Issue 19

DANIEL LAMMIN
4TH DEGREE TAEKWON-DO
EDITOR
RICHARD POTTER
3RD DEGREE TAEKWON-DO
ASSISTANT EDITOR
It’s an exciting time to be involved with P.U.M.A.. Since the last issue we’ve rolled around in mud at kickboxing camp. We’ve
been treated to a seminar with Judo legend Mr Neil Adams, a World Champion, two time Olympic Silver medallist and true
gentleman, who was also kind enough to grant us an exclusive interview (turn to page four). On top of that Bill Kipp, the
original F.A.S.T. Defence Bulletman, kindly flew over from The States to scare us silly.
To honour Mr John Black’s astounding 35 years embroiled in Martial Arts around the globe, a testimonial four nations fight
night was staged in Exeter. Teams from England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland wowed the audience of over six hundred
people with some spectacular sparring. In addition to this there were numerous demonstrations including freestyle weapons
and traditional patterns.
As if all of this wasn’t enough, there’s still plenty to look forward to during the summer months. Probably the highlight will be
the International Taekwon-Do Federation World Championships (Seniors and Juniors), which are to be staged at the National
Indoor Arena in Birmingham during the first week of August. With over thirty countries from six continents already having
registered this promises to one of (if not the) biggest World Championships in ITF history. Team UK will be looking to build
further on the success of the junior team in Australia last year and the P.U.M.A. members making up a large part of the squad
need your support! Visit the official World Championships web site www.itfworldchampionships.com for full details including
ticket information or speak to your instructor, who will be happy to tell you more. What’s going to happen? We will of course
tell all in the next issue but quite frankly you’d be a fool not to pop up to witness the spectacle for yourself, and why not treat
yourself to a traditional Birmingham balti while you’re up there? It will be many years before the World Championships come
back to this country and so don’t miss out on the opportunity to see the world’s best on your very own doorstep!
After all that excitement you’ll all be needing a holiday so why not head down to Croyde Bay for the usual shenanigans on the
beach at summer camp? Don’t miss this opportunity to train with P.U.M.A.’s senior grades, relax and meet new friends. If
you’re too young for that then never fear, why not try kids’ camp at the beginning of September? Book your places now, either
through your instructor or by downloading an application form from the summer camps page on the P.U.M.A. web site.
As for this issue of the magazine… you know how it is with articles from about Ghana, you wait seven issues and then two
come along at once. Our Chairman Master Gayle has just returned from his second visit as the country celebrated its fiftieth
anniversary of independence with, amongst other things, a Europe versus West Africa tournament. Dik Chance stages a
triumphant return to these pages with his thoughts on road rage and our second round of Mr Black’s anecdotes covers his
martial arts training experiences in Hong Kong. Plus of course there’s all the regular features.
Stay busy over the summer and we’ll chat again in September...
What's Inside
Editorial
2
What are they on about exactly?
Interview: Neil Adams MBE
4
We get to interview an Olympian: possibly Britain’s greatest judoka.
Road Rage
6
So whose fault’s that then?
Master Gayle Goes To Ghana
8
A nice bit of international relations.
Random Stuff
10
Well would you call it a letters page?
FAST Defence
11
Catching on FAST - booking a session
Tales From The Black Side
12
Anecdotes from Mr John Black. Part 2: Hong Kong training
Fight Night 2007
14
This year: a special commemoration
Winter Kickboxing Camp
16
Mud. It’s great.
Child Protection
19
The vexed matter of winning.
Health And Fitness
20
Competition nutrition - eat and win.
Kickboxing
22
Ring craft : beating your opponent.
Taekwon-Do
24
Basic kicks dissected.
Kids Corner
27
It’s not for grown-ups.
The Team
Editor
Mr Daniel Lammin
Assistant Editor
Mr Richard Potter
Contributors
Mr Dik Chance, Mr John Black, Ms Wendy McColl, Mr Malcolm Jones, Mr Kevin McCabe, Miss
Kim Stokes Mr Neil Adams, Mr Daniel Lammin, Mr Richard Potter, Mr Steven Luker, Mr Ian Bedborough, Miss Louise Reeve, Master
Ray Gayle, Mr John Francis, Mr Andre Edwards, Mrs Jo Walker, Mr Mark Dean, Dr Matthew Lloyd, Ms Rebecca Fort.
Email
magazine@puma-uk.com
Planet P.U.M.A. is published quarterly. For letters or article proposals please contact the editorial team at the email address above. To
locate your local club or for further information about P.U.M.A. please visit the official website at www.puma-uk.com or call the
P.U.M.A. hotline on 0845 600 1967.
This magazine is copyright 2007 The Professional Unification of Martial Arts Ltd. All individual articles are the copyright of their
respective authors. Opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of P.U.M.A.. Unauthorised
reproduction is prohibited.
Neil Adams MBE
Neil Adams is a revered Judoka and a true legend
within the world of Judo. As well as winning silver
medals at the 1980 and 1984 Olympic games he was
the first person from outside of Japan to be crowned
World Champion. Back in February he gave a seminar
for P.U.M.A. members in Yate which covered various
aspects of Judo including grappling and groundwork.
As all of those who attended will attest, it was a
fantastic honour to train with someone of Mr Adams’s
reputation and a somewhat humbling experience.
After the whirlwind of tripping, throwing and grappling
Daniel Lammin took the opportunity to interview the
man himself...
Neil Adams (right) with Daniel Lammin
(not right)
What age were you when you first started training in
Judo and how did you come to take it up?
I was around seven years old when I first started training. My
father was a Judoka and he took my brother, my mother and
myself along to a small club and it all really started from
there. We were a Judo family from a young age.
considerably. Do you feel it has improved as a result of
the way it has evolved?
No, personally I don’t, but it has changed big time. The
biggest changes came as a result of the collapse of the iron
curtain which meant a large number of former Russian
states competing individually. They have a strong
background in wrestling and this style has been incorporated
into both World and European Championships. Whilst Judo
is still based around the more upright traditional Japanese
and Korean styles the Russian styles have proved very
effective in competition and so from both an attacking and
defensive point of view Judo has had to evolve to combat
the Russian style of competitors.
What grade was your father at that time?
My father was a second degree black belt, a fantastic coach
and a big influence on me during my early training. My
mother was also instrumental in my progression due to the
massive amount of support that she gave me. In 1975 I
moved to London which is where I was based during the
period that I was competing internationally.
You competed at the highest level for a number of years
and enjoyed a massive amount of success during that
time. What were your personal highs and lows?
So have the actual rules changed or is it just that
competitors have started using different styles and
techniques?
Winning the World and European championships was
fantastic, the European championships is always a really
hard event as Judo is very strong throughout Europe. My
biggest disappointments were the two Olympic silver medals.
On both occasions I went in as a strong favourite but it just
goes to show that in sport there is no such thing as a dead
cert.
Like the majority of sports the rules are constantly being
tweaked: they’ll change the timings of matches or they’ll
change the perimeters/areas or individual rules. The thing is
that the combination of these things along with the opposing
styles can change the context of a match. I think that a lot
of rule changes and a lot of what has happened is down to
interpretation and how the referees and judges determine
what is happening in the game of play. It’s got to the point
now that it has evolved so much that I’m sure that most top
level competitors now have a better understanding of things
than many of the judges.
Within P.U.M.A. we have a large number of fighters who
compete at the highest levels, including current and
former world champions. Whilst Taekwon-Do, Tang
Soo-Do and Kickboxing are very different to Judo what
traits do you feel competitors require to make it to the
top and what advice would you give to anyone
interested in competing at the highest levels?
Yourself and fellow Judoka Brian Jacks appeared on the
BBC TV series Superstars. How did you find this and
do you feel that it boosted the profile of Judo within this
country?
Dedication and hard work! The level of natural ability that a
person has is something that they are born with but it can
only get them so far. So often you see talented people who
fail to make the most of their natural ability and then there
are those with less natural ability but a fantastic work ethic. A
person can have all the natural ability in the world but it is
hard work that will get them to the top.
Getting the chance to do Superstars was fantastic and our
participation definitely helped to boost the profile of Judo in
this country. As I’m sure that you find within P.U.M.A., it’s
always hard to raise the profile of so called minority sports.
We currently have some fantastic British Judo players
competing at the highest levels but I’d imagine that very few
You’ve obviously been involved in Judo for a long time
now over which period I would imagine that it’s changed
4
Mr Adams and various P.U.M.A. black belts in the seminar’s aftermath.
people outside of Judo circles would be able to name any of
them. Getting the chance to publicise your sport whether it
be through a TV show like Superstars or in any other way
can only help increase recognition.
many people arguing that traditional striking arts aren’t
that effective in real world situations. I believe that
you’ve worked with Geoff Thompson among others,
what do you feel Judo brings to this area of training?
As well as Judo I believe that you have been involved in
coaching a number of mixed martial artists?
I think the big thing that Judo gives is that it can teach
people how to deal with a situation when it gets to very close
quarters. If someone is trying to hit you then they’re probably
not going to be that comfortable once they get too close to
do so. I feel that can help not only in terms of submission
holds and locks but more importantly it teaches you how to
control an opponent or aggressor. Obviously in a real
situation if you get hit hard then you’re going to be in trouble
but hopefully Judo can help maximise your chances of
avoiding this outcome.
I’ve done a lot in that area, yes. When they come to me
they’re generally keen to learn about ground work but also
the transition from upright to the ground. Whereas it used to
be very much the strikers against the grapplers/submission
wrestlers they’re now having to get a far better knowledge of
all aspects in order to be able to compete effectively. I’ve
worked with a large number including the Gracies and the
Machcados amongst others.
In addition to your heavy involvement in Judo I believe
that you have a number of other business interests
including a health club, corporate health and
motivational speaking. How did you come to get
involved these other areas?
Leading on from that have you ever cross-trained at all?
No, I haven’t. I probably would have 20 years ago but the
dedication required to compete/coach at the highest levels is
immense and it becomes all consuming. I was so committed
to my Judo training that I never had really had the time to do
anything else.
I’m the sort of person who is always looking for new
challenges and not one for sitting around doing nothing or
standing still. The motivational speaking for example is great
as it’s given me the chance to meet all sorts of people from
different walks of life, including young offenders. I’ve
obviously had a lot of experiences (ups and downs) in my life
and the thought that they may be able to help give people
such as young offenders motivation is very rewarding.
Reality based self defence is very big these days with
Finally, given the length of time that you have been
involved in Judo and your many achievements, what
now motivates you and how do you maintain your
obvious enthusiasm?
I consider myself to be very lucky in that I have a job that I
enjoy, which obviously helps. I don’t think anything ever has
or will give me the same feeling that I used to get when
competing but I’ve changed over time and now look for other
things. The main thing for me now is to have an open mind
and keep looking for new challenges.
It’s been a pleasure to speak to you and I’d like to take
this chance to thank you on behalf of P.U.M.A. for the
recent seminars and also for giving up your time to talk
to us today.
Our editor gets to meet the legend.
5
Road rage is a comparatively modern phenomenon. Virtually everyone reading this article will have been the victim of it at one time or
another. What might be more difficult to admit to is that you’re probably also guilty of causing it or actually doing it yourself. At its most
basic it can be an exchange of words or gestures, quickly forgotten. At its worst, it has been the cause of serious assault and even
murder. Think about this though: can you actually predict the outcome before you start? Can you be sure that that person you’re
about to swear at won’t follow you home and hurt you badly?
It takes two to cause an incident. If you follow the basic principles of self-protection, you can perhaps look at this in a different way.
One of the basic principles of awareness is to know yourself, your enemy and your environment. In this case, the enemy is the causes
of road rage. There are a number of documented causes. Things like road overcrowding are interesting, as researchers believe it is
triggering a territorial nature in us. This is a very primitive instinct, very akin to fight or flight.
We are all cocooned in our protective metal shells. This gives a sense of safety and security which allows you believe you can do or
say things with impunity. Road rage has also been linked to low blood sugar. People returning home at the end of the working day,
having not eaten since lunch, are often more inclined to commit acts of rage.
There are a number of driving triggers that you can commit that will often cause road rage in others. Ask yourself honestly if you ever
do any of the following. If you do, you are committing the driving equivalent of saying ‘come and have a go if you think you’re hard
enough’. Do you ever:
Speed?
Tailgate other drivers?
Use your mobile phone?
Flash your lights or sound your horn to let others know you’re annoyed?
Shout abuse or talk to other drivers (even if they can’t hear)?
Weave in and out of traffic to get to your destination faster?
Have the opinion that you need to do something to ‘teach that driver a
lesson’?
Drive up the outside and cut into a line of traffic?
Stay in your car.
Move your car up to stop others from getting in? (I’ve done this one).
Jam on your brakes to show the person behind they are too close?
All of the above.
How many of those did you answer yes to? Are you letting your own ego put you in
danger?
Avoiding trouble is a skill that most martial artists have developed. Training in selfprotection, we spend a lot of time looking at avoidance strategies: the ability to look
like a hard target, how not to give out those signals that say “victim”, how not to
antagonise people.
So, if road rage is such a big threat, why are we not taking similar steps? Look at the
list above. If you are participating in any of those activities, you are part of the
problem. If you are serious about self-protection, you cannot neglect this area.
Overcrowding on the road is a known
cause.
Start practicing avoidance strategies. Get control of the knee jerk anger reactions that
come in these situations. Be alert and aware. Try to relax and avoid retaliating to
other drivers’ mistakes. They could be genuine, they could be deliberate. They could
just be driving like a wally.
Start driving like a hard target and avoid those triggers. Try to drive with a positive
attitude. Watch out for the music you are listening too. This can raise your stress
levels. Give yourself plenty of time to reach your destination to avoid the stress that
comes with rushing. Practice forgiveness and tolerance (yeah I know that’s
sometimes easier said than done). Remember, it’s not your job to educate the people
driving like idiots. Try to leave plenty of space between you and the vehicle in front,
so that neither you nor he feels crowded.
6
Phone the police and make lots of
noise.
It’s as violent and dangerous as
any drink fuelled argument
outside the pub.
Make sure you can always see
all of the back wheels of the car
in front.
Car parks: one of the new
battlegrounds.
There’s no one-stop answer as each situation is different.
However, there is some very good, standard advice that you
can follow.
In self-protection terms, escape strategies involve making a
discreet getaway at the earliest signs of trouble. They also
encompass things like defusing, de-escalation and loop holing
(giving someone the way out).
Responses are usually more physical. This is the area that you
really want to avoid in these types of situation. In the road arena
there are a couple of things to bear in mind. We are making the
assumption that you are now the victim of road rage. Your
avoidance strategy has failed and something has been triggered
into happening. This may be a simple as somebody making
gestures towards you. It may have immediately escalated into
someone approaching your stationary car or trying to run you off
the road.
In the early stages of an incident (if the other driver is in their
car and/or you are in motion), avoid eye contact.
Your car is an excellent fence. There are virtually no
situations where you are better off outside. However, always
try to ensure that you can fully see the rear wheels of the car
in-front. This will usually give you the ability to manoeuvre
around them.
Don’t be afraid to say ‘Sorry’ if you are approached, even if
you are completely in the right. Remember, this is not backing
down (that’s your ego talking). You are loop holing to get out.
Take note of the car make, model, colour, and registration.
Keep your mobile handy and report it to the police. If you
aren’t in immediate danger, ring directory enquiries for the
local police telephone number. If you are in immediate
danger, dial 999.
Don’t assume that road rage is any less serious than a violent
assault outside a pub. If someone is shouting and kicking at
your car, having the police listening and recording on the
other end of the line is an excellent way of proving the case.
Sound your horn and make a scene if someone is threatening
you. Others will hopefully also be phoning the police. Don’t be
tempted outside your car.
If you are followed, drive to somewhere crowded or preferably
to the police station (recognising that you may not know
where it is). Don’t drive home. Call the police and ask for their
advice. They will very likely take this very seriously. Be careful
not to drive recklessly. You will be full of adrenaline which is
not the best recipe for safe, careful driving.
Road rage is here to stay. Overcrowding is only going to get
worse. It’s up to you to start the trend to safer, more
courteous driving. Treat driving like any other self-protection
exercise. Make some plans and do the ‘what-ifs’.
Until next time, stay safe.
Dik Chance trains under Master Ray Gayle (7th Degree) at Yate Taekwon-Do. He also teaches at his
own school at Clifton in Bristol. Dik is an instructor and bulletman in P.U.M.A.’s F.A.S.T. Defence team. He has a keen interest
in reality based self-protection training and combatives, and regularly trains in this area. This training has led him to train with
some of the world’s most influential instructors such as Geoff Thompson, Peter Consterdine, Bill Kipp and Peyton Quinn.
7
“Master Gayle Goes To Ghana”
(again)
Earlier this year Master Gayle travelled to Ghana in West Africa to help the local Taekwon-Do contingent
celebrate their country’s half-century of independence. Find out how they’re getting on...
I had been looking forward to my second trip to Ghana for
some time. My first trip to Ghana was an experience that I shall
never forget but this was going to be different for a number of
reasons. The first reason this was going to be special was that
it was the fiftieth anniversary of the independence of Ghana
and there were going to be huge celebrations throughout the
whole country. Secondly, I was looking forward to the planned
historic tournament between Europe and West Africa. The third
reason was that one of my students, Mr Dave Pixton, was
travelling with me as part of the European team.
the first Ghanaian president, Kwame Nkrumah. We were taken
on a guided tour and learnt all about the president’s philosophy
for his people and country. We also had the chance to see
some rare photographs and artefacts. The Ghanaian people
are very proud of the fact that their country has managed to
stay relatively stable for the past fifty years, something they put
down to Nkrumah’s legacy.
Our second excursion was a fantastic visit to Coco Beach. We
had a lovely day at the beach relaxing in the sun watching
some traditional African dancing and drumming. It was really
hard work but somebody had to do it.
Taekwon-Do in West Africa has had a turbulent ride for some
time. Most of the students in that region of the world have been
introduced to Taekwon-Do through the WTF. Over the years
they have not been given the backup and support needed to be
able to flourish and grow their schools and infrastructure. I had
been asked if I was prepared to give them the backup and
support they needed.
Prior to the tournament we were due to spend some time
teaching, which was something that I was looking forward to
doing. On my first trip to Ghana we had introduced the sine
wave concept to the students so I was anxious to see how
they’d improved and I wasn’t disappointed. Considering that
we’d spent only five days with them last year the change was
During our first few days in Ghana it was evident that the
nothing short of miraculous as they had improved beyond
independence anniversary was a momentous occasion for the
anything that I could’ve imagined. Since first meeting the
Ghanaian people. The capital Accra was completely bathed in a students I had found them extremely friendly and polite, with a
sea of red, yellow and green ribbon, representing the Ghanaian focus and a willingness to learn far beyond anything that I’d
colours; there wasn’t a single corner where the colours were
seen before. It made me really happy to see that they’d
not shown. Mohammed Mahadi, the Ghanaian instructor, was
understood the concepts from my last visit.
keen for us to enjoy the week and sample some of the
The morning of the tournament was particularly hot and humid
celebrations. He arranged a visit for us to the memorial park of
and by midday it was getting worse by the minute. I really felt
offic
This isn’t in the
8
ial ITF syllabus
sorry for the European fighters who were going to have to fight
outside in the hot midday sun. When we arrived at the venue
where the tournament was to be held, preparations were
ongoing and the usual tournament tensions were evident from
all the fighters. Those of you who have competed at any time
will know exactly what I mean.
The event was being held at a Lebanese Islamic school in
Accra. The owner and director of the school was also one of
the major sponsors of the tournament and had offered much
needed support to the group over the last few years. By the
time the tournament was due to start a small crowd had
gathered and were taking their seats. This crowd was small by
P.U.M.A. tournament standards but I’m sure it was huge from a
West African martial arts point of view.
I’m going to fast forward to the end of the tournament, which
the European team won and in my eyes was expected to win.
This event was never really about the tournament. For me, it
was about being there supporting and helping your fellow
martial arts instructors and students to build a strong foundation
so that they can continue to enjoy the benefits of martial arts
training and be proud of what they’ve achieved. Because of the
help and support that we’ve already given, they’ve been offered
a small piece of land at the back of the school on which to build
a dojang. When Mohammed told me the news about the land I
was very excited for him and all his students. The unique thing
about this part of the world is that with a little bit of hard work
and a very small amount of money you can make some great
things happen.
I would like to say well done to Mr Dave Pixton, who
represented P.U.M.A. and the European team at such an
historic event. Mr Pixton competed and conducted himself in his
usual humble way (those of you that know him will know what I
mean). I was very proud to tell them that Mr Pixton has been
my student for nearly twenty years. If you get the chance I
would encourage you to ask Mr Pixton about his experience in
West Africa - I’m sure he’ll tell you it is something that he’d love
to do again.
I’m looking forward to returning to Ghana in February 2008. It
just so happens that during February 2008 Ghana is hosting
the African cup of nations. I suppose that means I’m going to
be dragged to some live football matches again. It’s a hard job
but someone has to do it.
Akwaaba.
-Master Ray Gayle
9
Sir:
Behold : more bits ‘n’ bobs. If you think your neck of the
woods isn’t properly covered then you know what to do
about it - email us at
...
I read the article on the possible dangers of using aspartame
with great interest. However, on reading further it became
apparent that much of the information in the article was derived
from the ivanfraser.com website. This website is old (with the
newest resources 1994), and 25 of the 29 listed references
appear not to be peer-reviewed (i.e. critiqued by other experts).
Using Web of Knowledge (an online search engine for peerreviewed scientific articles) I identified 34 articles using
‘aspartame’ and ‘safety’ as search terms (1970-2007). It is
clear from these articles that aspartame has been exhaustively
tested, and several points should be made in the interests of
balance. The ‘side-effect’ symptoms mentioned in the
ivanfraser website are the result of consumer (not doctor)
reporting, largely in the U.S (1). These reports were statistically
analysed and the conclusion was aspartame did not cause
these symptoms (1-3).
An occasional feature where we find people in
P.U.M.A. who look a bit like somebody famous.
This time: hats off to Blandford student Mr Les
Stokes, who once foolishly admitted to looking a bit
like Odo, the grumpy alien shape-shifter from Star
Trek Deep Space Nine.
Before marketing a food product, an acceptable daily amount
(ADI) is determined. This is usually 1% of the maximum
tolerated dose (MTD) in safety studies. A large number of
different studies were done, and in all cases the MTD were in
the 2000-6000 mg/kg body weight/day (1). The ADI was set at
40 or 50 mg/kg/day (US and EU), and in fact consumer studies
show that a typical daily intake is 2-5 mg/kg/day (1, 2).
Much has been published on the potentially damaging effects
of aspartic acid, phenylalanine and methanol. Due to the
intense sweetness of aspartame, the amounts derived are low
compared to other dietary sources (3). There is no evidence
that these quantities are particularly harmful to most
individuals. However, the ability of humans to deal with
particular substances can be highly variable and depends on
both genetic and environmental factors, and it is therefore
impossible to be completely certain of the safe limit for any
particular individual. Aspartame is a source of phenylalanine,
and this is relevant to people with phenylketonuria (PKU) (1).
This is a common genetic disease (~1:10 000 Europeans)
caused by an inability to degrade phenylalanine, and all infants
are screened for it soon after birth. The body does have
sophisticated methods for detoxifying methanol, which also
detoxify ethanol from booze. Some individuals have a low
tolerance for ethanol, and they may wish to limit their methanol
intake from aspartame and other sources.
NEXT TIME: we dread to think...
It should be remembered that sugar-based sweeteners also
have negative side-effects, particularly dental decay.
Aspartame has a place in the management of obesity and
diabetes mellitius (3), both of which are serious and common
diseases. For most people aspartame does not pose any
particular risks. Anyone with PKU or related condition should
consult a professional before using aspartame.
The Internet allows much greater distribution of information
than ever before. Unfortunately, much of the material is of
dubious value – readers should be suspicious of vaguely
attributable material and ensure that information has been
peer-reviewed by another expert.
It was the first time that the Rocky
Horror Show had been brought to
Torquay, and not to miss out on
the chance to spend another
evening in our underclothes, a few
members of the local Taekwon-Do
schools donned their stockings and
suspenders. The ladies dressed up
too...
Matthew D. Lloyd, DPhil
Including songs such as Sweet
Transvestite, Darn It Janet and of
course The Time Warp, the Rocky
Horror show was a blast, and had the
students dancing in the aisles. I think i feel a new
warm up coming on... a jump to the left, then a step
to the right!
10
1
Butchko, H. H., et al. (2002) Aspartame: Review of
safety, Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology 35,
S1-S93.
2
Butchko, H. H., et al. (2001) Aspartame: Scientific
evaluation in the postmarketing period, Regulatory
Toxicology and Pharmacology 34, 221-233.
3
Kroger, M., et al. (2006) Low-calorie sweeteners and
other sugar substitutes: A review of the safety issues,
Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food
Safety 5, 35-47.
We want to make you an offer...
Text by Dik Chance
People are always coming up to me at tournaments, meetings and other P.U.M.A. events and saying ‘I really must get on a FAST course’
or ‘I’d love to get a course at my school’. That’s usually the last I ever hear from them. So I thought I’d take the opportunity for some
flagrant self-promotion.
As members of P.U.M.A., you all have priority access to some of the finest self-defence training in the world. We only need between 10
and 20 people on each course. These can be pulled together from members of your martial arts school, their friends and family, anybody
really. You don’t need to be a practising martial artist to do a FAST course.
The P.U.M.A. FAST team are in demand all around Europe to put on courses. In addition to P.U.M.A. schools, we’ve trained Special
Forces, survivors of violent abuse, hen and stag weekends, companies and corporations, security teams, schools, and sports clubs. The
list goes on.
In 2006 FAST was voted the best worldwide women’s self-defence programme by Blackbelt Magazine. We offer courses for adults,
young adults (10-14) and children. We cover all aspects of awareness and assertiveness, fear control, dialogue and deception, controlling
your personal space, and the simple impact techniques that we know through experience work under pressure.
We have courses that deal with weapons attacks. Weapons are becoming a major part of attacks in this country. Check out the local
and national news and you’ll see many reports of violent incidents involving knives, broken bottles and even guns.
We have courses that deal with incidents that end on the floor. Watch any police or CCTV programme on the TV and you’ll see just how
easy it is to end on the floor. Don’t confuse this with Ju-Jitsu or sport grappling. Being on the floor is a very dangerous place to be. Even
passers-by sometimes rush in for a crafty kick at your head.
Multiple attackers are a fact of life too. The days of the ‘match fight’ (a one on one fight with rules and honour) are long gone. The FAST
multiple attackers course deals with some of the most ugly and violent encounters you are ever likely to have.
So where do you go if you want a course? Well, there are a number of ways to go. Firstly remember that getting the attendees together
is actually easier than you think. Talk to your instructor and offer to organise the course. Remember that instructors are often really busy
and adding something else to their schedule can be difficult. Take a bit of personal initiative.
Decide which courses you want. We can do multiple courses in one day so think about having a junior course and an adult basics course.
Or an adult basics and a weapons course back to back, for example.
If running one in your school is not an option, then why not get your employer to run one? In addition to the usual self-defence reasons,
we’ve run these courses as part of team building activities and management training. All employees are at risk these days. More and
more, people are being targeted on the way to and from work as this is often a time when awareness is lower, plus you are often carrying
laptops etc. If not a work place course, then just get a group of friends (or friends’ children) together and we’ll come to you. This is very
easy.
In terms of venues, all we need is a hall that isn’t overlooked or overheard by other people (as the language on the courses is loud and
real). Village halls and school halls are ideal. A curtained off area in a sports hall next to the kids trampoline club isn’t. The FAST team
pay the hall hire costs. Ideally the hall should be matted, although we can bring mats if the hall doesn’t have any.
As a last resort, if no-one in your area is prepared to organise and host a course, we run an email list: everyone on it gets details of all
the courses we run. This allows you to book on a course as an individual.
So take that first step. Email me at info@pumafastdefence.com and I’ll discuss all the options you have for courses. I can send you a
course organiser’s information pack and some posters to help you advertise it in your area.
11
Hong Kong, the early seventies: Bruce Lee has just heralded a golden age of martial arts training and movie-making.
There’s a martial arts school on every street corner of this far-flung British colony. Shaw Brothers and Golden Harvest are
churning out beat-em-up epics. Jackie Chan and George Lazenby are filming. The British Army in its wisdom has just
decided to ship young Private John Black right into the middle of this heady brew. What’s going to happen?
While waiting to go to Hong Kong I travelled to Layworth Jacob in
London to train in some Mongolian form of kung fu. The class
was in a little dingy house. It looked like the instructor made his
home into a martial arts school. You’d go into one bedroom and
there’d be mats on the floor, the next room had kick pads. You’d
go into another bedroom and it was full of guys doing ninja
fighting. I thought “Oh my word, what’s this?” I only trained with
them for about a week, because it was difficult catching the last
train back to Colchester.
He looked at me and said “Black: no, you have not passed.”
Of those four hundred squaddies who started after six months the
numbers were whittled down to sixty, then forty, then twenty. The
rest drifted off because they’d just wanted to fight. From that
batch only two of us eventually got our black belts.
come back to England and open some Wing Chung academies.
However my good lady didn’t want me to come out of the army,
so I had to decline.
Then a couple more lads walked up to him and said “Sir, did we
pass?”
“No, you did not pass. Next time” he replied.
A month or so later the students who hadn’t said anything got
their belts! I saw this and thought “Wait a minute: what’s going on
here?”. I didn’t say anything, but after three months he told me I
was good enough, gave me my yellow belt, and told me we must
Anyway, we shipped to Hong Kong. On our second day there with get ready for my green tag. I’d only just got my yellow belt… but I
the Black Watch I saw a big poster saying “Come and do Korean learned a lesson there. You don’t ask the Master if you’ve
Karate!”. I thought to myself I didn’t want to do Karate, I wanted to passed: he tells you if you’ve passed. As much as three months
or four months down the line he’d say “Black: I have a belt to
do Wing-Chung, Bruce Lee-style. But I couldn’t find a Wingyou.”. He wouldn’t say “well done” or anything…
Chung school because I couldn’t speak Chinese at the time. So
one of the lads who we were taking over from, who had a
I helped him out in classes. He would teach in other places like
Taekwon-Do black belt, said “Listen guys: you ain’t seen nothing
private schools that required English. He would take me along
like this before. If you think Bruce Lee was good, come and see
because of my English. I didn’t think my English was great, but I
this!”
was able to help. I didn’t realise how well known he was at the
time but he was a legend and everybody respected him.
So, we went along – five hundred squaddies in a gymnasium –
and the demonstration we saw just took my breath away. I’d
Anyway, I got to know a few people from the Black Watch who’d
never seen anything like it – breaking to patterns to breaking to
got parts as extras in martial arts films because the studios
self-defence to sparring… The power breaking, the spectacular
wanted Westerners. They put me onto Shaw Brothers, who made
jumps. It was just breathtaking I couldn’t believe you could do that loads of movies, and also Golden Harvest, who are still going
with your legs! “I’m going to do this!” I decided and straight away
today. George Lazenby, the ex-James Bond, was in Hong Kong
several hundred squaddies all joined up to do Taekwon-Do
at the time and my wife of the time was offered a film part as his
girlfriend but she made him look too old. I was supposed to be an
The Chinese dojang I trained in was in a seedy area. It was a
extra drinking in a bar scene when a big punch-up breaks out and
nightmare because lots of women would try to make my
George Lazenby beats up about a hundred people but I couldn’t
acquaintance whenever I went to train…
take part because the army was on exercise then. Jackie Chan
“No no, I’m here to do Taekwon-Do.”
was around at the time and I did meet him - but he wasn’t yet well
“Come in afterwards!”
known.
“No, I don’t think so!”
One day a mate introduced me to his Kung fu instructor, Master
… and it would take about half an hour to get up the stairs to the
Sifu Leung Ting, who’d trained with Bruce Lee. We went to this
dojang with all these girls trying to pull you into their premises.
block of flats which worried me because I was expecting a
My lessons were Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday but
dojang. “This is it” I thought. “He’s going to mug me for my ten
because I was so keen I went every day. For the first three
dollars, which is all I’ve got”. As Master Ogborne will tell you, I
months all we did was read the bible (the Taekwon-Do
never have any money. We went up in the lift and I thought “This
encyclopaedia), walking stance, sitting stance, front punching and is going to happen now. It’s going to kick off, he’s going to jump
double-punching. The instructor had a cane and he’d hit you with me.” Anyway, Master Sifu Leung Ting was in his flat, writing an
it if you weren’t in the right position or if you weren’t doing pressarticle called “Real Kung Fu”.
ups on your knuckles. He said we were soldiers and should be
“Yes!” I thought, “I’m gonna do Wing Chung! WING-CHUNG!”. I
used to it. It really hurt. “What’s this about? I want to fight!” I
went to his classes for a while and he was absolutely brilliant, a
thought. I was young so I didn’t realise, but our instructor was
brilliant master. He showed me the one-inch punch and I went out
trying to teach us about “Do”, the most important part of
for meals with him. He offered me a position as trainee student
Taekwon-Do.
for five years – he would buy me out of the army – and I would
I did my yellow-belt grading (you could double-grade back then)
and the next time we met Master Lee Chong Oh I asked “Sir,
Sir… Have we passed?”
So, for a while I was doing both martial arts. I was a blue belt in
Taekwon-Do and bringing the influence of Wing Chung into my
training. Master Lee pulled me to one side.
12
“Black: I have to talk to you. Are you training in other martial
arts?”
Some time later Master Lee took me and my wife out for a meal.
While we were there he said “Black , I want you to come down to
the dojang. I have a surprise for you.”
“Yes Sir, I’m training in Wing Chung. I like Wing Chung Sir. “
“Alright Sir”. I was wearing jeans, because we were due to be
flying back home in a couple of hours.
“Wing Chung is a very good style” he said. He’d never run any
martial art down, he said all martial arts are good. “Do you like
Wing Chung?”
“Do not worry. If you are late I will get you a taxi” he said. “You
must come. It is important.”
“I love it very much Sir, it’s what my hero Bruce Lee did.”
“Ah yes, Bruce Lee. Good man. Very good martial artist and very
good film star.” He told me how Bruce Lee had invited him to be
in The Game Of Death. In the film Lee fought the Hapkido chap.
My instructor was going to be on that floor but turned it down.
“I will do Sir.” I replied.
“So why weren’t you in it Sir?”
“Like this Sir?”. I was wearing jeans and a t-shirt.
“In script Bruce Lee kick Taekwon-Do master and Taekwon-Do
master die after one kick – Not true! Bad for business. Black, you
have to make up your mind what art you want to do. If you want
to do Wing Chung, good. If you want to do Taekwon-Do you must
give up Wing Chung.”
“If you have to fight in the street do you say “like this?”.
I was confused. “Sir, why can’t I do both?”
“Black, I have something for you.”. He presented me with my
black belt and an ITF suit with a stripe down it, which means
instructor – fourth dan and above. But I was only a first dan. I
didn’t understand. “Sir, it’s a striped suit.”
When I got there the Chinese lads had a camera set up. “Black,
take your shoes off”. I took my shoes off.
“Right Black, I want you to spar.”
I had to fight all the black-belts. “What’s going on here?” I
thought, but I did the best that I could, with sweat pouring off me.
After a while he stopped us. I looked a mess.
“Because you’re still young, not mature. If you were a hunter and
you were tracking two animals in a jungle and they took different
paths, what would you do? Can you cut yourself in half? You
have to decide which animal you’re going to track. You have to
make up you mind here where you’re going to go with martial
arts: Taekwon-Do or Wing Chung.”
“You’re a good Taekwon-Do man. I’m proud for you to have this.“
he replied.
Wow. I was in tears.
I decided I wanted to stay with Taekwon-Do, so I paid my
apologies to Master See Fu Lung Tin.
One lesson, when I was a red belt, I had a nasty incident. There
was a fourth dan there who did not like white people. He hated
Europeans. We were sparring – without mitts – and this guy was
awesome. He kicked me from one end of the dojang to the other.
I kept getting knocking down. I kept on getting up with a bleeding
nose, cut lip because that was what you were supposed to do at
that level, be strong-spirited… and this guy was laughing.
At the end of that bout Master Lee – who was then a sixth dan
and with Korean special forces history – called this fourth dan out
and kicked the guy up and down the dojang. Every time he went
down he wanted to get off. But the instructor wouldn’t let him off.
This fourth dan was bleeding, but the instructor still wouldn’t stop.
After a while they stopped and spoke in Cantonese. The fourth
dan bowed, then left.
Master Lee turned to me. “Black, are you alright?” he asked. and
tidied me up. “You’re a soldier Black, you can take it”. I was
hurting, I had bruised ribs. That was hard.
I never saw that fourth Dan again. I didn’t understand what was
happening at the time but I later learned the instructor had done
that to show the guy what it means to humiliate a lower grade and
that it can be done to anyone. He’d finished with “I do not want to
teach you in my class any more. You are no longer a fourth
degree black belt in Taekwon-Do.”
For my black-belt grading I didn’t have a pre-grading. What we
did for that… If you had to do it now, people WOULDN’T do it.
We did everything we do now physically, but more. We did loads
of line-work, set-sparring, self-defence, breaking eighteen roof
slates, house-brick with the knife hand, turning kick to two inches
(of wood, we think), jumping side kick over six people, reverse
turning kick; you had to spar against your own grade, then two
against one, then they lined all the grades up from 1st kup to 5th
dan and you sparred everyone. If there were twenty people there,
you sparred twenty people… and it went on and on, till you
couldn’t move, you couldn’t breath, and they still kept you going. I
was on the floor for about an hour and a half and got beaten up
quite badly. I was bruised from head to foot. But I didn’t ask him
whether I’d passed.
13
John Francis reports on the recent four-nations fight night, held in Mr John Black’s home turf of Exeter.
To commemorate over 35 years of Mr Black’s undying devotion to with Wan Yuseri also showing great skill on his debut.
martial arts and Taekwon-Do, Master Ogborne organised a fight
night testimonial for Mr Black, which was held at Riverside Leisure
Centre in Exeter. This was a night that will remain in the memories
of all who attended for a very long time, with every match fought
with the true grit and determination of martial artists.
After an introduction from Master Gayle, the evening started off with
a demonstration of Gae Baek from the black belts in the Exeter
area, who have all been encouraged by Mr Black’s enthusiastic
teaching. This was their way to say thank you to a gentleman who
has given so much to Taekwon-Do and P.U.M.A. over the years.
All the regional big scary black-belts in action.
Phil Whitlock takes a headbutt to the groin
for our amusement. Good show.
Next up were the men’s teams from Ireland and Wales. The Welsh
team fought with sheer courage and true metal, but were overtaken
by the fast hands of the Irish. Ireland were eventual winners of this
round with Marc Dowling, Shane Fitzgibbon, and Liam Corkery
securing victories over their Welsh opponents .
Mr Brett Dowling impressed the crowd with a superb performance
of Bo and nunchakus, swirling them round at breath taking speed
until they became a blur to the naked eye.
A big Welsh booting is dished out.
Last year’s World Juniors’ Patterns champion Jenny Francis gave
a demonstration of Juche, showing the audience the performance
that earned her the Gold medal in Australia.
Brett Dowling warps time and space with his bo.
There were eight teams in total: four men’s and four ladies’ teams,
representing England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Each team was
to be made up of a member of each weight category, flyweight,
lightweight, middleweight, heavyweight and hyperweight. The first
teams to compete were the men from Scotland and England. The
team from Scotland showed great skill with a variety of techniques,
but were ultimately defeated by a very strong English team that had
several world class fighters. Wins in the English team came from
James Murueta, David Pixton, Curt Stevens and Mike Whitlock,
Following a short break it was time for the ladies to show their
fighting prowess. The ladies’ Welsh team was drawn against
England and the first match was with Jenny Francis against Kate
Scorse. Jenny gave away several kilograms against her English
opponent in what was a very tightly fought contest, but managed
to secure the first win for the Welsh. This was followed by Natalie
McColl for Wales versus Marie Udall. Both competitors fared well
and with both of them having world championship experience this
was always going to be a hard contest. Marie had the greater
experience of competition, but on the night it was Natalie who came
out the victor. Alex Page was next up for Wales with Emma Deakin
as her opposite number. This looked to be the evening for Wales
as Alex brought home another success for the Welsh team. Stacey
Weatherer was not going to let them have it all their own way
14
however and managed to get the first win for the England ladies.
The last match was one which has seen these two challengers fight
each other on many an occasion, with Laura Penny (for Wales)
against Kimberley Bradshaw (for England). For this particular match
it was to be Laura Penny who came away victorious.
Irish and English male teams. Once again the Irish needed all the
luck their shamrock could bring them, as they were forced to default
the first two rounds, as they had no flyweight and lightweight in their
team. England therefore only needed one victory to win and the
hyperweights were the first to enter the arena. Phil Whitlock
(England) was up against Sean Keane (Ireland), and Phil’s longer
legs and height advantage proved to be the winning combination.
Ireland were not to be disgraced though and had wins with Shane
Fitzgibbon against Matt Winchester and Liam Brady against Jake
Stevens.
The evening was rounded off with the presentation of various
trophies. Mr Black had the honour of awarding the best lady fighter
to Natalie McColl, and the best male fighter to Steve Brady.
Mr Black received a standing ovation following his speech in which
he thanked everyone for their support. If this year’s UKITF teams
can take some of Mr Black’s enthusiasm, dedication, commitment
and drive to the World Championships, then we should be truly
proud. Mr Black we thank you.
The irresistible force versus the immovable object.
.
The Irish ladies were up against the Scottish ladies next. With the
Irish team having to forfeit the first two matches, as they did not
have a flyweight and lightweight in their team, it was always going
to be an uphill struggle for them as they needed to win all three
remaining fights to secure victory. The first round was between
Claire O’Sullivan for Ireland and Donna Murphy for Scotland. This
resulted in a draw, which required the remaining two fights to be
won by the Irish, to secure a tie for this round. Despite the pressure
the Irish ladies came back strong with victories by Aoile Foley and
Moria McElligott. With the round now at a tie there was a face off
between Laura Cremen (Ireland) and Donna Murphy (Scotland).
Donna, with a true Scottish brave heart, took her team through to
the final.
Mr John Black and Master Ray Gayle
Men’s Teams
Ladies’ Teams
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
England
Ireland
Scotland
Wales
Donna Murphy secures Scotland's route to the final.
This now led the way for the play offs for third and fourth places.
Whilst the Welsh men’s team of Chris Mullen, Kevin McCabe, Steve
Brady and Tim Goulding all showed great fortitude and courage,
they were ultimately defeated by a stronger Scottish team, with
Chris Davidson, Scott Morris, Adam Patterson, Gary McGuire and
Mark McAdam, bringing the victories home for Scotland.
The English Ladies’ team secured third place against the Irish, with
wins from Kimberley Bradshaw, Stacey Weatherer, and Emma
Deakin gaining a draw.
After an interlude it was now time for the finals. The ladies’ teams
were the first to start with Wales against Scotland. All five members
of the Welsh team were feeling confident from their previous
success and Jenny Francis, Natalie McColl, Alex Page, Becky
Dearlove and Laura Penny won against Karen Douse, Nicole Jarvis,
Donna Murphy, Lee McAdam, and Jackie Timoney respectively.
The grand finale of the evening came to a showdown between the
15
Mr John Black with some fans
Wales
Scotland
England
Ireland
WINTER KICKBOXING CAMP
Kickboxing camp: a March weekend of splendid non-softness. This year the
themes were “mud” and “very nice accommodation”. What’s not to like?
Mrs Jo Walker and Mr Mark Dean chat about it...
We think it’s just mud.
“I had seen the kickboxing group from a distance prior to the
weekend and was very apprehensive about how they would
feel with Taekwon-Do students attending their training camp.
Like so many other students I wondered what this hard core
weekend would entail and had heard stories of the gruelling
runs from last years camp! Well, I have to say hand on heart I
had the most fantastic weekend. Why? I hear you ask, well in
answer to this- there are a whole host of reasons which I shall
try to explain!
Right from the Friday evening I found the group to be
incredibly warm and inviting. It was great to get to know
everyone and like so many occasions within the group, meet
up with old friends and make new ones.
This year we were all staying in fantastic Log cabins at the
Dorset Golf and Country Club, which I know everyone
appreciated. Although Mr Jones and Mr Lammin were the
only two to have golf clubs with them, we soon made
ourselves at home occupying the bar for most of the evening.
Afternoon training was slightly more conventional with all
levels of kickboxing knowledge and experience catered for.
The three instructors Mr Jones, Mr Walker and Mr Houston
were brilliant, taught us new techniques and gave us tips
along with some further beastings in between - which was
fun. It was fun watching some turning green as a result of
their self- inflicted ailments from the night before!
The final session of each day consisted of a run mixed in with
some physical training. These sessions were open to all but
not compulsory. This was brilliant as it provided further
opportunities for us all to get out of the weekend what suited
us. What they didn't explain was exactly how steep the hill
between Lulworth Cove and Durdle Door beach was. That
said, the views were spectacular and I'm glad we ran it on the
Saturday when the weather was being good.
So overall as a Taekwon-Do based student what did I learn?
Well, tons to be honest. I learnt that kickboxing has its own
set of skills and, like any martial art, to be really good at it
takes a great deal of time and dedication. In addition I learnt
Throughout the weekend the training sessions were hard
work, but extremely good fun. Morning sessions took place on that this method of training is fantastic for improving your
overall fitness and requires a lot of grit and determination.
a grass area outside the cabins and by the time Sunday
Also, kickboxers hit hard and thank goodness for full face
morning and torrential rain had come there was more mud
than grass (which of course became the new version of 'Sea' head guards! On a serious note, kickboxing requires great
skill and the instructors and other students made me and all
for all you summer campers). As always, it is moments of
craziness and enjoyment like this that stay with you long after those who attended feel extremely welcome, making for a
truly memorable and enjoyable weekend. I gained a true
camp has actually finished. And as for the mud, well it soon
understanding and appreciation of what Kickboxing is all
washes off and the in-house saunas soon dried out our
about and I will definitely be putting my name down for next
trainers and soothed our aching limbs. We even managed to
train Polish style (you'll have to ask Mr Jones and Mr Lammin year!”
about that one) with a quick cold dip sprint (we must have all
- Mrs Jo Walker, 1st Degree Taekwon-Do
looked like helpless cattle being herded through the dipping
lanes!).
16
“Hello. My name is Mark Dean and I’m a 41 year, balding,
middle age spread type of guy with only an average fitness
level. I am a green belt kickboxer, training at Purbeck with
Mr Mark Kell. My job and commitments only really allow
me 1 day’s training on average a week, so I try to practise
whilst away at work. My weekends are like gold dust and I
rarely get them off and yet in a moment of madness I
signed up for Kickboxing winter camp in March at the
Dorset golf and country club, an idyllic and beautiful part of
the world set in rural and peaceful Dorset – or so I thought.
Being a veteran of KB winter camp I thought I knew what
to expect this year (couldn’t possibly snow THIS March –
could it?) But then I should have realised also that Mr.
Jones, Mr. Walker and Mr. Houston would dream up ever
new ways of making this year’s camp bigger and better
than last year’s.
Trotting along that lovely Dorset countryside.
I arrived at 1900ish, found my billet and introduced myself
to my housemates for the weekend. We then headed off to
the bar for the 2000 welcome meeting. It didn’t matter that
I didn’t know many people personally – I remembered
many faces from last year and have also seen a few
people at gradings and the excellent F.A.S.T. Defence
courses, so it is easy to chat and find common interests.
Of course the best thing here is not to overindulge after
this meeting as you do need to be ready for the first
activity in the morning. This is experience speaking here –
trust me.
Girly mud
fight
Day 1, 0600: Mr. McCabe’s alarm goes off – thank you sir.
It is now that I realise cider is bad for me and not a health
drink with apples in it. After a wash and dressed in trackies
and trainers and with bag gloves in hand we meet on the
football pitch. It is here I notice how quiet and serene this
part of the world is. The birds are singing, the sun is rising
– how glad am I to be healthy and alive. And then it starts.
The warm up, sit-ups, press-ups, pad drills, running
shuttles, piggy back rides. The list is endless and yet it
passes in a blur. By 0830 I am completely exhilarated and
completely ready for my breakfast.
At camp it’s best to relax between activities and this is
filled with general lazing and banter.
1130, Bovington hall: When I arrive at the hall I am
immediately awestruck by the seniority of the majority of
people here – the range of skill runs from Kickboxing white
belts through to TKD and TSD 4th and 5th Dans. I feel
very humble and honoured at this point. We are split into 3
groups after the warm up and then spent the next two
hours training our sparring, pad work and (my favourite)
self defence techniques. The highlight for me is a scary
bout sparring with Mr King, an awesome fighter (I’ve never
been confident in my own skills) who fights at
championship level.
delicacy.
Sampling “bear”, a local
The levitation seminar was
a crushing disappointment.
After the warm down it’s back to the chalet for lunch and
downtime. This time is important, especially at my age, as
my body needs to recover a lot nowadays. There is a run
up a small hill in Lulworth scheduled for 1500. This session
is not compulsory and due to a recurring knee injury I
decide to take a small walk instead.
The chalets offer excellent equipment, and you can cater
for yourselves or have dinner in the clubhouse. This is
followed by a drink (not compulsory) and bed. I choose an
early night tonight and am in bed by 2230.
17
Day 2, 0630: Mr. McCabe’s alarm goes off and the chalet is
almost immediately filled with chatter. The morning looks good,
though there are a few spots of rain starting to appear on the
window. This gets progressively heavier as we make our way to
the now sodden football pitch. I think the weather puts the
instructors in a playful mood and we start our warm up in the
muckiest and swampiest part of the pitch. Good humour is
prevailing though and everybody is spurring each other on
during the warm up, exercise, mud fight and even during the
sprint through a part filled ditch to end the session an hour later.
Everybody is soaked and filthy and yet spirits remain very high
(rarely have I seen adults have so much fun with mud outside
certain clubs!). There is a mass strip at the door of each chalet
and some items get binned, the salvageable get washed and
put into the sauna to dry. This is followed by breakfast and
downtime.
n.
This’ll be the mud orgy the
1200, Bovington Hall: after a warm up we are again put
through pad drills, technical and knife and stick self defence.
These are intense sessions and are sadly over far too quickly.
There are other activities planned for those staying on until
Monday. These include a woodland run, sparring practice and a
kickboxercise and cardio class. I wouldn’t have minded
attending any of those but with reluctance I have to leave early.
During my long drive I have time to reflect on the weekend’s
activities. I have been privileged to train under three very
dedicated, expert and highly respected instructors. I have spent
the weekend with like-minded people that don’t just learn the
art, they embrace all that it has to offer and live by its tenets.
Some blokes pretendin
g to
enjoy the lunar eclips
e.
My lessons from this weekend? I have learned that I need to up
my fitness level and training. I train as often as circumstances
allow – but how can I improve on this? I can have the best
instructors in the world to teach me, but it is up to me to
practice, practice, practice and that is the only way to improve.
How good we are in our art is not only a reflection of their
expert instruction but also testimony as to how dedicated we
are as individuals.
Before I attended this year, I asked myself the following
questions:Is kickboxing camp for me?
Camp is for anybody and everybody that wants to improve
themselves; I’ve yet to meet anyone that is perfect!
Is it not the same crowd every year?
The same people attend every club gathering because they are
constantly striving to be the best at what they do! They are a
friendly bunch that make you feel welcome and are happy to
help guide and encourage you.
Will I fit in?
Camp is for anybody that has an interest in kickboxing and the
martial arts and looking for a way in which to improve their skills
or even learn new ones, no matter what level your training is at.
There were many more people this year than last – and in truth
I can only see it getting bigger.
Am I fit enough?
If you are concerned about your fitness, discuss this with your
instructor – but one very spirited lady managed to attend every
lesson (even sparring) with one foot in plaster. That is spirit in
its truest form – I salute you ma’am.
“Sorry, you’re not muddy
enough. Please run through
this muddy stream.”
As I face the M3 only one question remains unanswered in my
head - Will I be back next year?
I certainly hope so. “
- Mr Mark Dean, Green Belt Kick Boxing
18
Winning - but at what cost?
This article is going to upset a few people. But I think that’s a good thing. If people are upset by something, they are
more likely to stand up and say their piece and that is what this is all about. Anyone who knows me will agree that I am
not known for my shy and retiring nature and I do have a bit of a habit of speaking out about things that mean a lot to
me. Tournaments are one of those things.
Over the last 15 years I have been to more tournaments than I can remember. I have competed, umpired, refereed,
moved tables, picked up rubbish and dealt with problems, and now my own students are competing, umpiring, refereeing
etc… I believe every tournament is an opportunity to showcase martial arts skills, but are we martial artists who are
demonstrating elements of our art, or are we competitors with a driving force to win at all costs? I have seen small
children as young as 7 throwing themselves at other small children as though their life depended on it, often
accompanied by a parent or even instructor on the sideline shouting encouragement to ‘hit him in the face’ or ‘smack him
harder’.
Now, I understand the benefits and lessons that children learn from attending tournaments. An assertive nature is rarely
a bad thing, especially in a world that is becoming more aggressive all the time. But there is a fine line between teaching
our children to fight in a controlled and skilful way, and teaching them to do whatever it takes to win.
I’m sure there are many parents and instructors living vicariously through the children in the ring. So maybe they should
get the gloves on themselves once in a while instead of choosing to stay inside their own comfort zone.
Children learn what behaviour is acceptable from the adults around them. If they see their instructor jumping up and
down and encouraging them to put the boot in, they will learn a very particular kind of lesson. After all more contact and
less control equates to more injuries and less students having a good day!
As instructors, I believe our responsibility extends far beyond the confines of our dojang. If that is true then there is never
any excuse for instructors to behave in this way. National coaches have a job to do and P.U.M.A.’s record shows that
they do it very well but what excuse can the rest of us have?
What is the real difference between a sportsman and a martial artist? Most of us will probably have our own ideas; some
may think there is no difference or that they are so similar it’s not worth noting. For me, one of the main differences is the
etiquette: the degree of respect we show to each other. Not as easy or as straightforward as it sounds. I am aware of
‘Masters’, non-P.U.M.A. I hasten to add, who think it’s acceptable to shout abuse and try to intimidate officials who make
decisions they disagree with. These are the same officials who give up their free time to selflessly help others have a
good day. It makes me wonder what lessons competitors will take home after witnessing something like that.
Winning is hard, it demands dedication to your art and a lot of hard work on the part of the student, but losing is harder!
Showing good sportsmanship can sometimes be harder than fighting the fight in the first place. Many mainstream junior
schools have adopted the philosophy of eliminating win-lose games and sports from their curriculum as they feel ‘being a
loser’ will have a detrimental effect on the emotional well being of the child. Personally I’m not too sure about that – after
all, adult life is full of win-lose situations and being able to lose with grace and pick yourself up afterwards is a necessary
life skill. Surely the ideal student would be one who remembers to say “sir” or “ma’am”, who shake hands at the start,
who won’t choose to use underhanded techniques to score a point and who thanks and congratulates their opponent
and referee at the end, regardless of whether they win or lose.
Should we be teaching more sportsmanship as part of our martial arts syllabus? I would like to hear what people think
about that.
Before anyone writes in to ask - what has all this got to do with child protection? I will tell you. As instructors our
responsibility is to help develop young minds, to guide them into becoming a better person through the practice of their
chosen art be it Taekwon-Do Tan Soo-Do, Kickboxing or any other discipline we teach. A tournament provides a unique
opportunity for this lesson to be taught. It also provides a great opportunity for us to teach aggression, bad
sportsmanship and bullying.
On a personal note, I believe that P.U.M.A. has a fantastic record for running tournaments in a professional and friendly
manner, especially when compared to others who attempt the same scale of event. I also believe that we have some of
the most selfless and skilled officials who are prepared to go the extra mile to make sure the day is a success for all
competitors at their own personal and emotional expense; after all, it’s a very long day!
It makes me proud that OUR Masters behave like true Masters should, and our senior grades can stand up and take any
abuse handed out to them whilst remain calm and professional at all times.
The Professional Unification of Martial Arts was well named!
Louise Reeve is a 3rd degree Black Belt who trains under Master Gayle in Yate. She teaches at her own school in
Henleaze, and also teaches in Clifton. She is one of the P.U.M.A. FAST team and is the only lady ‘bulletman’ in the
world. She is the current P.U.M.A. child protection officer and can be contacted by email (cpo@puma-uk.com) or phone
(07866 723631).
19
CHILD PROTECTION
Etiquette from students is often forgotten at tournaments. It’s as if they feel that as they’re not in their own dojang, the
rules don’t apply. Once again I think this is a job for instructors, and I know this because I always make a point of
reminding competitors to use appropriate etiquette during tournaments. I then take the names of particularly polite
students and hunt down their instructors to let them know how impressed I am, and strangely it’s always the same
instructors who have polite students. I don’t think this is a coincidence.
By Wendy McColl
Competition Nutrition
Your diet in the lead up to a tournament can have a significant
impact on your performance, even giving you a winning edge.
As a competing athlete (yes I did call you an athlete), your diet
should consist of a good balance of the 3 main nutrients:
Carbohydrates (pasta, rice, pulses, oats, potatoes) are the foods
that fill our glycogen stores and give us the fuel for serious
training.
Proteins (fish, meat, poultry, soya, quorn, dairy foods) for the
growth and formation of tissue and for tissue repair, a fuel for
energy production.
faster that water).
The day before a tournament, you will need to think about topping
up the muscle glycogen and remaining well hydrated. To make
the most of your muscle glycogen stores, either rest completely
or train very lightly. Drink plenty of fluids (especially water) and
don’t be tempted to skip meals – even if you have ‘butterflies’.
Don’t try new foods and avoid consuming caffeine (which can
contribute to anxiety), alcohol (a diuretic that will deplete your
body fluids) and fatty, oily or spicy foods.
For tournaments, which consist of short bursts of energy spread
over a prolonged period of time, glycogen stores can run down,
leaving us without the energy that we need. During the week
before your competition, you need to think about both topping up
your glycogen stores and staying well hydrated.
On competition day, there will be four areas to consider; topping
up liver glycogen stores, keeping well hydrated, maintaining good
blood sugar levels and keeping your hunger at bay. You should
plan to have your pre-competition meal at least 2 hours before
the event, so that your stomach has time to empty and your blood
sugar and insulin levels can normalise. If you suffer from nerves,
give yourself a little extra time as nervousness can slow down
your digestion rate. Do not be tempted to skip your breakfast on
competition day as low levels of liver glycogen and blood sugar
reduce your endurance and result in early fatigue. If you are
starting to compete later in the day, schedule your food (as near
as possible) to 3 hourly intervals throughout the day, leaving the
all important 2 hour break before you compete (although due to
the nature of our competitions this can be quite difficult to
achieve). Suitable foods to eat on tournament day should be low
GI, low in fat, low in protein, light and easy to digest (not spicy),
low/no salt and should be foods that you enjoy eating and are
familiar with. Make sure that you drink around 500ml of fluid
approximately 2 hours before the event begins. Try experimenting
with food and fluid timings when training in the weeks before the
tournament so that you can see what works best for your body.
You can help keep these stores full by training smart, using lower
intensity training in the week prior to the tournament with 1/2
days rest or light training directly before the tournament.
At approximately 15-30 minutes before your event, drink another
250 ml of fluid and make sure you have plenty of fluids with you
throughout the competition.
From a dietary point of view, consider increasing your
carbohydrate intake to around 60-70% of your total calories,
reducing your percentages of protein and fat. Depending upon
the calories you expend during your reduced intensity training
sessions, you may find that you need to reduce your total
calories slightly (by reducing your fat intake) so that you do not
actually gain weight prior to the tournament.
During your events, you will need to keep your energy levels
topped up, particularly if you are competing in multiple events (eg
patterns, sparring, destruction). Avoid foods/fluids containing
fructose as the body does not absorb this well and it can cause
stomach cramps. Once your events have started, moderate/high
GI foods such as energy bars, isotonic drinks, cereal bars, etc.
will give you an energy boost, and make sure that you continue to
replace fluids lost through sweating – as little as 2% of lost bodily
fluid will impair your performance.
Fats (especially healthy fats such as olive oil, oils from nuts, oily
fish) to improve endurance and recovery and as an emergency
energy store.
Although every individual will have their own specific
requirements which will depend on their age, gender, weight,
training frequency and training intensity, a reasonable division of
these nutrients (for an adult athlete) would be 57%
carbohydrates, 30% healthy fats and 13% proteins.
As the tournament approaches, the sensible athlete will have
taken appropriate measures to make their target weight so that
during the pre-tournament week there will be no anxiety
concerning weight categories and focus can be put upon eating
for peak performance.
Divide your calories into 6 small meals per day with
approximately 3 hour gaps between meals. Try and eat
carbohydrates that have a low GI rating (foods with a low
Glycaemic Index rating are slower to raise your blood sugar
levels and sustain the levels for longer) and drink at least 8
glasses of water per day, starting as soon as you wake up and
drinking one glass before each meal. Make sure that you fully
re-hydrate after training sessions, using both water and sports
drinks – water is fine for up to 1 hour of low intensity exercise,
but high intensity exercise of 30 minutes or more will mean that
you will need to start replacing your electrolytes (body salts). You
can do this by choosing an isotonic sports drink (isotonic sport
drinks contain the same number of carbohydrates and
electrolytes as the body’s fluids and are absorbed faster/as fast
as water) or a hypotonic sports drink (this contains less
carbohydrates and electrolytes than body fluids and is absorbed
After the tournament is over (particularly if you are in an event
that is spread over more than one day or you are training the next
day), you will need to replenish your body’s glycogen and fluid
levels. Choose foods that have a moderate/high GI rating to
ensure fast absorption and try to eat within 2 hours of finishing.
After competing you should aim to drink at least 500ml of fluid
immediately and then have regular fluids for the rest of the day. 2
hours after your post event food, you should eat a carbohydrate
rich meal such as pasta, rice or even thick crust pizza. Continue
to avoid fatty or oily foods as these can delay the refuelling
process and make you feel bloated and uncomfortable.
So next time you are approaching tournament weekend, think
smart and eat like a champion.
20
So what should you actually be eating in the countdown to the competition? Here it is in practical terms.
When
How
What
Week prior
Increase Carbohydrate intake
Low GI foods
Drink plenty (monitor the colour of your urine)
Pasta, Rice, Jacket Potatoes,
Fish, Chicken, Tuna, Water
1 day prior
High carb meal, low GI
Low fat
No new foods
Pasta dishes (tomato based
sauces), Rice dishes, Water
2-4 hours prior
High carbs, low GI
Low fat,low protein
Light and palatable
Cereal, Toast, Sandwiches,
Rolls, Jacket Potato, Tuna
1 hour prior
Easily digestible foods
Sports drinks, Energy bars, Rice
cakes with jam, Bananas
15-30 minutes prior
250mls fluid
Water, Sports drink
During or between
events/rounds
Moderate / high GI foods
Rice cakes, Dried fruit, Jaffa
Up to 300mls fluid every 20 mins (depending on cakes, Bananas,
levels of activity)
Energy/cereal/fruit bars, Water,
Sports drinks
After the event
Carbohydrate rich, high GI
Continued fluid intake
Sports drinks, Pasta meals, Rice
dishes, Pizza
The following 3 recipes for isotonic sport
drinks are quick to prepare and cost very
little.
·
·
·
500ml of Orange Juice + 500ml water
(preferably mineral water) + pinch of
salt
200ml squash + 800ml water
(preferably mineral) + pinch salt
200ml low calorie squash + 800ml
water (preferably mineral) + 60g
glucose + pinch of salt
NB: mineral water contains its own electrolytes,
e.g. calcium, magnesium, potassium, making it
So, none of these then.
All timings and amounts are approximates or averages. Always consult with a healthcare professional before making major changes
within your diet.
Sources: www.brianmac.demon.co.uk, The Complete Guide To Sports Nutrition, 4th edition, by A.Bean
Wendy McColl is a solo mother of four children. She is a 2nd Degree Black Belt from Teignmouth Taekwon-Do Club in Devon, has
been training for 7 years in Taekwon-do and is a qualified instructor. Wendy also trained for 2 years in Tai Chi and is a mature student
at South Devon College, where she is currently in her 2nd year studying for a BTec National Diploma in Sport Performance and
Excellence. As well as this full time course she is studying sports massage, sport and fitness therapy, sports injuries, YMCA Gym
Instructor and YMCA Exercise To Music Instructor. Her other qualifications include Community Sports Leader, level 1 FA Coach and
Lifeguard.
21
You may well have gathered from previous articles that a lot of the
Kickboxing strategies and thought processes come from the noble art
of boxing. In my mind one of the best exponents of the art of boxing is
Joe Calzaghe. His accuracy, speed, timing and above all else his
footwork go a long way to making him stand out from the others. I
mentioned this fact at this year’s summer camp and if anyone cared to
buy a copy of the Calzaghe v Lacy fight they would find the DVD
invaluable as an instructional tool.
Kickboxing in the ring is not just a physical sport or martial art. It is a
thinking activity where if the fighter wishes to be successful he or she
must appreciate the finer points of the art. Those finer points to me are
the ring craft that every good fighter must have, to stop them from
becoming a mere slugger or brawler.
Before we get into the fight itself, let’s first embrace the psychology of
a fight. You have two opponents who hopefully have trained their bodies
to a high level, because if they haven’t they are more than likely going
to come away in second place. Both fighters will be nervous. They will
start to experience fear; their adrenaline will start to pump as they go
through their own warm up routine, whatever that may be. Next thing
they know is they are standing toe to toe with their opponent.
Here’s the first GOLDEN MOMENT. If you show the opponent that
you’re scared then you may as well go home.
Not everyone has the same technique of psyching out your opponent.
When Master Ogborne used to fight he would always make a point of
going up to the opponent with a smile and a hand shake, regardless of
whether the opponent accepted his gesture or not, and if you speak to
him, he will tell you he faced some people whose snarl was scarier than
a rabid dog! The point being that Master Ogborne’s way of hiding his
fear and anxiety was in a playful way. If your way is to stare the person
out then fine - either way, don’t let your opponent see that you’re
affected. Learn to mask the fear.
Okay, the fight’s about to start. You know the rules, the nerves are at
their peak and the crowd’s getting excited. DING DING! What on earth
do you do next, or perhaps worse, what’s the opponent going to do to
you? I’m a great believer in a fighter using their intelligence and staying
calm… but then that’s easy for me to say sat here with a nice mug of
tea on a howling afternoon.
Fighting is like a game of chess. You may go in with your opening
gambit only to be quashed by your opponent and before you know it
…IT’S CHECKMATE! You have to be able to read your opponent. If
you’re lucky enough to get videos of them or any information as to how
22
they fight, you have an advantage. In chess each move made is a step
towards the ultimate goal, that of winning the game. Fighting is exactly
the same. If you know your opponent’s weakness then exploit it. Be
warned however this victory does not happen instantly, indeed
sometimes it won’t happen at all. You need to prepare for such an
equation, not simply blame everything other than yourself.
So you’ve spent the first round taking a good look at your opponent,
you’ve come back to your corner unscathed and feeling good. Now
comes the next GOLDEN MOMENT. Your corner man can give you
all the advice you need, whether it be ‘More of the same’, or ‘Keep you
hands up’ or ‘Maintain the centre of the ring’ or ‘ Listen, I want you to
start to let your right hand go more’. In that last statement was the key
word…Listen! All too often a fighter loses their contest because they
have ignored all the good advice given by their corner men.
Sorry to go on about chess again, but I think it’s worth stressing the
point. You put yourself in the position to win the game by using the
pawn, because without it the game’s lost. In the fight game the jab is
your pawn. It is used extensively by the good fighter to keep your
opponent away, score points and perhaps more importantly set up for
your main artillery weapons such as a cross.
Okay, DING DING. The second round starts and you start to circle with
your opponent. You see top class boxers doing this all the time: why
do they do it? Simply because it gives them the opportunity to avoid
the opponent’s attack. If the opponent is throwing everything they have
at you in a straight line, it’s difficult to avoid by merely stepping back
in the line of attack. In case you’re wondering how can you fight if you’re
constantly going round in circles, the truth is when you decide to let
your main artillery weapons go you stop circling and plant your feet to
give you the balance needed for the big shots.
You’ve made it into the third and final round (most novice fights consist
of three two-minute rounds) and you’re feeling really fatigued. Conserve
your energy, control the distance and cover up on the ropes if you have
to. Do whatever it takes. This is where the mental toughness kicks in
big time. Don’t think you’re Ali, because you’re not. If someone is
unloading on you, try and smother their work as best you can and when
the opportunity arises turn the aggressor so they get to feel your
stinging punches and kicks. The crowd at this point is deeply engrossed
in the fight. You’ve got nothing left but neither has the person opposite
you. If there’s only one thing you take away from this article, let it be
this:
KEEP YOUR HANDS UP!
Don’t worry. Shortly you’re going to be greeted by GOLDEN MOMENT
three, when they ring that bell and it’s all over.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this month’s article. Just remember, it’s not
necessarily what you are doing right that will win the fight; it can easily
be what your opponent is doing wrong.
Take care,
Malcolm Jones, malcolmjones@puma-uk.com
23
Taekwon-Do is famous for its kicking; you only have to look at the traditional Korean foot-fighting game of Tae Kyon (one of the ingredients
in the development of modern Taekwon-Do) to see that Korean martial arts have almost always favoured the legs. So in this edition we
will look at some basic kicks; namely snap kicks, turning kicks and side kicks.
Snap Kicks
Side Kick
There are two types of snap kick – front snap kick (ap cha busigi)
and side-front snap kick (yobap cha busigi). There is only one
difference between them and it’s not in the way the kick is executed
but in the body position. The front snap kick is performed in a full
facing posture (and usually from the rear leg) whilst a side-front
snap kick is performed in a half facing posture (and usually from
the front leg in an L stance). The main attacking tool is the ball of
the foot, although you could also use the instep, or the toes if
wearing shoes.
There are 3 types of side kick; the side piercing kick (yopcha jirugi),
the side thrusting kick (yopcha tulgi) and the side pushing kick
(yopcha milgi). The side thrust kick uses the ball of the foot as the
attacking tool whilst the other two types use the footsword. The side
piercing kick is the most common of the three and appears many
times in Taekwon-Do patterns.
When performing the technique, the kicking leg is raised so that
the upper leg is parallel to the floor and the lower leg hangs in the
air already tensed in the ap kumchi position ready to kick. The foot
is fired forwards, and at the same time, the supporting leg should
flex slightly i.e. at the moment of impact, the standing leg is slightly
bent. Students should display the kick for a fraction of a second
and then recoil the foot to the cocked position before stepping down
into stance again.
Care should be taken not to lean back. If your upper body leans
back at the moment of impact, power will be seriously reduced as
your momentum will be travelling the wrong way! Try to keep your
body upright and concentrate on projecting your momentum
forwards into the kick. Note also that as far as patterns are
concerned, you should keep your hands in whichever position they
were previously in, whilst executing the kick itself, and only move
them afterwards. For example, if the previous move was a wedging
block (like in Do-San tul) your hands should remain in the wedging
block position as you kick, and then relax your hands in preparation
to punch after the kick is completed.
[As a slight side point, notice the Korean term for the piercing kick
– it uses ‘jirugi’ which means ‘punch.’ The Korean word for punch
and pierce are the same here and the implication is to “punch with
the leg.” This illustrates that the side kick is the kicking equivalent
of a punch.]
The preparatory stance for a side kick is often bending A stance
(goburyo sogi A). The following points should be considered in this
stance:
·
·
·
·
The standing foot points at 90 degrees to the direction
that the student is facing.
The kicking foot is already forming a footsword and is in
front of (but not touching) the supporting knee.
The knee of the kicking foot points at 45 degrees to the
direction which the stance faces.
The arms make a forearm guarding block (palmok daebi
makgi); when making the stance the block should be
performed with power and the arms should not simply be
lifted into the finish position.
From the bending stance, the following set of events take place:
·
·
Image 1 : a front snap kick
·
The knee of the kicking leg should be lifted slightly (after
all, the foot with kick along whichever line the knee is
pointing toward; if the knee is low, the kick will be low).
(see images 2 and 3)
At the same time, the hands should be crossed in front of
the chest – they should cross bank-to-back just like the
chamber for an outer forearm block.
(see image 4 and note)
Finally, the kick should be fired out, whilst the arm is
struck out along the kicking leg (reaction hand to waist
too) and the supporting foot should twist to face the
opposite direction [actually, the foot twists out to 75
degrees]. These 3 should all happen together!
(see images 5, 6 and 7)
I recommend practising the side kick over a chair – this will help
you to kick out and retract the leg along the same line and prevent
you from simply lifting the leg in the manner of the side rising kick.
The side pushing kick differs from the piercing and thrust versions
of side kick because the hip isn’t rotated; side pushing kick comes
from the front leg and is performed with a skip. It is ‘pushing’
because the power comes almost entirely from the momentum of
skipping forwards and not from the jerk of the hips.
24
Image 2
Image 4
Image 3
The crossing of arms in the
style of an outer forearm
block is somewhat stylistic
and the kick can be
performed without this minor
movement. However, it does
help you emphasise the use
of the arms in the side kick
– the movement of the arms
should be explosive and will
help to improve the overall
look of power in the
technique. The arm that
opens out along side the
kicking leg acts as a
stabilising force and helps
with equilibrium in the kick.
Image 6
Image 7
25
Image 5
Turning Kick
A traditional turning kick (dollyo chagi) is a very powerful kick
indeed. Like the snap kicks, the primary attacking tool is the ball of
the foot, though instep and toes could also be used. Turning kicks
will usually be executed from the rear leg and usually from an L
stance.
degrees. As you look at the board, it is at an angle along your line
of sight, but is in front of you nevertheless. The correct way to
measure (and ultimately kick) is to measure from point C but facing
X. This way, if you were to start walking, you would walk past the
target without bumping into it!
The most important thing to realise with a turning kick is that the
maximum power lies at 45 degrees to your own position and not in
front of you – please read that last sentence again! Many of you
who read this will be thinking “yes, yes, I know that already.”
However, when I see people measure for a turning kick against a
pad or a board, they often measure with the target in front of them.
The rear leg should be lifted as if you were trying to step over a
fence or a hurdle; your foot and knee should both be high enough
to clear such an imaginary obstacle, as shown in image 11). At the
moment that you kick out with your foot, the standing foot should
rotate to face the opposite 45 degree angle thereby using the
natural twist or torque of the body to make the kick powerful. The
kick should again be displayed for a moment before retracting and
stepping down.
Imagine a baseball player or a tennis player. When they strike the
ball with their bat or racquet, the point at which they strike is slightly
to the side of their body, not in front of them. Turning kick is the
same, so imagine your leg is a baseball bat and the target is the
ball. In image 9 you can see Miss Stokes with a bat, at the position
she might hit a ball. The angle is the same for the kick.
What follows is a somewhat technical description of correct
measurement for this kick – I’ve tried to simplify it as much as
possible.
Image 8 depicts a board at the centre of an imaginary circle.
Obviously wherever you stand on that circle, you can look towards
the board - if you were to stand at point A, the board would appear
to be full facing; if you were at point B at looked at the board you
would see it edge-on and therefore it would be side facing to you;
and finally if you were to stand at point C looking at the board, it
would appear half facing. Most people measure for a turning kick
from point C, whilst facing the board (i.e. looking toward the centre
of the circle). In this case, the board is in front of you, not at 45
Image 8
B
Image 9
Please pay special attention to image 12; the target is slightly to
the side of the kicker (i.e. at 45 degrees) – indeed, you can see
that Miss Stokes’s body is facing the camera, and not facing the
target. A common mistake is to face the target, which is incorrect.
Leg Strength
Finally in this issue, I would like to recommend that all students try
more ‘slow kicking’. We practise our hands techniques all the time,
but often neglect our kicks. If you try kicking slowly, perhaps with
some sort of resistance (resistance bands, ankle weights etc) your
kicks will improve dramatically. It’s tough training and you will need
to persevere, but the rewards will be reaped.
Happy kicking!
Image 10
X
C
A
Image 11
Are there any aspects of Taekwon-Do
that you would like me to investigate
and divulge? If so, feel free to contact
me at tkd@cardiffmartialarts.com . I
look forward to your suggestions.
Image 12
Kevin McCabe, 4th degree black belt,
has trained in Taekwon-Do for over 15
years. He is a member of the P.U.M.A.
management team as Technical
Assistant. He aids senior instructors with
training duties at P.U.M.A. camps and
other events and also teaches technical
and pattern seminars. He trains under
Master Ray Gayle and teaches his own
schools in Cardiff.
26
Kids Corner
An articulated lolly.
Because they’re shellfish
A teacher walks into class with a steak and kidney pie on his head
"Do you know that you have a steak and kidney pie on your head?" ask
the pupils.
"I always have a steak and kidney pie on my head on Wednesdays"
replies the teacher.
"But it’s Tuesday" says one of the pupils (the one at the back with the
blue pullover).
"I feel like a right idiot now" the teacher replies.
Nothing, it just waved.
Lost.
Because the sea weed.
Mum's making Thai Curried Quorn.
She says if she adds yeast and lets it rise...
It'll be Thai Quorn Dough
What’s that? You think you have better jokes? Well, email them to the
magazine at
and see your name in print!
It is the nineteen-eighties. Ray Gayle and Mark Ogborne, in their premaster forms, are enjoying some sparring practise in Mr Ogborne’s mum’s back garden. The
human mind is an imperfect thing however and the two of them have slightly different memories of
that balmy afternoon. How many discrepancies between Master Gayle’s memory (left) and Master
Ogborne’s memory (right) can you find?
What a calamity! Southampton instructor and FAST defence bulletman Mr Chris Walker is having a short holiday with some friends.
That’s not so bad, but he’s packing up to go home and seems to have lost his Girls Aloud greatest hits CD! He could probably find it
himself if he could be bothered but instead he’s just standing around practising his “fence”, so you’ll have to find it for him. Hurry,
otherwise his friends will discover it and make fun of him in the P.U.M.A. magazine! (Based on a true story)
27
W
O
N
L
O
R
EN
Croyde Bay, Devon: 11th to 18th August
Over 13s only. Under 18s must be accompanied by parent or legal
guardian. Non-training partners and family welcome.
Bath, Somerset: 31st August to 2nd September
Closing date for applications: 6th July
All grades and arts welcome. Limited spaces. See your instructor for
further details and an application form or visit