its way.

ACTION 2/5 FILM 1/5 - If you liked this, try; The Storm Riders, Mortal Kombat, The Forbidden Kingdom

REC 2 (18, DVD, £19.99) Review by Phil Hobden Picking up directly after the events of the first REC film, a medical officer and a SWAT team outfitted with video cameras are sent into the sealed off apartment to control the situation but end up going against an evil far greater than anyone could imagine. The thing with sequels is that, generally speaking, they are a poor imitation’s of the original. There are exceptions of course... Aliens is at least on par with the classic original and no one can dispute Empire Strikes Back credentials. REC 2 also manages to buck the trend and whilst not quite on par with the stand out original, it certainly benefits from a twisting plot and increased action. So no new ground broken but if you like horror films with a generous dose of action thrown in you can do a lot worse than this.

ACTION 3/5 FILM 3/5

Goemon (15, DVD) Review by Matt Duddy Five years after releasing the critically acclaimed “Casshern”, director Kazuaki Kiriya delivers his take on the Japanese equivalent of Robin Hood. During his latest robbery, Goemon a chivalrous thief, finds a small wooden box that he initially dismisses as worthless. When the local Warlord sends out the legendary Ninja Hattori Hanzo and Goemon’s former friend and rival, Saizo, to retrieve the box, Goemon soon realises that it is a version of Pandora’s Box and the secrets that lie within could either unite or destroy his country. Goemon is an epic film which will assault your senses with its beautiful visual effects and savage unrelenting action sequences.

This is truly a must see film that will leave you breathless.

ACTION 5/5 FILM 5/5 If you liked this, try; Casshern, Red Cliff, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

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Fat Belly: Chopper... Unchopped (18, DVD) Review by Matt Duddy Ten years after the movie of his life brought him to the public’s attention, Mark “Chopper” Read gives us more insight into his life and criminal career in this enthralling documentary.

Those of you that have seen the film based on Read’s first book know what to expect, Chopper shoots straight from the hip while waxing lyrical about his past deeds and former cohorts which led him to become Australia’s most feared criminal.

Peppered with his trademark deadpan delivery and wicked sense of humour, Chopper discusses his influences, upbringing and infamy while philosophically presiding over such questions as “How do you know if you have hit someone hard enough with an iron bar?” and “How many inches of a broom handle can you insert into a paedophiles rectum before it kills them?”.

Insightful, shocking, poignant and blisteringly funny at times, this is a must see for all Chopper fans.

ACTION 0/5 FILM 5/5 If you liked this, try; Chopper, any of the 10 Chopper books

Hunter Prey (15, DVD) Review by Daniel Gibberd Crashing on an inhospitable planet, a team of commandos attempt to track down and recapture their escaped cargo. However, this high priority prisoner turns out to be a deadly and determined adversary intent on picking off his pursuers one by one. Director Sandy Collora’s background is in storyboarding and design, including Men In Black and Jurassic Park! After some well-received fan films like Batman: Dead End (Aliens and Predators invade Gotham..search YouTube!), he’s finally turned his talents to a full-length feature. It’s an inventive film wherein you’re never sure who’s hunting who, much less who’s the ‘hero’. Effects-wise, it’s professionally done, whilst Collora has an artist’s eye for composition. Simply put, this is superlative SciFi action of the highest order.

ACTION 4/5 FILM 4/5 You may also like: Star Wars, Star Trek, Predator, Pitch Black, Enemy Mine

PHIL’S ROUND UP: WWE releases this month include the 3 Disk THE UNDERTAKLERS DEADLEIST MATCHES (18, DVD, £17.99), WWE FATAL FOUR WAY (E, DVD, £15.99) and WWE EXTREME RULES 2010 (E, DVD, £15.99) UFC Releases this month include: UFC 112: INVINCIBLE (BJ Penn vs. Frankie Edgar), UFC 113: MACHIDA VS. SHOGUN 2 (Lyoto Machida vs. Mauricio Rua), UFC 114: RAMPAGE VS. EVANS (Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson vs. ‘Sugar’ Rashad Evans ) and UFC 115: LIDDELL VS. FRANKLIN (Chuck ‘The Iceman’ Liddell battles former middleweight champion Rich ‘Ace’ Franklin). All priced from £14.99 on DVD. If I had to pick just one it would be hard - these represent some of the best UFC PPV’s in years.

PERRIERS BOUNTY (15, DVD, £7.99) stars Cillian Murphy, Jim Broadbent & Brendan Gleeson which for my money makes it worth picking up just for the cast.

7 DAYS (18, DVD, £12.99) is a ‘Saw meets...’ horror film directed by Daneil Grou which arrives on the same day as THE FINAL (18, DVD, £12.99), another ‘Saw meets...’ horror film.

ANIMALS, based on the nest selling 1992 novel by John Skipp & Craig Spector this brutal horror stars Lost’s Naveen Andrews and is yet another full blooded entry in the Vampire genre. NOT for fan’s of the Twiglet movies.

This one isn’t Saw meets anything which is a nice change...

ELVIS (DVD & BR, U , £15.99) starring Kurt Russell in a true career defining role as the once great eventually dead on a toilet musical super star.

The first season of TV show THE LISTERNER gets it’s DVD release this month (15, £19.99, DVD) fresh from it’s successful run on FX in the UK. BENT (18, DVD, £19.99) stars Clive Owen and has won a bucket load of awards. Classic retro police action THE SEVEN UPS (DVD, 12, £15.99) stars Roy Sheider and classic Brit film LET HIM HAVE IT (15, DVD, £12.99) featuring Christopher Eccleston and Tom Courtenay.

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By Phil Hobden http://combatfilm.blogspot.com

COMBAT FILM/REVIEWS

The Storm Warriors 2 (15, DVD) Review by Andrew Skeats The Pang Brothers (Bangkok Dangerous, The Eye) helm this belated sequel to the late 90s Aaron Kwok and Ekin Cheng vehicle. Based on a popular comic book series the two stars return to portray sword wielding heroes, Cloud and Wind. They must do battle with evil warlord Simon Yam who is trying to invade China using any kind of magic and CGI enhanced trickery he can conjure up. Not as bad as one might fear, despite excess melodramatics, thanks to the Pang’s assured hands orchestrating all the CGI mayhem. Bolstered by plenty of action, Storm Warriors II will be enjoyed depending on one’s tolerance for CGI spectacle. The film looks great and come the last third is saturated with action making it an entertaining, if rather shallow, ride.

ACTION 2/5 FILM 3/5 If you liked this, try: Hero, Storm Warriors, A Man Called Hero

Flash Gordon (PG, BR, £24.99) Review by Phil Hobden The classic queen soundtrack. The dubbed voice of Sam J Jones. Brian Blessed as a flying Hawk man. Future Bond Timothy Dalton camping it up. Peter Duncan. Seriously... what’s not to love! That’s right Gordon is very much alive as Mike Hodge’s classic slice of retro 80’s fun get’s brushed up for a shiny new feature packed Blu-Ray release. The threadbare plot of a star football player and two people he gets stuck in a rocket ship with traveling to the planet Mongo to battle the evil tyrant, Ming the Merciless, to save Earth is a ridiculous as it sounds but damn I must have watched this film a hundred times growing up. Camp, badly acted with terrible effects simply put Flash Gordon is one of the stand out 80’s films.... a true must own.

ACTION 3/5 FILM 4/5

Sons of The Wind: Bangkok Ninjas (15, DVD) Review by Richard Hawes Saddled with an attention grabbing but misleading subtitle, Julien Seri’s Les Fils Du Vent (aka Sons of the Wind) is finally available in the UK. Made in 2004, the same year as District 13 (aka Banlieue 13), it features no ninjas, but a whole lot of parkour and great fight choreography by Xin Xin Xiong. The plot involves an ensemble of free-runners, first introduced by Luc Besson and Seri in Yamakasi (2001), moving to Thailand and getting caught up in a turf war between Triads and Yakusa. It’s all a bit confusing but there are plenty of lively set-pieces, including a complex fight on some bamboo scaffolding. Boasting gorgeous cinematography by Michel Taburiaux and co-starring Burt Kwouk, it’s a superior sequel and highly recommended viewing.

ACTION 4/5 FILM 3/5 If you liked this try Taxi 2, Scorpion, Blood Brothers

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JKD FOR ALL...

With Kwoklyn Wan

UK Jeet Kune Do

Alliance

The UK JKD Alliance was formed in 2010 for the purpose of preserving and maintaining Bruce Lee’s Kung Fu (Jeet Kune Do); providing a structured, organized resource for Jeet Kune Do practitioners across the UK, Channel Islands and NOW Europe.

The UK JKD Alliance is NOT a governing body, they are working together with the WORLDS most renowned Jeet Kune Do Instructors to ensure they preserve Bruce Lee’s teachings and his Legacy.

The UKJKDA has TWO main Advisers these are The Legendary Tim Tackett and The Awesome Chris Kent.

Between the two of them they have over 75 years of Jeet Kune Do knowledge and have written some of “The Very Best Jeet Kune Do Instructional books” you can buy today.

Both Tim and Chris are OFFICIAL ADVISORS for the Bruce Lee Foundation, Jun Fan Jeet Kune Do Committee, and have both endorsed what the UKJKDA is trying to achieve here in the UK and Europe.

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UKJKDA Mission Statement: “The purpose of this group is to bring together ALL JKD instructors & students in the UK. To rid all politics that have disbanded the JKD family, not to police & govern Bruce’s art, but to allow you to seek good council, so that you can share the passion for Bruce’s art and perpetuate his authentic teachings to keep Bruce’s spirit alive”, “Bruce Lee’s Legacy is Not ours to own, but to share!”

If you teach Jeet Kune Do in Europe and you would like further information, please contact www.ukjkd.com

Chris Kent UK Tour 2010 in his own words From June 26th - July 4th, 2010, I conducted my first JKD seminar tour of England in 10 years, and it was a whirlwind. Four cities, nine days, and a thousand miles of driving. It was great and I loved every minute of it. I even survived driving without the aid of a GPS satellite navigation system (basically because I didn’t know how to work the bloody thing. Thank God for the trusty old road atlas).

The tour was set up and arranged by my friend, Kwoklyn Wan head of Urban Martial Arts in England. In addition to operating his highly successful martial art and fitness training center in Leicester, Kwoklyn is a martial art entrepreneur who this year created The Martial Art Show, and is a columnist for Combat magazine.

First stop on the tour was Hounslow near London where I conducted a two-day weekend seminar.The event was hosted by Lak Loi who runs Urban Martial Arts - London.We had a great time.

Second stop on the tour was Bodmin, Cornwall where I taught three-hour workshops on Monday and Tuesday evenings. My host was Ian Mudie, who runs Impact Martial Arts, Bodmin. As I taught in the evenings, during the day I had time to visit several cool tourist places. Ian took me to Padstowe, Pencarrow

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House, and Tintagel Castle. We even had the opportunity to fly over Cornwall in a private plane owned by the father of one of Ian’s students. A big thanks to our pilot, Andrew Turner. On one of the evenings, Nigel and a small group from Impact Martial Arts Truro joined us for the training.

Third stop was Manchester, where I again taught two three-hour evening seminars. The seminar was hosted

by Mark Elliott who owns Impact Martial Arts, Manchester. While I was in Manchester I had the opportunity to visit Old Trafford Football Stadium, home of the legendary Manchester United. We also visited the walled city of Chester, and I made it to Liverpool and visited Mathew Street, birthplpace of The Beatles, much to the envy of my daughter, who is a Beatles fanatic. However she was chuffed (happy) when she got the stuff I bought for her there. On one of the evenings, my friends Dave Carnell, head of Impact Martial Arts, and Simon McGovern drove down from Stoke-on-Trent to say hello.

Thanks, guys.

The final stop on the tour was Urban Martial Arts, Leicester for a great two-day weekend seminar hosted

by Kwoklyn Wan. This was the biggest event and a great way to finish the tour. We had a great time. My friend Andy Gibney stopped by to say hello, which was great considering he had walked thirty five miles the day before for a charity event. Many thanks to Nia Lewis, Kwoklyn’s assistant and enforcer (For god’s sake do not jump over the wall!)

One of my primary goals of this tour was to help people develop a clear understanding with regard to the true nature of Jeet Kune Do, and sort out some of the misperceptions that still exist with regard to what JKD is all about. I’m happy to say I think I achieved that goal.

Finally, I have to say that this is the best seminar tour I have done in England. Kwoklyn did an amazing job in setting everything up for me. The professionalism of each of the seminar hosts, as well as the kindness, consideration and friendship they shared with me was fantastic! I’d also like to say thank you to each of the people who attended and participated in the seminars. You guys helped make it a success! I am in the midst of putting a photo album for Facebook together and will publish it soon, so if any of you have photos, please send them to me at; chriskentjkd@gmail.com and I can include them.

And finally, a massive thanks to the families of my hosts for allowing them to spend so much time with me.

Chris Kent

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Bruce Lee Competition:

A BIG THANK YOU to Waiman who donated the rare Bruce Lee bust.

Just in case you’ve not checked out his website www.onesixthbruce.co.uk there is now a new model “Enter the Dragon” HD Master Piece which is AWESOME! The question was: Which year was the iconic film “Enter the Dragon” Released?

A) 1987 B) 2001 C) The Answer was of course 1973!

The Winner is Mr Michael Reavell from Guildford, “Congratulations” the figure will be making its way too you.

Thanks Again to www.onesixthebruce.co.uk Now for this month’s competition To celebrate the launch of The UK Jeet Kune Do Alliance. We have 5 UKJKDA Game of Death Bruce Lee T-Shirts to give away plus, one lucky winner will win a pair of Tickets for Tim Tackett’s upcoming seminar which will be his LAST UK Visit! (Worth £160.00 N.B: Seminar is being held at Urban Martial Arts Leicester 16th & 17th October 2010 www.jkdleicester.com.

Tickets have NO monetary value and cannot be exchanged) Simply answer the following question: Jeet Kune Do translated means?

1. Train Hard, Fight Easy 2. The Way of the Intercepting Fist 3. Is Bruce Lee’s name in Chinese Please email 1, 2 or 3 along with your Name, Email address and Contact telephone number to info@ukjkd.com (Competition closes on the 10th October 2010, winner will be notified by telephone)

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Chris Kent Bodmin 2010 Sifu Chris arrived in Cornwall early Monday afternoon, as the week day seminars were to be held in the evenings we had some time for sightseeing at Pencarrow House and gardens including some incredible ancient woodland complete with Iron Age hill fort.

The first evening started with Sifu Chris sharing some of his experiences, how he was lucky enough to start his training with Dan Inosanto and his backyard JKD School. He then went on to explain the Jeet Kune Do mindset, the many misconceptions about JKD and how you have to understand the thought process to fully understand yourself and to fulfil your potential.

Chris then stressed the importance of refining and improving everything we do. Although JKD can be used in competition, it is not a sport, as sports are limited by their rules. On the street there are of course no rules.

Next was footwork and how to develop non rhythmic movement, awareness of opponents’ movement, control of distance and not to just to move for the sake of moving. Tool development followed with the JKD hook kick.

Non telegraphic initiation, speed, power, deceptive delivery and good defensive recovery were covered with Chris’s energy and enthusiasm inspiring all present. He was constantly trying to help everyone and giving training tips, such as when holding the focus gloves or kick shield, train your awareness by picking up on motion or telegraphic movements and giving your training partner feedback.

Tuesday started with a trip to see Jamie Oliver’s 15 restaurant at Watergate Bay, then Padstow to try Cornish ice cream. Lunch (Cornish pasty!) at Tintagel castle the birth place of King Arthur and then to Bodmin airfield to see Cornwall from the air, thanks to Impact student Andrew Turner and his light aircraft.

Flying in a small aircraft is a real experience; totally different from commercial flights. The views are not only spectacular, it gives you a whole new prospective on your local area.

Tuesday’s seminar kicked off with Savate. I had seen Chris teach some techniques from this French kickboxing style in Stoke on Trent over ten years ago and asked him to show us some in more detail. The best warm up is the action itself, so we started with shadow boxing, followed by some unique partner drills.

Next was the Fouette kick, a whipping curved kick with the toes. Variations followed with lateral steps useful as counters or if you’re fighting with your back against the wall, before moving on to the chasse side kick. All the savate principles you could use if you’re kicking a la JKD. Sifu Chris rounded off the evening with JKD evasion and how use distance but still remain in range to strike back. He explained Combat variables in some detail; emphasizing the importance of isolating one thing at a time to improve it before putting back into your game plan. Overall a remarkable seminar, everyone found his enthusiasm and love of martial arts inspiring and were uplifted by his sense of humour. My thanks to Sifu Chris and to Nigel, Mark and their students from Impact Truro and all at Impact Bodmin for their support. We eagerly look forward to Chris next UK visit.

Ian Mudie Impact Martial Arts Bodmin

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Return of The Tackett Last year Tim Tackett officially retired from touring in the UK & Europe as he NO longer enjoyed the long flight over the Atlantic Ocean and his wife hated him going away for weeks at a time. BUT............He has decided to celebrate his 50th wedding anniversary here in the UK with his lovely wife and I of course have convinced Mr T to teach a seminar for me at Urban Martial Arts Leicester.

So for ALL you JKDers this is going to be the “BIG FINALE” and the one seminar you really don’t want to miss. If you have trained with Tim before you’ll know already that he has this vast amount of knowledge on JKD and if you’re a Tackett virgin “You really can’t risk not attending this Last ever UK seminar”.

Tickets are available online at www.urbanmartialarts.com click on SEMINARS. Venue: Urban Martial Arts Leicester Date: Saturday 16th & Sunday 17th October 2010 Cost: £80.00 for the weekend or £50.00 for 1 day Start & Finish Times: 10.30am - 16.30pm both days Don’t think about attending for too long or you will miss out!

News

Green Hornet January 2011 Next January, the streets will be a little safer from crime because that’s when The Green Hornet will strike again!

Schedu led to hit cinemas in January 2011 in 3D, If there is anything in particular you want me to cover actor/c omedia n Seth Rogen will take on the role of Britt in these pages please let me know, train hard and “Keep Reid, a newsp aper publisher who becomes the mysteriBlasting until next time” ‘I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has ous Green Hornet and posing as a criminal, secretly fights crime along side his faithful sidekick Kato, played practiced one kick 10,000 times’ by Taiwanese musician Jay Chou. Rogen, who also Kwoklyn Wan wrote the script with his Superbad writing partner Evan Goldberg, stars in the film, which is directed by Kwoklyn Wan is a Certified Instructor under Tim Tackett acclaim ed French filmmaker Michel Gondry (Eternal and is the WNG European Representative. Kwoklyn is Sunshi ne of the Spotless Mind). The movie also boasts also on WNG Board of Directors as Vice Chairman an incredi ble cast that in addition to Rogen and Chou (International Affairs and Development) includes Cameron Diaz as Reid’s possible love interest Lenore “Casey” Case and Oscar winner Christoph For further details on workshops, seminars and regular Waltz (Inglourious Basterds) as the film’s villain training please contact Kwoklyn Wan on: Chudn ofsky. Of course the movie would not be comTelephone: (0116) 253 8668 plete withou t the hero’s famous trademark vehicle, The Email: kwoklynwan@yahoo.co.uk Black Beauty , a 1966 Chrysler Imperial.

URL: www.jkdleicester.com URL: www.ukjkd.com URL: www.jkdwednite.com

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LESSONS FOR THE CAGE

By Gavin Mulholland

Attacking from the back

Kimura

(Gyaku ude-garami)

To my mind, one of the most interesting developments to the martial arts in recent years has been the concept of obtaining submissions from underneath an opponent. Of course, styles like Judo, Goju, Shorinji Kenpo and Ju-Jitsu had been doing forms of this for years, but the advent of MMA really served to highlight the need for such techniques in a one-on-one fight in the Octagon.

We are going to start from a position on our backs with our opponent gripped firmly in our guard (soko shiho). Although you will see a lot of techniques practiced from this position, it is important to realize that it is not a good position to be in. In fact, it is precisely because it’s a bad position to be in that so much work is done from here. Unless you are a top class grappler, it is not a position to actively seek - rather, think about it as the best position you can scramble into in a bad situation.

Like all techniques from this position, it is crucially important to maintain as much control of your opponent’s movement through the use of your thighs, so unless you Fig 1

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have a good reason not to, keep your ankles crossed and your guard closed (Fig 1).

In this instance, you need to have one of your opponent’s hands down on the mat by your side.

Occasionally, this will just happen and when it does, you need to be on it quickly. However, more often than not, the Gods demand more sport than that and you are going to have to force the situation.

As your opponent postures up above you with both his hands on your belly, (Fig 2), reach up and pulling his hands apart, force them both to the mat by your hips.

Taking hold of his right wrist, in your left hand, immediately sit up and back slightly (Fig 3). Without sitting back slightly, you will not have enough space to execute this technique so attention to detain in training is essential.

Turning slightly to your left as you sit up, reach as high over your opponent’s right shoulder with your right arm as you possibly can (Fig 4).

The object is to get your armpit as high up on his shoulder as possible.

From here reach down and under his right arm to grab your own left wrist with your right hand (Fig 5). Fall back, pulling his now figure 4’d right arm up his back.

Make sure that you re-secure full guard by crossing your ankles so that you are able to engage your hips and stretch him out to complete the Kimura and obtain the tap (Fig 6).

As ever, train hard, responsibly, and under professional supervision.

Good luck.

Gavin Mulholland is the Chief Instructor for DKK Fighters and author of the number one bestselling book, Four Shades of Black - The Traditional Path to Building the Complete Fighter which can be purchased from Amazon. He is also joint Chief Instructor for Daigaku Karate Kai based in Central London. DKK can be contacted via www.goju-karate.co.uk or directly on 07976-411-901.

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Fig 2

Fig 3

Fig 4

Fig 5

Fig 6

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THE NEGOTIATOR

By Aran Dharmeratnam

The strikes of Systema One aspect of Systema that Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m often asked about is its approach to striking. People are curious about the different ways of striking that this Russian martial art utilises. They are also interested in finding out how Systema practitioners learn to increase power in their strikes. And beyond the subject of power generation, other questions relate to how the Russian strikes are used within a more tactical framework. So today, here are a few more insights on Russian Systema striking.

Different types of strikes in Systema:

Strikes using different body parts:

For those unfamiliar with this Russian martial art, I should mention that Systema has many different ways of striking. There is much to explore in this area. There are closed fist punches, open hand tactics, direct short range strikes, angular strikes, off balancing strikes, and often strikes will flow in tangent with the opponentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s moment by moment movement, reactions, and responses.

So there is something very adaptive about the strikes of Systema. Of course, it could be said that this adaptive quality is something that emerges within many areas of this Russian art.

The hands may be used to deliver most of the more common and reliable strikes within Systema. However Russian hand to hand specialists realised that sometimes a person has to improvise and utilise more unusual or more unpredictable strikes using other parts of the body such as the knees, elbows and feet. In terms of kicks, Systema does have a functional and diverse selection of feet based strikes, however, it should be stressed that as an art that stresses mobility, careful expenditure of energy, and maintaining optimal balance (where possible), it uses kicking tactics in a selective manner.

The leg work in Systema is practical and at the same time can be quite subtle as the practitioner gets more accustomed to the art and its principles. But one of the reasons why kicks arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t aimed too high is because the more high kicking movements can take their toll on the body over an extended period. They are also harder to utilise on uneven or slippery ground. Now even though, the kicking movements of Systema tend to use a small range of motion, without excessive twisting or pivoting, they can still generate really significant levels of power. More importantly, there is a suddenness to them that adds to their effectiveness.

Accessible movement: Systema strikes generally require fairly economical body movement. Power is generated through relaxation, effective placement, and utilisation of the breath, timing and other subtle principles. And these strikes still work well at short range, if the principles are followed and combined effectively.

Therefore, the big twisting movements and excessive arm extension are not needed. The strike can be delivered very suddenly without blatant chambering or telegraphing.

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without the need for overt movements is because it allows the strikes to work effectively when the person is at close quarter range, when there is isn’t much space to manoeuvre and the opponent attacks very suddenly.

The short range strikes: The great thing about Systema’s short work, where the strikes involve little movement, is that there is less chance for the fist to be damaged. When a person fires off long range strikes in wild fashion it is harder to be accurate and fists can hit hard parts of the body thus leading to injury to the knuckles and wrists. So short range strikes can be very practical, but, like other aspects of the art, they require training.

The practitioner must practise various drills so that they get comfortable with the placement, timing and distancing.

The drills and exercises are rewarding and they carry a lot of mileage. What I mean is that there is always a way to further hone and refine ones strikes.

There is always the possibility that a new understanding can be gained. In studying this approach to striking, it is also very important that the student understands the different effects that strikes can have and they learn how to control strikes.

Other strikes: Although the short range strikes are a major part of the Systema striking approach, there are other strikes.

Some do have a more long range application. There may be certain situations when some of these long range strikes can be useful. They can be used to create an opening or to distract the opponent. They can also be used to close distance or counter multiple opponents.

Effective punches: In training there are some principles and free flow drills that help students gain a deeper understanding of Systema punching methods. It is also explained how certain errors and tendencies can weaken striking effectiveness. For example, sometimes people are so keen to fire off strikes that their movement suffers. Ideally the strikes should be part of the person’s movement. In this way the person isn’t left vulnerable to the opponent’s attack.

Where as the person who really plants their body to unleash their punches, may be left open to takedowns from other attackers. Another factor to consider in training is distancing. If the practitioner doesn’t have a good understanding of distance; if they don’t use the distance effectively they can end up throwing strikes when they are too far away.

Strikes may then lose some power and end up as ‘point scoring blows’.

Also, if the person is too far away when they strike, they can end up over reaching with their arms.

It’s a component but not a destination: The strikes of Systema are certainly something unique but it should be pointed out that they are just one part of the art and should be balanced out with other aspects of training. The art has much to offer and also bear in mind that striking is not always the appropriate physical tactic; sometimes other tactics must be used, depending on the nature of the situation. And actually, by training in some of the other areas, it can also help the person to improve their understanding of strikes; as the person learns more about movement, relaxation and the breath training. It is also important to work with the psychological aspects of training. These striking tactics require one to remove aggression and fear, as well as learning how to control the emotions. By studying how to connect with the calm state, the practitioner will find that some of the best tactics develop naturally.

Aran is a UK based teacher of Systema. He is also the author of Safety Response the Essential Guide to your Personal Safety. If you would like to find out more about Aran’s Systema classes in London or Stamford or to book workshops or private lessons: contact: 07939 678 356 email: aran@globalkick.com or visit www.globalkick.com

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dvdreview Chris Denwood’s Pragmatic Karate ‘Acorns to Oak Trees’ is the title of a new instructional DVD by combat columnist and bunkai specialist, Chris Denwood.

In this comprehensive double disc set, marking Chris’s video debut, he very eloquently breaks down his approach to karate into what he calls five ‘essential guidelines’ that accumulate to form a wellrounded understanding in the pragmatic application of the traditional forms.

Explaining from the very beginning that the DVD aims to increase a fundamental appreciation of bunkai, it quickly becomes apparent that what Chris actually means by ‘fundamental’ is not simply bunch of material aimed at the novice, but in fact a series of sophisticated concepts, expertly taught in a way that makes them valuable to karate practitioners of any skill level. But what really makes this DVD useful is the fact that he also aligns his applications to the overarching principles - rather than using the all too familiar, “here’s a technique and here’s the application” approach - meaning that the content can very easily be picked up and fully integrated into training, regardless of style or system.

Those who have read Chris’s work in the past will know that he always writes with deep thought and consideration for his art, often enjoying the challenge of attempting to simplify for the reader, what can be very profound subjects. His DVD is certainly no different from this, apart from the fact that you now also get the added bonus if seeing him applying his concepts in real time.

The filming (set in Chris’s own private dojo), production and editing is of high quality, which alone places it at the forefront of standards for martial arts instructional DVD’s. The total running time - a very impressive 120 minutes - is packed to the brim with thoroughly researched, well prepared and useable information.

There’s also a couple of great special features thrown in too including ‘an introduction to kettlebell lifting for traditional hojo undo’, where Chris teaches the basics of the tool he personally recommends every martial artist should own, along with a very interesting explanation as to why.

In conclusion, ‘Acorns to Oak Trees’ is a unique DVD, designed to provide a thought-provoking toolbox of material for traditional karate pragmatists of all styles

and experience, whilst at the same time, maintaining focus on the necessity for practitioners to expand and develop their own personal application of the art. Along with the very reasonable price tag of only £24.99, there’s no reason why it shouldn’t be part of the video library of every ‘thinking’ karate-ka!

The DVD is available to buy now from www.eskk.co.uk or www.chrisdenwood.com.

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THE MAN SPEAKETH!

By Robert Devane

Eating for Performance Christmas is not that far off now and I’m already looking forward to my dinner! However, now is a great time to have a look at your eating regime before the excesses of winter. You may know all of this information already but we all fall off the wagon from time to time and this article should serve to motivate you. Finish the last quarter of your year off strong and what better way to review than with what goes into that finely tuned machine you call your body.

Proper diet and nutrition is a must for all athletes looking to achieve top results. What you eat is of utmost importance and is reflected in your performance. You can train very hard but if you do not have a proper healthy eating plan then you will never reach your peak (fitness, speed, strength etc.). Imagine two professional sprinters - both are exactly the same in every way (cloning experiment!) except that one eats a properly balanced diet and the other lives on junk food - If they were to race, I know which one I’d put my money on! Eating properly is not just of high importance to athletes but indeed anybody looking to lead a healthy, energetic lifestyle.

The right balanced diet will promote muscle toning, decrease fat, increase energy and quicken recovery time from injury. Does this not sound great?

Okay then, now the hard part. We know that we all should eat right and that we will be better and feel better as a result.....but.....how do we do it and what do we eat? There are so many differing opinions on this subject that it can be very over whelming when you first try to organize a proper eating plan. So, we’ll keep it simple and stick to the basics: 34 COMBAT WWW.COMBATMAG.CO.UK

WHAT TO DRINK: 1st on the list - Water, water and more water. Most of us don’t drink enough water. We are predominantly made up of water and we need it to perform all of our bodily functions.

No need to drown yourself - just keep sipping away throughout the day and don’t wait to be thirsty.

Good athletes are always well hydrated, especially before an event.

Fruit & vegetable juices are okay but you are better off eating the fruits and the vegetables.

Milk can be a good source of protein & calcium. Fat free is best for those looking to lower body fat.

WHAT NOT TO DRINK: Tea, coffee, sugary drinks, alcohol!

All of these are stimulants, which can negatively affect your body rhythms. Top athletes stay away from these drinks. If you find this unimaginable then just try to reduce your intake of these drinks.

WHAT TO EAT: Natural foods - Cereals, grains, beans, lean meats, fish, brown bread, brown rice, wholemeal pasta, eggs (egg whites are best), potatoes, fruit and vegetables. Use seasoning to increase taste: green pep-

per, onion, garlic, oregano, lemon, or cilantro. You can also get away with low fat mayonnaise, low fat cheese and fat free yogurt.

WHAT NOT TO EAT: This could be a huge list so the mains ones are: sugar or sugary foods, salt or high sodium foods, butter, sauces or full-fat anything!

HOW TO PREPARE FOOD: Do grill, bake, barbecue, boil, steam or microwave.

HOW NOT TO PREPARE THE FOOD: Don’t fry - oil adds unnecessary saturated fat to food and yes, this is bad.

Even shallow frying should be avoided.

WHEN TO EAT: Always eat breakfast. This should be your biggest meal of the day. Then Lunch second and your smallest meal should be your evening meal.

Eating lots of small meals is good too. Infact, eating more often can actually help you to lose weight your body tends not to store as much fat when it is fed regularly (approx. every 3 hours). Try not to eat four hours before bedtime - if you do then this food will not be fully digested or ‘burnt off’.

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MEAL IDEAS: Breakfast: Porridge, weetabix or museli with skimmed milk. Brown bread toast with low fat spread. A boiled egg. A bananna. Water.

Lunch: Turkey sandwich (low fat spread on brown bread, lettuce, tomato. Or Natural peanut butter sandwich. Or Tuna sandwich.

Snacks: Fruit, veg, popcorn (unsalted), cereal.

Finally, a good tip: Don’t go grocery shopping when you’re hungry. You’ll only end up buying too much stuff and mostly junk that’s bad for you!

Right, I’m starving now after writing this! Thanks for reading and talk to you again next month.

Robert ‘The Man’ Devane is a professional instructor and fighter. He runs Martial Arts Incorporated which has 3 full time Dojos in Dublin.

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

Dinner: Wholemeal pasta or brown rice and a chicken fillet. Side salad without dressing.

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BUNBUN SERIES

By Mike Finn - Leading World Authority

The Journey... the Path...

& the Destination

Part 1

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

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

Martial arts is a tapestry of choice, there are skills for all temperaments and dispositions, yet many can not accept that there should be free choice. Dogmatism and totalitarianism pervade the martial arts world, this is a sad fact, however, the hidden matrix of training is the same throughout the various skills, as are the ultimate goals.

In this article I will look at the words of Martial Arts Master Tomoaki Danzaki, who told me that above all, martial arts training should encompass humanity.

One evening after an Iai lesson I sat on the tatami in the home of Master Danzaki, drinking Nihon Cha and discussing the changing

The illustration reflects Miyamoto Musashi’s duel to the death with Sasaki Kojiro, on what came to be known as Ganryu Island

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domain of martial arts. I mentioned my several years study in Jojutsu under Master Takaaji Shimizu in the 1960s, and he told me that both he and Nakayama Hakudo had been pupils of the same master in the early days, and how Master Hakudo had used Jo principles in his kendo. He spoke very fondly of the great Nakayama Hakudo, for whom he had immense respect, explaining that he was present when the great master passed away, and added, that even then master Hakudo was passing knowledge on to him. Master Danzaki believed that the ultimate training endeavour should be directed towards humanity. This is far from

Shows the book, written by Master Tomoaki Danzaki and endorsed and presented by him to Finn Sensei when he attained his Zen Nihon Kendo and Iaido Renmei 3rd Dan

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A rare picture with master Danzaki’s hand on Finn sensei’s shoulder

an easy concept to grasp, especially as by its very nature, martial arts encapsulates fighting and those inherent combative qualities that accompany it. Therefore, I have decided to relate some aspects of the life of Miyamoto Musashi that may offer a better insight.

Sword master Miyamoto Musashi survived 60 duels, culminating in the challenge between himself and Sasaki (Ganryu) Kojiro, which took place in 1612 on an island called Ganryu (in those days called both Mukojima and Funajima). It is said of the encounter, that Kojiro’s sword came so close it cut the headband of Musashi, who, at the same time struck a blow which knocked Kojiro to the ground, at which point Musashi delivered the fatal strike.

There are of course various versions of these events documented.

Following the duel with Kojiro, Musashi fought in the Osaka campaign. Interestingly however, from this point in his life, the duels fought

by Musashi were not to the death.

The encounter with Miyake Gunbei, the retainers of Lord Yoshinao, those of Lord Noamasa, Shioda Shosai, and Ujii Yashiro, were all with wooden sword and not fatal. In fact the victories of Musashi in these encounters were remarkable.

The flow of Martial Arts is like a powerful waterfall that gushes into a raging river, then, as the river runs its course, the flow becomes stable and becomes a source of life to everything within and around it.

Whatever is in the river although independent, must bend to the will of the water (which a the force of nature). However, in the course of

Master Danzaki 9th Dan Iaido (late president of the Zen Nihon Iaido Renmei) demonstrating a cut

time the river finds its way to the sea and completes its cycle.

The early years of Musashi were ones of blood and victory, his adversaries were swept away by the vehemence and vigour of the waterfalls power. Those who tried to navigate the raging river, were swept to their deaths. In later years Musashi understood the power of the gentle stream, his mere presence filled the opponents, and brought them under his control.

The master’s who follow the flow of water from its source to its conclusion, enter a whole cycle from within the life force. Entering the river at any later point, then leaving when it is convenient, is not ‘the way’. Musashi remained true to that flow until the day he died in 1643, at that time Musashi retreated to a cave in Reigando, where he wrote the famous manuscript Go Rin No Sho, which is a document know to most martial arts exponents. However, a lesser known document called the ‘dokkodo’ (Following the way alone) was written on 16th May 1645 only a week before he died. In this document he alludes to the way of humanity being perpetuated through successive generations (Yo yo no michi o somuku koto nashi). Musashi saw the seasons of his life follow their natural course. In the spring and summer of his years Musashi used aggressive strategy, but in his autumn and especially winter years he was able to simply dominate his opponents. This quality is referred to as Myojutsu (myogi means miracle and Okugi is secret teaching).

Myojutsu is a quality attained by masters who have followed the life-

time path, simply by using their presence they will dominate their opponent. It is said that technique strategy - and humanity equal technical perfection. Even the early document from which the kendo kata were developed, stated that, ‘sincerity was the way of heaven, but to have faith in sincerity if the path of humanity’.

The one thing apparent, in all the really great masters I trained with in Japan was their great compassion and understanding of humanity. This reflects the richness of their martial arts journey.

Martial arts is a paradox, for example many teachings speak of ‘the sword that spares life’, which is a statement that appears to contradict itself. Beyond the dogma of jaded clichÈ, in the next article we can explore this precept and relate it to some of the discussions I had with master Ichitaro Kuroda.

Article by Michael Finn (see club directory or www.elite-int.com)

Master Nakayama Hakudo. Originator of Muso Shinden Ryu

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CHATTERBOX With Kerry-Louise Norbury

Hello again, I hope you have all been enjoying the great weather we have been having and I trust most of you have had your holidays and the children are now back at school. Time passes so quickly. But lets not write the summer off yet as I think we still have a little more of the good weather left.

I use this time of the year to do more activities outside which still constitute training but which I can enjoy and more importantly share with others who sometimes do not have the time to train alongside me. These activities include, swimming, walking, running in the country, mountain biking and generally anything outside which is active!

It is nice to see that the questions keep coming in as this makes it worth while doing the article and I really enjoy helping others. I am just starting to prepare for my big fight in December so I envisage several new ideas and training strategies being put in place by Cris, of which I am happy to share in my experiences as I go along. So keep those questions coming in. Onto this months questions.....

Who/what has been your favourite fight/fighter this year so far?

In full contact...... I watched a young lady become the new WAKO amateur champion in Sleaford only a couple of months ago she is from USKA and her name is Chantelle Cameron. She fought a very well schooled and seasoned fighter and she beat her opponent with professional style, she listened to her corner and responded like she was being controlled by a computer joypad. She

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impressed me and I know she will go all the way in full contact.

I must say in WAKO K1 Rules I havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t seen many ladies fight (Come on girls!!) but in the men it has to be James Russell of Total Dojo London trained by Tony Davies and Leif Taggart who is phenomenal and trained by the one and only CJP! Both have destroyed many International opponents of very high standards and this is why I place them on such a high pedestal.

I was asked at short notice to be a second in the corner for one of our club members and apart from pressing the stop watch. I felt like a spare part, I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know what to say or do during the fight but I really enjoyed it and would like to do it again can you give me some pointers please.

First of all, you do not mention your age, the fighters experience or if it was just a local fight etc, but I am sure your coach only asked you because he/she was confident in your ability. I have worked many a corner in my time and I think so many people underestimate the job of the corner crew as a team. They are not just two people who go out there and cheer their fighter on.

The coach has his/her specific duties just as the second does. The second is the third and fourth pair of hands for the coach and is also his second set of eyes. Some seconds warm fighters up on the pads whilst the coach may tape the fighters hands and give them the pre fight talk and get them in the zone.

What I would strongly advise is speak to your coach, see if you may be doing this on a regular basis and ask if you can attend a coaches and seconds course. This way you will understand fully the job of both parties which will make you far more efficient and give you a clear picture of what is expected of you and your responsibilities. I took all my training under WAKO, which is a recognised qualification. The course is clear and precise and very enjoyable.

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I am a keen follower of your column Kerry and I must say you have motivated me not only as a fighter but as a person also, obviously I read other articles and columns also but I still return back to yours time and time again. I am a 54kg female full contact fighter and 24 years old with a good success rate. I see you have now made what I see is a no return decision to follow K1 Rules? Is this an easy transition as I love the low kicks and knees etc? We train with them but do not fight with them.

I see you have been back to Lanzarote again for your annual course and high altitude training, was it good and how can I book for next year? I have meant to do this before but always worried about my fitness and stamina levels as I know itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tough. (Although I have to say it looks so much fun also).

Hiya, well first of all can I say the decision to leave full contact was not an easy one and one I suggest you do not rush either! I studied WAKO K1 rules and Muay Thai under private tuition for 1 year and still do. I have also trained abroad for the last few years at some of the toughest gyms including in Thailand and Holland before I even considered it. Why? Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s too many people successful in the full contact game who

now believe the low kick sports are just about putting shorts on and kicking lower???? How disillusioned and wrong are these people?

Before anything there is a change of stance, movement, body placement, let alone the difference in stamina and most importantly conditioning. I have now conditioned my lower limbs constantly for 1 year in preparation. There is a full new art in clinch and movement which we teach as independent lessons away from anything else.

I am not trying to talk you out of it, just merely pointing out that it is certainly not as easy as people think. I have seen some good full contact fighters lose face by making the change without forethought and unfortunately they are their own undoing.

So my basic answer is, yes get into the training, but make sure you cover all the elements before considering fighting and DO NOT rush anything.

Yes you are right and yes it is hard work but as you rightly say itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s great fun also!! We are just back from another excellent training week in our regular haunt which is Club La Santa in Lanzarote, one of the biggest sports complexes in the World.

Our course is run every year starting the first week in June. It is good solid hard work and the high altitude training goes hand in hand. The price is pretty good and you have the facilities of over 80 Olympic sports in addition. If you want to book you can do it direct through the club La Santa website or email me and I will send you the details. See our latest trip pictures at www.bfkko.blogspot.co.uk

I am currently trying to make weight for an up and coming fight and so far it is going well but I have a very sweet tooth and the cravings are taking over my life!

Is there anything out there that can stop the cravings or a magical chocolate bar with no calories in it? Help!

Unfortunately they have failed to make a no calorie chocolate bar but there are things that can help your sweet tooth. Buy a low calorie lolly or even better make your own so you know exactly what is in it. My favourite are the Calippo shots they

only have 25 calories and 0.8g of fat they take forever to eat and the taste good too. Also if you freeze some grapes and eat them when you have a craving. If you are a chocoholic then the only cure is to have a low calorie hot chocolate with no milk.

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Combat1110 (online)

24/11/10 10:43

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ZEN MEDITATION TEACHERS WORKSHOP FOR MARTIAL ARTISTS With Buddhist monk Venerable Shri Sadhu Dharmavira (teaching since 1969 and a monk since 1983)

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Backing out of fights it’s just not right!

Is there anything that can be done to stop these people from doing it to someone else?

I totally agree that backing out of a fight without a legitimate reason is wrong, very wrong. If they can supply the promoter with a doctors note then there is obviously a true reason. Unfortunately it’s the people who abuse the system that make it hard for us to believe people when they say that have to back out for a legitimate reason. If

I have been bullied for some time so I decided to start Karate but I was devastated to see my bully was also a member so I just ended up watching for a little while. I really want to start but I really don’t want to do it with someone who bullies me at school, is there any way round it?

I really feel for anyone who is being bullied especially the ones that are trying to do something about it. You could try looking for a club outside your local area so there is little chance of bumping into people you know. If you liked the look of the club then you could ask the instructor if they have any other clubs and maybe explain your problem and hopefully he can help you or even suggest sessions where the other person doesn’t go to. Don’t give up on karate or kickboxing though as the benefits are fantastic. Also see www.maab .co.uk where there’s some great ideas and also a link to helpful and further qualified advice!

If you need to locate another reputable club after speaking to the club you visited do not hesitate to get back in touch with me and I will try to help you locate another one. Why not think of looking at other good styles for self defence also such as Ju Jitsu?

I am a 16 year old girl who has been training in Kickboxing for nearly 6 years. I train with male full contact fighters so I train very hard. The problem is that recently I have discovered a large increase in the amount of muscle in my thighs and calfs which is beginning to make me feel depressed as I find it very hard to find jeans and clothes that fit me. My waist/hips

you know that the fighter backed out for no real reason, if officially reported or the leading governing bodies have knowledge of this they may make a note of this and then tend not to match them again or even suspend them.

I am also aware that the organisations work well together on this matter and also that of medical suspensions which is nice to know that they all recognise these as some of the major factors in making our sport more structured and professional.

I will have plenty to report on for you soon as I am off on my travels again training abroad, I have one in Ireland, then France then Holland, plus all the seminars I have to teach on with Cris. I must say though, I thrive on it all. I was given a wonderful gift and that was to work in an area I love, so my work is my pleasure and my pleasure is my life....so not a bad deal I think!

are small and I also have very long legs which are big because of the muscle. It’s made me feel quite rubbish because I have to get a bigger size than I normally would and they don’t really fit around the waist. I wondered, do you ever have this problem as you train very hard and are an extremely good fighter? I know there is nothing I can do about it but I was hoping I wasn’t the only female with very muscular legs!

I totally get where you are coming from it is a big pain and people sometimes say I look like a body builder when I wear a skirt! unfortunately, the high street fashion doesn’t cater for us stronger more muscular types so skinny jeans don’t tend to fit properly, Go for the more relaxed fitting types boot leg or boyfriend jeans as they have more leg room so you can

get them to fit both waist and legs.

Also leggings are great and also the wide leg trouser. I think It is great that you are getting noticeable benefits from kickboxing, you must be working very hard and as you get older you will thank yourself you have trained hard when you have muscular, firm legs rather than wobbly ones! keep up the hard work.

Ps...You haven’t mentioned if you do weight training but if you do and you respond well to weight training I would see your coach about reducing your leg work in the gym and allowing your other training areas to keep your legs in shape. I never apply weights to my legs anymore, I just use free exercise. (My kettlebell routine however does use overall body movement, especially in say clean and press, but they are kept light anyway).

Yours Kerry-Louise

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FORMS FORUM

By Joe Hallett

Open Sessions F The most frequent question I get asked is “Where do I train?” and the second one “Where can I learn this stuff?” This month I have decided to give you a small directory on open sessions that are available to you. Choose one near you and attend and learn the basics right up to advanced tricks.

Whether you are beginner or an experienced tricker everyone can benefit from these sessions. A lot of people are scared to attend them because they don’t know anyone who goes and they are expecting some cocky egotistical people who won’t help you. This is far from the truth. Obviously each session will have the odd unhelpful person but the percentage of people will be happy to help you because they remember being a beginner. Each centre is fully equipped with gymnastic sprung floors, crash pads, blocks, spring boards, trampolines/trampettes with coaches on hand to add their expertise to your training.

I hear you say “I haven’t got a training partner” well I do sympathise with you on this as I used to train for many years on my own, which took a lot of self motivation and determination on my behalf but it’s not the best option.

Firstly its always good to have someone there to add their advice when learning new moves remember they can see what is going wrong, secondly you will bounce off each other and be more motivated to try different things and last but definitely not least if you were to hurt yourself (hope you don’t) your partner will be there to help and get assistance. We are so privileged these days to have so many free networking sites to use and meet new people so use them to your advantage. Log on whether it’s

Facebook, Myspace, Bebo or Twitter to find people who are interested in Martial Arts, Tricks, Forms, who are based around your area. I am sure there will be a few.

Make groups and events on these sites, plan to go to one of these open sessions together on a certain day, believe me the atmosphere in the centre will be electric and adrenaline pumping and you will learn faster.

And your last excuse for putting off attending these sessions “I haven’t got enough money”. Lucky for you these sessions are all set at a very reasonable and affordable price for hours of training in top facilities around the country. So here is my small directory of open sessions around the UK, If none of these are around your area have a search on the web there will be at least one near you, you just need to find it.

MK Elite Cheerleading Unit 25, Burners Ln, Kiln Farm, Milton Keynes, MK11 3HA Every Friday 6pm - to whenever - only £5 or £10 for the weekend and an option to sleep in the gym.

Contact - mikey.french@live.co.uk New College Leicester Gymnastic Centre, Glenfield Road, Leicester, LE3 6DN. Every Monday 6.30pm - 9.30pm - £8 for 3hrs or £4.90 mins Basingstoke Gymnastics Club The Active Life Centre, StephensonRoad, Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hants, RG21 6XR, Wednesday - 8.30pm - 10.30pm +16 Years Friday - 7.30pm - 9.15pm +8 Years Saturday - 4pm - 6pm / 6pm - 8.30pm +10 Years £6 for 2 hours or £12 for 4 hours Contact - 01256 352858 Email - info@basingstokegym.co.uk East London Gymnastics Club 1 Triumph Road, Beckton, E6 5LW Day time - Monday/Wednesday/Friday 10am - 1pm Tuesday/ Thursday 1pm - 4pm - £5 all sessions Night time - Monday (Mixed Class) 8pm - 9.25pm Tuesday/Wednesday/Friday 8pm - 9.25pm £5 all sessions Email - eastlondongym@aol.com

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s For You City of Bristol Gymnastics Centre Teyfant Road, Hartcliffe, Bristol, BS13 0RF Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday/ Thursday 7.30pm - 9pm all £5.50 Contact - 0117 377 3420 Email - gymnastics@alm.co.uk Website - www.bristolgymnastics.co.uk Spirit Gymnastics Centre 16 Oxford Road (Reema House), Penn Mill Trading Estate, Yeovil, Somerset, BA21 5HR Every Sunday 1pm - 4pm only £5 Contact Terrie Rogers - 0752 354 1754 Email - rogerscasaloco@aol.com (MY OWN OPEN SESSION) Infinity Martial Arts Unit 2 Termare Close, Houndstone Business Park, Yeovil, Somerset, BA22 8YG Every Friday - 5.30pm - 7pm only £5 Contact Joe Hallett - 0786 506 2234 Email - info@infinitymartialarts.co.uk Make sure you contact the centre prior to attending there sessions just in case the details have changed! There are also sessions in Northampton, Rugby, Birmingham (GMAC) search for these on the web again all at reasonable prices.

To finish this month I have heard some very sad news, Dragons Gym in Derby is closing down. I and many other trickers have great memories from open sessions we had there and I hope another centre will fill the huge gap it will leave for the tricking community; thank you Damien Walters for opening the doors to us, it was much appreciated.

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By Antony Cummins MA

Episode 7: ‘Defence Against a Ninja’

An Interview with Otake Sensei A Brief History of The Katori Shinto-Ryu and Otake Sensei

Tenshinsho-den Katori Shinto-Ryu to give it its full name is the oldest sword school in Japan. Originating in the late 15th centaury and founded by Lord Iizasa Choisai who was awarded a divine scroll from a god in the shape of a boy. The school derives its name from the Katori Jinju shrine in Narita, where the founder is now buried. As this is the oldest sword school (with all of its internal sub-schools) to be registered and recognized in Japan it is elementary to declare that this school can also claim to be the oldest form of Ninjutsu still to be taught today, as no other body has evidence to predate Katori Shint-Ryu’s origin. Otake sensei was born in Chiba in 1926, in 1942 he entered the sword school to understand courage and to find a path to valour and the strength to fight in the war if called upon.

On the 12th day of august 2009 the author drove down the dusty country roads to the home of Otake Sensei, the headmaster of the Katori Shinto Ryo, the oldest sword school in all Japan. After an erratic and somewhat roundabout taxi trip the author and his translator arrived at the door of the house to be greeted by a pleasant and warm 81 year old man in a blue Jimbai, a form of old casual wear. Otake Sensei and the two visitors sat in his main room and awaited tea and cake, brought by an aging and very polite wife. Most people visit Otake sensei to gain knowledge of his old and profound sword school, this visit was for a mater much different. As the headmaster of the school Otake sensei was privilege to many things, but the most interesting part of his schools curriculum is the way of Ninjutsu. This is one of the best kept secrets of the ‘Ninja world’, this swordsman is legacy to a 500 year old oral tradition of Ninjutsu. What adds an extra flare of excitement is the fact that the reason 46 COMBAT WWW.COMBATMAG.CO.UK

that this school teaches Ninjutsu is to teach its swordsman a very skilful art and that is the art of ‘defence against a Ninja’.

“In our school there is nothing about learning Ninjutsu itself and nothing that is recorded within in our ancient scrolls. All the knowledge that I have obtained comes from our founder and has been passed down by word of moth for over 500 years.

This is the true way of defending yourself from a Ninja.”

Otake sensei states that this information has never been recorded down before, whist the interview took place Otake sensei was writing this down for the first time for a magazine in Japan The school passes many things by written scroll, but it says it passes its Ninjutsu teachings by word of mouth alone.

“Those who tame dogs as a skill would ask how urgent the job was when they got an offer or contract. If the job wasn’t urgent they could then use their time to tame the said animal by methods such as feeding or

befriending the animal. Or if the need was urgent, they could give a female dog to male or a male dog to female.

Also a Shinobi would lure a dog out of its area by food and then proceed to beat the animal badly. They did this whilst applying a selected sent such as whale oil. This was done so that the dog would remember the sent at night and fear would then grip the dog as it would recall the near death beating it had received at the hands of the Ninja. As a result the dog would run away or cower after giving forth a short bark and investigation into a disturbance.

Only those who know this skill could know that a Shinobi might be there and upon hearing such a reaction from a guard dog a Samurai from our school would take up a bow and shoot into the darkness with the hope of hitting the Shinobi.”

A selection of manuscripts, talk about dogs as the enemy of the Ninja and of how to deal with them.

The Shoninki and the Katori Shinto Ryu deal out drastic and deadly pun-

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ishments for guard dogs, whist in contrast the Gunpo scrolls give a confidence incantation to give you will power over the dog in question.

“Those Shinobi good at hiding between trees could move around from tree top to tree top as quickly as squirrels. Also, when climbing up a tree, they used their sword as a stepladder or foothold and by lift themselves up by holding the tree with one arm. They then retrieve their sword by the means of a long cord when they have attached to their weapon. They also climb by swinging a long wet cloth with a snapping action around a branch and ascending from that point.”

The image of a Ninja using his sword as a foothold and then retrieving it via a long cord is iconic now in the ‘Ninjutsu’ world and many references have been made to it.

However, Otake sensei here demonstrated two other techniques. The first was to ‘hug’ the tree with one arm and shimmy up the trunk with his other hand free, presumably for his sword.

The second skill was to get a long cloth and soak it in water, then swing the heavy cloth around a branch and let the weight of the wet material wrap around the limb and take hold, thus a Ninja could then ascend.

“When a Shinobi aims to steal documents or something of the like, they sometimes achieve this by taking three mice with them on a mission.

They steal into the house when everyone has fallen asleep and let a single mouse go to create a fuss. After the people have settled back down and asleep again he Shinobi lets the second mouse enter. This makes the household think that there is an infestation of mice and the house awakens to deal with the problem, during this confusion the Shinobi can steal what he wants without effort after that. This is one way of taming animals, a swordsman of my school should understand this trick.”

The author discussed this point with Nakashima sensei (Ninja Researcher), who fully supports the idea of Ninja using animals as part of their arsenal.

There are several accounts within the scrolls of using animals for misdirection. Nakashima sensei also went on to describe that a Shinobi would use this trick to get the occupants to leave a said room as they would almost certainly leave the room to find the source of the infestation.

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COMBATHELPLINE With Master Jake Ogden

Sparring is it a constructive and necessary activity?

Welcome back, I hope you enjoyed my column last month and thank you very much for the over whelming response I received form you; it was much appreciated.

This month I will address the hotly debated issue of sparring. There are a growing number of clubs that do not engage in any form of sparring (totally non contact). This could be for a number of reasons i.e. students getting hurt; losing confidence or simply the instructor not understanding how to introduce and manage guided sparring sessions. In any case I will give you my opinion so that you can make up your own mind.

This months training problem Do you find you are struggling to react in time when some one is striking you?

If so try to slow the attack down, if so, get your partner to attack you numerous times using the technique you are struggling to block/evade/ intercept, but at a much slower pace.

Remember you are both there to learn. It is imperative that your brain can recognise what is going on during an attack and spot visual indicators that precede the strike.

For example, if your partner is about to throw a reverse punch/cross punch, their rear shoulder would have to rotate inwards slightly before the hand was thrown. If you can spot this pre-movement, and recognise it (through regular slowed down practice), you have more of a chance of calculating what is about to happen and dealing with it efficiently. Once you can do this effectively get your partner to speed up gradually until you are proficient enough to deal with the attack at full pace.

Please feel free to write in with any other training problems you might be experiencing and I will be happy to help you in any way I can.

Sparring, a hot topic at the moment and a topic that I am always being asked about, one question that I get asked of a lot (whether it be other school owners, students or parents) is “should sparring be part of a martial arts syllabus? And if so, should it be taught in class? And, should clubs offer competition to their students?”

These are all good questions and I have firm beliefs about all of them.

I will address each question in turn.

Question 1.

Should sparring be part of a martial arts syllabus?

I have spoken to school owners who do promote sparring and others who don’t. Having listened to both arguments I can understand where both sides are coming from. However; personally I believe sparring is a good thing provided it is introduced properly and controlled very carefully. Sparring sessions do not have to happen all the time but I firmly believe that a certain amount should take place to fur50 COMBAT WWW.COMBATMAG.CO.UK

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ther a studentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s development. At the end of the day no matter how you like to dress it up, martial arts is self defence you are learning how to evade, intercept, block move, counter, strike and fight etc.

I appreciate learning through practicing and honing moves, individual punching and kicking drills, line work, katas/patterns/forms etc, they are all good ways to become better at and to understand the full anatomy and kinesiology (specific human movement) of a technique from start point to finish/contact point.

I am also very aware that striking pads/paddles and shields can give realistic and measurable/physical feedback required for improving your striking skills, distancing and accuracy.

But all of the above practicing methods will not give you that extra ingredient that controlled sparring or situational practice can offer you in terms of bettering your physical combative abilities.

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To put it bluntly; if sparring has never been a part of a studentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s training and they have attained black belt status, how do they know if the way they execute their techniques will really work for them in a combative situation? If being a black belt, through being good at individual work, blocking and striking the air and looking good technically is all that the student wants, then that is fine; they can reach their desired objective without the use or practice of sparring or situational defence.

But what happens if it comes down to a confrontational situation and someone on the street or in competition wants to attack/strike that student. How does he/she know that they can use their skills effectively to give themselves a realistic chance?

I appreciate that with all the sparring in the world it is very different on the street. But when it comes down to timing, reactions, strength and efficiency of thought and action in a

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pressured situation, can that student rely on their techniques if they have never practiced them in a pressured confrontational situation?

The beauty of controlled sparring is that it gives the student a moving target that will strike, move and evade etc . . . and if you get it wrong, you get hit!

Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t misunderstand; I know that even the most proficient sparrers can get caught out from time to time.

But generally with only moderate regular sparring practice their odds will generally be better. This is because they will be more able to anticipate a strike from an assailant.

This would be gained by regular drilling of certain situation in sparring. This will create a certain familiarity enabling them to cope with things a little easier. I appreciate that there are lots of other factors involved on the street i.e. adrenaline rush and fear being the main protagonists but all in all, their brain will have seen something similar to this situation before.

Through good sparring education and situational practice, the brain can learn to cope better in pressured situations. Fore example, the timing and movement, anticipation, speed, trajectory and power of the attack, along with; the angle, weight and intent of the attack. This can all be practiced and measured from the practice of controlled sparring.

When someone attempts to strike you, your brain receives feedback predominantly visual and auditory.

This feedback is the processed by the brain and then converted into movement/action. When we look in more detail we can analyze the process.

Stage 1: Sensory feedback in this case we will say Visual = information received by the cortex in the brain from what you have seen.

Stage 2: Association = processing the information and making immediate decisions.

Stage 3: Action = from here the central nervous system (brain and the spinal cord) initiate movement accordingly.

Stage 4: The final part of the process is Motor = output (action taken) signals from the central nervous system are relayed to the peripheral nervous system (nerves in the rest of the body) which will initiate muscular contraction which results in muscular movement, which could be in several forms. For example; blocking, countering, moving, intercepting etc; or in some cases even tensing and preparing to take impact. The more efficient the whole process is, the more efficiently you can deal with an attack.

Sparring is an essential part of your development in finding out what your strengths and weaknesses are.

This is something that you cannot get from line work, hitting pads or practicing in the air. When practicing your skills with someone else who is trying to do the same to you, you get excellent feedback, sometimes positive and other times negative but all should be learnt from.

Sparring should be used as valuable learning tool in part of your development as a martial artist and should never be used as an opportunity for high grades to beat or humiliate the lower grades, nor should it be used as an opportunity to beat the hell out of each other. The only time it is acceptable to go a little heavier is if a competitor/fighter is preparing for their next competitive fight/competition and needs to experience a more intense pressured environment from another individual to prepare the body and mind for such impact.

But in the main an instructorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s job is to control the situation and create an environment that all students can learn constructively from.

Learning and development is the key, sparring is designed to offer you an insight into how you can learn, how and when to use your techniques and how efficient you are at not being hit.

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Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s an opportunity for you to hone skills but also have fun. All correct safety equipment should be in place before engaging in sparring and the instructor should make it very clear what they want you to do, what techniques are allowed and how hard and fast the techniques should be carried out. You should also be paired with someone of similar and size and ability at first or with a more experienced student who is willing to go steady with you and help coach you. After that your partners should vary to give you variation and allow you to optimize different skills as each partner will bring different movement patterns, weight, temperament and ability.

Sparring mind set: Sparring should not be something you are scared of, it should be fun provided you are introduced to it properly.

Before letting anyone engage in sparring, your ins-tructor should let you know exactly what he or she wants and what you should hope to achieve from the activity. For example, what it is used for and what the general objectives, protocols and rules are.

Once sparring has started, the ins-tructor should be in total control of the situation completely and be encouraging students to be controlled in their techniques, praising or disciplining students where and when necessary.

Sparring should be conducted at a steady pace so all participants analyze each otherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s movements and then react. This process cannot be carried out efficiently if the sparring is either to fast or undertaken with too much aggression as your brain cannot see and cope with what has gone on and will go into protective mode. The aggression level must be monitored, as too much aggression in a sparing situation could easily roll out of control and end becoming a real fight. A relaxed mind and half pace techniques should be practiced.

Conclusion.

In my humble opinion I believe controlled sparring where all involved understand the rules and adhere to them can be an essential part of a studentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s development.

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Team Resu r Over the past few years many small groups and teams have turned the martial arts into entertainment incorporating Gymnastics, Break dancing and Weapons in to their performances; titling themselves martial art performance teams. Some have succeeded in doing this; others have struggled or even failed, due in part to the lack of knowledge or funding to take their skills to the next level.

However one team that has stuck to its guns and kept striving towards its goal to bring creative martial arts to the public forum is none other than Team Resurrection.

Formed in 2007 and headed by British, European and World forms champion Joe Hallett, Team Resurrection have in their time overcome many obstacles and with guidance from their leader, Joe, they have performed all over the country and have become one of the top demonstration teams that the UK has to offer.

This year Rockstar Energy Drink and Bytomic Martial Arts have taken notice of the team, giving their support by endorsing them. So Team Resurrection is truly partying like a Rockstar in 2010.

We took some time out to catch up with Team Resurrection leader Joe Hallett to ask those special questions about the forming of the team, the highs and lows, how they have become so successful and their plans for the future.

Team Leader Name: Joe Hallett Age: 18 Height: 5ft 4in Weight: 65kg Ambition: To become a successful actor and stunt man.

To see Team Resurrection become a world renowned performance team.

Honours and Achievements: * Founder of Team Resurrection forms and demonstration team * Joint founder of Infinity Martial Arts * Owner of Whatever Weapons * Forms columnist for Combat Magazine * 2nd degree Black Belt in Freestyle Kickboxing * Member of the Black Salt Screen Fighting Team * Musical forms and weapons British, European and World Champion 58 COMBAT WWW.COMBATMAG.CO.UK

I know that the team was formed 3 years ago but what were your reasons behind forming your own team?

When I left my previous team I felt there was a gap in martial arts world for a team that had everything and could take their skills to the public forum. Another reason was that forms in the UK were slowly dying out and I formed the team to help promote musical forms and get the recognition I believe we rightly deserve.

So the aim of the team has always been to showcase your skills to the public, how are you accomplishing this?

The key to showcasing your skills to the public is going to where the public attend or watch. To secure those kinds of jobs at first was hard and I had to build a reputation for

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u rrection Party Like a

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the team. But in 2008 and 2009 Team Resurrection started to become a house hold name. But our biggest job to date has been Cage Rage 25 at Wembley Arena in front of 12,000 and the show went live on Sky Sports and Showtime in the USA. We still perform at that show now which is re-named Ultimate Challenge UK. As well as performing to the public we aim to get our skills shown in music videos. We have been featured in D-Tox - Do That, BWP - I Wanna Party and a new Grime track Real - by Wrigley, Tap D, Hypes and Liquid E which is set to be an amazing video. Also and to boost the numbers in musical forms we travel over the UK teaching seminars in various martial art schools to hopefully bring out the next generation of forms performers.

I hear a lot about teams having internal arguments that never get resolved and cause tension in the team causing them to split up. But your team seems to never have this happen to them, so what’s your secret?

I’ve learned from my experience of being a member of previous teams, where one little misunderstanding is blown out of proportion, causes problems and the team spirit is lost. So as the leader of my team I take charge and if there is a problem I will sort it out before it can cause any hassle. Everyone in the team is treated equally and they all pull their weight no matter what and every member knows that they are not indispensible. This is where I feel other teams go wrong when they let the members run the team instead of the leader and mutual respect is a must!

In 2008 the team was revamped what was the reason of this?

Going back to the previous question slightly, in 2008 there was an internal argument that could not be resolved,

Ruth Hallett Age: 20 Height: 5ft Weight: 56kg Ambition: To become one of the World’s best women forms exponents. And for my martial arts school to get bigger & bigger.

Honours and Achievements: * Joint founder of Infinity Martial Arts * WPKA World Champion * WPKA European Champion * WKA British Champion * Austrian Classics Champion 2005 * CIMAC Superleague World Cup Champion * COMBAT World Cup Champion * WUMA British and European Champion * Member of Team Resurrection 60 COMBAT WWW.COMBATMAG.CO.UK

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which resulted in me taking charge and totally revamping the team. You could say I resurrected resurrection.

Would you say that was the lowest point of the team?

Most definitely. I had a week to put together a new team for Cage Rage 26 at the NEC Arena in Birmingham. But, after a few phone calls I had a new and stronger team which included my sister, Ruth Hallett, Jordan Brine, free runner Robert “Blaze” Hughes, B-Boy Louis “Lusion” Magee and Tricker Dean Sumner, all from Liverpool which proved how many people wanted to be part of Team Resurrection.

As well as a big revamp in 2008 you also were very close to getting on the live show of “Britain’s Got Talent” so what happened there?

Yes. I had a phone call saying that we were through and our music just had to be licensed to play on TV. Unfortunately that was the stopping point for unforeseen circumstances the music could not be licensed which lost us our chance to be on the show. At least that was the year Team Strike got to the semis which helped recognise our sport. I have learned from my mistakes by getting our demo music produced by close friends (Black Water Productions) who give us all the rights to use it, Thanks guys.

2008 wasn’t a good year for Team Resurrection. But 2009 and this year you have gone from strength to strength. So give our readers a brief insight into what you have been up to this past year and half?

Yeah I would agree with that! At the end of 2008 my new team was very stable and were working well together.

We performed at Ultimate Challenge UK for the second consecutive time, we were beginning to receive regular jobs and every time getting asked back which always means the promoter is pleased. In 2009 it got even better starting at MAF - UK then at the NEC at the Bodypower Expo 09. The weekend after we were working on BWPS music video, which has been recently released. The rest of 09 was full of bookings at shows and extravaganzas. We carried that on in to this year performing at another UCUK event and Tear Up. We have just had our busiest month, with 2 seminars plus performances at TMAS, Bodypower and Seni. Some members of the team would have competed at the Forms Invitational Tournament and the London International Freestyle Open. So hopefully we will have survived it and haven’t burned out.

You have added new members to the team could you tell us who they are and how you met them?

Yes, late 2009 I added four new members to the team, two from my own martial arts school, Infinity Martial Arts in Yeovil, Kyle Macdonald 12 and Alistair McDonald 20 (No Relation). Both have amazing talent and have a lot to give to the team. Then a close friend Mikey French who is based in Northampton came along to help perform with the team. I saw a lot of potential in him so I offered him a place on the team. He has come

Alistair McDonald Age: 20 Height: 5ft 6in Weight: 67kg Ambition: To become a science teacher.

Learn as many different styles of martial arts as I can.

Honours and Achievements: * 3rd Degree Black Belt Tae Kwon Do * British Tae Kwon Do Champion * Various Tae Kwon Do Interclub Champion * Competed at National Level Trampolining * Aiming for BSC in science with QTS at Cumbria University * Member of Team Resurrection.

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on loads since then, becoming the top tumbler in the team. Mikey then introduced me to a 14 year old Josh Lewis based in Burton on Trent who is very skilled in martial arts and tricks at such a young age. Josh wanted in on the team so I gave him a shot and I don’t regret it one bit. He is now a key member in the team.

You are based in Yeovil, Somerset and a percentage of the team are based in the Midlands or the North. This must be hard to keep the team together and training as a team must be difficult?

It’s not hard at all because I am in close contact with all the members whether it’s on the phone or MSN, always checking in with them. We have regular team training sessions which I organise at my school. If a member has problems attending I try my best to help get them there!

How often does the team train together, and does each member train individually on their own?

Depending on what jobs we have coming up it could be once a month or more. But when we get together we work well bouncing off each other throwing ideas about, it’s such a great atmosphere. Each member trains themselves. The Northern members often get together and train with each other and the same applies with the Southern members.

You have a good eye for talent, would I be right in saying you are always looking to expand your team?

Obviously I feel the bigger the team, the better team I have. It gives me more options when choreographing the demos.

What would you say to someone who is reading this and would like to join your team?

Why not? You have nothing to lose if you feel you have got what it takes to be on Team Resurrection. Make yourself known, contact me and let’s get it rolling. If you got it, we want it!

Kyle Macdonald Age: 12 Height: 4ft 5in Weight: 32kg Ambition: To become a World forms champion.

To run my own full time martial arts school.

Honours and Achievements: * WAMA OPEN 1 - Musical Weapons 1st place * The WON - Musical Weapons 1st Place * Infinity South West and Beyond - Creative Weapons 1st Place, Extreme Weapons 1st Place * ISKA Qualifiers - Extreme Martial Arts Tricks Battle 2nd Place * Cimac Superleague Welsh Champion 2010 * Member Of Team Resurrection 62 COMBAT WWW.COMBATMAG.CO.UK

You incorporate Gymnastics, Weapons, Break Dancing and Free running in your performances making you very diverse. Why do this and not just stick to the Martial Arts?

It’s very hard to entertain the public with martial arts. Often they don’t know what’s going on and it’s not sustainable. But you blend in gymnastic monevoures, some weapons, a little bit of break dancing and free running and you’ve got yourself a performance that will entertain everyone young or old. We keep our demos fast and dynamic always trying to leave the crowd wanting more.

As we are such a diverse team, we choreograph our demos to particular shows. If it’s a martial arts

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show we do martial arts, if it’s a dance festival I get my BBoy’s involved; this gets us more shows which I know we can do. I never like the idea of keeping to the norm.

So you tailor make your demonstrations to particular shows you are performing at?

Yes we have our set demos but on specific shows such as Pontins - Fit Fantastic (it’s a dance show), we throw in more break dancing and tricks. Which always goes down well with the audience.

Team Res don’t just perform, you have worked on music videos, TV and Film projects. Could you elaborate on what you have done in those sectors?

We were dance extras in D-Tox’s - Do That music video which was great fun. Then we were asked to battle it off in BWPS - I Wanna Party. And I recently attended a music video called Real which features artist Wrigley. I and fellow members were foot soldiers in the battle scenes in the movie “Warrioress” which is soon to be released. Our recent project was a new BBC3 series titled WU - HOW, which is a take on old “how to” videos, where ninjas give you the wisdom. In this series myself and Mikey French played skilled ninjas kicking ass and running up trees.

Also on this project we choreographed the armed combat and sword fights. I have seen the finished 10 episodes and they look great, so watch out for WU - HOW hitting your screens very soon.

As the leader of the team I have gained contacts in the industry through my time and always take every chance I can to put forward any members for projects. I know that the world of film and television is a dog eat dog world and everyone is out for themselves. I am definitely not like that I will always help get my members on the small or big screen, not just me.

At the beginning of this year you secured some endorsements for the team via energy drinks company Rockstar and martial arts supplier Bytomic. How did all this come about?

Well, my aim for 6 months was to get Team Res sponsored, which I found to be a tough task indeed. I met a representative of Rockstar, who had seen the team perform at Cage Rage which was a big plus. He was interested in helping us out as we suited the image of Rockstar. After a few months we cracked a deal which suited both of us. As for Bytomic I wanted a new look for the team which meant new suits. I went straight to Bytomic who have helped us in the past and they were more than generous sponsoring our new century suits. I recommend them to anyone needing equipment.

This must have opened a big window for you with contacts and events and of course funding?

Josh Lewis Age: 15 Height: 5ft 7in Weight: 60kg Ambition: To be a stunt man Honours and Achievements: * 3rd Degree Black Belt Champion * WKA Bronze Medallist World Championship, Spain 2009 * WKA British Champion * The WON 2010 Champion * BKC and BSMA Open Champion * CIMAC Superleague Welsh Champion * Member of Team Resurrection WWW.COMBATMAG.CO.UK COMBAT 63

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Most definitely it is the whole package when you are endorsed. Those companies use you for shows or campaigns to promote them and they recommend you to anyone. Plus, if you are endorsed it means you must be good. With funding we have built up a team fund that helps us with any expenses incurred.

Finding sponsorship and endorsements is very hard what is your advice to anyone searching for it?

Firstly look to companies that you can offer something for their expense. Secondly get the right guy who deals with sponsorship, not someone who’s going to throw it out the window straight away. And lastly don’t be scared to ask, the worst response you can get is a NO!

So, what’s next for Team Resurrection?

WOW well, Team Res has recently supported UK girl band Candy Rock who are signed by Gaga records at their launch party for their new single “I’m Not In Love” at Movida, London. This was a great experience and we are working with the girls again very soon. As well as Candy Rock I am in talks with other artists who are interested collaborating with Team Res. At the end of the year we are competing at Enter the Battle at the 02 Arena, wish us luck. Between that we have more shows and bigger music videos with top artists and another film project that I can not let out yet. I am also in talks with another BIG company who are interested in sponsoring us. Watch this space it should be a good deal.

We will also be playing a large part at The Martial Arts Show Live at the NEC in Birmingham over the weekend of May the 7th and 8th 2011. That’s what I know of so far but you never know what’s around the corner.

Thank you Joe for catching up with us and I wish you and all the team the very best. Could you leave us with your contact details if any of our readers would like to book Team Resurrection for demos, seminars etc . . .

Anyone can contact me at info@teamresurrection .co.uk or ring +44 (0)786 506 2234. You can also visit the new team website www.teamresurrection .co.uk and don’t forget to sign our guestbook.

Mikey French Age: 22 Height: 5ft 10in Weight: 65kg Ambition: To become a top stunt man and worldwide martial arts performer.

Honours and Achievements: * ISKA European Tricks Battle Champion * 2x European Champion * 2x Midlands Champion * Full Contact finalist ISKA World Championships * Grand Champion Russian Newaza Championships * Member of Team Resurrection WWW.COMBATMAG.CO.UK COMBAT 65

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WRS001/04

What Does the WRSA offer you?

• Insurance for Fighters, Instructors and Promoters So you are fully protected

• Regular Tournaments around the country.

Already 40 planned for 2009. See Website for details.

• Gradings with Specially designed certificates and badges.

Each Belt Grade Certificate is Unique

• Courses for Judges and Referees.

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

• Regular Meetings 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.

• Courses First aid courses run by qualified instructors.

Training courses for ring craft, weapons course, etc.

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

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

• The WRSA welcomes Kickboxing Clubs, Thai boxing clubs, Kung Fu Clubs, Traditional Karate clubs.

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

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WBDS

World Budo Development Society From the end of January 2010 to the mid of February 2010, the World Budo Development Society conducted a questionnaire that was sent to its Newsletter readership all over the world. Organisations and instructors submitted their responses to twenty typical martial arts questions and represented every continent. In all, there were 209 completed documents returned to the WBDS and the Secretary, Neil Horton, consequently collated the information.

The data was submitted and either an average was given or monetary figures were converted into pounds sterling. Entries, for example, came from the UK, USA, Russia, Germany, Spain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Portugal and South Africa. The total number of nationalities was 17. The following questions and answers were received ~

What is the your standard class fee per student per lesson?

The average lesson fee was £4.25. (Some organisations charge per hour, per week or per month but this figure was the average).

How many days per week do you train/teach?

The average was 4 days per week.

How old is the youngest person that you personally teach?

The average youngest member of a class was 8 yrs old.

How old is the oldest person that you personally teach?

Do you consider training techniques are ‘watered down’ compared to that of twenty or so years ago?

98% of the people surveyed confirmed that training techniques had been ‘watered down’ over the past twenty years. (Many responses were submitted behind the motives for this, which included, insurance claims and the fact that classes would not survive as numbers would leave due to the severity of the past training regimes).

Have you ever used your martial skills in a ‘real life’ situation?

78% of martial artists have used their martial skills in a ‘real life’ situation. (The vast majority of martial skills were used in self defence).

Have you ever trained in the ‘mother land’ of your style? For example, if you study Kendo have you trained in Japan?

3% of people have actually trained in the ‘mother land’ of their particular style.

Is the ‘mixed martial arts’ or ‘cage fighting’ scene good for the martial arts?

The average oldest member of a class was 51 yrs old.

Do you teach traditional weaponry?

43% of the responses received taught traditional weaponry, either on a regular or on a not so often basis.

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24% stated that the mixed martial arts scene is good for the martial arts.(Others expressed that the mixed martial arts are only seen as a sport).

Have you ever taught without full insurance being in place?

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2% of those that responded have trained without full insurance in place.

Have you been unintentionally entangled in ‘martial art politics’?

96% have been unintentionally involved in ‘martial art politics’.

35% of martial artists use the same examination for both junior and senior. (A large proportion, however, stated that when a junior reaches the age of adulthood they must re-take the test).

Do you promote the use of training aids?

If you teach kata, do you know the ‘bunkai’ to them?

45% said they promote the use of training aids.(Training aids included pads, weights and even books).

81% of those that teach ‘kata’ know the ‘bunkai’ applications.

How old is your youngest black belt holder?

Have you ever been injured whilst training, which results in you missing the next class session?

The average youngest black belt holder is 22 years old.

Should black belts be of equal ability regardless of style?

82% of respondents have been injured and missed the next class as a result.

Should there be one governing body for each martial art?

77% said there should be one governing body for each martial art.(those that disagreed believed there should be competition between organisations to keep their peers under control).

Do you or your students enter competition?

19% of respondents enter into competition.

Do you hold grades/ranks in more than one style?

68% of martial artists hold more than one grade in more than one style.

Do you examine junior and senior age groups the same?

77% stated that black belts, regardless of style, should be of equal ability.(Comments referred to the fact that there should be a minimum training period or age before a black belt is entered into).

Membership to the World Budo Development Society is only £1.00 per person per annum. The WBDS does not look to replace your existing organisation but rather operates as an advisory body, that is, not political and does not discriminate on the grounds of style, religion, race or nationality. The seven patrons of the Society are Steve Arneil, Roy J Hobbs, Kevin Pell, Vince Morris, Peter Spanton, Dave Oliver and Leo Lipinski.

The WBDS issues a free monthly Newsletter to over 600 organisations/instructors throughout the world. To receive the Newsletter or any other details concerning the World Budo Development Society, please email Neil Horton on brooksneil1@sky.com or call 0121 544 9721.

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Freedom Trainer is ideal for all standards from novice to top athlete and the exercises include lower body and ground based work. A detailed instructional and motivating DVD is included in the package along with a storage bag.

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r ainer

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The Story of Jack i

The Karate Kid and A wrong film writer...

Oh dear. It sounded about the worse idea ever. Jackie Chan starring in a remake of 80’s classic Karate Kid along side the son of Will Smith (who also serves as a producer).

To put this into context the original Karate Kid wasn’t exactly a five star classic. It was poorly acted, star Ralph Macchio was about as convincing a martial artist as I am a catwalk model and it screamed 80’s (which contrary to popular belief is NEVER a good thing) .But alongside films like The Lost Boys, Stand By Me, Police Academy and pretty much everything Arnie did around the time (Red Heat, Raw Deal, Predator, Commando et all) it was just one of those films that struck a cord with me growing up.

The Karate Kid was inspirational to a generation. Okay stop laughing. It really was! Trust me when I saw Karate schools saw their business go

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through the roof. I was one of those kids. Okay so I gave up a few months later when I realised that I just wasn’t that good at it (and no doubt Back To The Future came out and skateboards became the ‘in thing’ that month) but the thought was there.

Three sequels followed, two with original star Macchio, and one without (step in future academy award winner Hilary Swank) but all with the late, great Pat Morita. And yes the law of diminishing returns struck the series and by the time the final film rolled around (The Next Karate Kid) even Michael Ironside couldn’t save it. But oddly I didn’t hate any of them. Oh alright maybe the Next Karate Kid a little bit...

So when early last year it was announced that The Karate Kid was next to be put in the remake blender I wasn’t the most receptive of film fans. Or writers. In fact even in the pages of Combat I’ve been nothing short of scathing of the idea.

Jackie Chan starring along side Will Smith’s son Jaden Smith? China rather than Calafornia ? 12 year old kids instead of college age adults?

Directed by the famed director Harald Zwart... yes Harald Zwart, he behind the classic ‘Pink Panther 2’ and ‘Agent Cody Banks’? It was fair to say pretty much every element of the film sounded terrible.

Many months passed and much more scorn was laid down upon the film. It could never be good - after all remakes of Friday 13th, Get Carter, Hills Have Eyes and pretty much every other since this barking trend started (save for Clooney’s Ocean’s 11) have been bargin basement bad.

Then I saw the trailer. And something odd happened.

I kind of liked it. The setting, the action, the cast... it actually for the first time looked like it could work.

But I’d been here before. I rushed to the cinema to see The Happening based on an impressive looking trailer. And we all know how that turned out (hint: very, very bad). But I had a glimmer of hope that I didn’t have before.... and that was something.

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k ie Chan,

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So this weekend I finally sat down to watch the film, with a mix of trepidation and excitement. What happened next I can honestly say I never expected. Not only did I find the film enjoyable but beyond that I thought it was bloody good.

Probably in fact the biggest surprise of the year so far.

12-year-old Dre Parker could’ve been the most popular kid in Detroit, but his mother’s latest career move has landed him in China. Dre immediately falls for his classmate Mei Ying - and the feeling is mutual but Dre’s feelings make an enemy of the class bully. With no friends in a strange land, Dre has nowhere to turn but maintenance man Mr. Han, who is secretly a master of kung fu.

As Han teaches Dre that kung fu is not about punches and parries, but maturity and calm, Dre realizes that facing down the bullies will be the fight of his life.

With a plot that more or less echoes the original film but with enough subtle nods to fans like me to lift more than a few smile’s during the substantial 140 min running time (There’s even a modern day Kung Fu twist on the classic Crane Kick).

In fact considering his track record, Zwart delivers a surprisingly well paced, well meaning and charming film that never feels long,

dull or over the top. Okay so the film is very violent at times and this makes for some particularly uneasy viewing especially when Jackie Chan’s master defends Dre by fighting what in essence are a group of 14 year old children. Also the film’s violence against the 12 year old Dre leaves you feeling uneasy, even in the films very well produced tournament scenes. Personally I would have pitched this with kids a few years older... Macchio may have been playing 17 but was in fact 22 when he made the original meaning that the violence never left you feeling uncomfortable.

But these SLIGHT reservations aside this film is so much better than it ever had the right to be. Chan displays a level of acting ability that even he probably never new he had and Jaden Smith is every bit his fathers son... charming, charismatic and obviously dedicated to making the fights scenes as realistic as possible. The love story sub plot is surprisingly charming and moving the film to China really makes for some amazing vistas.

Oh and the fight scenes are pretty good too (although I probably wasn’t the only one hoping for ‘You’re The Best’ to make a sneaky reappearance in the films Tournament montage!).

In short: I cant recommend this film enough, be it you are a lover of the original film or never heard of it either way there is enough to enjoy to make this one of the stand out action films of the year.

So to wrap up, I feel I have a few apologies to make.

Sorry Mr Smith Jnr... you were actually rather good. I look forward to seeing you in more films.

Sorry Mr Zwart. You can direct a good action film. No please don’t follow this up with Pink Panther 3.

Sorry Mr Chan. I was wrong.

Rumours of your career death were greatly exaggerated. This was a good film and you were good in it. In fact can you do more roles like this and less films like ‘The Spy Next Door’.

And sorry readers of Combat.

Next time I’ll just wait until I see the film.

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Grand Master

Kim Yong Ho

By Simon Green

Taekwondo - A lifetime’s work Grand Master Kim Yong Ho was Born in 1944. His family moved to Seoul in the 50’s where he began his martial arts training t the age of 11 in a school which was affiliated to Chung Do Kwan. Training daily he soon gained his black belt and later had it confirmed in front of Grand Master Uhm Woon Kyu becoming the 61st black belt.

He went on to study at Jyung Hee University (1962 - 1966) it was here that he began to teach martial arts and in 1967 was awarded his 5th Dan, an exceptionally high rank at the time. The following year he went to Vietnam as an advisor to a Vietnamese general and later trained body guards responsible for the safety of the Vietnamese prime minister.

On his return from Vietnam he went as an instructor; first to Iran then Singapore, Malaysia, and Hong Kong before finally settling in Paris in 1978. It was from his base in Paris he helped spread Taekwondo across much of Europe. It was one of these visits that brought him to the UK where he was invited to become the

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president of the British Taekwondo Federation (BTF), a position he would hold until it disbanded. During this time he taught and graded many of today’s Masters.

In 1998 he was made chairman of the World Taekwondo Federation technical committee, a position he would hold for 3 years. Master Kim has dedicated his life to teaching Taekwondo and has travelled the world meeting fellow instructors and introducing new students into the art.

Over time he realised that the sporting aspect was taking over, pushing the martial arts aspect out, so he opened his own school which he named “Kim Chung Do Kwan”.

He gained support from other high

ranking masters who like he wanted instructors and students to gain more from Taekwondo.

In 1997 he formed the World Taekwon - Mudo Academy which was inaugurated in Darlington, England. The following year the first championships were held in Mexico which would see 17 delegations from 10 countries attending. In July 2000 the World Taekwon - Mudo Festival was held at the University of Chung Cheong in Cheonju Korea.

In 2004 with the help of Grand Master Ki-OK, Gwak 9th Dan and the venerable Kim Sang Tae he published his book entitled “Taekwondo, Pal Jung Do” (8 correct ways).

He is now teaching Taekwondo in its entirety going back full circle to Chung Do Kwan’s original philosophy which was; Taekwondo is a method of self-defence, selfimprovement and a Way of Life.

Through the Mudo Academy he reinstalls’ the tenets of Taekwondo bringing them back to the forefront of martial arts training.

The concept of Mudo, which means “spirit of the martial art way”, was to create a pathway into Taekwondo in which everyone who would choose its path could follow.

Because of its Olympic recognition the general public only see one side of Taekwondo, they may not realise that the sporting side is just the tip of

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the iceberg in a martial art that can offer so much to so many.

While achieving an Olympic gold is a worthwhile goal it is only a minority that could hope to follow this path and even fewer could hope to achieve it.

“Olympic sport Taekwon may be the face of Taekwondo but if you forsake the body then what is left”?

Taekwondo is more than just a sport; it’s a way of life which can satisfy the most demanding of individuals regardless of age, gender or ability. It teaches us that our only competition is against ourselves; our only goal should be to improve on a daily basis. If students should choose to compete they should be given the chance to compete in all of Taekwondo’s disciplines at all levels and showing the technical aspects of the art such as Step sparring, Patterns, self defence and everything else that makes Taekwondo the martial art it is today. Competitions would become a festival where everyone can take part. You catch up with old friends; meet new ones, grow and learn and most important of all participate.

Email: info@sheffieldmudo.co.uk Web site: www.britishmudo.com

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When East met West in the West Country Three karate masters recently visited Bristol and the West Country for the first time when they came to instruct karate ka from all over the UK and from around the world. Justin Richards, a member of Zenshin dojo, reports on the event and how it impacted upon him personally.

One particular weekend earlier this year will be remembered by the students of one West Country dojo as having been a very significant one. Zenshin dojo, which is based in Bristol and in Bath, organised and played host to an international gathering of karate practioners with the aim to encourage them to practice their chosen art together.

The practice was lead by three genuine karate masters from Japan.

These masters are members of the Nippon Karate-do Yutenkai organisation and still practice regularly in Japan. My club, Zenshin dojo, was delighted when they accepted the invitation to lead a two-day karate weekend practice, which took place at the University of the West of England.

The Masters The three masters are: Tetsuya Koibuchi Sensei, who is S_setsuShihan (Founder) of Fujitsu Yutenkai, Isao Ariga Sensei, Shihan of Fujitsu Yutenkai and Masayuki Nakano Sensei, Shihan-dai of Fujitsu Yutenkai.

The masters are dedicated in their mission to keep alive the Egami legacy (Egami was a pupil of the founder of karate, Funakoshi sensei) and therefore welcomed this opportunity

to share their expertise with those attending the event. The three men were all pupils of Egami sensei and have first hand knowledge and direct personal experience of his teachings, practice methods and wisdom.

‘Yuten’ was the pen name of Egami sensei and therefore Yutenkai translates to association of Egami in the same way that ‘shoto’ kai referred to those associated with Funakoshi sensei.

Help at hand In order to ensure those attending had the best possible learning experience the masters were accompanied by an English speaking and fully qualified 5th Dan karate practitioner who acted as translator. Keisuke Nakagawa spoke good English and had a vast amount of personal knowledge and ability to call upon to help him translate what were sometimes complex ideas. Keisuke carefully interpreted and explained each demonstration and his presence helped to reduce ambiguity and improved our understanding of what was being demonstrated to us.

In addition to Keisuke, the translator, several more members of the Yutenkai club came along to practice with us and to help out. These included Shuichi Suzuki, Ogawa Jauii, Yuji Oana, Eiichi Omo, and Fukuizumi Isamu, who were all really helpful when it came to standing in as good practice partners. Apologies if I’ve left anyone out or spelt a name wrong!

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together for about 30 minutes and then Ariga Sensei, with the help of Nakamo sensei, would demonstrate an application, which the rest of us would then try to replicate with partners. The emphasis here, particularly for me, must be the words ‘try to’ since, although I grasped the concepts, trying to execute them was another matter entirely - I sometimes got it, but frequently failed miserably.

At this point I should say that I’m currently only a 4th Kyu (orange belt), so am still near the beginning of my karate ‘journey’, if you like.

Hence, my failure to grasp many of the movements demonstrated to us wasn’t due to poor communication on their part, more a result of my lack of experience and ability. I did do karate many years ago, when I was still a student and considerably more flexible than I am now, and I have dabbled in Taekwondo, kickboxing and Tai Chi over the years, but eventually returned to karate since it seems to suit me best and I really like Zenshin as a club.

In the dojo The key concepts, which the masters were demonstrating, revolved around the core attributes of all martial arts and included core stability, building rapport with your opponent, using their energy against them and, above all, learning to relax when practicing our chosen art.

We did a number of exercises which involved stretching our partner’s body out to encourage them to lose their core stability, which of course is to our advantage and we also practiced a number of movements centred around balls, actual

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and imaginary, which had a devastating effect on our opponents.

During the two days I had the privilege to practice not only with other members of my own dojo, but also other karate-ka from Japan, Italy, France, Switzerland, Canada, Scotland and other areas of England. This made the practice considerably more interesting and, for want of a better word, enriching.

One of the main attractions of this style of karate for me is its lack of emphasis on the sports side of things. Egami sensei was against the use of karate as a ‘sport’ and preferred to concentrate on the personal development of his pupils and encouraging them to discover the meaning of their art through their own personal journeys. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not against karate as a sport, but I’m not a particularly competitive person, hence this philosophy, if you like, suits me more.

Throughout the weekend, through practicing with a wide variety of partners, through their gentle guidance and by learning from my many mistakes, I discovered a great deal about myself and about the art of karate, for which I’m profoundly grateful. Karate is so much more than learning movements via kihon or through practicing kata or facing an opponent in kumite - it’s about finding one’s own inner self and learning how to respond to wordless connections you make with

other practioners and also, I guess, the public at large.

About Zenshin The Zenshin dojo martial arts club has approximately 70 regular adult members who practice karate in a relaxed and friendly environment at venues in Bristol and in Bath. The club also benefits from a thriving junior section, affectionately known as Kebba kids.

Zenshin dojo has an extensive netInterview with Tetsuya Koibuchi sensei (founder of Fujitsu Yutenkai)

When did you first begin to train in karate and was it your idea to or was it something your parents encouraged you to do?

I started practising in1959. It has been 51 years since I started Egami sensei’s practice. I wanted to be strong through karate-do.

How have traditional training methods changed over the years?

Egami sensei put all of his efforts into continuing Gichin Funakoshi sensei’s teachings so that future generations could inherit his wisdom. He adapted the concept of power concentration and penetration without tension, then he created the current style to keep Funakoshi sensei’s teachings: “Study and strictly follow what thought by kata.

There is no competition for karate.”

Hence, concept has not changed.

work of friends and karate practitioners from around the world. One of the club’s main aims for this event was that this unique opportunity would lead to greater unity, friendship and understanding within the worldwide karate community. If the comments and feedback the organisers have received so far, from many of those who attended the event, is anything to go by it looks like Zenshin dojo has achieved this goal and a lot more besides.

Actually Egami sensei’s pupils, like us, were not able to reproduce or express things, for what Egami sensei was seeking. However, recently we have come close to it as the result of continuous efforts.

What impact do you hope your visit to the UK will have had?

I hope everybody keeps practising Egami sensei’s way mentally and physically in further depth.

What do you think the main differences are between the students of karate from around the world - for example, how do Europeans and the Japanese differ in their approach to learning karate?

I felt the English pupils, even though they have less chance to learn directly from Japanese masters, are practising more seriously than Japanese pupils who have masters around them to learn from. I appreciate this attitude.

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BFKKO Team GB Something to be proud of!

Kicking their way to success Compared to the past when the BFKKO GB team has had over 100 kickboxers travel to Championships all over the World, on the weekend of the 20th August a small team of just 15 Great Britain fighters competed in the World Martial Arts Games Held In Killarney, County Kerry in Ireland. Four of these fighters were from the Local Dinnington club known as Falcon Fight Academy of Victoria Street, Dinnington Sheffield and despite the small number GB proved they are World class leaders in their sport!

First up was Dinningtons Muay Thai Instructor Leif Taggart fighting outside his regular style of K1 rules.

He attained a World bronze medal as he lost in the semi finals against the eventual winner of the category, the fight was strong and high paced and the decision was very close.

However, he took away very valuable ring time in preparation for his up and coming International WAKO K1 Rules bout.

Next up was Kerry Louise, Falcon Fight Academy’s Chief Instructor.

Again fighting outside her regular fight style of K1 rules she fought her way to the finals and beat a very tall Local Irish girl to become Ladies World gold medallist. Kerry is from Anston, Sheffield and soon will be fighting again for a WAKO Pro Intercontinental title against a strong opponent from South Africa under her favoured K1 rules.

The second day was time for Katey Adams from Langold, Worksop, to show what she could do. Katey got into the semi finals and fought her heart out against a very strong and well experienced fighter with the judges giving her the decision and she then beat a fellow British fighter from Nottingham to attain World gold medal in 1214years light continuous kickboxing.

Shortly after Courtney Barrett from Thurcroft, Sheffield was up in her chosen style of grappling where unfortunately as it was her birthday it

put her in the 15-17 years category so she had to fight much bigger opponents, however, she excelled and gained a World bronze medal.

The next day Courtney was up again in Sport Ju Jitsu and she fought her way to the top, beating an Irish fighter in the final to give her a second and World gold medal. Although Courtney has had the least time training out of the local fighters it just goes to show that the tuition at the centre in Dinnington under some of the Worlds best is second to none.

Team GB as a unit had the possibility of winning 28 medals and won 24! 9 Gold, 9 Silver and 6 Bronze.

Kerry-Louise Norbury was entered into the Grand World Championship belt category, which is open to every adult female, but none of this years

fighters wanted to venture there. So Kerry ended up not fighting in the prelims and then due to a no show of last year’s title belt winner on the Finale evening Kerry was awarded the title belt as is the norm with boxing and will now have to await next year’s challengers with her being the rightful holder of this beautiful belt.

A totally outstanding performance by all...if you would like to come and train with the champions then contact Kerry-Louise on 07973 748907 for classes in Kickboxing, WAKO K1 Rules, MMA, Submission Wrestling, Kick Jutsu, Grappling, Karate and all types of circuit and fitness work.

Pictured are the fighters with one of the centres coaches and Chief Instructors Glyn Smith. See them at www.falconfightacademy.co.uk

Photography by Janson-Piers Imaging

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Angelito Manguray

By James Goyder

Karate 4 MMA 0!

Angelito Manguray is definitely not your average MMA fighter. He has an unusual job and an even more unusual fighting style. The Filipino is a full time dentist who fights in an orthodox Karate stance.

However while Manguray might be unconventional in almost every respect, he is much more than just a novelty. The 42 year old is unbeaten in four MMA fights and is the reigning URCC Lightweight champion. He recently made his international debut at Martial Combat 7 and looked extremely impressive when finishing Bangkok based fighter Shane Wiggand early in the first round.

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full time dentist Manguray is firmly establishing himself as one of the most intriguing prospects to emerge from the Philippines.

Prospect seems and unusual word to apply to a 42 year old but Manguray’s MMA career is still very much in its infancy. He had his first professional MMA fight in 2009 and has won all three of his subsequent fights. He actually attributes much of his success to the failure he endured on his MMA debut,

“I lost my first amateur MMA fight on a local show and I thought to myself, ‘I can do better than this’.

I might have lost that fight but it inspired me to train harder. I was so confident in my Karate but after that fight I realised MMA is not about just one martial art. After that I got into Muay Thai, Judo and Jiu Jitsu which helped a lot,” he said Although Manguray is a much more, well rounded fighter, these days his square on stance still betrays his Karate background. Manguray also tends to fight with his hands hanging near his waist in classic Karate style but the Filipino fighter compensates by being extremely elusive, “I want to fight smartly, most of the time I just keep my distance, lunge in and then get out. That’s the way I want to fight. I have been doing Karate since I was 9 years old and I have been in a lot of Shotokan Karate tournaments,” he said.

Manguray is a practicing dentist who has a truly hectic schedule when he is preparing for a fight.

More and more MMA fighters are dedicating themselves full time to the sport but Manguray has to fit his training around a full time job,

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“I work as a full time dentist but I normally take a week off when I fight and ask some of my colleagues to watch my clinic. My training starts at 4am or 5am and I train until 6am or 7am and then drive my kids to school. After work I go to the gym from 7pm until 9pm every day. My wife doesn’t like it but she can’t do anything about it!” he said.

Manguray’s wife might be long suffering but his opponents tend to get put out of their pain fast. All four of his professional MMA wins have come by way of first round stoppage.

This success has brought Manguray

something of a cult celebrity status in his hometown of Davao and he has no regrets about starting MMA at such a late stage in his life, “I don’t wish I had got into MMA when I was younger, I think this is the right time for me. I will carry on fighting for as long as I can kick and punch. It is a challenge for me. I am asking myself, ‘am I still capable of stepping in the ring?’”

On the basis of Manguray’s performance at Martial Combat 7 the answer to his question is an emphatic ‘yes’. However, there was still one question which I could not resist ask-

ing him. After years of being employed to tend to other people’s teeth, I wondered if he ever worries about inadvertently inflicting dental damage on people as a fighter. It turns out Manguray feels that his two contrasting careers can actually complement one another, his reply to my question was; “I never worry about damaging my opponent’s teeth, it’s good for business!”

Angelito Manguray will be back in action at Martial Combat soon.

For more information visit: www.rwmartialcombat.com.

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An outdat e Some people join a karate club for no other reason than for just something to do, a way of meeting people, a pastime. ‘There’s nothing wrong with that!’ I hear you say, and I totally agree. A karate club is an exciting place to be and a great place to make new friends. All clubs contain students who you would recognise as lacking serious commitment. Therefore, they could never advance past a certain grade, right? Unfortunately we all know that is not necessarily true.

Standards are regulated pretty much by clubs these days and the recreational, part time karateka is just as likely to be wearing a black belt as the serious committed athlete. This very fact makes a complete mockery of the belt system and for this reason, I believe the grading and belt system is one of the main stumbling blocks as we work to rebuild British karate’s image. The current grading examination is both outdated and pointless; its only real use nowadays is to generate income. I am not suggesting that British karate should abandon standardized testing, what I am saying is how that standard is measured definitely needs to be reviewed.

There were only ever two reasons why the current grading system worked anyway; 1- The Black belt was an indication of elitism, something that a student strived for as they pushed themselves though rigorous, brutal training sessions, perfecting techniques while at the same 90 COMBAT WWW.COMBATMAG.CO.UK

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By Ian McCranor

t ed and pointless

belt system?

time building a character though adversity. Failure and humility was and is a very important part of this process. 2- The Kyu grade tests were intended to be miles stones, small obstacles to overcome on the way to the Dan grade. When you failed to navigate each obstacle you learnt so much about yourself; you then began to re-build your resolve.

A student wouldn’t consider attempting a grading examination without complete and absolute preparation and even then, most would never measure up. Those who did were the elite and were recognized by becoming black belts. This, as we all know is not the case now Ask yourself this question. What if British karate decided to operate a neutral, non-denomination belt system meaning that everyone wore the same belt and all clubs abolished the grading system as we now know it?

How would a karate club operate without any sort of grading structure whatsoever? Actually, does this sound so awful and un-workable?

Consider this hypothetically... A potential new student walks into your dojo and inquires about how your club operates; here is what he/she is told. “We are associated with British karate, therefore we are bound by a standard that promotes the image of British karate. British karate does not operate a belt system as recognition of that standard. Our club runs classes every evening and you are welcome to attend every session, your first few months will focus on your fitness and conditioning, remember you are a potential athlete and karate training is tough. This is very important as without correct condi-

tioning you will not be able to perform to the standard that we require.

You will then go on to learn the basic fundamentals of Shotokan karate, followed by basic sparring drills with a partner. Your standard is very important to us, as you are a representative of our club/association. Our club trains in all aspects of the Shotokan style and you will learn kata as well as kumite. How you perform overall is pre-determined by many factors that are outside of our control. As a member of our club you will be required to adhere to our strict dress code; our club karate gi, club badge and club belt. The club badge is to be worn on the left chest; no other badge, stripes or piping is permitted on your gi. Your belt is red on one side and blue on the other, you can chose which side you wish to display, the belt will be embroidered with the club name and the students’ name. We will work very hard to teach you to a standard that we can be proud of. As a student of our club, you will not display your standard by way of an award, certificate or belt. Your standard is your physical ability; if you train hard and have the talent then our club would be proud to have you represent us in displays and competitions. Equally, if karate is just a hobby to you, that’s fine too. Our karate club recognizes that many people start karate for different reasons and we would like to welcome everyone. We will do our best to help you achieve whatever it is you are looking for in karate. Not everyone has the ability, drive, focus and talent to be of a high standard karateka, but everyone has the ability to train and enjoy karate”.

The above hypothesis is a very exciting prospect actually. If British karate adopted the ‘no perceived standard’ doctrine and therefore use the ‘non-denomination belt system’, there would be no standard to be called poor. British karate would then become exactly the same as any other sports club/groups. The standard of the individual would be the focal point, not the standard of the club.

Many people will view a ‘non perceived standard’ (NPS) system as both bizarre and unthinkable. The current system however is responsible for polluting the karate landscape with fat, out of shape, talent less black belts who themselves become instructors who produce ever more fat, out of shape talent less students.

Let’s assume that we all agree it’s time to adopt a new approach.

Maybe the system I have just outline is bizarre; perhaps it is unworkable, but the current system isn’t working either so a comprehensive reform at some point is inevitable.

To move in any new direction would require a massive switch in the instructor’s mindset, it would require instructors to first acknowledge that a syllabus, a group, club or an association does not define ‘karate’; that the aforementioned are simply ways to control students who study karate, and even more importantly, acknowledge that karate’s image is broken and needs to be fixed.

Send your comments, thoughts and ideas to me at: Comments @ the sport of British karate.com

NEXT MONTH Who is, What, is... British Karate?

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Craig Fairbrass The Footsoldier has Risen

By Matt Duddy

From humble beginnings in East London, Craig Fairbrass has fought his way through a series of gangster roles to become one of Britain’s hardest working actors.

Born in Stepney in 1964, Craig got the acting bug aged 15 and worked as a roof labourer and doorman to support himself through drama school. Working on such TV series as Prime Suspect and London’s Burning led to Craig being cast in the Stallone film Cliffhanger.

A role as Dan Sullivan in Eastenders soon followed but it was the role of Pat Tate in 2007’s Rise of the Footsoldier that cemented Craig’s hard man image.

Combat Film caught up with Craig to discuss his latest film and his career so far.

With a cast of actors you had worked with many times before (Billy Murray, Dexter Fletcher, Steven Berkoff, Jason Flemyng) Dead Cert seems like it was a fun production, do you find it easier to work with your friends?

Your latest film “Dead Cert” where you play a gangster fending off a hoard of vampires has been described by some as Lock Stock meets From Dusk Till Dawn, what can you tell me about the film?

There is a cameo from Danny Dyer in the film which has been spoiled by his inclusion on the DVD artwork, what are your thoughts on this?

CRAIG FAIRBRASS: In respect to the budget we had it’s a very ambitious film, I would describe it as a contemporary modern London thriller with vampires! We shot it in East London with a really amazing cast whom it was a pleasure and a privilege to work with. It’s very hard to emulate a film that is as successful and well made as From Dusk Till Dawn and would say that it’s more attune to Lock Stock. Personally I would have liked it to be alot darker as I am a massive horror fan but at the same time I think it is a very entertaining take on vampires versus gangsters which the audience will really go for as it is a very commercial action/horror film.

What attracted you to this project?

CRAIG FAIRBRASS: As a horror and action fan, the whole premise of the film, the one man against the world type of stuff where a person gets pushed and has to do what he does best, I just love those scenarios. The concept of the film, when we were discussing it was really exciting and just seemed to get better and better, we ended up filming it within 12 weeks of having the idea so it was get in there, dig deep and shoot.

CRAIG FAIRBRASS: Definitely 100%. You know the guys who you click with and look forward to doing scenes with them. When you are working with a group of people who are perceived in the business as “actors” it’s fantastic to be in scenes with them and it’s a dream come true for me.

CRAIG FAIRBRASS: I’m a massive fan of Danny’s work and there is a huge market out there so the marketing and distribution needs to reflect this hence why there is a spoiler on the artwork. I have just finished working with Danny on a film called Devils Playground and it is great to work with a real bona fide actor who is always prepared, switched on and loves his craft. As far as I am concerned he is “Bulletproof Dyer”!

Without giving too much away the film is kept open at the end, is there a possibility of a sequel in the works?

CRAIG FAIRBRASS: We did it for that specific reason and I would love to do a sequel. I would love to have some more input on any sequel and make it alot more visceral, violent, darker and grittier, as much as I love the original I think there is scope to take it in a different direction.

You have your own production company (Point Blank films) and have worked with Jonathan Sothcott’s Black & Blue Films on your last few features, what can you tell me about some of the films that are in the pipeline?

CRAIG FAIRBRASS: I have another action film coming out called Freight where I play an ex mercenary against some Eastern European gangsters who try to muscle in on the London sex scene. Devils Playground as I mentioned earlier, which is an amazing film and a really classy piece of horror cinema. I have a very action orientated role but the character was interesting to play as there are definite chinks in his armour and a real Achilles heel.

You have also written, produced and are about to star in “Gunned Down”, what can you tell me about your transition from actor to writer and producer?

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CRAIG FAIRBRASS: After Rise of the Footsoldier, I was told that I came out of the film well and had a chance of establishing myself in genre films. One of the major problems we have today is lack of quality product. As a writer I can presently only write about what I know and I’m at an age now where I thought that maybe I could use some of the things that are up my sleeve and put them forward. Gunned Down was that project. It’s a hard hitting violent film set in London and Marbella that is a cross between Heat, Sexy Beast and Point Blank

It seems that you are enjoying a huge rise in popularity at the moment as you have worked on around 10 films this year, what’s your secret?

CRAIG FAIRBRASS: I don’t know! I had a rough time in the early 2000’s when I came out of Eastenders, I was offered every reality show going but I made a conscious decision to walk away from that type of thing. I decided that I needed to reinvent myself and went over to the states and worked on a couple of films and TV series there which helped me get my confidence back and realise that I could walk into a room and nick a job. Julian Gilbey then saw me and cast me in Rise of the Footsoldier and that film rescued my career.

Since then Jonathan Sothcott has seen that there is a brand that can be built around me and has taken me under his wing and we are getting there slowly but surely.

Another person seeing their career return to form is Sylvester Stallone with whom you worked with on Cliffhanger, what can you tell me about this experience?

CRAIG FAIRBRASS: One of the greatest experiences of my life, but if I won the lottery I would go back and reshoot all of my scenes! The main scene between myself and Stallone had just been rewritten that morning and as I was young I was just happy to be there. When I hear the opening credits now I just run as it is on TV almost every night!

Could there be a role in his next film for you? Maybe The Expendables 2?

With a lack of British action films and people like Jason Statham working in the states, would you agree that you are the only credible action star working in Britain today?

CRAIG FAIRBRASS: Thanks for saying that! Of course I would love to do that and it is my dream, I’m looking at the likes of Liam Neeson and there is a market for me and I would like to think that I am a pretty good actor in those roles. I don’t want to do chop suey films with jumping and kicking as that it not my style; I’m more of a left hook and a head butt!

Which actors would you cite as your action influences?

CRAIG FAIRBRASS: I love Stallone as he was always someone that I looked up to. I watch the odd Steven Seagal film & I think that Jason Statham is great. When I watched Taken I decided that these were the sort of action roles that I wanted to do, something with a little gravitas to it.

There was talk several years ago about Lenny Mclean wanting you to play him in a film of his life, do you think this will ever see the light of day?

CRAIG FAIRBRASS: Looking back it was a blessing in disguise as the script wasn’t very good, it was a rushed project and I think I was too soft looking and young for the role back then and it didn’t look right. Please God, I hope the film gets made purely for his family.

How do you feel to be typecast as the hard man gangster in films? Given the opportunity what other roles would you like to play?

CRAIG FAIRBRASS: I love being typecast as there is only one thing worse and that’s not being cast! So I would rather be working in my little niche than sitting at home watching Jeremy Kyle!

CRAIG FAIRBRASS: Funnily enough another critic has just said that I am action star material and should be in the line up with all these other guys. I’m really happy with what we are doing at the moment and want to keep the fans happy and treat them with respect and hopefully make films they will want to see

With thanks to Craig Fairbrass.

Dead Cert is on DVD on the 27th September.

Devils Playground and Freight are both released in October.

Craig Fairbrass’ Top 5 Action Films; Die Hard 2 Cliffhanger On Her Majesty’s Secret Service Taken Predator WWW.COMBATMAG.CO.UK COMBAT 93

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The Evolution of a Martial System Part 8 By David Weeks

Black Belt and Beyond... The Beginnings of Modern ‘Cross-Training’ [In parts five, six and seven of this article we examined the influence and history of Wing Chun kung fu and some of its most famous exponents upon the development of the modern Chinese Boxing system I’ve chosen to explore. This month we take a sideways step and look at the development of the coloured belt system and the Martial Arts of Japan.]

The history of Japanese martial arts closely mirrors that of the developments and divisions within the Chinese combat systems. As with most other areas of the world, the first form of warfare to be cultivated by the Japanese was archery, which led to the development of armour to withstand the lethal velocity of the arrows, which - in turn led to the widespread use of swords in order to pierce the armour at close range.

Around the 8th century AD there came the first mentions of a specific type of Japanese warrior, the Samurai; meaning ‘Death before dishonour’. As with the Chinese Shaolin monks, the Samurai developed their own unique identity, separate from their countrymen, becoming a race of men who would master both the art of war and the cultural arts, thus becoming known as ‘the warrior poets’.

The daimyo - ruling warlords hired teams of samurai to protect their own lands and invade those belonging to others and despite the obvious hypocrisy of their actions it was during this period that the samurai developed their legendary ‘Bushido’ - the ‘way of the warrior’ nobility; thus keeping themselves aloof from the violent whims of their warlords.

The disadvantage of the ‘warrior poet’ / Bushido concept though was evidenced in 1274 when Kubla Khan’s Mongol hordes invaded Japan. As the samurai strode forward to meet them on the shores, proudly reciting their litany of skills and kills, the Mongols quickly slaughtered them all! The idea of gentlemanly one-on-one duels between men of similar strengths and skills was alien to the marauding invaders, who happily employed

‘‘

techniques and it was this particular form of combat which was being developed by the inhabitants of a small island lying between Japan and China; Okinawa.

In 1470 the Okinawan ruler, a Chinaman named Sho-La-Shi, decreed that the people of the island should no longer bear arms; thereby reducing the chances of a peasant revolt against his rule. Thus, the populace trained themselves to master the art of self-defence using only bare hands and feet, basing their skills upon the Chinese kung fu systems but gradually refining them into something new.

In the late 1500’s a major conflict developed which divided the samurais. Firearms had become the ‘weapon of choice’ by most ‘civilised’ nations but the samurai dismissed the use of firearms as ‘cowardly’.

They relished close-quarter combat and the chance to match their skills with a dangerous adversary; disdaining the option of simply blasting them to death from a safe distance.

However, the Shoguns - the ruling lords - recognised that muskets were the future of warfare and, despite their strong objections; the samurai were forced to add muskets to their armoury. As gun battles gradually increased, the inexorable decline of the proud warriorrace began.

‘‘

III. Bushido.

Although the samurai are usually associated with sword-fighting skills, they were also adept at empty-hand techniques

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archers and multiple assailants against the bemused samurai, who stood there wondering why no-one would give them a ‘fair fight’, whilst the Mongols ran amok.

However, the Mongol invasion taught Japan some valuable lessons in warfare and this would be the only time in Japan’s history that they would be successfully invaded by a hostile country.

[Excepting the Allied Forces rule, after World War II, obviously.]

Although the samurai are usually associated with sword-fighting skills, they were also adept at empty-hand

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The early 1600’s - the Tokugawa period - heralded the last and possibly greatest samurai in Japanese history. Miyamoto Musashi first killed a man in combat when he was just thirteen years of age, beginning a lifestyle which exemplified the proud samurai warrior traditions, even as those traditions were dying around him.

Not only did Musashi become a master swordsman but he also perfected the arts of calligraphy, poetry, flower-arranging and the fabled tea ceremony.

Musashi was the living embodiment of the ‘gentleman warrior’, entering willingly into life-or-death battles with the finest swordsmen amongst his contemporaries.

Miyamoto was every bit as strong mentally as he was physically; mastering the psychological aspects of combat and his book on tactics in battle, ‘The Five Rings’, would become a Japanese classic and placed Musashi alongside China’s Sun Tzu as one of the most influential strategists in martial history. The legends of Musashi though were to be the last golden days of the samurai’s rich history.

Around the same time that Musashi was establishing his formidable reputation on mainland Japan, the Okinawan islanders were perfecting their unarmed combat system, which they had christened simply ‘Te’, meaning ‘hand’. As a sign of respect though to the Chinese kung fu masters who had provided their art with its initial impetus they renamed it Kara-Te; ‘Chinese Hands’.

In much the same way as Shaolin kung fu eventually subdivided into various different forms of kung fu, the martial art of kara-te underwent many changes over the subsequent centuries. Individual Okinawan masters personalised the system and made changes which eventually became accepted as ‘style variations’ of kara-te. Principle amongst these styles was Shotokan, Wado-Ryu, Shito-Ryu and Goju-Ryu, although they would be joined by many other variants over the years.

In 1915 two Okinawan kara-te masters, Kenwa Mabuni and Gichin Funakoshi, travelled to Japan and presented their art to the Japanese people. Their impact was tremen-

dous and their art enthusiastically embraced by the Japanese government, although a slight change was made to the Oriental characters so that kara-te became karate. This was due to the traditional animosity between the Japanese and Chinese, as ‘Chinese hands’ now became simply ‘empty hands’.

With its powerful punches and kicks Karate quickly established itself as a popular art in Japan, alongside the established Jiu-jitsu - the Japanese art of throwing, choking and grappling - and its more modern counterparts Judo - founded by Jigoro Kano - and Aikido.

Unlike the Chinese, the Japanese were not so secretive about their martial arts and were, in fact, quite proud of their mastery of selfdefence and thus karate and judo were both taught to westerners as early as the 1920’s. [Although certain techniques - usually the lethal ones - were ‘held back’ and taught only to Japanese students!]

However, it wasn’t until after the Second World War that the Japanese martial arts really exploded into the western consciousness.

It was during the many violent jungle skirmishes and guerrilla attacks in the Far East during World War II that the awesome proficiency of the Japanese unarmed combat systems literally struck the British and American soldiers. Their devastating methods of disabling or even killing a man with their bare hands so impressed the western forces that, after the war, Japanese instructors were ‘imported’ to Great Britain and the United States to teach their unique methods of selfprotection.

Over the next twenty years the martial arts of karate and judo rapidly gained popularity around the world and America, particularly, experienced a karate ‘boom’, thanks to the efforts of Ed Parker - the ‘Father of Karate’ in the United States - who vigorously promoted the art he’d fallen in love with.

The late 1960’s and ‘70’s saw the emergence of many great karate champions and martial artists from America, men such as Joe Lewis, Chuck Norris, Bob Wall, Mike Stone, Bill ‘Superfoot’ Wallace, Benny ‘the Jet’ Urquidez, etc.

[Parker also made an indirect but significant contribution to the

development of worldwide martial arts when he hosted the 1964 Long Beach tournament which introduced a young Wing Chun practitioner named Bruce Lee to the astounded spectators.]

IV. ‘Isn’t it just to hold my trousers up?’

The awarding of coloured belts to denote a student’s progress has become an accepted part of martial arts training and yet this is a relatively modern concept. In past centuries a student trained under a ‘master’ for many years until the instructor finally announced that the ‘apprenticeship’ was over and that the student was now ‘instructor level’ himself.

It was Judo’s founder Jigoro Kano who introduced the coloured belt system as a way of motivating his students to keep training. The gi worn by students was based upon the rough peasant clothing of ancient Japan and Okinawa and the tops were held closed by a cloth belt. In rural areas this belt would age and become darkened by accumulated dirt and sweat but this blackened belt also became symbolic of someone who’d trained diligently for many years. Thus, the quest for the ‘mythic’ black belt began; the symbol of proficiency for martial artists everywhere.

Instead of wearing a white belt which aged over the years though, Kano introduced a series of different coloured belts, which signified a certain stage in the student’s learning process. This motivational scheme became so popular that it was quickly adopted by the karate systems and by the late twentieth century most martial arts had developed some kind of visual grade-system for their students and the elusive ‘black belt’ remains the ultimate carrot to dangle before a new student’s wide eyes.

Next Month: Martial Blending: How Wing Chun kung fu came to Britain and inspired Brian Jones to develop his Chinese Boxing system.

Article by David Weeks, author of ‘Tyson and I’ ISBN 978-1-43431471-0 and ‘Bullets, Blood and Broken Bodies: The extraordinary criminal career of ‘Buller’ Ward’ ISBN 9781904432425. Available from Jamie O’Keefe’s New Breed Books or eBay. WWW.COMBATMAG.CO.UK COMBAT 97

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Pyong Ahn Can traditional Martial Arts keep up with the times?

I definitely believe so. The massive variety of fighting, traditional and competitive arts that are readily available today means that all styles have to adapt to survive.

The question is: does that adaptation mean a break from tradition?

Well, not necessarily. Let’s face it, traditions and rituals are a major part of our culture. You only have to look at schools and universities to see the traditions which have been passed on for many generations to see that.

And yet our educational establishments by their very nature must keep up-to-date! So too can our traditional martial arts schools. The trick is to keep those traditions and rituals which are appropriate and relevant while adapting those which nolonger fit our needs.

Take forms (kata) for example.

There is a constant raging debate on the validity of this traditional form of training - which I won’t attempt to tackle here. However I would like to consider the ‘spirit’ of the forms and indeed the names assigned to them.

Pyong Ahn (or Pinan) for example means Peaceful Confidence. I think that this is a lovely name, the like of

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which is unlikely to be penned in modern times by practitioners who are eager to look for the practicality of their art rather than its beauty.

Rather like an old school motto; one could argue that it is outdated and unnecessary, however I’m sure most people would agree that it adds gravitas to the establishment for which it stands.

The words Peaceful Confidence bear consideration in many different lights. A student who practices the Pyong Ahn should develop inner peace as well as promoting peace in their surroundings. Needless to say this links directly with the traditional principle of karate-do: ‘there is no first strike in karate’, reminding students that they are studying a defensive art and that they should never promote violence.

Confidence is obviously an attribute which martial artists should

develop. This should include confidence in themselves, their abilities and therefore the confidence to prevent confrontation.

The Kanji characters or pictograms used to describe Pyong Ahn in the east, also give a fascinating insight into these translations. Pyong / Peaceful is depicted by a sword set of balanced scales demonstrating the stability that peace brings. Ahn / Confidence is depicted by a mother carrying her baby, covered by a roof for protection - a sure sign of confidence and security in eastern philosophy. This inner peace and balance is thought to be gained along with self-confidence by practicing the Pyong Ahn forms.

So, in today’s society who wouldn’t want to develop ‘peaceful confidence’ in themselves or their children? Surely this alone symbolises the validity of tradition in our current day training. While I appreciate that not everyone has the time or patience to study Kata, perhaps we can all agree that the philosophies behind them are as valid today as they were 100 years or more ago.

At Johnson’s Karate we constantly endeavour to promote these positive aspects of traditional Martial Arts training both to our own students and the wider community. We are currently promoting ‘Pyong Ahn’ / Peaceful Confidence with the first in our new range of Forms Kanji T-shirts. For further information visit our website: www.johnsonskarate.com.

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Peaceful Confidence

By Master Janet McKenna, 5th Dan Johnsonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Kong Sudo Photographs were supplied by Keith Hartwell www.harrogatephoto.co.uk

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allett

By Joe H Report -

ISKA

Freestyle Open 2010 The ISKA sanctioned London International Freestyle Open took place recently in London and caught the crowd’s attention as soon as the kids took to the mat all padded up and ready to do battle.

In the boys -25kg category, M. Ainsbury fought J. Russell from Cardiff in a great final. Both fighters wanted desperately to win this great battle but in the end there could be only one winner and that was Mr. Ainsbury. He also went one better by taking first place in the -30kg section to take the double, a worthy champion.

S. Derby secured 1st place in the boys -35kg then stepped up, into the -40kg where the Bolton blockbuster met E. Buck from Nottingham School of Black belts. After a tense fight with both fighters exchanging techniques S. Derby took his second gold medal of the day.

Over in the girls section M. Mingle from Solihull Kickboxing Academy faced T. Price from Cardiff Freestyle, Mingle took this fight after a very hard fought battle.

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A .Jones won the -45kg while C. Buck took the +45kg. Over in the light contact, J. Tawse from Cardiff met J. Price, his club mate in the finals. With the club shouting for both fighters, it was a noisy bout that saw J. Tawse edge to victory in the end. However, J. Price moved up in the -40kg and beat W. Jenkins to win a gold medal.

R. McClusky took his second gold in the +45kg beating N. Pugsley in the final. Junior boy light contact -55kg S. Brewer beat J. Mason while D. Emsley took third place.

C. Hawthorne beat S. Barrett in the -67kg. The girls light contact section was also very competitive. J. Madden beating M. Price in the -35kg in the junior girls. A. Price overcame F. Jones in the -59kg in a tight final.

In the men’s point fighting section, in the -67kg T. Kelly from S.A.M.A fought and beat J. Wright

from Yeovil. M. Watton beat J. Beech in the -71kg while over in the -86kg C. Lowe faced a hungry M. Watton, however, this time C. Lowe took gold. Men’s light contact in the -75kg D. Edens defeated E. Gohari while M. Tracey from Solihull Kickboxing Academy won against J. Chester of Essex in the -91kg. Women points G. Morgan from Hick’s Karate faced a fierce R. Nelson from Phoenix, point for point, this fight went all the way but it was Morgan who edged to victory.

Women’s light contact Z. Malewicz of the F.S.K beat S. Whittlock also of the F.S.K in the women’ veterans points fighting In the +63kg veterans light contact ladies, Meely Lo who has not fought for 5 years returned to action and showed she has not lost anything by defeating N. Gupta in the finals. A.Watton won the veteran 63kg points and then stepped up into the +63kg and took a second gold for the day.

The forms area ran very smoothly, thanks to the hard work from all the judges and officials. The kids sections kicked off the area with -13 Japanese Hard Style with C. Scoble Somerset Karate taking the top spot with her Kata. Next up was -13 Creative Open Hand; with the music playing loudly the area was the main attraction of the competition. J. Meek, Phoenix, went home with the

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Gold medal; with J. Riva, Infinity, receiving the Silver. Next it was the weapon exponents turn to show off their skills with the reigning ISKA World Champion Jack Underwood in attendance. After all the competitors had performed it was over to the judges and they answered with K. Macdonald, Team Resurrection, in 3rd Position with J. Meek, Phoenix, taking 2nd and J. Underwood the champ taking gold and gaining his spot on the 2010 ISKA UK forms squad.

Over to the Juniors sections with P. Cerson of Team Fusion attaining a double whammy taking gold in both the Girls Creative Open Hand and Girls Creative Weapons. N.Whiles, Team Excel, took three Golds in Boys Japanese, Korean and Traditional Weapon Sections. Back to the Creative side with the Boys Creative Open Hand, this was a very tough section for the judges to call with all competitors performing at a high level. N.Whiles had to settle with a Bronze medal this time with M. Lightfoot, Infinity, receiving a well deserved Silver and J.Lewis, Team Resurrection, earning himself a Gold Medal and a place on the ISKA UK forms squad for the first time.

In the Boys Creative Weapons J.Lewis took the top spot again with N.Whiles in a very close 2nd and J. Pitman, Infinity, in 3rd.

In the adult sections C.Kelley, Somerset Karate, took the top spot in Men Japanese Hard Style. The Soft Style sections with T.Osborn, ZDL, putting in an outstanding performance of his soft style form, taking gold and his team member H.Osborn won the Women’s Soft Style section too. T.Ledger, Team Relic, won both the Women’s Creative Open hand and Creative Weapons sections. M.French, Team Resurrection, took 1st in Men Creative Open Hand pulled off a top form even though he was suffering with a serious injury throughout the weekend. J.Evans, Team Relic, performed a solid extreme sword routine, winning him-self a gold medal in the Men Creative Weapons section.

Last but not least was the Extreme Martial Arts Tricks Battle. In the -18 years J.Lewis, P.Cerson and N.Whiles battled it out throwing some tough combinations of flips, kicks and twists wowing the crowd with their gravity defying skills. P.Cerson came out on top with N.Whiles 2nd and J.Lewis took the 3rd. Now it was over to the adults with reigning European Champ M.French not wanting that Gold Medal to slip out of his hands.

A.Spinx and A.McDonald battled it out for a place in the final with A.Mcdonald winning the judges vote.

Next up was A.Ward against the champ M.French, both competitors going all out in their 30 second rou-

tines the judges raised there hands towards M.French. It was an epic final with both Team Resurrection members A.McDonald and M.French battling it out for the top spot. When their time was up, they knew they had done their best and it was over to the judges, M.French received the gold with A. Macdonald in 2nd and A. Ward in 3rd.

With all sections finished the ISKA UK would like to thank all the referees and timekeepers who worked hard to make sure everything ran smoothly on the day and the ISKA Amateurs Directors Clifton Findley, Owen King, Paul Gilmore and Joe Hallett. Well done to those who all qualified for this year’s world championships which will be in Alicante, Spain 2nd- 7th November.

Amateur Director Clifton Findley tel. 07788476478 or Email cliftonfindley@yahoo.co.uk

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T H E O N LY M A G A Z I N E D E D I C A T E D T O A L L K A R A T E K A

TRADITIONAL

KARATE

Vol. 23 No. 08 November 2010

Can Karate Give The Credit Crunch The Chop?

Adapt & Improve

6 Principles For Karate Dynamics With Chris Denwood

Badges, Belts & Bowing Are Our Critics Right?

Bunkai Clinic

By John Burke

Conditioning ...For The Martial Artist

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

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THE ESKK® COLUMN With Chris Denwood

Six Key Principles for Traditional Karate Dynamics (Part 2 of 2)

Last month, I began my discussion of six important principles relating to the physical body dynamics found in traditional karate when viewed as an art primarily for self-protection and covered the first overarching concept of ‘efficient muscular recruitment’.

In this month’s column, I’ll continue discussing the remaining five.

The posterior kinetic chain of musculature including the gastrocnemius (calf), biceps femoris (hamstring) and gluteus maximus (buttocks) are responsible for the dynamic drive from the ground as seen in almost all physical pursuits.

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Principle No.2: Triple Extension The term ‘triple extension’ refers to the extension of the ankle, knee and hip joints in order to dynamically activate the posterior kinetic chain of muscles, ligaments and tendons that are responsible for explosive action via the resultant forces realised through good connection and ‘ballistic press’ from the ground. It represents one of the main methods of generating functional power and conforms to Newton’s Law that states, ‘for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction’. It also utilises the term ‘elastic potential’ found within the muscles, acting almost like the flexible string on a bow and giving a similar reaction to pulling back an elastic band and then letting go.

Principle No.3: Sequential Delay Sequential delay is the order of motion that the major joints of the body conform to in order to help accentuate and amplify functional potential within the body. Rather than moving all of the joints together as a single unit, each action is delayed slightly compared to the previous so that like a long line of dominoes, the power is transferred through the body in a wave. In a similar way to a whip (rather than a hammer for instance), the energy is perpetuated and amplified through progressively smaller joints until released at the tip (hand or leg for example), acting almost like a miniature sonic boom. This is the traditional way of striking by those karate styles derived from shuri-te and requires good structure so that no ‘dominoes’ are out of line and forces can be transferred continuously and efficiently.

Principle No.4: Double Action One of the core teachings in traditional karate is to ensure that both sides of the body are ‘live’ and positively used at all times. Hikite (pulling hand) is applied throughout the art, is one of the main methods of achieving this and is pivotal to ensuring effectiveness for closerange self-protection. Dynamically using hikite can help control and offbalance the opponent, increase the net effect of your strikes, provide a tactile link that makes overall reaction times and location of targets

much more efficient, as well as clearing strike paths to ensure that what you unleash has more chance of driving home accurately.

Double action one of the main strategies found in traditional karate.

Principle No.5: Exploiting Gravity Another method for creating power is through the effective manipulation of gravity. This involves learning to become loose and heavy, plus incorporating the almost instant collapsing/falling action found in everyday movements such as walking to help enhance power output. This ‘control of imbalance’ is another core teaching of those karate styles derived from shuri-te and critical for closerange striking in self-protection where the obvious priming components of ‘distance’ and ‘time’ become luxuries that are very seldom realised.

Learning to drop the knee is an important component during the exploitation of gravity and can help develop functional un-telegraphed strikes. Also important is to understand the difference between a straight back and an upright back.

Many modern derivatives of kata have become very ‘upright’ when compared to the much older versions that conform to the idea of creating instant potential outside the body through the effective use of gravity. In addition, many stances have also become much longer and deeper, which although creating more superficial power through swift bodyweight transference, have to a degree sacrificed the ‘naturalness’ of shorter and more mobile (less deadlocked) postures.

Choshin Chibana (a student of the great Anko Itosu) performing a movement from the start of Passai Dai Kata that exploits the powerful effects of gravity by creating instant potential outside the body.

Principle No.6: Core Utilisation The deep muscles of the midsection and waist (koshi) are responsible for directing and accelerating power out and into the limbs for issue. In addition to developing the link between the ground and the legs, training the dynamic movement of the core is fundamental in traditional karate and in fact most other martial disciplines.

In restricted space, the swifter and sharper the core shakes, the more effective your applications will become. This action should be almost like a sneeze - a natural, instant, powerful release of energy.

With more experience, it’s even possible to create more of these dynamics ‘inside the body’ so that less is seen by the eye.

Building elastic potential within the muscles for functional power is just like pulling back the string on a bow and then releasing to fire an arrow.

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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!

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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.

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Please note, no details or correspondence to the previous Derby address.

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The term ‘double hip’ is a term used a great deal by self-protection teachers and although often thought of as a modern development, actually has its roots in numerous eastern disciplines, including traditional karate. As we’ve already discussed, the whip-like feeling that occurs when using sequential delay can be combined with double hip to create the ‘crack’. These sharply applied dynamics coupled with good alignment and being mindful of the fact that the direction of energy should always be driven towards your opponent 100% will help to significantly enhance the functional effect of any strike.

Learning to understand body dynamics is a very interesting subject that all traditionalists should at the very least be aware of. If you bring karate to its very core we simply have a method of transferring and receiving energy, with our bodies being used to channel that energy. Thus, how this is achieved is heavily dependent on how we manipulate our physical body. In my view, this makes the subject of body dynamics a primary consideration for every session at the dojo. In fact, what essentially are the traditional forms if not to provide lessons on how to achieve this efficient transmutation of energy?

One final point to remember is that karate was originally developed in an era where those natural processes studied, used and recreated to form the basis of physical body mechanics were a far cry from the robotic and mechanical images of drives, crank shafts and pistons conjured up from the influence of the more modern industrial revolution. The human body is a very natural and in many ways, ‘super-natural’ organism and thus, a direct comparison to these modern developments although in some ways useful does not paint the whole picture, especially with respect to the original concepts that the traditional kata are based on.

The feeling of naturalness plays a huge part in dynamics since this will inherently promote relaxation, mobility, swift action and probably most importantly, ingrained movement. In my experience it pays dividends to whittle away any feelings of artificial movement so that the kata starts to breathe again and functionality once more begins to shine through. Then, using kata as a basis, this will then illuminate through everything you do.

Thanks for taking the time out to read my words; I hope you found them useful.

Until next month - stay natural!

Chris Denwood has been practicing martial arts since childhood and is chief instructor of the ESKK(r) as well as a senior instructor with the British Karate-Do Chojinkai. Both a ‘traditionalist’ and ‘pragmatist’, he specialises in uncovering the combative principles in kata, as well as incorporating the functional use of kettlebells to help enhance the physical attributes associated with body dynamics in karate for self-protection.

Chris has also recently released a comprehensive two-hour double disc DVD set called, ‘Acorns to Oak Trees’, which detail his essential guidelines for pragmatic kata bunkai. To order your copy or find out more about booking a seminar with Chris, you can call the ESKK(r) on 07801 531 914 or visit either www.chrisdenwood.com or www.eskk.co.uk, where you can also join the free newsletter for regular updates, free articles, special offers and online video lessons etc.

The ‘domino effect’ used when applying sequential delay.

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Badges, belts

Are our critics right?

By Gavin Mulholland

& bowing

It is an unfortunate truth that the traditional arts continue to be attacked from those who either know nothing at all about them, or who trained up to yellow belt, in one style, as a child, back in the 80’s and therefore consider themselves something of an authority on all things martial.

Recent times have continued to see the wholesale promotion of people and organisations claiming to teach ‘Reality Based Self Defence’.

Although mildly insulting to the rest off us who have presumably spent years teaching ‘Unrealistic Self Defence’, there is a lot to be said for this movement and the question I want to ask is a simple one - are their criticisms valid? Is it time to drop all the bowing, the badges, the belts and the pseudo-Japanese language which we all know has scant resemblance to anything even remotely Japanese?

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The first point I want to make is that I am not opposed to any of this RBSD stuff - most of it is good and some of it is awesome. The main problem I have with it is the apparent need for many of them to justify everything they do by (mistakenly) referring to us the whole time - we don’t wear Gis, we don’t need belts, we don’t adopt any foreign customs or language, we don’t have titles, etc. Now as with most things this is not everyone and I’m not talking about the Combatives guys who make no such references and are clearly confident and comfortable

with what they do on its own merit.

Most of those guys are ex-military or at least front-line security, and have based their teachings on solid experience. But guess what? So have a lot of us in the traditional arts.

As one of the main criticisms against us seems to be our adoption of a ‘foreign culture’ let’s address that first.

Clothing is the easiest to address because we have spoken about it many times. When you train in a Gi, you are training in something loosely resembling a pair of trousers and a jacket. How is that a bad thing? For the vast majority of us, it more closely resembles what we wear on a day-to-day basis than does a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. In my time on the doors of various pubs and clubs I have worn suits, dinner jackets, jeans and a t-shirt / bomber jackets, but I’ve never just a t-shirt and shorts or track suit bottoms. As a result, the vast majority of ‘real’ conflicts that I have personally been involved with have taken place in clothing far more like a Gi than most other training gear.

A Gi is also tough. It is hard wearing and difficult to tear. The same cannot be said of a t-shirt. In fact, a t-shirt wouldn’t last 10 min-

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utes in a dojo where it would simply be torn off your back and used to choke you with.

Finally, a Gi is cheap. These days you can get a Gi worth wearing for around £30 - £50. That beats the £60 Affliction t-shirt and £39.99 Bad Boy shorts I just googled. Even if you are not tempted down the pseudo MMA route clothing wise and are training in combat trousers and a tshit, it would be difficult to beat the price and longevity of the Gi. The only way to improve upon the overall practicality of the Gi would be to train in proper street clothes - and I mean ‘proper’ street clothes - i.e. the actual clothes you normally wear. Despite what many appear to think, training in a t-shirt and tracksuit bottoms is no more ‘real’ than training in a Gi. However, training in a suit and tie; a dress; a skirt; leather-soled shoes, high heeled shoes etc most definitely would be. To truly be more ‘real’ you must train in what you actually wear on a day-to-day basis. If you go out of an evening in a pencil skirt and high heels, that’s what you should be training in. If you wear a suit to work, you need to train in a suit. Anything else is just lip-service.

Once a month we have a session where we train in these clothes but apart from being awkward and uncomfortable (which is a good thing), it is expensive because most normal clothes simply don’t survive the session*.

While all these points might be true, there is another reason for the Gi and it is all tied up in the next issue I want to address and that is our much criticised ‘foreign’ training environment.

When a new student steps into a dojo for the first time, they are met with a completely alien environment - strange clothes (everyone dressed the same), strange hierarchies (belts and badges indicating rank), strange language (Geordie Japanese anyone?), and strange customs (standing to attention in rows and bowing).

When a new recruit steps into the barracks for the first time, they are met with a completely alien environment - strange clothes (everyone dressed the same), strange hierarchies (epaulettes and badges indicating rank), strange language, (SITREP, Mov O, OOTW, FLET, FLOT, etc.), and strange customs, (standing to attention in rows and saluting).

It is no accident that these two environments are completely different from anything the new recruit will ever have experienced, and it is no coincidence that the two are so similar to each other. Regardless of why they might have been set up that way in the first place, they exist in that format today because they work.

They are extremely useful tools for developing a good mindset for training and absorbing new and complex

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information. Ultimately, what they are extremely good at doing is stripping the individual of any preconceptions about who they are or what they know. The alien nature of the environment is an extremely powerful way of breaking everyone down to the same level before training them up in a new way and that is an extremely useful tool to both the military and the martial arts.

You see, the only thing that matters in the dojo is the strength of your spirit and what you can do physically. Everything else is irrelevant. You could be the Chairman of IBM but in the dojo, you would be stood to attention at the back in identical (unflattering) clothing as everybody else.

I have students and training partners that I have literally known for years and count as very close friends - yet I have no idea what they do for a living. In the Martial Arts our value set is different from the ‘norm’.

I don’t know what they do, because I don’t care. I have stood next to some on their first night ‘on-the-door’ and seen them swallow the fear and prevail; I have watched others quaking at the thought of performing a kata in front of a few people - but go on do it anyway; I have seen a few standing alone to face a daunting line of 30 fighters and the inevitable beating that was to come; and I have

walked others into the heat of the Cage and seen them face up to that ‘ultimate challenge’ and win or lose, grow from the experience. I have seen them struggle and fail, get up and go again, fail again, get up again, struggle, push and succeed.

I have seen the ‘real’ them and its all that counts.

There are of course other ways of achieving this ‘fighting spirit’, but for us at least, the use of, what to the uninitiated appears to be weird the ritual, ranks and posturing of an alien culture, is absolutely crucial in the development of the person, the fighter, and martial artist.

I have ultimate respect for those who seek to progress our knowledge in the fields of martial arts, combat sports, self-protection and selfdefence. All things change. People should evolve; training should evolve; styles should evolve and we should continually seek to improve the way we do things. Contrary to popular opinion, this is nothing new and is entirely in keeping with the Traditional Martial arts.

There are undoubtedly some excellent things coming out of modern training practices. However, those that see themselves as ‘progressive’ would do well to take another look at the things that they have left behind in the traditional arts. The reason that we keep the

uniform, the terminology, the hierarchies, the belts and the bowing, is not in some attempt to recreate little Okinawa in Central London. We keep them because they assist in the training of our students. We keep them because they have direct fighting relevance. And ultimately, we keep them because they work.

Gavin Mulholland is the author of the number one bestselling book, Four Shades of Black - The Traditional Path to Building the Complete Fighter. He is joint Chief Instructor for Daigaku Karate Kai and the Chief Instructor for DKK Fighters based in London. DKK can be contacted, via the OMAA or directly on 07976-411-901. www.goju-karate.co.uk

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Conditioning

By Mark Kirton

The importance of for the... Martial Artist

I would like to start by saying that making controlled contact with a solid object has a beneficial effect psychologically, as well as physiologically. It conditions the mind to control what the body is doing and to measure the amount of pain it can tolerate. The ability to accept pain from the shock of a blow on impact is a mental attitude derived from repeated strikes and contact with a hard surface that offers resistance.

The purpose of conditioning the hands and other areas on the body that are used in combat, such as elbows shins and wrists is to destroy the nerve endings, to allow solid contact without the interference of pain signals. Most of the body cells reproduce themselves by simple cell division; however this is not the case with the nerve cells as they follow no such pattern. When a nerve ending is destroyed it is destroyed and can-

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not be reconstituted and made fully functional again. One of the objectives in conditioning the striking areas and in particular the hands is to develop calluses between the bones and the surface of the skin, this can be achieved by constantly hitting the hands and the other contact striking areas against an object which is developed for this specific purpose, such as a makiwara board or a heavy sand bag.

To achieve this it will take approxi-

mately twenty layers of dead scales to form the surface of a callus. Once this objective has been met, the calluses will act as a shock absorber and reduce the degree of pain from making contact with hard surfaces.

Although this type of conditioning is beneficial to the Karateka and Martial Artist a like, it is important that you learn to recognise that some harmful conditions can arise and to avoid this, care must be taken not to be too over eager when training. If scar tissue is formed too quickly it can impede movement and damage tendons which can affect mobility which will cause pain and if the damage is too severe it may require a surgical procedure to restore full function again.

I have talked about conditioning the physical but it is of greater or equal importance to condition you mind through Meditation which will develop an inner strength that is needed to achieve the goals you are aiming for, without the distraction of your physical being. To be able to acquire the advancement needed to progress and perfect your techniques and awareness for challenges (and any form of com-

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bat) you must be able to separate yourself from any tension and interference.

The act of Meditation will join the mind and body to be a single unit. This brings about the unification of the whole being channelling the flow of energy through the body. Once you have reached this state of â&#x20AC;&#x153;onenessâ&#x20AC;? you will have taken control of both the mental & physical which in turn brings more discipline and control which then takes you towards perfection.

The Founder of Kyokushinkai Karate, Mas Oyama always used Meditation before any fighting contest and also before demonstrating physical feats which he became famous for during his life time.

So you see conditioning is both mental and physical state.

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Bunkai Clinic

By John Burke

There are some good people teaching good bunkai these days. I was originally bribed into writing articles for martial arts magazines because of irate teachers and students who couldn’t believe some of the junk being published.

After a while it started to seem like there were a lot of reasonable articles being written, so I stopped submitting mine. I’m very busy with The Karate Academy and my seminars at clubs across the UK (and elsewhere). I taught a free Bunkai workshop at The Martial Arts Show, Brimingham NEC and was overawed by the people who congratulated my team and I on it. It was very humbling to have people tell you that it was the highlight of the day for them.

Many asked if I would be writing articles (some had only just started their martial arts practice in the past few years). Even though my Bunkai Strategies Newsletter is available for free at www.bunkai.co.uk it occurred to me that not everyone gets to see that, so welcome to the Bunkai Clinic.

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You can send me your questions on Karate Kata Bunkai and I will provide at least three workable applications to any move from any kata, any style. Truthfully, bunkai is the analysis of the movement. The use of it is really called oyo. Most people will understand what we mean when we refer to all applications as bunkai, though, won’t they?

To start us off, I thought we might have a little look at the concept of hikite.

When we perform our Karate basics, we often pull one hand back to the hip while the other one extends in front with the chosen technique. The hand that comes back to the hip is the hikite hand.

Hikite means pulling hand.

It is my mission to make all of Karate purposeful and available, and

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hearing that the returning hand comes back to make “good form” is a poor reason for doing it. The purpose is clear, isn’t it? It’s for pulling.

What and why are your next questions. The context for purposeful Karate practice has to be self defence. There’s nothing wrong with moving meditation or sport, interesting hobbies, or any of the other myriad reasons why people train, but self defence is what we look at in the Bunkai Clinic.

Pulling back what? Could be anything, couldn’t it? An attacker’s hair, ears, shoulder... In the examples here we will use their wrist. We will use their wrist because it indicates an early place in our Strategy.

Let’s take it that the attacker has been verbally aggressive and we have tried to talk them down, appease them, etc. and as the point comes where we try to leave he grabs hold of our wrist with the intention of pulling us onto his trusty “big hook”punch. [pic1] In this example we have shown a “cross-body” grab (right to right or left to left).

Whatever our favoured technique - whether we are aggressive punchers or restrained lock-types we go to work on the attacker immediately that we fear for our safety and know that there is no other recourse.

By turning or hand over quickly we offset the attacker’s other hand, turning them and their weapon away from us. Our hand pulling back to our hip then brings us into close range for penetration of the attacker with the chosen technique. [pic3 & 4] In this example we are delivering a punch to the attacker’s ribs or kidneys.

As a general rule, if an attacker’s elbow is facing the sky they are disadvantaged.

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Sometimes, pulling back too fast will have the attacker’s grip slip off.

It’s not the worst thing in the world if that happens, but if we can then we should hook onto the attacker’s wrist. Feeding the hand forward slightly can also help to unbalance the attacker. [pic5 & 6] This hooking of the wrist is not necessarily a grip with the thumb and forefinger, but rather, it engages the four fingers and so we refer to it as a “monkey grip”. This enables us to torque further through the attacker’s limb, prevent further attack from their other hand and keep them disoriented.

From the pictures [pic7 & 8] you can see that landing a soto uke to the attacker’s arm, empi to their back or any other technique might be viable once the hikite is used properly. Pulling them in sharply really does allow the returning hand to add power to the outbound hand it adds the momentum and weight of the opponent to the blow.

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Small Circle or Big Circle?

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There are some advocates who only talk about moving in small circles.

You might even say that a straight line was an extended small circle spiral. There is also a good case for large circle movement. [pic9-13]

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While it might seem that a large circle with the hikite hand before withdrawing it leaves too much of the defender open to being struck, it is also true that the attacker’s arm, extended as it is by the large circle, is easily led, especially when the attacker is strong. Leading the attacker is always a better bet than trying to use force on them, but then we could always talk about the diagonal cuts across joints to enable force at some later point.

Where a small circle definitely wins out over large circle movement is in freeing the hand. A sharp pull back [pic14 -16], especially if generated by the hip rather than the shoulder, will free the hand much faster than a large rotation could ever do.

Yes, these things should all happen in the blink of an eye, and, out of necessity, some of the pictures had to be staged with larger distances than are really required to show the principle. It always better to learn by experience in the martial arts, and I’m happy to demonstrate any of these principles in motion.

Approaching training with an inquiring mind is an absolute must. When we practice in thin air it must be accompanied by visualisation that fits the needs of the exercise. If you train for sport then you should visualise a sporting attacker. If you train for self defence or you are interested

in the older self defence situations that the kata were created to remedy then you need to visualise what you are doing in that forum.

It’s all about putting your kata and your applications into context.

We’ll carry on with more Bunkai in the next instalment.

I’d like to thank Richard Carrick sensei for posing for the shots with me, and Ross Chesterton sensei for taking the pictures. More information and my books and DVDs can be found at www.bunkai.co.uk - seminars can be booked on 01626 360999. See you in the dojo.

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Can KARATE Give the Credit Crunch With the credit crunch seemly launching a continuous and unstoppable attack on the nation, the world of martial arts are not immune to this disease. We must adapt and improve, as martial arts organisations have done throughout time in order to survive.

As people struggle to meet their financial commitments how do we ensure that martial arts continue to be a priority in their lives?

At Johnsons Kong Sudo we have a tried and tested formula that brings success and personal achievement to all our students. Under the guidance of Chief Instructor Master Tony Johnson, who has 40 years of experience in martial arts, the organisation has recently re-launched under the name Johnson’s Kong Sudo. A lavish awards dinner attended by 100 of his students representing clubs from Warwickshire, Coventry, Leicestershire and Yorkshire marked the occasion. Kong Sudo is Master Johnson’s own interpretation of how martial arts can complement and improve every aspect of our lives

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combining the techniques and philosophies of Tang Soo Do and other Korean, Japanese and Chinese arts which he continues to research and study.

Master Johnson’s approachable teaching style has been passed on to his students and this encourages them to help make the clubs friendly and welcoming places for beginners to start to train. Once they step through the door of the dojang for the first time they very rarely leave, indeed in a recent survey carried out, 71% of the students said that the friendliness of the classes was one of the things that encouraged them to train and helped to maintain their focus.

In Yorkshire, classes were started 7 years ago under the guidance of Master Janet McKenna 4th Dan.

The first class was held on a bright September’s day in 2002 and was attended by 8 students, as Master McKenna remembers only too well “I was really worried that no-one would turn up, so when the first people stepped through the door at 6 o’clock I was hugely relieved. Since then I haven’t looked back” There are now 39 classes per week in this area attended by over 500 students. The club which was launched in Harrogate has now expanded into Wetherby, Collingham, Harewood, Tadcaster and North Leeds. There are now 5 instructors in the Yorkshire region and there are plans to open further classes, widening the area covered and enabling more students to benefit from training in Kong Sudo.

So what has enabled this continued growth in Johnsons Kong Sudo?

Master McKenna’s answer to this question is a simple one “We focus on success and positive attitude in all of our classes and tailor the training to each individual. Everybody is different so we believe that every Dan Grade we develop should be different - not a carbon copy of those who have gone before.”

The club operates many after school clubs reflecting again Master Johnson’s approach to getting kids fitter while instilling discipline and structure into their lives “There’s no point in trying to duck the issue, it’s a fact that many children are not as fit as they should be” says Master Tony Johnson. “We don’t preach about it but we do offer an effective way of getting fit to families, and working with schools has proven to be a great way to get our campaign

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The CHOP?

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going. We find that our style encourages children to become more disciplined in all aspects of their lives including what they eat and when they eat. It’s not about diets and fads; it’s about making a commitment to self-improvement.”

The schools also love this approach as Jane Turner, headmaster of Spofforth Primary School, Harrogate explains “The after school class at Spofforth has been a great success and is extremely popular with our pupils. The commitment and professional attitude of the instructors ensures that the club runs smoothly, and I therefore recommended the classes to other schools in the North Yorkshire area.”

The association runs classes 7 days a week at various times and locations offering a variety of class types including kids classes, mixed classes and adults classes Master McKenna says “this blend of different classes and venues enables students to fit training into their day to day lives. Families can all train together; adults’ classes enable students to have a more focused approach to training and children love training with their friends in the kid’s only classes.

This variety also enables students to

practice with many different partners which helps develop a positive, friendly atmosphere in all of our classes” All of the instructors under Master McKenna’s guidance are Dan grades and have been training with Johnson’s for a minimum of 3 years.

They have attended instructor and first aid courses and have the relevant CRB checks thus ensuring that they maintain a safe and professional approach to their teaching methods. In addition to training in at least 3 classes per week with Master McKenna, they also attend regular seminars with Master Johnson himself, so they have a good understanding of his vision for the future.

Our clubs encourage development in children by having student of the month awards, star badges for regular class attendance and also technique badges. This scheme requires that once a month students concentrate on a particular technique, and upon reaching a prescribed standard they are awarded a badge depicting that technique which they proudly wear on their uniform.

The entire organisation employs a flexible approach to class fees entirely avoiding the use of contracts or Direct Debit payments. As a gen-

eral rule classes are ‘pay-as-you-go’ so there is no charge when a student is sick or on holiday. Once students are attending more than 2 classes per week they have the option to pay on a monthly basis and receive a discount, which reduces the overall cost of training, and again to encourage families to train together family discounts are available.

All these things are combined with regular gradings to ensure that students have achievable short term goals. Master Johnson also travels around the country holding monthly seminars open to all grades encourages further study and understanding of Kong Sudo. This means that all students are able train with him directly, and also demonstrates the progressive approach of the organisation to both training and teaching.

Indeed the future does look bright for Johnsons Kong Sudo, and we leave the last word to Master Johnson as he sums up his vision “ I want my organisation to lead the way in bringing true Eastern Martial Arts philosophy to the West. We need to stop ‘fighting’ and start finding the inner peace, health and prosperity that our ancestors found in the beautiful art of Karate”

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TAEKWONDO & KOREAN MARTIAL ARTS MAGAZINE

9

th

VOLUME 15 ISSUE 03 NOVEMBER 2010

OPEN TAEKWONDO INTERNATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

UKTDC

National National Champ’s Champ’s

FROM BEGINNER TO BLACK BELT & BEYOND With Barbara Barbara Marion Marion Interview Interview With

BRITISH TAEKWONDO & MUDO ACADEMY New Way Way of of Thinking Thinking AA New

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

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Open Tae Kwon Do

International

World Championships

Report and photographs by Sylvio Dokov

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Phew! What a week-end, one thousand seven hundred competitors from around 20 countries and 30 different organisations and a sell out audience. All this taking place over 28 competition areas at the Telford International Centre on September 11th & 12th.

Its hard to highlight individuals performances but Warren Vice wrote himself into tae kwon do folklore by winning his 5th world title at his 5th different weights, making him tae kwon do greatest ever champion.

He also won the deciding fight for the England TAGB team against Scotland TAGB in the world team final, and it must be said that the Scottish team did fantastic to get to

the final beating Switzerland, Canada and Argentina to fight out a magnificent final against England who beat Ireland, Holland and Poland to get there at the end of the five matches. It was a draw so a coin was tossed to see which weight the deciding bout was fought at, Kenny Walton England team coach won the toss and sent out Warren Vice and in thrilling 2 round fight

Vice over came James Reed to retain the title for England and just to put the icing on the cake the England ladies team also won and we saw a truly astonishing performance by England ladies captain Tamsin Clark, which saw her win the semi contact lightweight title, the WTF Olympic style lightweight, so she took home three goldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s.

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The WTF event on Saturday was well supported all the officials were from WTF groups within the BTC and tae kwon do international would like to thank them for their hard work. It’s a shame that the BTCB put none of their fighters into the event, even though they were invited, it looks like once again their Chairman Adrian Tranter can talk the talk but not walk the walk!

Grandmaster CK Choi, 9th Dan presented all the trophies and was guest of honour for the championships, he said it was a wonderful event for tae kwon do with no politics involved and it’s a great shame that more groups don’t follow the lead of tae kwon do international and have an open door policy towards competing.

9th

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Open Tae Kwon Do

International

World Championships

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9th

Open Tae Kwon Do

International

World Championships

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FROM BEGINNER TO BLACK BELT AND BEYOND With Grand Master Tony Vohra (8th Dan)

An interview with...

Barbara Marion Barbara Ruth Marian entered the world of martial arts after taking her five year old son to join a local Taekwondo class. Now, her whole family is involved and she teaches herself, to a whole new army of young Canadian taekwondo followers. Her story is one of finding something that you are good at or enjoy and excelling at it, read on . . .

Why did you take up martial art as opposed to other activities in your country?

with my family. It is just so important for me to spend time with my family. Taekwondo has satisfied that need.

BARBARA MARION: I have always been very athletic and active. I have played volleyball and baseball in the past. I still continue to enjoy running today. When my first son was 5 years old, he was very meek and needed some self confidence, so we enrolled him in a local Taekwondo school. My husband and I were so taken by it, that he joined days later, I joined a couple of months later, and our youngest son joined as soon as he turned 4 years old. My sons asked my husband and I several times to try hockey. My husband and I always said, “No”. As Canadians, hockey is a big part of the sport of most every family. We were afraid that our boys would go into the corner of the ice, or get into a scrap, and use their feet our of force of habit. That would not be good, considering they would be wearing skates. Not only that, many of my students play hockey along with doing taekwondo. Its seems that they suffer more injuries playing hockey and they were coming to class injured. And, I don’t play hockey or know how to skate, so I wouldn’t be able to spend that time

What or who is the first inspiration that got you motivated?

BARBARA MARION: My family are my inspiration.

Training together, spending time together in the Dojang over the years while my sons were growing up has been the most inspirational motivation I can think of.

What better way is there to enjoy the company of my family, than training together everyday in the Dojang? I certainly cannot think of a better way to spend my leisure time.

Which aspects of martial art practice do you most enjoy?

BARBARA MARION: When I am practicing for myself, I enjoy sparring and kicking. However, I find that the majority of the time, I am instructing. When I am instructing, I most enjoy teaching fundamentals to beginners. (Being able to teach a 5 or 6 year old to figure out how to kick a focus pad by turning the hip over and using the top of the foot, particularly if they can accomplish this on the first night, gives me the biggest thrill. I find that I am more often electrified at the end of the class than the kids are.) Like most people, I have a stressful job. Often I will leave the office with stress and muscle tension. I will begin teaching class with the usual warm up. Then I work with the little ones, and all that tension seems to drain away.

What does it take to make a success of martial art practice?

BARBARA MARION: If I were going to answer this question in one word, I would say, “sweat”. But for those of us who practice TKD, we know there are many elements to succeeding at practicing any martial art. In my opinion, hard work and heart are more important that talent. We should always focus on the basics, and be sure that the students have the willingness to prac132 COMBAT WWW.COMBATMAG.CO.UK

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tice them over and over and over again. Stick-to-it-iveness, ability to keep going, keep trying the technique no matter how much difficulty the student is having with it, will make practicing martial arts successful.

of taekwondo, I explain that it is all for only one purpose: “To be a good person.”

What are the main physical requirements for success in your art (flexibility, power etc)?

BARBARA MARION: The answer to that question is very simple, but not so easy to put into play, what with a family, a job, a home, teaching my students and traveling to referee. Practice, practice, practice. It is very difficult for me to find the time to practice for myself.

BARBARA MARION: Good cardiovascular strength is the most important physical requirement. Although power, flexibility, strength, agility, balance are important, the ability to be able to spar for 6 minutes and perhaps 7 matches in a day requires incredible stamina, which comes from the heart.

How do you measure effectiveness in martial arts practice?

Through winning competitions? Through gaining grades?

Through working the door?

BARBARA MARION: Winning competitions is good, but the medal around the neck is just “bells and whistles”. The growth of the student during the competition is more important. Improvement in the student’s grades at school are great and a reasonable measure of success. But when all is said and done, my goal is to provide the path to excellence. That is my club’s motto. When I talk to the students about the practice

How can you improve or develop your techniques further?

What are thoughts on the new emphasis of practicing martial arts?

BARBARA MARION: Practicing of traditional martial arts is for everyone. But earning the responsibility of the black belt is not for everyone. The responsibility of a black belt is huge. Sometimes we overlook what it really takes to be a black belt. We must ensure that we instill in our students that once they earn that black belt, they are a weapon, and must behave accordingly.

They must not only remember, but live by the tenants that we all espouse to: courtesy, integrity, self control, perseverance, indomitable spirit; plus two more to live by: loyalty and honour.

On the other hand practicing the sport of a martial art is geared more for the youth. The inclusion of the

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BARBARA MARION: I think that patterns are an important part of TKD, but not the heart of TKD. I believe that modern TKD has developed into two streams: martial art and sport. Patterns have a value in the sport stream, but are far more important to the martial art stream. Are patterns the heart of TKD as a martial art? I don’t think so. There is so much to practice within the martial art. Fundamental skills such as stances, blocking, striking, balance, flexibility, and more complex skills of self defense, mediation, breaking, kicking, demonstration techniques, inner spirit, and confidence skills, and the list goes on and on. It can be said that patterns utilize and exhibit many of these skills, but in my humble opinion, patterns are not the heart of TKD.

Biodata in Taekwondo/Martial Arts acheivements and acalades?

sport of taekwondo in the Olympic Games has precipitated its greater popularity in terms of number of parishioners world wide. Now, this is not to say that all ages cannot practice taekwondo as a sport. This is not the case at all. I consider myself, even at my age, more of a sport taekwondoist. But I don’t fool myself.

To play the game effectively, youth is a prime advantage. Consequently, the focus of the practice is far different. Speed, power, flexibility, agility, stamina, tactical game management and many more, are the subject of a sport taekwondoists practice.

Do you believe that patterns are the heart of TKD?

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BARBARA MARION: Since I began taekwondo relatively late in life, I was too smart to spar with the provincial and national athletes (I like my nose where it is), I have sparred at the local level only. I had lots of success over the years, and still compete locally from time to time. However, it made sense for me to become a referee, so I started my career in 1998. I was fortunate to have moved through the ranks very quickly and became an International Referee in 2002.

As luck would have it, I was selected for the World Championships in 2003 in Germany. More luck was on my side that week, when I refereed the male flyweight final. Not only that, it was on my birthday. That evening, I was carried around the restaurant on the shoulders of the IR’s from South America and Mexico and had Happy Birthday sung to me in seven different languages. What an amazing day! Since then, I have refereed at over 35 international events in 21 countries, so far, and hopefully many more to follow. I have also been fortunate to have been selected to referee at the 2004 Asian Olympic Qualification tournament in Bangkok, Thailand; 2006 Pan American Taekwondo Union (PATU) Championships in Buenos Aires, Argentina where I received a Best Referee award; 2007 PATU Junior Championships in Daytona, USA, 2008 World Junior Championships in Izmir, Turkey; 2008 World Military Championships in Seoul, Korea; 2009 World Para Taekwondo and World Cup Team Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan where I received a Best Referee award.

I recently attended the 16th Foreign Instructor’s Course at the Kukkiwon. I have visited the Kukkiwon a couple of times in the past, but this was the first time that I have trained there. I just admit that it was almost a religious experience, walking onto the Kukkiwon floor and seeing the Canadian flag among a few National flags suspended from the ceiling, wearing my dobuk and anticipating be taught by some of the most well known and accomplished Taekwondoists in the world.

After years of studying martial arts at home, training at the Kukkiwon as an entirely new experience. When the course was completed, I was honored to have received a commendation from the Kukkiwon. Fifteen years ago, I would never have thought that I would be

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seeing the world, learning so much about this great martial art sport, learning about other cultures and people’s, and making lifelong friends around the world.

Having refereed so much, you must have seen some very exciting matches. Tell us about some interesting referee moments.

BARBARA MARION: Well, the fly weight final in the 2003 World Championship was very exciting. That particular match as been declared by the Mookas (Taekwon.net) website as being number 5 of the Top 5 Taekwondo Matches of all time. I have been accused of having taken a bribe, and I have had my life threatened by a coach, who later apologized when I saw him 5 months later. On the flipside, I’ve also been told by many coaches that I know and catch all the tricks and won’t let anyone away with them. I don’t about “knowing all the tricks”, but I will always do my best to ensure that the rules are followed.

What do you think about the use of Electronic Body Protector (EBP) and Video Replay (VR)?

BARBARA MARION: I have both refereed and worn two different brands of EBP, so far. Neither technology is perfect yet, but personally, I really like the use of the EBP. Its use is revolutionizing the game, both the way the athletes are playing and the way the game is officiated. I have used video replay at one event, the World Cup. I must admit that before the game, I was apprehensive about its use. But I was pleasantly surprised.

It does take some getting accustomed to, but really only a bit of additional time is required for a game. Both the EBP and VR are technologically advancing the way referees officiate the sport of taekwondo. Personally, I like the fact that we are using both of them.

What personal ambitions do you have?

BARBARA MARION: My personal goals are simple. I want to continue to be able to spiritually and physically practice taekwondo for as long as I’m on the planet. I want to continue to learn about the art and the sport by seeking knowledge whenever and wherever I can. Of course finances and available time will be the dictating factor.

I have twice been selected to go through the Olympic Referee selection process, both times I have been unsuccessful. As with most every other IR in the world (I suspect), I would like to referee at the Olympic Games.

Fact Box a) b) c) d) e)

What’s your favourite colour? Blue What’s your favourite food? Yogurt What’s your favourite film? Dances with Wolves What’s your favourite music? Pop What are you currently reading?

Nothing at the moment, but just finished “Pillars of the Earth” by Ken Follett f) What’s your favourite technique? Spin hook kick g) What’s your favourite pattern? Sipjin

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WTF Taekwondo For ALL!

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For the first time ever, I am offering my services to any WTF Taekwondo If you would like to hold courses with Master Tony Vohra

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● Would YOU like to train with the UK’s most senior WTF graded exponent? ● Are you looking to study WTF style Taekwondo without getting involved in politics? ● Are you looking to grade up to Kukkiwon 7th dan kup and dan Certification? ● Would you like to receive help and advice without losing your independence? ● Are you looking to have your current grade acknowledged by Kukkiwon? ● Available for; Gradings, Courses, Seminars, Presentations, Training camps, Referees courses for Poomsae & Kyorugi, Advice, Help and Support. ● Also available; Summer school camps for the UK and abroard.

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UKTDC National

Championships 2010 The UKTDC recently staged their successful inaugural National sparring championships at the Urmston Leisure centre in Manchester. The event was specifically targeted at the Junior and Senior categories and a National childrens competition will follow later in the year.

The event drew competitors from the wide UK Spectrum of WTF practising organisations which would include UKTDC, BTCB, AMA, ITA, and Independents once again demonstrating that the UKTDC have no barriers when it comes to participation.

With 80% of the participants being black belts it ensured a very high class competition with several international players in attendance as well as a host of high calibre and up and coming future Taekwondo stars, teams participating which included, Manchester Sport, Ilgi, Ilyo Kwan, Baekho, DKPL, Han Wong TKD, Cumbria TKD, St Helens TKD, NWTA. The event was run using the electronic ringmaster systems and was judged by qualified judges and refereed in the main part by WTF International referees again demonstrating a high class WTF Taekwondo event. Mater Keith Evans one of the countries most high profile International referees and the referee director for the ITU and UKTDC commented “ I was really pleased with the quality of the scoring by the corner judges who didn’t miss a thing” this was also echoed by several coaches The event began on time at the stated time of 10.00 following the weigh in, coaches briefing, and welcome. These were conducted by UKTDC Chairman Mr Nigel Hudson, referee director Keith Evans and competition host Mr Mark Richardson. In his opening speech Master Richardson, one of the UKs most respected coaches, confirmed that this type of event is where the talent of tomorrow is identified and skills are learned on all levels, all matches would be 2 x 2 minutes with 1 min rest.

With some great fights ahead, the day began with some Junior bouts which saw wins for T Harrison over Feya Matis, C Young over D Martin, and then Kaya Bowden (Manchester) over Rosie Walford (Ilgi) with Kaya showing great Taekwondo skills to score with 3 solid headshots, however Rosie showed great tenacity and toughness by being unfazed and continuing to attack, alas the deficit was too great and Kaya took the match by a big points gap.

Daley Richardson (Manchester) once again proved his pedigree as an international player defeating Ahmad Biluee (Ilyo) in the -87kg division final who withdrew with a broken arm sustained in this tough fight. Daley’s sister Daryl would also show the same pedigree to take gold in her category.

Noteable fights: It was evident that the new WTF rules on the giving of higher points for head shots certainly seems to be having the desired effect with far more

head shots and spinning kicks thrown (and scoring) really adding to the spectators enjoyment of the event.

With the finals concluded, the day was finished at 4.00pm.

The UKTDC Technical Director Master Craig Waddington presented the awards to the medallists before the team trophies were awarded.... before the final results the UKTDC Chairman Mr Hudson thanked all officials for their tireless efforts and presented special awards to judges from, UKTDC, BTCB, and Independent and also to the days senior referee Master Keith Evans.

The final team placing (top 5) were as follows: 1. DKPL Taekwondo 2. Manchester Sport 3. Ilyo Kwan 4. Ilgi 5. Baekho For further details about joining the UKTDC this progressive WTF Body in the UK please call 01695 724603 or visit www.uktdc.org.uk

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British Taekwondo

& Mudo Academy A new way of thinking Master Simon Green was recently elected as the 3rd president of the BTMA by a unanimous vote. Simon takes over the reins from former president Master Ron Brennan who previously held the position. Simon would like to thank him for all his hard work over the years and looks forward to continuing to work with him. Master David Sutherill was the 1st president and was appointed by Grand Master Kim Yong Ho 9th Dan. Master Sutherill was appointed the European technical director for the World Taekwondo and Mudo Academy (WTA).

Mudo meaning “Spirit of the martial art” encompasses all aspects of Taekwondo and was founded by Grand Master Kim to encourage participation and to give everyone the opportunity to take part in every aspect of Taekwondo, not just sparring.

The BTMA now look forward to a new brighter future and hope to get other like minded instructors to join us regardless of taekwondo style or affiliation. We would also like to see some of our old friends return to the fold and form a true multi style Taekwondo academy.

“Over the last few years the BTMA have been very quiet, that’s not to say we have not been around. On the contrary our members have competed around the globe from our home soil here in the UK to the World Mudo Festival in Korea. Success followed; with our competitors winning medals in every discipline of Taekwondo including step sparring, self defence, creative and traditional patterns, destruction and more.

The emphasis with the BTMA and its parent the World Taekwondo and Mudo Academy (WTA) has always been one of participation. We don’t set limits minimum or maximum; every student who wishes can enter a competition at their own level in their chosen disciplines against their own age.

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Taekwondo is for everyone, it should be about participation and enjoyment. Winning an Olympic medal in any sport is a great achievement but only a few choose that path and yet most of the government funding goes to that cause.

The other aspects of Taekwondo may not be as glamorous as the sparring element but these elements are the ones being practiced by the majority of students not just in the UK but across the globe.

They are the people that make Taekwondo what it is today. A vast majority of students are too old, too young or simply born with the wrong genetics for fighting. What is there for them? The BTMA aims to give these students a chance and let them compete in other disciplines at their own level against their own age”... Simon Green

The goal of the BTMA Participate, Promote, Include, Compete * Open our doors fully to everyone who would like to participate and try another way * Include all Taekwondo practitioners at every level regardless of style, age or grade. * Promote a full competition syllabus which is accessible for all Taekwondo regardless of style

Participate The BTMA is moving forward in its quest to increase membership so that more students and instructors of Taekwondo can benefit from the years of experience we have within our ranks and from what others have to offer. Membership to the BTMA can now be as associate or full member regardless of Taekwondo style. Insurance is provided through the British Taekwondo Council, the governing body for Taekwondo in the UK who we will work with closely to ensure high standards of Taekwondo practice expected from the NGB.

Promote Through articles such as this we hope to raise awareness of the BTMA and promote its intentions. We will be actively looking for sponsors who would be interested in backing a national all inclusive Taekwondo championships which would cater for all styles of Taekwondo, ages, grades and disciplines. All profits would be recycled into encouraging children to become more active through Taekwondo and show them that Taekwondo is more than just a sport.

Include The BTMA is not limited to ITF or WTF we welcome any like minded club who would like to try a third way.

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The WTA does have its own set of patterns called Pal Jung Do (8 correct ways) designed to strengthen the body and mind through breathing and application. They were the concept of leading Korean masters such as Kim Yong Ho, Ki ok Kwak and Buddhist monks such as the Venerable Kim Sang Tae. The BTMA would prefer these patterns but is not limited to these patterns and would accept any recognised pattern syllabus.

Compete Over the years we have developed a comprehensive competition syllabus which includes * * * * * *

Traditional Patterns Creative Patterns Step Sparring Self Defence Flying side Kick Four person team events

The rules have been developed with flexibility in mind so any venue can be used safely. The judging system is fair and can be used regardless of the pattern or discipline you are performing again allowing for flexibility in styles of Taekwondo. We will be looking at a ranking system for judges so they too will get rewards they deserve for giving up so much of their time.

Simon Green Simon Green started Taekwondo in the late 80’s gaining his first Dan in 1991 under Grand Master Kim Yong Ho 9th Dan. He has been teaching Taekwondo for almost twenty years most of which were under the guidance of Master Kim. During this time he has had the opportunity to train extensively with Master Kim and also other notable Grand Masters including Buddhist monk Kim Sang Tae Simon qualified first as a gym instructor and then as a community sport leader and went on to work closely with Sport Development officers in his local area teaching multi sports to the local community. While in this role he received two awards from the Lord Mayor of Sheffield for his work and contribution sport and Taekwondo.

After a time spent as the registrar of the BTMA He was appointed as the child protection officer after attending a child protection course with the NSPCC he is also the CPO for other local sports clubs.

He recently opened a full time dojang dedicated to Taekwondo and martial arts education.

Simon is one of two BTMA senior instructors who regularly attend meeting held by the British Taekwondo Council ensuring that all its members are up to date with any legislation or legal requirements.

He is currently the president of the British Taekwondo and Mudo Academy and training towards his 6th Dan. Future of all Taekwondo (my own thoughts) I would like more funding to go into instructor education. It will probably stir up a hornets’ nest and a great deal of debate. Most forms of physical activity involve the instructors first having to lean about exercise physiology before they get experience on the floor. However this is not the case in martial arts.

In martial arts you can earn your black belt on a Sunday and open a club on a Monday without knowing anything about what’s happening to the body while you’re training. Many instructors do have an understanding of physiology but few pass that onto students.

The BTC do run a very good instructor courses which covers health and safety along with child protection.

It doesn’t cover exercise physiology.

A well published scheme to educate instructors will place martial arts in a whole new light, raise awareness amongst parents and potential students and will help to eliminate the “Mc Dojos” which seem to spring up overnight.

For more information please visit: info@sheffieldmudo.co.uk Simon Green standing next to Kim Sang Tae Far left with Kim Yong Ho second from right

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ITS Fight Night in Scotland

The first Independent Taekwondo Schools (ITS) Fight Night of 2010 recently took place, in Glenrothes, Scotland and was hosted by Fife Taekwondo Group. With the ITS only expanding into Scotland in 2009 this was the first official ITS event to be held in Scotland and what an exciting event it turned out to be.

The format for the event is a number of one on one semi-contact points sparring matches. The event is a spectator focused event with only one match taking place on the main ring at any one time. Previous events have always proved to be exciting and dramatic events with some excellent match-ups taking place and this Fife hosted one certainly continued in this vein.

The spectator allocation of the large venue was sold out on the runup to the event which provided an electric atmosphere from the capacity crowd. The event was supported from many Independent Schools within the ITS such as Verve Taekwondo, Cobras Taekwondo, Endurance Martial arts, London China Town Taekwondo, Dynamic Taekwondo amongst others, which provided no fewer than 32 Fights on the main ring area.

The night started with a welcome and introduction from the event organiser and Scotland Team captain, Ross Fisher where it was

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clear from the start that all of the crowd and competitors were well up for the event.

The action started well with some strong fights from the junior division.

All of the juniors seemed to thrive under the attention of the large crowd with plenty impressive kicking techniques on display. The junior division finished with a team event between the local Fife Taekwondo Group team taking on the junior Verve Taekwondo team.

The fights were relatively close which saw the Fife team holding the more experienced Verve team to 2-2 with the final match between Fife’s Kieran Johnstone and Verve’s Aidan Whitehouse deciding the outcome.

Both junior fighters put on an excellent display which resulted in Verve coming out on top with the final kick of the match with Aidan winning the match 10 - 8.

The adult division continued the fast paced action with a large variety of fighters and fighting styles taking to the ring.

The night saw a good win in the lower grade divisions for London China Town’s Chris Cullinane against Fife’s Kenny Stewart in what proved to be a hard hitting and difficult fight for both of the heavy weight competitors.

The action continued and progressed with a 3-way fight between 3 very good black-belt females, Elaine Patrick of Fife, Laura Jones of Cobra’s and Dynamic’s Emma Dorrell. This match was very tight between the 3 female fighters, which following some fast-paced kicking and excellent combination techniques finally saw Laura Jones claiming victory against the other 2 competitors.

The Main Event of the evening saw an International Team match-up taking place between Scotland and England. The greater experience and kicking ability of Team England saw them winning the first three fights in what were generally quite close match-ups. The 3rd match saw England’s Carl Trevitt putting on an excellent display of semi-contact

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sparring with good kicking, punching and timing putting him well ahead of Scotlandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Allan Roy on points.

With all seemingly lost, Scotlandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Paddy Paterson put on a good, solid display soundly beating Mark Adams of England and giving the Scotland team a glimmer of hope.

The final match-up of the event saw England Captain, Matt Cartwright taking on Scotland Captain Ross Fisher. With the atmosphere within the venue absolutely rocking, the two fighters competed and after an extremely close fight, which resulted in 2 draws, Ross Fisher notched up a second win for Scotland winning by a solitary point.

This resulted in a good and hard fought win for team England who won on overall points.

For more I.T.S. events check out www.its-taekwondo.co.uk or the Fife group www.fifetkd.com

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Welcome to...

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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 ama/wako listings of over 13,000 instructors/clubs on the web, type: www.bt.com/thephonebook then in ‘business’ type: martial arts and town

Contact: WAKO, 66 Chaddesden Lane, Chaddesden, Derby, DE21 6LP Tel: 07973 507716 / 01332 663086 (after 6pm and weekends) or Fax: 01332 280286 Email: info@wakogb.co.uk WAK001/24

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Films Bruce Lee Enter The Dragon two discs special edition Version 18 certificate ..............................................£12.99 The ultimate Bourne collection: The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy The Bourne Ultimatum. All three films for....................................£14.99 David Carradine Kung Fu the complete First Series ..........................£13.99 Kung Fu The Complete Second Series ..................£13.99 Black Belt Jones 2 Kung Fu film................................£3.99

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