The group is now very strong and the level very high. We had some great people there so that everyone learnt from each other as well as from the instruction I gave them.  Regulars included Tony Ligorio, Lele Tandurella, Allesandro Tavanti, Michael Schmidt and his father Herbert. The senior side of things was well represented even though this is a two day fighting course with lots of sparring. Alex ‘Judo’Livingstone who was great, still training hard for two days at the age of 61, Herbert Schmidt who’s almost that age and Luciano Manzi to name just a few. Luciano is one of the corner stones of BIG and has helped it prosper over the years. Other seniors like Steve Martin, Ben Richardson and Barry Harte were joined by club members and old hands like Nigel Rowlands and Steve Butler and Nick Rees. In truth we had too many people to name everyone but we’ll be setting up a facebook page so we can more easily post things on the BIG project. Thanks to all those who came. I had great fun. See you in May.

As usual we’ll be taking a unique look at combat in general and how the classical techniques of JKD and Kali  relate  to and exemplify these same principles. It’s a case of’  less is more’  plus you’ll be learning to flow. Not just practicing esoteric martial knowledge but keys to functionality and a way to simplify your fighting. We’ll use the same principles throughout the two days whether it’s empty hands, knife or stick. That way you embrace the BIG concepts into the core of your being. We have many champions who regularly attend and they all attest to how it’s taught them how to think and changed their complete approach to martial arts. Join the group. Elite training for normal people. See you there.

Watching an Instructor friend spar the other day his experience was obvious. He did little but stop kick his opponent. The other guy was trying everything but badly needed coaching to make him more thoughtful and more strategic. My friend Matt had great alignment with his body focused behind his lead leg. In Karate they’d call it a cat stance but in Thai you just post on the back leg and let them come in. When the stop kick worked well he followed up with another kick or stepped forwards (into front stance) and used his hands before retreating to his back stance again and repeating the same formula. His opponent a good level Black belt fighter was too square. Anything coming could be seen more easily coming as it did from the corners and intersected with the centre line foot jab. If you do this low to the shin or thigh and then to the stomach / hip or face it’s very hard to handle. In many ways it’s pure JKD. Controlling the centre line. Using the closest tool to the closest target. Then moving in to jam with a raised leg if you aren’t fast enough.

Many inexperienced fighters want to do lots and get big rewards. In the process they take big risks and get chipped away at by the experienced guy. To improve your fighting just being aware how much distance you can create WITHIN your stance without moving is a good place to start. It’s classic ‘do less and be more’. Obviously, sometimes you’ve got to move your whole position backwards or forwards but the principle still endures. Once you’ve got this down also concentrate on alignment so that your body is focused behind the tool you are using whether jab or foot jab. Have the foot aimed at his centre. When that’s working you can throw in the big guns but you have to set your opponent up. Just swinging away is like the lottery. Sometimes you win big but most times you lose. The best way to work this is slow sparring concentrating on just this working from the front of your stance when boxing to the back stance to either crush or foot jab/ stop kick. It’s a case of now I’m here and then now I’m not. Just playing the distance inherent in your stance will pay dividends. Once he’s all over the place from your foot jab then you can play what games you like. His confidence is shot. Good sparring.

Over the years, probably more than any other single instructor, I’ve had the opportunity to train people who have gone on to be some of Europe’s leading instructors. Why don’t you take the opportunity to leverage your training, and maybe your life, with an alternative income stream, doing something you love. See you there.

SPACe Sports centre. Falkirk St N1. Saturday 6th and Sunday 7th March 11.00 until 4.00

Lauding leverage as I am doesn’t mean that strength isn’t to be sought after and used. It’s great to have strength and conditioning but these are easier for everyone else to also attain. The downside is it requires hard training and lasts only as long as you keep up the conditioning and strength programme. Training with strong people you realise that they don’t use half of their potential because generally they can power their way against less strong or less big opponents. I’ve been working with a number of large strong opponents lately and we’ve been sharing our experience. They’ve blasted through some of my tricks and I’ve been showing them how they can be stronger and make their techniques more painful by just focusing on improving the leverage of their techniques.

Initially this can just be making the lever arm of the technique longer. Think of an arm bar where you’re grabbing the wrist then move it up an inch or so towards the hand and you’ve almost doubled the force. Similarly use the whole of your body to put on locks not your arms. Standing arm wrenches and arm bars are much more effective when you rotate the whole body and on the ground using the hips and legs to do the work rather than the arms turns you into a superman. Even hitting or kicking I see people just hitting with their arms or legs and not their body as a unit plus not using gravity to help. Think of gravity as free bonus leverage points

There’s also lots you can do by hitting at the leverage sweet spot where you get the most power. (Think of a tennis player on his serve and you’ll know the sort of place) Distance makes a big difference as your lever arm is longer as does bringing more levers to bear on the problem. When using arm bars it’s also important to use the fulcrum well. Many people have a sort of blurred fulcrum using all of their chest to do a two on one instead of focusing your power on his joint by rotating and making the shoulder a sharp fulcrum. Where you put the fulcrum in relation to his joint is also hugely important. Do it in the wrong place and he can counter or power out of it. Do it right and it’s like turning on an electric light it’s so fast, and painful too.

You can see that it’s not more technique that’s important but understanding how to get the most out of what your doing. Above all look at, and polish, everything you do to see if you can make your levers more effective. If you have to work hard or use lots of effort thats not it. Feel the grain in the wood and go with that, not against it. Going with the flow is leverage in another way. You’re leveraging the moment. This approach makes training very Zen like. Is this easy? No but that’s the art.

Sometimes you have to have it done on you or be shown the way to appreciate how great it is when done well, but once shown you have to do your own research. When you can, use leverage principles in other areas of your life. Where can you get the most for the least effort?  Above all don’t beat yourself up about any of this the most important thing is to enjoy your training and enjoy it’s ebb and flow. Like all arts, it only takes a lifetime!

The people at SPACe are trying to remedy the situation and I’ll keep you up to date with all I know. We expect to be there teaching Thursday so see you there. Phone beforehand if you need to or check the website where I’ll post the latest update.

Once again accept our apologies though it’s nothing to do with us.  However, we’ve decided that as a way of compensating for your wasted time  members can come to any one of this years one day seminar for FREE. See the events page for details.

Now that eighties zeal is definitely back. It’s like the old days again, everything tested and slimmed down for action. The aim of our training is for you to understand both the technique and the concept plus the soft skills like timing and distance. It’s about less is more. Then once you’ve got the core stuff down and can use it the other stuff just slides in easily. Of course you have to train that stuff hard too so we squeeze as much into a session as we can. Instructor Neil Mcleod one of the Academy’s seniors often says. ‘ self protection then self perfection’ so that’s the path.

People often ask if I teach the complete Inosanto-lacoste system and I”d have to say not exactly. I’ve studied that system for thirty years and love it but what i teach is my own blend based around what I’ve learnt in forty plus years of training plus what works and also what I like doing. Being crippled for all of the nineties forged me and what i do. When you’re like that there’s no way you can do everything. You start to analyse and look at how to simplify and make functional. You look at ways to leverage your body to the maximum. As a result what I teach is a unique blend. With new titanium hips I’m a lover of movement and evasion but the close quarter stuff I learnt in that fifteen years is hard wired. I Love to pass this on to others. Whilst I didn’t like the constant pain I learnt lots about both myself and about technique and position. When you’ve got less you use it more wisely. At the moment I teach a blend based around Filipino martial arts but it’s got hints of Karate (the discipline, work ethic and perfectionism ) its got the flow and realness of Filipino styles, some of the structure of Lee’s Jun fan gung fu, the grit, grind and subtlety of boxing and Thai boxing. In many ways it’s true JKD,  the original MMA. Not sport based but where sport, reality and art meet.

Is it the best? As my friend Andy Norman of KFM would say ‘it is what it is’. It’s been my pleasure over the years to have played a formative part in the development of many of the leading instructors in the U.K and  throughout Europe. Did I teach them everything? Of course not. Hopefully what I did teach them is how to think and look and to train hard and cleverly. This is what I continue to try to do now. I try to keep the bar high so that people excel. Our grading system is organised so by the time you’re black belt you have an INTEGRATED knowledge of all areas. I often get called the grandfather of JKD or Kali but these terms were originated by others. Basically I just did my work. The Tao Te ching the chinese classic says’ to do your work and make no ado.’  So that’s what we’re trying to do . Our work should be our greatest promotional tool.

My thanks to my good friends David O, Carl and Gordon and Winston who share the load with me and to all our old friends out there flying the flag even though not currently training. In particular Pat O’Malley who unlike me seems to relish forums.

There will be grading focused classes on Monday Tuesday and Thursday. I want everyone to grade but only when they are ready. Gradings are a good way of marking progress and covering different techniques and concepts.  If you don’t feel you are ready that’s o.k you can take the grade at a later date. Conversely, if  I don’t think you are ready I’ll let you know. It’s important that the clubs standards are high not that you grade within a certain time. For a great day we’ll be happy to help you match up with a suitable grading partner.

Current downloadable syllabus on grading page.

Fighting and music have lots of parallels so I always sort of cross train by listening intently. It’s all art. I’ve been listening to lots of Scarlatti classical minor key piano music lately and he does the same JKD thing there. A simple theme then just variation after variation showing how much he knows his stuff. Modulating through subtle changes. Sonny Rollins the jazz saxophone player does the same thing on ’saxophone collossus’. Check them out if you’re into that sort of music. The thing with JKD is to realise it’s not about more but about deeper. Surprisingly, then you get more.  Do less and be more-how strange is that.