Issue 14 - Puma UK

As I type, my thoughts are drifting towards balmy evenings around the barbecue in Croyde Bay and spending the week
training, catching up with old friends and making new ones. That's right, it's almost time for summer camp. On that note I'd like
to congratulate James Taylor from Swindon who won the competition from issue 12 and as a result will have enjoyed summer
camp free of charge. Of course by the time this reaches you the week in Croyde will be ancient history and we’ll be rushing
towards another winter.
Back to this issue now and I'd like to start by welcoming Mrs Kim Robinson to the Planet P.U.M.A. team. Mrs Robinson has
kindly volunteered to help expand and improve the Children’s Corner. She will of course be looking for your help and ideas so
that she can make this page one of the highlights of the magazine. As usual in this issue we have all of your favourites
including the Taekwon-Do, Kickboxing and Health/Fitness columns. Mr McCabe looks at performing one-step sparring and tries
to help us find our inner spark whilst Mr Jones explains the various Kickboxing styles and how they differ. In the Health and
Fitness column, Miss Kirsty Oliver looks at the various types of fitness required when practicing martial arts and how to
improve each of them. As an added bonus Ms Wendy McColl also explains the benefits of sports massage and why we should
all consider using this important training aid.
On top of all our regular columns there is plenty more to entertain you. Highlights include a full interview with Mr Dennis Salt,
instructor, grading examiner and much more. We also have the welcome return of Tales from the Black Side with Mr Black
talking about some of his amazing experiences in Northern Ireland. We all know Mr Black as a bit of a joker but turn to page 12
to find out more about the serious side of this P.U.M.A. legend. There is a full list of results and awards from the April Black
Belt Grading as well as the winning Black Belt essay reproduced with kind permission of Mr Martin Lloyd, now 1st degree.
If all that isn't enough we have a full report and some amazing photos from the recent Battle of Britain Fight Night where the
P.U.M.A. squad took on teams from Evolution and the APTI. If you weren't lucky enough to attend this spectacular evening
then read all about it and how the P.U.M.A. got on. Looking forward now and this October the P.U.M.A. squad will be returning
to Clash of the Titans and needs your support. For further information about and tickets for one of the biggest and most
prestigious events in the UK martial arts calendar then just speak to your instructor. Hopefully we'll see you all there.
Finally I'd once again like to take this opportunity to thank all of those people who contribute/have contributed to the magazine
over the past three and a half years, without all of you it wouldn't be possible. We'd also like to encourage more people to get
involved, so whatever your age or grade please contact us with any thoughts or ideas that you have with respect to the
magazine so that we can keep improving it for you, the readers.
Until next time, happy reading….
Daniel Lammin
2
What's Inside
Editorial
2
Oh no - it’s those idiots again.
Interview: Mr Dennis Salt
4
Grading examiner, chairman of the disciplinary panel and international man of mystery.
Fight Night: The Battle Of Britain
6
A mighty summer storm in Chippenham.
Dursley Little P.U.M.A.s
8
Starting a new school: one man’s tale.
Northern Ireland: The Masters Visit
9
Master Gayle and Master Ogborne pop over to the Emerald Isle.
Random Stuff
10
It’s a bit like a letters page, except there aren’t any letters.
Tales From The Black Side
12
Part 4: Bad stuff. John Black gets serious.
Grading Essay: “Is Competition Good For Martial Arts?”
14
The best adult essay from the April black belt grading.
Grading Results
16
Also from the April black belt grading.
Kickboxing Camp 2008
18
A newcomer came, liked it, will probably be back...
The Tenets Of Taekwon-Do
20
Part 4: It’s all about you.
Sports Massage
21
It’s good for you, so have some.
Health And Fitness
22
Aerobic versus anaerobic fitness.
Kickboxing
24
Malcolm Jones describes the different styles.
Child Protection
25
Introducing the team.
Taekwon-Do
26
Freestyle one-step sparring - get stuck in.
Children’s Corner
27
Introducing a new-style page for juniors - because you didn’t like the old style much.
The Team
Editor
Mr Daniel Lammin
Assistant Editor
Mr Richard Potter
Contributors
Miss Kimberly Bradshaw, Mr Dennis Salt, Mr Daniel Lammin, Mr Richard Potter, Mr Tony May, Mrs
Diane McInnes, Miss Jennie Clark, Mr Ian Bedborough, Mr Leigh Haworth, Ms Wendy Moscrop, Mr John Black, Mr Martin Lloyd, Mrs
Georgina Walters, Mrs Tiina Yuseri, Mrs Wendy McColl, Miss Kirsty Oliver, Mr Malcolm Jones, Miss Louise Reeve, Mr Kevin McCabe,
Mrs Kim Robinson
Email
[email protected]
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 2008 The Professional Unification of Martial Arts Ltd. All individual articles are the copyright of their
respective authors. Opinions expressed are those of their authors and do not necessarily reflect those of P.U.M.A.. Unauthorised
reproduction is prohibited.
3
Dennis Salt
Mr Dennis Salt holds a fifth degree Taekwon-Do
black belt and teaches the Leek, Buxton and
Biddalph schools. He is the chairman of P.U.M.A.’s
disciplinary panel and a grading examiner.
Kimberly Bradshaw interviewed him at the Welsh
Championships in June and this is what he said...
Have you always been a martial arts enthusiast or did
something trigger it all off for you?
Well, the first time I looked at martial arts I was about 18 and
the only thing available locally was Judo but that wasn’t really
for me. I wanted more of the active fitness thing, like
Taekwon-Do but it wasn’t around then. I didn’t do anything
until I was what, thirty two and Taekwon-Do started in my local
town. My instructor was a pain actually (laughs), everybody
hated him I think. I started with the UKTA on 26th February at
7 o’clock in 1980 and from there I moved over to the TAGB
with the rest of my area when it first started and then
P.U.M.A., the best thing we ever did!
them for encouraging others, many of which are well on
How long have you been training for and have you always their way to achieving world status. I would also like to
thank the National Squad and P.U.M.A. for giving us the
done Taekwon-Do?
chance to compete at World level.
I been training for 28 years now and have always done
Your daughter Julia is a third degree black belt with
Taekwon-Do, a little bit of weapons with P.U.M.A. here and
P.U.M.A. and instructs along with your son-in-law. Did
there, but other than that it’s always been Taekwon-Do.
you encourage her to train when she was young or was
Following on from that, when did you start teaching and
it something that she always wanted to do?
what led you into it?
I started training at Ashbourne with my wife and sister-inIn a funny way it was down to my instructor. After seeing the
law, but after reaching green stripe they both decided that
way he taught everybody I made it my ambition to open a
two nights a week was too much with a young family. Our
school that was not run by fear and humiliation but where
daughters Julia and Lisa used to sit at the back of the hall
students were respected and could train in a family, friendly
watching us train and asked if they could join. Our
atmosphere and have some fun. I opened my first school in
instructor didn’t like teaching children but said they could
Leek twenty years ago.
come when they were seven. In the meantime they tried
the usual ballet, piano, guitar, horse riding and brownies
We are all aware that you have trained world champions
etc. but when Lisa was seven and Julia eight they gave
such as Stacey Weatherer and Marie Udall but have you
everything up for Taekwon-Do. Both achieved black belt
ever been much of a competitor yourself?
level before they were twelve, Lisa went onto get her
Yeah, six times world champion (laughs)... No, not really. I
second degree and then gave up because there was
was thirty two when I started which is not that old now but
nowhere to train at University, Julia trained a little while she
back then most competitors were in their mid teens to early
was at University but didn’t get back into it properly until
twenties. I did compete and always enjoyed sparring and
future husband Mark showed an interest. Julia took both
destruction. I never won any medals in sparring or patterns
her second and third degree gradings with P.U.M.A. and
but I did win a number for destruction.
instructs alongside husband Mark who is now a second
As I’ve already mentioned you’ve trained many high level degree.
competitors. How do you feel you have helped these
What is your best Taekwon-Do memory, I can imagine
people in achieving their dreams?
there are a few?
I saw the potential in both Stacey and Marie from early on.
Errrrm… one of my best Taekwon-Do memories was
Like most girls, they take the time to do things properly and
joining P.U.M.A.. As part of P.U.M.A. pretty much everyday
winning trophies was their reward for their hard work. I feel
has been a good day. Also, training and getting my 5th
privileged to have had the opportunity to train them and thank
degree along with Mr Tetmar and Master Ogborne, that
4
was another fantastic experience!
people’s aircraft landing on it, it’s a side line from TaekwonDo, it’s different. (Just a bit I think, not your average hobby!)
Can you tell us a little bit about the Camp Canaria trip
which takes place every year? Slightly different to
summer camp and certainly a lot warmer I am told…
Back when he looked slightly different Mr Salt ran a
moderately successful firewood business.
A lot warmer yeah, certainly not as warm as it used to be
though (laughs), Yeah, well I think it was about 12-13 years
ago when we started that. It was myself and Mr Towndrow
who started that up, it has developed from an 18-30’s trip
where we worked all day and partied all night into a more
family orientated trip. I think it’s great because we have the
chance to get lots of different instructors together. Officially
we do 4 hours of training a day. Originally this was very
physical but we found that many people could not take the
extreme heat, we had people physically sick quite a lot on
the first few trips. Now it’s more of a fun day and a fun
holiday really.
So, does that mean we can expect to see you on
summer camp at some point?
I think the P.U.M.A. summer camp and the children’s camp
are great and I recommend them to everyone and although I
enjoy being with the P.U.M.A. crowd, camping doesn’t really
appeal. The Camp Canaria trip is now in the capable hands
of Mr Bradshaw and even though I have no intentions of
retiring I have decided to do just one of the two weeks in
future (can’t take the partying anymore).
As well as having a landing strip in your back garden I
believe that you are a qualified air traffic controller.
Which came first?
Well, you got it half right. I have a landing strip with sixteen
aircraft hangered on site but no I’m not a qualified air traffic
controller although I do have to check on anyone flying in
from abroad and report details back to the police. Our
longest haul flights from the strip have been with a Flexwing
Microlight that flew to Australia and our local millionaire
landowner flew in his twin-engined Cessna from Texas. The
airstrip came about because twelve years ago I started
taking flying lessons but over the first year the lessons were
few and far between and I was not progressing so I bought
my own aeroplane, made a small strip, found an instructor
and got my private pilot’s licence in three months.
Since joining P.U.M.A. you have been affectionately
known as Mr Bond. Is this due to your job as a 007
secret agent? And Mr Bond, does the licence to kill
come in handy when teaching a class?*
Right well.. I’ll have to tell them that one it might scare them
a little bit. Actually when it was my sixtieth birthday one of
the little P.U.M.A.s saw a photo of me holding a gun and
they were scared saying ‘why is he holding a gun?’. It’s
funny what kids think, isn’t it really. I think it’s down to Master
Ogborne for bringing that one around and it stuck a little bit.
Are you looking to take your sixth degree any time in the
near future?
Who cares about stupid old bouncy castles? Everyone
would rather watch the man in pyjamas break some
wood.
The short answer is yes, I feel privileged that P.U.M.A. have
invited me to apply to grade and I hope to be ready for this
October.
And finally, is there anything else that you’d like to add?
Well I don’t want to take up all the space in P.U.M.A.’s
magazine because I know they have lots of interesting stuff
to put in it. As far as I am concerned the best thing for me
and my students was actually when we joined P.U.M.A.. I
have lots of good students who have been given
opportunities by P.U.M.A., without P.U.M.A. they would still
just be training in the club.
Thank you very much for agreeing to be interviewed Mr
Bond, I shall now let you get on with the job of saving
the world from Blofeld (AKA Mr Black).
It’s also fair to say that you have a bit of a 007 lifestyle,
driving fast cars and having an airstrip in your back
garden. How did that come about?
Right... (laughs) I don’t know what to say... we’ve got a field,
we fly down it and I have a Subaru. We mainly have other
*
Miss Bradshaw is joking. At least we assume she is.
5
The date: Saturday the 5th of July 2008.
The venue: the Olympiad Leisure Centre in Chippenham.
The event: the Battle of Britain fight night between the APTI, Evolution
and P.U.M.A. Teams.
Get ready to rumble...
As doors opened at 5:30 hundreds of spectators expectantly made their way into
the main hall at the Olympiad Leisure Centre anticipating a night of top quality
martial arts. They weren’t to be disappointed!
After welcome speeches by Masters Gayle and Ogborne it was straight down to
action with some fantastic demonstrations by Mr Brett Dowling, the Flowering
Youth Team and Miss Jenny Francis. The crowd were treated to some superb
displays of everything from weapons to traditional line work and patterns by some
of P.U.M.A.’s established and rising stars.
Next the competition itself commenced with the boys’ teams up first. The Evolution
and APTI Teams coached by Mr Francis Miller and Mr Ian Ferguson respectively
set an impressive standard of Taekwon-Do, giving the audience a taster of exactly
what they could expect from the evening. It was then time for the P.U.M.A. boys
team of C Randall, G Bradshaw, C McCullough, A Ducker, J Veitch and A Cobley
coached by Mr Kevin McCabe to join the action with spectacular results. There
were a number of notable performances, in particular from Josh Veitch and Chris
Randall. Chris gave a devastating display of movement and dynamic combinations
which made for an electrifying atmosphere as well as earning the boys’ fighter of
the night award. All this excitement resulted in a win for the P.U.M.A. team, starting
the night off in the best possible way.
so I can give you
”Wait! Come back
!”
a sound thrashing
No sooner had the boys finished then it was time for the girls to show that anything
the boys could do, they could just as well. Over the past few years the P.U.M.A.
girls’ team has conquered the world at consecutive World Championships but it
was a new look team with many of the older members having now moved up to
the adult ranks. The team of S Powlesland, N McColl, D Jones, C Attkinson and
T Flay were led out by coach Mrs Kim Robinson and soon showed that the future
of the P.U.M.A. Girls’ team is in safe hands. All five team members showed fantastic
skills in particular Dayna and Carly, who was fighting with a rib injury, helping
P.U.M.A. to a second win of the night.
Both the boys’ and the girls’ teams contained a number of P.U.M.A. coloured belts
in L Devonshire (representing Evolution), T Flay, M Beams, P Booth and C Jones.
It is impressive for Black Belts to withstand the pressure of competing on such a
big stage at such young ages but special praise should be reserved for the coloured
belts who showed true Taekwon-Do spirit beyond their years and experience. In
fact it was two brave performances from green belt M Beams that won her the
girls’ fighter of the night.
The future of the squad would
seem to be in safe hands.
Philip Whitlock wraps his leg round his
opponent’s head whilst getting punched
in the armpit for our amusement. Good
show.
Richard Harze: victorious.
Other chap: disappointed.
6
Dave Pixton: he’s very good you know.
Bradshaw versus Bradshaw.
After a half hour break to give everyone a chance to catch their breath, it was time
for the adults, with the ladies going first. Of all the teams competing on the night
it was the P.U.M.A. ladies that had most experience of top level competition and
this experience and class showed. The team of K Bradshaw, S Weatherer, E
Deakin, A Page, M Udall and K Dowse coached by Mr Gary Bradshaw dominated
their opposition from start to finish. The whole team showed exactly what it is that
has got them where they are today but on the night it was Marie Udall who won
the ladies’ fighter of the night after two displays of speed and control. The other
highlight of the ladies’ event was when the ‘Battle of Britain’ became the ‘Battle of
the Bradshaws’ as Mrs Elaine Bradshaw representing Evolution took on Miss
Kimberley Bradshaw, who after beating her mum probably had a very long walk
home…
The men were last up, aiming to complete a clean sweep of wins for P.U.M.A. with
the added pressure of knowing what the boys’, girls’ and ladies’ teams had already
achieved. The P.U.M.A. men’s team of M Whitlock, P Whitlock, D Pixton, A Swain,
A Attkinson, R Harze and D Dowling, coached by Mr Daniel Lammin, combined
a blend of youth and experience. After narrow losses in the opening two bouts
against the APTI team it looked as though the men’s team might be struggling but
the skill and experience of D Pixton and the Whitlock brothers helped P.U.M.A.
claim a narrow 3:2 win. Against Evolution it was a different story with P.U.M.A.,
buoyed by their opening victory, claiming a 5:0 whitewash despite some close
fights against some quality opposition. It’s hard to single anyone out from the men’s
team as the whole team played its part in completing the Grand Slam for P.U.M.A.
Congratulations also to Mr J Kohn of APTI, who was awarded the men’s fighter
of the night after winning both his fights in fine style.
The whole evening was a fantastic celebration of martial arts in this country and
a huge thank you must go out to the APTI and Evolution teams and supporters
without whom this event would not have been such a resounding success. Every
single fighter competed in the true spirit of martial arts with all three organisations
showing that they are at the forefront of developing martial arts in Great Britain.
Thanks to Mr Ferguson, Mr Miller, the P.U.M.A. coaches, the fighters, parents and
spectators for making the evening such a success. Last, but by no means least,
a massive thank you to Master’s Gayle and Ogborne, Michelle Price, Maria Murray,
Charlie Dowling and the events two official sponsors (Copson Grandfield,
Chartered Accountants and Grovesnor Consultancy, Independent Financial
Advisers) without whom the evening wouldn’t have been possible let alone such
a spectacular success. In the words of Master Gayle, the true winner on the
evening was martial arts!
Taekwon!
7
When Emma Deakin’s eyes light up and she
starts levitating you know you’re in trouble.
t your common-orStacey Weatherer’s kick isn’
kick. A titanic
oic
her
a
It’s
.
garden sissy kick
discovered.
kick. As her opponent has just
Drive up the M5 from Bristol, turn right after a bit and if you did
everything correctly you will find yourself in Dursley. Tony May trains
there and a while back he thought it might be fun to found a Little
P.U.M.A.s school. Find out how it all went.
We have now been running Dursley Little P.U.M.A.s for twelve
months. I really don't know where that time has gone, so I just
thought I would recall some of the moments since we opened
our doors to the potential P.U.M.A. black belts of the future. My
instructor, Mrs Karen Parker came to me early in 2007 with a
really good idea!!?! , "I would like you to run the Little P.U.M.A.
school for me." I accepted the challenge, but after I sat down
and thought about it , it seemed like this was going to be a huge
task….How will I cope with all those people shouting , screaming
and generally causing mayhem? So much for the parents, the
Little P.U.M.A.s will be even worse! With the decision made to
start a school we needed to generate interest and deemed a
leaflet drop to be the best option. Mrs Parker had hundreds of
leaflets printed and all the adult members of our school got
involved in distributing these within the Cam and Dursley area.
This campaign produced about a dozen calls with interested
parents keen for their young children to come along and
participate.
agreed for us to train with them in their classes for a few weeks.
These trips on a Sunday afternoon proved an invaluable insight
into how good a Little P.U.M.A.s school can be over time. Mr
Chance has complete control over his class, and it is a fun,
entertaining and captivating environment for all the children who
thoroughly enjoyed their lessons, which, after a warm up were
a mixture of games, exercises, and discussions.
Everything was now in place, and the big day arrived. I don't
know who was more anxious, me, the parents, the children or
Mrs Parker for having the idea in the first place! Before the
lesson began, Mrs Parker presented me with a Little P.U.M.A.
instructor’s suit (white top with blue trousers) - Thank you
Ma’am, I feel like Dr Evil from the Austin Powers films, teaching
a load of Mini-Mes! Out of the twelve who had originally phoned
up we had six children turn up, the thirty minute session flew by
and everyone seemed to enjoy the lesson and went home
happy. Over the weeks that followed everyone slipped into a
routine, all the children rose to the challenges of theme badges
and gradings with great enthusiasm. We have now been running
for a year in April and we are going from strength to strength.
We now have eight students, who attend regularly. They are
made up of a nice mix of some twelve month veterans and others
who have just been coming for a few weeks. We could have
had nine students, but unfortunately one particular child didn't
take too well to their first lesson. The potential recruit and the
parents turned up one Sunday. The child came into the dojang,
had a look around, wasn't impressed and immediately turned
around and ran out. The last we saw of them was the child
running across the school playing field closely followed by the
parents - they never turned up again. The newer students have
come from existing parents’ recommendations, which is really
nice and must mean we are doing something right. The other
pleasing thing is that we have so far had three Little P.U.M.A.s
move up to the junior lessons, which they have settled into very
well and with a lot of eagerness. We have also had one of the
parents take up Taekwon-Do as well.
We now had potential students and a very nervous instructor
and by this time we had also procured the services of two
assistants. Both are Dursley students: Nick Trafford (A 1st dan
black belt) and my 11 year old son (a red stripe). The next stage
was to actually try and find out something about the syllabus.
This involved a trip down to deepest Dorset where we attended
a session with Mrs Ogborne, the Little P.U.M.A. coordinator. We
covered all sorts of useful topics which would assist us in our
first weeks and months. I now thought it may be a good idea to
try and experience an actual L.P. class before we embarked on
our own, this came courtesy of Mr Chance and Miss Reeve who
run a Little P.U.M.A.s school in Clifton, Bristol and who kindly
My thanks go to Mr Trafford and Aaron, who help me week in
week out, to all the parents who take the time out to bring their
children to the lessons each week and stay to encourage all of
them (without them we would have no school) and to Mrs Parker
for having the mad idea in the first place, for having the faith to
put me in charge of the Little P.U.M.A. school and for her
constant encouragement which keeps me going. There is much
to be done, but I hope we are doing our bit in giving the younger
members of our organisation a fun activity to get involved with
each week and helping to instil in them the ABC of life (Attitude,
Behaviour, Character), which, as they grow up, will hopefully
assist them in their everyday life. Here's to the next twelve
months and beyond…
AARRGGHH! STOP! STAND BACK! ETC!
Tony May (1st Dan black belt, Dursley)
8
Two years on from our first ever P.U.M.A. Northern Ireland grading,
we were doubly honoured when kickboxing Masters Gayle and
Ogborne visited our shores. There was the obvious joke about
masters being like buses, in that you don’t see one for ages and
then two turn up at once! But it was with a mixture of excitement
and trepidation that we looked forward to the grading exam and
technical seminar that was planned the evening before.
Master Ogborne congratulates
Ms Grainne Cunning for being
so awesome.
For those who didn’t know that P.U.M.A. had reached so far north
and west, Bannside Kickboxing has over forty students based in
the North West of Northern Ireland training in the towns of Coleraine
and Kilrea, which are both on the river Bann hence “Bannside”. We
recently attended our first P.U.M.A. Championship in Cardiff and
came back with one gold, four silver and two bronze cups out of
eight competitors!
The Ulster University Sports Centre was the venue for the technical
seminar when we split into two groups for coaching. Master Gayle
explained how all martial artists need to be light of foot, and dazzled
us with his impressive speed skipping! We worked on applying this
nifty footwork to reverse and sliding side kicks. Master Ogborne
taught us via his favourite reaction drill how to turn a negative reflex
response into a positive counter attack, and also showed us how
practising our defensive techniques S-L-O-W-L-Y (and in our best
English accents) would lead to improvement. He also showed us
how to reduce what an opponent may perceive as a safe distance,
and come up with a winning punching combination in two easy
steps. All too quickly the seminar was over and it was off to the local
hostelry for a well earned pint of the black stuff – just the one, as
we had the grading the following day!
our Kilrea training hall. Thankfully no-one passed out, and we had
a 100% success rate, including a number of credits and two
distinctions. Credit passes were awarded to: David Stewart, Red
Belt; Jennifer Murdock, Yellow belt; Karen Brown, Yellow belt; Chris
Shirlow, Yellow belt; Adam Acheson, Yellow Belt; Grainne Cunning,
Orange belt; Gary Campbell, Green belt and Oliver Mullan, Blue
belt. Distinctions were awarded to red belt newcomers Jonny
Whiteman and Des Young. Grainne Cunning scooped the Grading
Award, which made up for her disappointment at the Welsh
Championships.
The next morning was spent keeping the wheels of P.U.M.A.
running smoothly with the Masters and myself exercising our fingers
and voices on email and telephone…this was after Master Gayle
had performed his morning workout which included more speed
skipping, wearing his kickboxing uniform no less! We just about had
time for a very quick sightseeing visit to the beach, fry-up, and cup What I’ve learned from the masters’ visit is that we must not neglect
of tea with my mum before heading back to prepare for the grading. the soft skills in the art of kickboxing, and remember that not
Twenty five nervous but “up for it” kickboxers faced the Masters in everyone is destined for full contact in the boxing ring! Thinking
about this, I was prompted to look up the definition of the Chinese
symbol of Yin and Yang (similar to the Tae Keuk symbol at the
centre of the Korean Flag) as one interpretation is that this
symbolises the hard and soft sides of martial arts. As many of you
may already know, as it’s written in the Taekwon-do Student
Handbook, “the ancient oriental philosophers viewed the universe
as a place in which harmony could be attained by the reconciliation
of opposing forces”. These opposites of Yang (sun or day) and Yin
(moon or night) together make up our universe, and we must have
each in all things to obtain balance. To many people martial arts
is like a religion, and nowhere more than in Northern Ireland should
we remember that it can be very dangerous when everyone
believes that their way is the right one, and they loose sight of the
principles such as peace and compromise. Thankfully here in
Northern Ireland the reconciliation is happening…
We are looking forward to welcoming the Kickboxing Masters back
again in the not too distant future. Perhaps by then we will be able
to skip as well as Master Gayle – but I doubt it! In the meantime Mr
Walker (a regular visitor) and Mr Powlesland are scheduled to visit
for another F.A.S.T. Defence course and grading exam. We’d of
course love to see anyone from P.U.M.A. who’d like to come over
to instruct us or to train.
Master Gayle skipping outside
near some cows, obviously.
Mrs Diane McInnes 2nd Dan, Instructor Bannside Kickboxing
9
Here’s what’s been going on
lately. If you have something
that should appear here, write
in and tell us...
For your education and pleasure we are delighted to present this vintage snippet from
E.W. Barton-Wright, the legendary European martial arts pioneer. Don’t try this at home...
“The safest way to meet an attack with a spiked staff or long stick when you are only armed with an
ordinary walking stick.
The first photograph shows the most dangerous mode of attack with a long stick, and also the best position
to adopt in order to meet such an attack with safety.
It will be seen that the figure on the right is exposing his body in order to ensure his adversary attacking him
there, and to be prepared with an immediate defence.
Directly the man with the alpenstock attempts to bayonette him, he diverts the blow by turning sideways, and
making a circular downward cut, which hits the alpenstock and causes it to glide slightly upwards and sideways
-- a guard known in sword play as "Septime envelopé." The moment the blow has been diverted, the man with
the stick must seize the alpenstock with his left hand, and, stepping in, strike his assailant a blow across the
face.”
Excerpt from “Self-defence with a Walking-stick: The Different Methods of Defending Oneself with a
Walking-Stick or Umbrella when Attacked under Unequal Conditions (Part2)” by E.W. Barton-Wright
First published by Pearson’s Magazine, 11 (February 1901), 195-204.
g
in
ow
B
m
do
an
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’s
rk
la
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e
ni
Jen
e Confessions”
“Part 4:Tru
That’s a cool photo.
The date: June 22nd.
The place: Oasis in Swindon.
Many of our respondents seem strangely proud of their incongruous behaviour.
Take this month’s selection, presented in their own words...
Ian Bedborough
“I work in the IT department in Plymouth
hospital and I bowed on my way in to an
operating theatre in mid-operation the
other day!”
Jo Matthews, Exeter
“I have randomly bowed in all sorts of
places but have also done the TaekwonDo hand shake in some embarrassing
situations too, such to clients or directors
at work and also when just meeting new
people through friends. They probably
wondered “what the heck is she doing!”
Daniel Winchilsea, Yeovil
“Just to let you know i came home last
Thursday after training and bowed to
Shelley (my wife) at the door and called
her “Ma’am”. Other than that I have not
been caught out -YET!”
Aileen Edwards, Bournemouth
“I very embarrassingly bowed to our Chief
Technology officer in the canteen a few
weeks ago. He's the head of our 500+
strong
technology
group...
very
embarrassing, especially as it was
probably my two minutes to impress him
this year and what do I do, I bow! Oh well,
the look of confusion on his face was quite
priceless.”
10
It’s the English Championships and Mrs
Bedborough looks extra-cross as she
exacts justice on a notorious local gang
of scumbag tiles. If you ever find this
lady on your roof just clear the building
and retreat to a safe distance.
A feature where we find people in P.U.M.A. who
look a bit like somebody famous.
We now shamelessly recycle this vintage
photograph of (then) Mr Ogborne from the last
edition. Somebody thought he looked a bit like
Mackenzie Crook, best known as Gareth from The
Office and a random pirate from Pirates Of The
Caribbean. Who are we to argue with that?
NEWSFLASH
Flay of Newton
Natalie McColl and Tiegan
of third degree
ts
Abbot Taekwon-Do (studen
) were both
ore
rtim
Instructor Jason Mo
rsonality Of
Pe
s
ort
Sp
r’s
winners at this yea
bridge, Devon.
The Year Awards for Teign
award for best
Tiegan scooped the
n the award for
newcomer and Natalie wo
the Year for the
Junior Sportswoman of
the first time that
second consecutive year
s were really
girl
th
this has occured. Bo
) and Mr
ms
mu
ir
the
proud (as were
y acknowledged
Mortimore very graciousl
gotten anywhere
that they wouldn't have
without him.
After a surprise call from Carl Samms requesting a heavy
weight fighter to fight at the Excel Centre London under K1
rules in 20 hours time we thought the possibilities would be
small. Kevin Hunt, who had been training with Gravesend’s
Star Kick boxing for less than a year and managed to grade
as a red belt, had been asking to get in the full contact ring
for a while now, but little did he know that his first fight would
be a chance to fight a world champion in front of 2,200
people. Leon Walters is a world champion K1 heavyweight
fighter and also a leading star in the new film SUCKER
PUNCH. At first we thought Kevin would not be keen but
“Hey” he said, “I‘ll do it”.
They’re a veritable hive of hyperactivity and
here’s the evidence...
Glen Meritt, a super heavyweight from Gravesend’s Star
Kickboxing made his debut at Rochester Casino rooms on
the 11th of May and achieved a TKO in the first round after
an incredible performance. The fight was supported by over
40 friends and students from Star Kickboxing. Several more
Star Kickboxing Fighters will be at the Casino Rooms soon,
including Shaun Mew who is an eight man last man standing
tournament for his first competition. Good luck Sean!
11
The tension rose as the arena filled with an anxious crowd
but Gravesend’s Mr Cool just wanted to get his hair right
before the fight. The fight began and what an explosive start
to the fight with Kevin getting the champ on the ropes.
Unfortunately experience took over and the fight was
stopped in the closing seconds of the first three minute
round.
After the fight Kevin was congratulated by many people who
complimented him on the pace of the fight. Kevin goes
home with an incredible story to tell his friends and a
memory that I am sure he will never forget. Well done Kevin!
For this instalment Mr John Black kindly agreed to recount a nasty episode from his time serving in Northern Ireland, for
which he received a General Officer’s Commendation. Reader discretion is advised.
(Transcribed and edited by Richard Potter).
It was the about 1979 or 1980 and I was on my fifth and final tour
in Northern Ireland, before I went to the Depot at Litchfield. I was
with overseas “Rover” group - V.I.P. close protection - because I
was Physical Training staff. If a V.I.P. went out in civilian clothes
I would go out with him in a car that that sort of stuff. We did training
for close-quarter combat like what they do for bodyguards and
stuff, but we did normal patrols as well.
“No! Arrest him!”
This man had gone crazy beating people, staff, customers,
everyone, up in a pub – I think it was something about his wife
kissing somebody else and it getting out of hand - and now he had
a knife and was going for this officer, trying to stab him. The officer
jumped back and shouted “Arrest him!” again.
“CORPORAL BLACK!” the Sergeant Major shouted. “ARREST
HIM!”
This particular night we had a new officer, fresh from Sandhurst,
who had never done a tour in Northern Ireland before. We called
them “Ruperts”. I wasn’t even supposed to be on patrol that night
but… “Corporal Black, I know you’re PT staff but I want you to go
out with Rover Group and keep an eye on the Rupert and help out
the Sergeant Major” I was told.
Here we go.
I had all this stuff on - a flack jacket and a big rain thing that made
you look like The Hulk because it was raining and a rifle - and I
could hardly move. I gave the rifle to one of the other lads and tried
to calm the guy down.
“No problem sir” I replied.
“Look Sir, you’ve got to calm down.”
It was a Thursday evening, pouring down with rain, and it was
always a bad day on Thursday because the locals got their pay
on that day and they’d get drunk and they’d be lots of fights
happening. It was kicking off that night - we had one incident after
another.
“DON’T CALL ME SIR!” he shouted, spitting at me. “Come on then
you English …, Ahm gonna kill you all!”. He was a massive twenty
stone monster. His knife was a big blade, like a dagger or a sword.
I don’t know where he’d got it from – maybe he’d taken it off the
pub wall, the local pubs had decorations like that up.
The Rupert had no experience of the province and was really trying
to prove to his men that he was a leader, that he could handle
anything. Instead of listening to the more experienced people
around him and learning from them, he tried to match aggression
with aggression - not the ying and yang way. He had his 9mm gun
slung round his hips like flipping John Wayne.
“Sir, just calm down. You need to calm down and come with us”.
I was trying to get near him. As I got close, he slashed at me with
his knife. I jumped back but the knife went right through my rain
mac. If that had been my skin I would have had a serious injury. I
backed off a bit.
“Stop here, we’ll pull this car over.” the Rupert said when we came
across what looked like a drink-driving thing.
“Arrest that man!”
“Look, this isn’t our job, it’s the police’s job” the Sergeant Major
replied. “We’re here to fight the terrorists, not to arrest drunk
drivers. Our job is to keep the peace.”
I was trying to keep this officer off my back and my legs were going
like jelly. It was that fight-or-run thing, because that’s what you
want to do. You think “Oh, gee”. I felt I couldn’t move.
“But we should arrest him.”
By then a busload of locals had just come back from the bingo.
We had a riot now. They were starting with the “YOU BRITISH …”,
shouting profanities - they were on his side! He was the one who
was causing trouble, but the officer was now winding them up while
the others were trying to keep them back with their weapons.
And so on…
And then it all really kicked off.
We came across a fight in a pub in Londonderry’s Creggan Estate,
a rough, really bad place. This chap from the pub was putting
people through windows. There were tables, chairs and bodies
scattered around this pub and this guy was fighting another guy
and absolutely knocking ten bells out of him. So we stopped and
the Rupert then starts with the stop-that-my-good-man-that’s-noton approach.
I was still in the middle with this guy, trying to calm him down and
it was still pouring with rain. One of the lads tried to get round the
side of him and for one split second he took his eyes off me – he
wasn’t focused on me. Just then, he lunged.
It was weird. Everything goes black and it’s just me and him. I don’t
hear everybody shouting around me. I know I’ve got to move but
it seems like a ten second delay before your body moves.
The guy looked around at him and started off with some ”Hyahyah!
haya whaya!” sounds which probably meant “English pigheads!
Go home!”.
As he came forward I just stepped back, as if I was trying to get
out of his way, and I thought “I’m gonna try for a back kick… now!”.
The officer walked up to the man, who grabbed him, lifted him up
and threw him against the side of our wagon.
There was this huge wait… then my back was to him and the back
kick caught him. I didn’t know how hard, all I heard was the impact
and the wind going out of him. I turned round and he’d dropped to
his knees.
The Sergeant Major grabbed the Rupert. “Sir, you’re out of order.
You’ve got to take it easy with these people. You can’t be
aggressive with them, It’s not like that”.
I grabbed him around the neck, because he was a big lad, and I
12
just hung on for dear life, squeezing like merry heck and choking
him for what seemed like ages. It might have been only seconds
before the riot squads arrived, because we had the riot as well and
they were throwing bricks and I’m on the floor with this bloke
struggling, trying to get his breath, and I wouldn’t let him go. He
went limp on me, but I didn’t let him go because the adrenaline
was going and I was hanging on for dear life. In my mind I couldn’t
let this guy up, I just had to hang onto him, or he would get up and
murder me. I was very scared.
It seemed ages waiting for the riot van because we were getting
stoned now. The lads were trying to protect me with their shields
and stuff while I was holding this man and the mob were trying to
get to him and me, but I wouldn’t let him go. There were only eight
of us – four men in each Landrover – and the crowd were trying
to split us apart so they could grab our rifles, pull us into the crowd,
shoot us… but the lads were experienced and we stuck together
as a group. That was our job, we were all trained to look after one
another, each as strong or as weak as the next. You know the film
300? Where they have a circle? It was like that, with me in the
middle with the guy, waiting for the riot squad.
I felt the guy go limp. People were dragging at him shouting. I could
hear them but my body wasn’t reacting – I couldn’t let him go.
“Blackie! Blackie! Let him go! You’re killing him!”
I could hear that but I wouldn’t let go. I didn’t know who it was trying
to pull me off.
“BLACKIE! LET HIM GO FOR PITY’S SAKE! YOU’RE KILLING
HIM!”
As they pulled me up I was still holding him and they pulled him
up with me. I was still hanging onto his neck, but he was limp.
And then I let him go.
It’s weird. My legs were like jelly, I felt sick – I was sick actually, I
remember being sick – and I realised I’d nearly killed another
human being. That was the nitty-gritty. He was out for five minutes
- it took the ambulance crew that long to bring him round. Maybe
ten more seconds, I don’t know, he wouldn’t have made it.
I didn’t join the army to kill people. I joined the army to get a
trade, see the world and meet people. I never ever thought I
would be touring Northern Ireland and I never thought I’d be
preparing to go to war in the Falklands. That’s when reality hits
you – boom – and you think “This is it”.
My OC commanding officer put me through for a General
Officer’s Commendation for bravery and also for working with
underprivileged kids, both Catholics and Protestants, trying to
get them to work together. There was a new project called
“Tiddly” and they’d put me in charge of it.
I remember being a young black belt on the boat coming into
Belfast for the first time. Before I’d even got of the boat they
were throwing bricks at us. We used to get stoned, petrolbombed and acid-bombed all the time when we came out of the
camp. These kids would throw petrol bombs during riots and
hang up acid in bottles so when a patrol Landrover came through
the bottles would break and the acid would come through and
burn people. It would go through the clothes and badly burn the
skin.
And it stopped. The stone throwing stopped and the petrol
bombing stopped. They said that was down to me working with
the kids. We played football with them, got them playing pool
with the soldiers, table tennis, we took them out to the beach –
they’d never been to the beach before. These kids had never
seen a beach. Seriously, that’s how bad it was.
When I got back to England and was at the depot in Litchfield,
I was presented with the General Officer’s Commendation by
Princess Ann. I also got various letters from colonels saying
“Congratulations Corporal Black, you’re a hero” and stuff like
that.
The Rupert was reprimanded for the incident, because he’d
turned a molehill into a mountain. He should have let the
experienced Sergeant Major and the soldiers around him sort
it out. It was his first tour in Northern Ireland and he was trying
to make a name for himself, prove he was the hard man and
stuff like that. It’s a tough lesson to learn.
I was shaking like a leaf as we went back.
“Ah, you’re a hero Blackie!” the lads were saying. But I wasn’t a
hero. I was bricking myself.
The truth is if I hadn’t had my flack jacket on, that knife would have
cut across the chest and opened my stomach. That would have
been guts and everything hanging out. That’s when it hits you, the
reality of it, when you get back. The adrenaline’s still going,
everyone’s having a laugh -“You should have seen Blackie! He
dropped him with a back kick!” - and it’s like you’re the super hero
of the regiment. But you’re not. Everyone looks up to you and thinks
you’re a hard man but I wasn’t, I was never a hard man and I’m
no hero. It was reactions – whether it was timing or not, the training
just took over, I caught him and it dropped him. I just caught him
with a back kick, a lucky back kick.
It took hours to calm everything down and this bloke went to
hospital and got charged with G.B.H.. I don’t know how many
months he got but he was in hospital for a couple of days as well
because I believe I’d cracked his sternum from the back kick and
he was sick everywhere. I didn’t realise I’d hit him that hard.
13
This account has been edited for language.
“Is competition good for martial arts?”
Mr Martin Lloyd scooped the best adult essay at the April grading and here is that very essay...
I’ve been training in Taekwon-Do now for nearly four years. During
those years I have competed regularly and derived a great deal
of pleasure from doing so. Meeting like minded people and pitting
my skills against theirs has definitely enhanced my Taekwon-do
development. I have been fortunate in that all the competitors I’ve
gone up against have been very respectful and have never
behaved in an unsportsmanlike manner. However I have
witnessed occasions when competition has brought out the worst
of human behaviour. I have witnessed participants storming off
because the decision didn’t go their way, I’ve seen parents and
coaches aggressively berating their child or student because they
haven’t performed to the expected standard. I’ve witnessed a very
senior Dan Grade physically threaten a referee because he dared
to disqualify his student for excessive contact. What sort of
example was this to set his student? Competitions have the
potential to bring out the very worst but also the very best in
people. On the flip side of the coin I’ve witnessed some
exceptional competition performances. Recently at the Northern
Championships, two of the heavy weight black belts met in the
final. It was a superb display of skill and tenacity by two
exceptional athletes. At the end of the bout the competitors
received a rousing round of applause even before the result was
announced. To the spectators the result of that fight was
irrelevant. They had been treated to a display of Taekwon-Do at
its highest level and the crowd would have been happy with a
draw.
a real desire to start training myself. My motivation to start came
from my family and watching the art in a school environment. So
perhaps the question to ask is could an art survive in the modern
world without competitions?
Throughout the animal and plant kingdoms competition plays an
essential role in natural selection and evolution of species.
Competition for food, shelter, mating partners and land has been
responsible for the survival of many organisms. Without
competition within the sphere of life many species would have
died out long ago. So it can be said that competition is inherent
in us all to some extent. In the modern world we still compete in
everyday life for the essentials, we compete for the better jobs
(what is an interview if it isn’t a competition between the
applicants?), we strive for more money, more possessions, and
a higher standard of living. For some it’s a case of essentials for
survival, for others a ‘beat thy neighbour’ mentality has developed
and sometimes it’s purely a need to own the best and live life as
comfortably as possible irrespective of the achievement of others.
In recent times competition has been perceived to be a negative
thing amongst children. Schools these days will avoid creating a
competitive environment to prevent children being subject to
suffering by comparison to their peers, but children are also
naturally competitive. How often have we heard children use
phrases like ‘My Dad’s bigger and stronger than your dad’ or ‘our
car is better than your car’?. The world we live in is a very
competitive place so are we being fair on children if we completely
When competitions are carried out in the spirit of the art they are remove any form of competition during their developing years?
a wonderful experience for all concerned, a showcase for the best Doesn’t a level of competition when they are juniors help to
that any art has to offer. Many individuals having witnessed a prepare them for adult life?
demonstration of an art through a competition have taken
inspiration from it and subsequently gone on to take up the art. Many individuals, when they discover they are good at something,
As such competitions can be a great way of promoting an art but naturally develop that skill to their maximum ability. This
equally they can turn potential students off, as I discovered when development may be recreationally oriented like running, rowing,
I watched WTF Taekwon-Do at the Olympics and was bored martial arts, scrabble, chess, the list is endless, or it may be work
oriented: a carpenter, an engineer, a university lecturer, a
witless to the point that I turned it off.
surgeon. All strive to be the best they can be. I believe to remove
Although witnessing competitions has probably inspired many to competition completely from man is to destroy the natural animal.
take up a martial art, the greatest inspiration for most has probably Many of man’s greatest achievements have evolved from
been film media. Who can argue that the likes of Bruce Lee, competition. The first man in space, the first man to climb Everest,
Jackie Chan, Jet Li and the Karate Kid to name a few haven’t the first men to the poles, the first man to cross the oceans to the
inspired generations to take up a martial art?
new world, all occurred because there’s always someone who
Whilst to a greater extent oriental cultures appear to have wants to come first. Would man have achieved what he has
maintained the original lifestyle ethics of martial arts, the western without competition?
world has turned martial arts into a recreational pursuit. Many still There is evidence in cave drawings of sports type archery
seek to master an art for personal safety issues but the reality of activities dating back to 30,000 years ago. Competitive sports can
effective self defence is very hard to achieve purely through be clearly traced back to the ancients Greeks and the Olympic
studying and learning an art and often takes many years to Games to more than 700BC although in all probability it is likely
perfect. I didn’t start Taekwon-Do to defend myself or because I that other competitions predate this. Around 648BC Pankration
was inspired from watching competitions or the performances of was introduced to the Olympic Games, combining elements of
media superstars. I never really believed I would take up a martial boxing and wrestling. This is considered by many to be a fighting
art at all. After my family started Taekwon-Do, I would watch my system comparable to the mixed martial arts of today. Is UFC
wife and children performing it and then start analysing really 2,500 years old?
movements. When they were coming up for grading, I would study
theory with them. After watching for nearly two years I discovered Martial arts have evolved around the world from an essential need
14
for people to defend themselves and protect their families,
countryman and possessions from marauding gangs or invasion
from neighbouring aggressive states. Most of the martial arts were
developed by the more vulnerable members of societies who did
not possess or weren’t allowed to own and carry weapons. These
people had to evolve forms of defence using their hands, feet and
common tools used in agriculture/industry. Many of the oriental
cultures in which martial arts have evolved were dominated by
the values of Confucius and as such competition would have been
frowned upon. Some arts have been further developed through
a military back ground. The principles of many of the arts were
aimed not only at making an effective combat soldier but also to
improve the spiritual person, hence the Tenets of Taekwon-Do.
During the Silla Dynasty in Korea, King Chin Hung established
the Hwa Rang around 600AD. When the Hwa Rang were formed
its code was based on Confucian and Buddhist principles. This
group took the art of Soo Bak Gi and transformed it into Taekkyon.
In later centuries, the King of Koryo made Taekkyon training
mandatory for all soldiers, and annual Taekkyon contests were
held among all members of the Silla population on May 5th of the
Lunar Calendar. This would have been at odds with the original
Confucianist teachings of the Hwa Rang which condemned
competition for competition’s sake.
However, time tends to dilute the original teachings and principles,
and man being man will naturally take a life skill and turn it into a
competition or recreational pursuit. The lumber jack who climbs
a timber pole and cuts the top off with an axe is a good example
of man’s competitive nature taking a life skill and turning into a
competition.
In the modern world many martial arts have evolved to be almost
competition led. WTF Taekwon-Do, Muay Thai, Judo and
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu are a few of the arts that view competitions as
an essential aspect of the art. I don’t doubt that there are many
who would disagree with this opinion, however WTF Taekwon-Do
as the Olympic version of the art is very much geared to the sport
/ competition side of Taekwon-Do and as such would probably
not have evolved into its current form without competitions. injured, concerns about weight categories, age categories, and
Similarly Muay Thai which was originally part of Siamese military height categories.
training has evolved into the national sport of Thailand and is now
I have experienced a wide range of emotions when competing,
practised world wide.
from joy to disappointment. I have experienced guilt when winning
The evolution of an art purely for sport or competition purposes because the other person has lost through interpretation of the
is often decried as a corruption of the original art and often bears rules. In the Northern Championships I won a destruction
no resemblance to the original art. In recent times competitions competition by being the lightest person in the category but both
have evolved which allow competitors from a wide range of arts the other competitors had made the same breaks as me. The
to compete against each other. This had led to further discussion result went to the scales because of the three breaks rule. The
/ controversy over which art is the best. This again is list of negatives is endless and yet competitions have survived.
counterproductive in that we become focused on the negatives Why? Because when a competition succeeds in showing us the
of another art instead of the positives of our own. Why is man so very best performances of the art it is a celebration of man’s
obsessed with putting down his neighbour instead of just enjoying achievements and every one of us, competitors and spectators
what he has and admiring the skills of others? This is man’s alike, feels buoyed up by the experience.
naturally competitive nature showing itself again.
From a personal view point, watching others perform and
Competitions will always bring out the negatives in people, friction competing myself has improved my own performances of patterns
from comparisons amongst different styles, varying technique but whether this is a true reflection of the art as developed by the
performance, competitive spirit degenerating into jealousy and founder, I will leave my instructor to decide. I recently heard a
envy with the result that it becomes aggressive with hard contact discussion amongst senior instructors which observed how
/ malicious intent to cause injury, issues of fair judging, spectators competitions had caused performers to evolve techniques
dissatisfied with results, friction amongst team mates / coaches / because of aesthetics rather than functionality. This would
family and stresses on individual performers both physically and obviously be bad for the art in the long run because each evolution
psychologically.
will erode the standards of performance originally laid down by
Then there are the confidence issues for people who do not General Choi Hong Hi 9th Degree. We could end up with patterns
compete and suffer by comparison, younger exponents put off by which look more like a choreographed dance than a functional
an unpleasant experience – i.e. hard contact / losing to someone performance of a pattern against imaginary opponents. Sparring
/ over eager parenting or coaching / insufficient positive support bears little resemblance to a true self defence scenario and as
from coaches / parents / team members, sibling rivalries within such doesn’t represent the art in its original form which was to
disable and inflict the greatest amount of pain and damage to an
families because one is successful and not the other.
opponent with as few techniques as possible. It would however
Training for competition carries its own hazards: injuries through be very unwise to allow competitors to perform the art ‘no holds
over zealous training regimes, health deterioration through barred’ in a competition.
excesses of training for younger participants, training when
15
I believe one of the main benefits of competitions is that on a
regional, national and international level people from all walks
of life are brought together under a common interest and this
leads to greater understanding and tolerance of different
cultures and values. Many friendships have developed through
competitions. During the 2008 ITF Championships at
Birmingham I met with several participants from Ireland, North
Africa and North America all competing in the Veterans’
categories. We were able to discuss Taekwon-Do from the
perspective of our age group, which made a really pleasant
change. If competitions enable people to come together under
a common cause then that is always going to be a good thing.
Had P.U.M.A. not staged regular competitions I wouldn’t have
met and become friends with anywhere near as many like
minded people. The P.U.M.A. competition circuit has become
an extended friends group for us and I always look forward to
our next ‘get-together’.
Grading Results
Here are the full results of the April 2008 P.U.M.A.
black belt grading:
Suzanne Jones
Credit
1st Degree
Martin Crump
Pass
1st Degree
Paul Scott
Pass
1st Degree
Karen Stokes
Distinction
2nd Degree
Many martial arts would survive without competitions purely
because people train in the arts for a much broader range of
motives. I believe P.U.M.A. has in excess of 7,000 students.
Imagine if they all turned up to compete in the British
Championships. Probably fewer than 10% of P.U.M.A. members
compete and probably far less than that number compete
regularly. A martial art fulfils a great many needs for its
participants from fitness to self defence, and competition, for
most, is a very small aspect of the art. I would want to see
competitions continue if only for the opportunity for the whole
of P.U.M.A. to get together in a celebration of the art (the
occasional medal is nice too!).
Master Gayle and
Mr Chris Mullen.
There is good and bad in everything and this includes
competitions. Like Um and Yang philosophy, good and bad are
inherently linked and one could not exist without the other. Could
we recognise the good if there was no bad to judge it against?
My main research sources for the essay have been The
Encyclopaedia of Taekwon-Do by General Choi Hong Hi 9th
degree, Wikipedia and the P.U.M.A. web site.
Carl Walker
Credit
1st Degree
Judith Harrison
Pass
1st Degree
Nicola Winslow
Credit
1st Degree
John Condon
Pass
1st Degree
The above essay is reproduced by kind permission of Mr Lloyd.
Grading essays are treated as confidential by the grading
committee. They will never be published or even provided to
the magazine editorial team without the express permission of
the author.
Owen Yee-King picks
up his special award.
16
James Bagguley
Pass
1st Degree
Harry Medway
Credit
1st Degree
Charlie Wilson
Pass
1st Degree
Bradley Elliott
Pass
1st Degree
Ella-Louise Handley
Pass
1st Degree
Joshua Cooper
Pass
1st Degree
Daniel Stone
Pass
1st Degree
Brandon Wong
Pass
1st Degree
Sam Barnett
Pass
1st Degree
Harry Huish
Pass
1st Degree
Shaun Gregson
Pass
1st Degree
Anthony Ducker
Pass
2nd Degree
Luke Rothery
Pass
1st Degree
Sonia Harris
Pass
2nd Degree
Holly Notman
Pass
1st Degree
Caley Cockram
Pass
2nd Degree
Alexander Dunstan
Pass
1st Degree
Joshua Egan
Pass
2nd Degree
Owen Yee-King
Pass
1st Degree
Jonathan Whittaker
Pass
2nd Degree
Jack Penhaligan
Pass
1st Degree
Isaac Bloomberg
Pass
2nd Degree
Joshua Beisly
Pass
1st Degree
Stephen Spickett
Pass
3rd Degree
Lucy Carpenter
Credit
1st Degree
Steven Luker
Credit
3rd Degree
Marcus Boothe
Pass
1st Degree
Peter Hilditch
Pass
3rd Degree
Claire Bodger
Distinction
1st Degree
Patrick Timoney
Pass
4th Degree
Austen Feighery
Pass
1st Degree
David Harper
Distinction
5th Degree
Dale Campbell
Pass
1st Degree
James Kellington
Pass
1st Degree
Liam Bettinson
Pass
1st Degree
Tamzin Dawkins
Credit
1st Degree
Steph Yates
Pass
1st Degree
Simon Peck
Pass
1st Degree
Alison Gartside
Credit
1st Degree
Sean Peaty
Pass
1st Degree
Stuart Studdy
Pass
1st Degree
Christopher Mullen
Distinction
1st Degree
Sophie Parton
Pass
1st Degree
Samuel Oliver
Pass
1st Degree
Sophie Barnett
Credit
1st Degree
Joshua Pluckrose
Pass
1st Degree
Charlotte Levy
Distinction
1st Degree
Tara Stein
Pass
1st Degree
Christopher Norman
Pass
1st Degree
Sally Brimacobe
Credit
1st Degree
Best Coloured Belt Female:
Claire Bodger
Douglas Sims
Credit
1st Degree
Best Coloured Belt Male:
Martyn Lloyd
Gary Rockley
Pass
1st Degree
Best Junior:
Lucy Carpenter
Patrick Mooney
Pass
1st Degree
Best Black Belt:
David Harper
Paul Roe
Distinction
1st Degree
Best Female Spirit:
Charlotte Levy
Scott Pidgley
Pass
1st Degree
Martyn Lloyd
Distinction
1st Degree
Best Male Spirit:
Paul Roe
Aaron Avey
Credit
1st Degree
Best Junior Spirit:
Douglas Sims
Graham Parsons
Pass
1st Degree
Best Black Belt Spirit Test:
Isaac Bloomberg
Geoffrey Cooper
Pass
1st Degree
Best Adult Essay:
Martyn Lloyd
Best Junior Essay:
Sam Oliver
Heart & Soul Award:
Chris Mullen
Master Gayle, David
Harper and apparently
the rest
of Gravesend as well.
Owen Yee King
Nicola Winslow
The Hardie Family
, best
Ms Claire Bodger
ale.
coloured belt fem
David Harper
Pass
2nd Degree
Francesca White
Pass
2nd Degree
Ryan Marriott
Credit
2nd Degree
Master Little P.
U.M.A.
makes his first
public
appearance.
Images are courtesy of Insight Photography.
17
2008
End of February, spring in the air... Time for another annual camp methinks. Georgina Walters obviously
thought so because she turned up for the weekend and liked it so much she’s written all about it...
It was with some trepidation that I agreed to sign up for this year’s
spring Kickboxing camp, firstly because it was my first camp and
secondly because I had only recently started attending Kickboxing
class on a regular basis, my first discipline being Taekwon-Do.
After a slight diversion, again no fingers being pointed at a certain
Wendy Moscrop, we arrived at the hall ready for the next session
which started off with a good warm up, making sure we were all
well stretched we moved on to improving our technical moves and
I put aside the horror stories of the 6am run through muddy rivers, a bit of pad work. For those that wanted to attend the optional
trying to forget about the weather forecast of severe wind and rain afternoon session, there was enough time to go back to the chalet
and packed my kit (making sure I had clothing for all eventualities). for a bite of lunch.
For those who know me well, I tried really hard to pack light – honest
- but still had enough stuff to last a week.
I arrived at the East Dorset Golf and Country Club suitably
impressed by my surroundings and happy to hear that I would be
sharing the luxury chalet with the ladies from my Salisbury school.
We unpacked the cars in the dark following a late arrival - no fingers
being pointed at a certain lady for the delay. Then we headed over
to Mr Jones’s chalet for a quick introduction and to receive a copy
of our itinerary.
The afternoon session was on video analysis, where Mr Jones
videoed those who attended individually or in small groups. In
hindsight I might have given this session a miss if I had known quite
how often I would be forced to look at myself freeze framed in very
unflattering positions. That said, it was very helpful to see for myself
how my moves can be improved. Those who weren’t being analysed
had some self-defence tuition from Mr Walker.
Much to my relief, there were no 6am runs scheduled, we popped
back to the chalet to unpack and apply lip gloss before heading to
the bar for welcome drinks in the club house. We were the last to
arrive at the bar (not something that happens to me very often!),
Rachel, Agnette and Wendy had been to camp before so they
introduced me to everyone. We all had a few drinks – but not too
many before heading back to the chalet to discuss what was the
latest time we could get up in the morning.
7.15 am came and the alarms went off in chorus around the chalet,
we headed out to the football pitch eager to get the day started,
pleased to see the sun come out from behind the clouds but battling
the strong wind. We had a good warm up session then moved on
to pad work, utilizing the gravel area and fences for our ring. By the
end of the morning session everyone had partnered beginners to
4th degree black belts. By the end of the session we all felt awake
and ready for a full Memorial Hall.
18
Once back at the chalet we made good use of the built in sauna to After the morning session was over we headed back to the chalet
help relieve any aches and pains our well used muscles had. for another cooked breakfast followed by a little nap – day one’s
Rachel and Wendy took charge of cooking the dinner, while Agnette exercise and late night had taken its toll.
and I entertained Mr Potter and Mr Lammin who joined us for dinner.
After a delicious dinner we headed over to the club house for a
drink and to catch up with how everyone faired after day one of
training.
Then rejuvenated we headed back to Bovington Camp for a
lunchtime session. The emphasis today was on sparring which got
the heart beating and was an excellent workout. Mr Lammin and
Mr Walker were then trussed up in body armour so that we could
attack them with full power. It was a liberating experience to not
Day two again started at 8 am. After a late night getting out of bed have to worry about hurting the person you are sparring with.
was hard work, but once outside and running around in the The afternoon session was a voluntary run around the golf course
sunshine, I felt wide awake. This morning’s training started with which was taken up by the majority. The pace was steady so the
lots of running around the field, some (Mr Lammin) had to do more group kept together, a good effort after two days of exercise.
laps than others for reasons that will not be mentioned here. There Although the run was optional most people wanted to have a go
was some pad work and a very enjoyable gauntlet style run through and everyone encouraged each other to keep going.
an alley of pad holders finishing off with piggy back races.
Unfortunately I couldn’t stay for the Sunday night frivolities but I
hear those who were left enjoyed themselves.
I was unsure about what to expect but what I found was a friendly
group of people from all walks of life who made me feel very
welcome and involved. It will definitely not be my last camp as I
really enjoyed the weekend. I would encourage anyone who enjoys
Kickboxing or Taekwon-Do and having a good time to come along
to the next camp.
19
The Tenets of Taekwon-Do
Part 4: it’s all about you….
Once again Mrs Tiina Yuseri hits you with her wisdom stick.
Note for P.U.M.A.’s Kickboxing and Tang Soo Do students:
please don’t skip this article thinking it doesn’t relate to
you. It does. It’s not anything to do with Taekwon-Do or
Kickboxing or Tang Soo Do but more about who we are
as martial artists, and in that respect we are all the same.
Please join me and read on….
Let me explain in a nutshell that the reason I am so
passionate on this subject is through witnessing behaviour
that I have strongly disagreed with from martial artists that
should have been a source of inspiration to me but were
absolutely not. This only made me more determined to
stand up for the tenets through my own actions and by
promoting them where possible. That’s me, and that’s my
choice.
I would hope that by now regular Planet P.U.M.A. readers
are getting the impression that I think the tenets are
important. Well, that’s because they are important!
However, on their own they are only words, and it is up to
us as martial artists to adopt the principles behind the
words in our attitudes and behaviour.
It’s all about you. Only you can decide what kind of martial
artist you want to be. Think back to that person that
inspires you, and then think again about how you would
feel if that person was not the way they are.
Now choose how you want other people to think about
you.
Whatever stage we are at in our training, be it a white belt
beginner or a black belt with years or decades of
experience, we are always guided and inspired by those
around us, particularly our seniors. Now flip that statement
and reverse it:
I am always interested in tenet related opinions and
discussions.
Please
contact
me
directly
at
[email protected] or alternatively use the
discussion forum on the P.U.M.A. page on Facebook.
Please give your name, grade, P.U.M.A. school and
instructor.
In the same way that we are inspired by others, we need
to remember that there will always be someone else that
is looking up to us.
Whatever your grade, I guarantee that is true.
Think about someone who inspires you. Why do they
inspire you? What is it about that person that you
appreciate? Now think about how you would feel if that
person did not possess those qualities. What would
happen if those black belts and instructors that we all
aspire to be like did not display positive and encouraging
behaviour?
Tiina Yuseri
3rd Degree, Yate Taekwon-Do
Instructor Hanham & Downend Taekwon-Do schools.
If that were the case then you would probably feel (quite
rightly) let down, but the fact is it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t
change the fact that you are free to behave in any way
you choose. Remember that there will be someone
somewhere that looks up to you, and that goes double if
you are wearing a black belt around your waist. You can
choose to be a positive influence on your juniors, peers
and seniors, or you can choose not to make the effort
because there are others around you that don’t bother and
“get away with it”.
20
Sports Massage:
what’s the point?
It’s not just touchy-feely-for-the-sake-of-it you know.
Wendy McColl explains what’s going on...
You may have noticed at The Southern Championships or at
2007/8 summer camps that sports massage has been
available, with proceeds going to P.U.M.A. squad funds. The
question is what is the point of a sports massage? Also, who
needs one and what does it cost?
products, massage will move toxins towards those machines
ready for laundering.
Whether it is before, during or after an event, massage can
help prepare, recover, stimulate or relax the athlete.
Alternatively a therapist may detect or refer conditions on to
Simply put – you service your car regularly, so why not your another health professional, such as a GP or Physiotherapist.
body?
A massage should NOT be given under the following
To begin with, sports massage should not be confused with circumstances:
therapeutic massage. Although it can be used for therapeutic
Within 48 hours of injury.
reasons, a sports massage can be quite vigorous and,
occasionally, cause some discomfort, particularly when
To a patient being medically treated.
treating heavily knotted muscles.
Where there is an existing cardiovascular condition.
Cost-wise, an average price charged for a massage will begin
Over inflamed or painful areas.
at around £15-£25 for 30-60 minutes, which may be broken
down into sections such as posterior legs & lower back, full
Over bruised or swollen areas.
legs, full back, shoulder & arm, half body or full body.
Over undiagnosed lumps or bumps.
Providing that they have no contra-indications (the term used
Over the abdomen during pregnancy or
for any condition or circumstance that would result in a
menstruation.
negative effect from the treatment), sports massage is for
anyone who participates in sport, but is also for anyone who
Where there is recent scar tissue.
has a physically taxing job, such as builders or firemen.
As for the point of it all, well here comes the science bit!
There are five main applications for the use of sports massage:
1. Recovery
2. Remedial
So at the next P.U.M.A. event where sports massage is on
offer, come on over and give your body a service. At five
pounds for ten minutes it’s certainly cheaper than taking the
car into the garage!
3. Rehabilitation
4. Maintenance
5. Event
Professional sports massage is one of the most effective
treatments for alleviating muscle tension and balancing the
body. Regular massage can help to reduce or prevent the
occurrence of injury, improve fluid circulation, relax muscles,
separate muscle and connective tissue, deactivate trigger
points (small points of intense pain), break down scar tissue
and increase mental alertness and clarity. Massage will
remove waste products, increase the blood supply, improve
muscle tone and function, transport nutrients and oxygen (O2)
to tired muscles and increase muscle temperature and
extensibility.
In fact, where muscles can need up to 3 days to recover from
exercise, a sports massage session can decrease this
recovery time to around 30 minutes or so.
Remedial sports massage can help an athlete (that’s you) to
improve a debilitating condition and to recover from injury by
stimulating cells and removing toxins and waste products,
facilitating healing. If we think of our lymph glands as little
washing machines located around the body to wash out waste
Some sports massage yesterday.
21
By Kirsty Oliver
Cardiorespiratory Training – Dispelling The Myths
As we all know, Taekwon-Do, Kickboxing and Tang Soo-Do are physically demanding disciplines that require fitness competency on a
multitude of levels. Think of all the different ways your body is typically challenged through the course of a lesson, competitions, even
summer camp!
Advancing Taekwon-Do, Kickboxing and Tang Soo-Do fitness is simply not about donning a pair of running shoes and circling the
local park for an hour or so. Don’t get me wrong, running is a sure-fire way of improving overall health and weight control, but to
improve your fitness in relation to the three martial arts mentioned above, we need to challenge the body in specific ways.
In this issue, I am going to explain the different energy systems of the body, under what circumstances they are utilized, and how best
to train them to improve specific performance.
Let’s first begin by gaining an understanding of how the body works………..
Within the human body there is a support system known as the
Cardiorespiratory System, which consists of the Cardiovascular
System and the Respiratory System. Together they provide the
tissues of the body with oxygen, nutrients, protective agents and
a means to dispose of waste products. This allows for optimal
cellular function.
ATP-CP
(AdenosineTriphosphate and Creatine Phosphate)
·
·
The Cardiovascular system consists of the heart, blood, and the
vessels that transport the blood around the body. The
Respiratory system consists of the lungs and surrounding
passageways, and is responsible for collecting oxygen from
outside the body and transporting it to the bloodstream.
Oxygen is the most important element for proper body function.
Whilst the body uses oxygen, it also creates a waste product
called carbon dioxide. The body expels this after an exchange via
the lungs. Simply, while oxygen comes into the body, carbon
dioxide goes out.
·
·
Glycolysis
·
·
The Cardiorespiratory system works to transport oxygen to the
tissues of the body. How efficiently we use oxygen depends on
the Respiratory system’s ability to collect the oxygen, and the
Cardiovascular system’s ability to absorb and transport to the
tissues. This is otherwise known as the VO2 max.
·
Oxygen is necessary for sustaining many bodily functions when
an activity is prolonged for more than thirty seconds. An activity
that requires the use of oxygen is known as Aerobic.
Many activities are shorter in duration and do not require oxygen
to be properly executed. This type of activity is known as
Anaerobic.
This system provides energy for mostly high intensity,
short burst duration exercise or activities. Typically
power and strength exercises.
This system is activated straight away, regardless of
intensity, and it produces energy very rapidly.
The system is limited in its capacity to produce energy.
The duration of this system will last for approximately 10
seconds.
·
Glycolysis is also an anaerobic system that uses the
breakdown of carbohydrates to rapidly produce energy.
A waste product called lactic acid can be easily
produced during this phase, which can affect the health
of muscles if not dispersed effectively by way of cooling
down and stretching at the end of physical activity.
This system produces a much larger amount of energy,
but is limited to approximately 30-50 seconds of
duration.
The greatest stress is placed on this system during
resistance exercise, due to the duration of most
exercises generally.
Oxidative
However, to perform either the body needs sufficient production
of energy. Energy is the body’s capacity to do work. To explain it
in its most simplistic term: the food we eat is broken down and
then transferred to an area of the body that can use it as energy,
e.g. a muscle contraction. Within the cells of the body, there is a
unit called Adenosine Triphosphate, or ATP. This stores energy
in different areas of the body, and also transfers it when needed.
There are 3 systems that produce ATP. They are ATP-CP,
Glycolysis and Oxidative systems:
·
·
·
·
22
This system relies primarily on the breakdown of
carbohydrates and fats for the production of energy.
It is the slowest producing of the 3 systems, because it
requires increased amounts of oxygen to match the
muscular requirement of the exercise.
Oxygen is supplied through breathing; this takes a while
to be able to elevate the breathing rate, to take in the
appropriate amounts of oxygen required.
This system becomes more involved in activities longer
than 30 seconds, this is the primary system used in
activities lasting more than 2 minutes.
Now that we have an understanding of the different energy
systems within the body, it is important to learn how they translate
into martial arts training and how best to improve performance.
Let’s take a look at the different aspects of training: sparring,
patterns, line work, interval training, kicking/punching drills. If you
think about the duration of all these activities, you can see that
the body utilizes each energy system to one degree or another.
Sparring:
This requires a constant stream of
energy, but also with agility, reaction
and power.
Patterns:
Again, a constant stream of energy,
but also with power and strength to
execute movements.
Line work:
Same as with Patterns.
Interval training:
Dependent on the activity, but in
need of constant stream of energy,
but also reaction, quickness and
power to execute the exercise.
Kicking/punching drills:
A constant stream of high energy
exercises, that will most definitely
use all 3 energy systems dependent
on exercise duration.
muscle groups. Failure to complete an effective cool
down and stretch will result in acidity levels within the
muscles to stay elevated, which hinders muscle
contraction. Over time, this can create shortening of the
muscles, loss of flexibility, and increased risk of injury.
Oxidative
·
·
·
·
·
To increase performance in the various aspects of are arts, it is
important to train using the systems that most apply to the
exercise.
Think about all the different types of athletes, look at their
physiques, their body composition.
ATP-CP
·
·
·
Due to the limitation of this particular energy system, it
is important to train using a high-intensity activity.
Power work is the most appropriate, using rapid
movements with quick repetitions, producing the
greatest amount of force in the shortest time. (See the
Advanced Workout in the previous issue for ideas on
exercises).
It is important to limit the duration to a maximum of 10
seconds; this ensures that the correct energy system is
utilized, and that enough effort is used in the first 10
seconds before fatiguing.
Paula Radcliffe is a long-distance runner. Her training needs to be
focused around utilizing oxygen at its most economical level for a
substantial duration of time. Her body composition does not need
to hold any more excess weight than is necessary.
When Linford Christie was at the peak of his career as a sprinter,
his body composition was very muscular, with increased muscle
size and next to no body fat. His training would have been
focused around producing the greatest amount of force in the
quickest amount of time. His muscles would have needed the
capacity to store as much immediate energy as possible to get
the edge at the start of a race. Hence his increased muscle mass.
Glycolysis
·
·
·
·
This energy system is the only one to rely on oxygen to
provide constant energy.
The intensity level of this system is much lower than the
first 2, so the duration is substantially longer. (Anything
over 2 minutes)
Jogging, walking, cycling, rowing, swimming….. the list
is endless.
An effective way to gauge how best to stay at the
correct heart rate level for training the cardiovascular
system, is to use: 220-age = maximal heart rate. Then
calculate 65% and 85% of that final figure. These are
the 2 heart rate zones to stay within when training.
A good way to incorporate multi energy system training
is to include interval training into a cardiovascular
exercise. For example: during a 30 minute jog, utilize
hills every 2/3 minutes to provide an ATP-CP/
Glycolysis challenge (dependent on duration and
intensity). This way you are challenging your Oxidative
system as well as relying on muscle energy to perform
the exercise.
This energy system also has limitations to duration, but
lasts longer than ATP-CP (approximately 30-50
seconds).
Strength work is the most appropriate, as the length of a
typical weight training set is within the time frame of this
energy system.
Please refer to the Beginner and Intermediate Exercise
Programmes in previous issues for ideas and structure
to a Strength workout.
Due to the likely build-up of lactic acid within this energy
system, it is important to ‘cool down’ at the end of your
workout. A thorough cool down consists of at least 5
minutes of low intensity cardiovascular activity without
any resistance. The aim of a cool down is to increase
blood flow to enable the proper dispersal of lactic acid
within the muscles/bloodstream. A cool down should
always be followed by a thorough stretching of all used
This is just a comparison between two ends of a large spectrum,
but it gives you a strong idea as to how differently athletes must
train to accomplish success in their chosen discipline.
To improve overall general health and fitness, any type of
exercise is a benefit to the body. Participation in any activity that
increases heart rate and energy demand is the first step toward
improving quality of life and decreasing a multitude of healthrelated illnesses and conditions. The above information is
provided to help you understand how the body utilizes the food
we eat, and how that energy fuels our body in different ways. If
you are looking to improve how your body reacts to different
types of demand then I highly recommend you to include the
above advice in your weekly training regimes.
If you would like more information about the contents of this
article, please email me at [email protected].
All information has been researched by the National Academy of
Sports Medicine.
Kirsty Oliver has been training for 10 years, and is a Taekwon-Do 1st Degree Black Belt. At present she lives and works in Bermuda as a
Personal Trainer, Group Fitness Instructor and Sports Therapist. Her qualifications include Premier and NASM Level 3 Personal Trainer,
NASM Junior Athletic Conditioning, and RSA Exercise To Music Instructor. Kirsty is also a P.U.M.A. qualified Assistant Instructor.
23
In this issue we are going to look at the various styles of Kickboxing
and Kickboxing related styles that you can see if you venture out to
any of the many shows around the UK.
THAI BOXING
SEMI-CONTACT
This covers a myriad of rules, techniques and strategies. If you went
into your local leisure centre and saw Taekwon-Do or Tang Soo-Do
groups such as ours and a semi contact Kickboxing group all sparring
together you would struggle to be able to say which one was which
(unless they were wearing different coloured suits). The emphasis
with these styles is to score as many points as possible, so the action
tends to be very fast with lots of head kicks, lead leg side kicks, back
fists, jumping punches and blitz attacks.
Bouts are almost always won by points. This can be a point stop
system where two referees decide to award the points and those
points are clearly stated on the official table for all to see the score or
by the continuous method with a centre referee and four corner
judges with clickers.
Known to most people as Muay Thai, also little known as ‘the science
of eight limbs’, meaning the use of both shins, fists, knees and
elbows, and widely regarded as the mother of all forms of Kickboxing.
Originating in Thailand Muay Thai has too vast a history to describe
here. I would strongly urge you to read up on its history and
philosophy, which is fascinating. It’s always been popular all over the
world, but is even more so these days with the arrival in the movies of
the newest martial art sensation, Tony Jaa (Ong-Bak).
As with K-1, bouts take place in a boxing ring ranging from 5 x 3min
rounds to greater numbered rounds for title fights. Each fight begins
with a ceremony called the RAM MUAY where each fighter pays their
respects to their teachers, family and all things that they hold sacred.
Traditional background music is always evident in all Thai fights,
which as in K-1 are decided either by knockout or points, hardly ever
by stoppage. Fighters wear boxing gloves and gum shield only.
Some of these fighters start their training as young as 5 or 6 and start
their fighting careers in Thailand at 12 -13, normally their career lasts
for ten years or so.
All competitors in this style wear boots, shins, gloves, groin guard for
men, gum shield and head guard. Normal fight duration is 1 ½ mins.
P.U.M.A. fighters compete on a regular basis in this style of
Kickboxing as this one closely resembles their own art..
P.U.M.A. has no fighters who have fought under these rules, partly
out of respect to the history of this amazing art, and also because of
the often brutal style.
K-1
FULL CONTACT
Founded by a Kyokushin Karate champion Kazuyushi Ishii in the
early 90’s K-1 is a very different beast to semi contact style.
Kyokushin is probably one of the toughest styles of Karate known
today and was founded by a Korean, Mas Oyama, who was known
for his ability to fight bulls!
K-1 events can attract massive audiences; sometimes in Japan
50,000 fans will gather too watch events such as the K-1 Grand Prix.
These events attract big money for the fighters who have to fight in a
normal boxing ring, sometimes for up to 4, 3 x 3min rounds on the
same night. K-1 bouts are won either by knockout, stoppage, or
points decided by three ringside judges. The main weapons for a K-1
fighter are low kicks to the opponents legs, knees or boxing punches.
A lot of ex boxers such as Mike Tyson have tasted the atmosphere of
K-1. Their great boxing skills sometimes are no match for the
devastating leg kicks that their opponents are likely to throw.
This is the type of fighting that we promote at the fighter sessions in
Salisbury at Mr Houston’s gym. Once again the bouts take place in a
boxing ring and as in K-1 are judged by three judges and are won by
way of knockout, points or stoppage. With K-1, Muay Thai and full
contact the emphasis is not on touching the opponent to score
enough points for victory, but hitting with full force, giving the fighter a
different set of skills to learn, compared to the semi contact fighter.
The duration of novice full contact fights is 3x2 min rounds. Area titles
are fought over 6x2min , national titles over 8x2min and European
and world titles fought over 10 or 12x 2min. The rules are no elbows,
no low kicks, and punches to the body, head and kicks above the
waist to the same punching areas. Amateur competitors wear boxing
gloves, gum shield , groin for men, breast protector for females, head
guard, shins and boots.
Some may say that K-1 is similar to Muay Thai, however there are no
elbows allowed and in the clinch only one knee can be thrown as
opposed to Muay Thai where the opponent can throw as many knees
and elbows as they wish.
In professional fights over 4 rounds the fighters do not wear head
protection. P.U.M.A. has had a lot of success in this type of
sparring,both male and female. Most of the fighters have gone
through the amateurs up to the pro ranks.
The equipment used for this form of competition is just a pair of
boxing gloves, gum shield and a groin/lower abdomen protector.
We’ve had one P.U.M.A. fighter, Kevin Hunt, fight under K-1 rules
earlier this year.
Thanks for reading and take big care.
Malcolm Jones
24
The Team
Great news! As with every forward thinking organisation, one
of P.U.M.A.’s strengths is the ability to move forward and
adapt to new circumstances. P.U.M.A. has always been able
to see far ahead within the field of child protection and the
recent review of procedures has given us the opportunity to
put in place a number of changes. These will first and
foremost benefit the instructors and therefore their students,
and will also allow for the ever increasing expansion of the
most innovative martial arts organisation in this country.
Those team members in full:
Master Ray Gayle: head of the CP
team. The Child Protection officer
reports all raised CP issues to him. As
Chairman of P.U.M.A., he is ultimately
responsible for the actions of those
teaching within P.U.M.A. and therefore
is made aware of every issue that is
raised. He is contactable through the
P.U.M.A. web page.
Sheila Turner: member of the Child
Protection teaching team. Is also
responsible for much of the content on
the CP courses, and comes to us with
years of experience working with
children from a social services
perspective.
Attendance on the Child Protection course is an obligation
that all P.U.M.A. instructors, assistant instructors, helpers and
volunteers are required to fulfil. And this is still the case.
However, one of the main changes we are currently putting
into place is a new ‘renewals’ seminar. This will be a one hour
discussion based course which will be much more geared
around looking at the issues, standards and mandates that
may be a challenge to instructors. This way we will be able
to get some valuable feedback from those people who are
making the child protection policy work at ground level, where
it counts the most.
The longer two and a half hour basic Child Protection course
will continue to run regularly and all new instructors,
assistants, helpers and volunteers will still be required to
attend, regardless of any training they may have had in the
past or with other organisations.
Elaine Bradshaw: member of the
Child Protection teaching team. Has
years of experience teaching children
of all ages and abilities and brings a
wealth of knowledge to the group.
Sue Lloyd: member of the Child
Protection teaching team, and
extremely knowledgeable in matters
pertaining to Child protection.
Michelle Price: in charge of CRB
administration. Michelle has proved
invaluable by reminding instructors
when they, or their students are due a
renewal seminar. She also carries out
the majority of the CRB checks from
the unit.
Martin Lloyd: newest member of the
Child Protection teaching team, and
has years of experience in a
managerial and teaching capacity.
Louise Reeve: member of the Child
Protection teaching team and current
CPO, reports directly to master Gayle.
She is contactable through the
P.U.M.A. web page.
Please don’t forget that any and all of these people listed
above are reachable, we are all willing to listen whether you’re
a parent, a student, an instructor or a helper, and we very
much rely on people communicating with us so we can
continue to improve, and hopefully continue to evolve into an
even better team, providing even better training. I would say
the future is looking more than bright, both for P.U.M.A. and
for child protection.
25
CHILD PROTECTION
The second major change to the system is the advent of
another teaching team. With P.U.M.A. becoming more and
more recognised as the organisation to belong to and the
advent of new schools opening up all over the country (and
in some cases, in other countries too) it is becoming
necessary to have more courses running in different
locations. With that in mind we’d like to welcome Mr Martin
Lloyd to the child protection team. Mr Lloyd is already a well
known and equally well respected member of the organisation
and brings a wealth of teaching and managerial experience
with him. We are very lucky to have him on board, just as we
are fortunate to have such a fantastic team of extremely
dedicated and passionate individuals working together for the
good of all P.U.M.A. students.
This type of set sparring forms part of the red belt and above
syllabus and hence is typically practised by senior colour belt
grades, though many of you may have already done it in your
class.
quite bland by many. It’s your chance to release a bit of stress
and tension – and it should be fun! FAST Defence will certainly
help you to tap into your inner aggressive self; be a bit over the
top if you want to, as long as you are controlled and don’t actually
The idea is that you should show more realistic techniques injure your partner!
compared to traditional one-step, which incorporates blocks, It’s time for freestyle one-step to come alive, so find your inner
stances, strikes, punches and kicks from the patterns. spark and let it fire up!
Obviously, lots and lots of traditional Taekwon-Do techniques
really do work and can of course be used in freestyle one-step
sparring; however, it’s the overall delivery and performance of
the exercise which needs to be different.
Freestyle one-step often forms part of the black belt grading
exam – if you wish to achieve your black belt, you need to
demonstrate that you can indeed defend yourself, that you have
a basic yet thorough grasp of how and where to strike an
opponent. You are allowed to show locks and restraints too, but
you must truly understand what you are doing so please don’t
simply mimic something you once saw in a film! Ask your
instructor for help to develop one or two of these types of
defence routines, and make them real.
Your style of defence needs also to be appropriate… many
people aren’t nearly animated enough! Imagine watching a
Jackie Chan film: he’s walking along the road and suddenly
someone jumps out and tries to attack him. Now, he wouldn’t
simply step to the side, block, punch and calmly say “kiap,” oh
no. Mr Chan would spring to the side, deflect the attack, and
unload a flurry of counter attacks whilst shouting “HIIIIIIII
YAAAAAAA!” and making appropriately mad facial expression
to fit the bill! A silly example? I think not! We need to take more
leaves out of Mr Chan’s book.
Mr Malcolm Jones finds his inner spark.
Freestyle one-step needs you to show that side of your
character; you need to be explosive, dynamic, and show with
your body language (facial expressions, body movement) that
you mean business and can indeed use enough Taekwon-Do
techniques, as well as locks, holds, and restraints to have a
reasonable chance of being okay if the worst should happen.
Whilst doing all this you need to use your voice.
The use of your voice is important in ‘real’ self protection;
shouting as you attack can be intimidating to an opponent. It
also shows that you can control your aggression to make
yourself scary, formidable. Think about animals, like a dog for
example. A dog’s bark is meant to scare away other animals
(and people). If your dog ‘woofed’ like a mouse, it wouldn’t be
very effective. So shout and project your voice to show that
you’re not simply a robot.
You may also want to end your defence with a passive open
palm guard (or ‘fence’). This is something I like to do because
the body language it uses is ‘passive’ and instructs the opponent
to ‘stay away’. There’s nothing wrong with adopting a traditional
fighting stance though.
Finally, It seems that no matter how many times instructors talk
about free style one-step, the overall performance of it remains
26
Are there any aspects of Taekwon-Do that you would
like me to investigate and divulge? If so, feel free to
contact me at [email protected] . I look
forward to your suggestions.
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.
CHILDREN’S
CORNER
My name is Kim Robinson and I'm
going to be running the
NEW children’s page. I
need your help to make
it the best part of the
magazine! So, it needs
to be fun, interesting
and really cool...
Nacho cheese!
-Maria
Firstly, I'm going to run a competition which everyone A couple of my students would like to start the competition
can get involved with, called: 'Nominate your instructor'. off. So, if you think you can beat these entries, get your
name in print, and start doodling now...
Now, if you think that your instructor is the best in the
world, then I would like you to draw a picture of them
(paint, pencil, crayons whichever you like) and tell us
why you think they are the best!
Please send all entries to me at [email protected]
or email me for my address and I will pick out the best
one after a few issues.
The prizes will be:
1st Place 2nd Place 3rd Place -
A £15 gift voucher of your choice!
A Puma T-shirt of your choice!
A massive bag of sweeties!
Wow! Get those entries in quick!
A grasshopper with hiccups!
To get to the second hand shop!
“You can’t tell me off for something I didn’t do!”
Cause they taste funny!
To get to the other slide!
When my phone goes “green green” I pink it up and say
“yellow”!
not do the maze any
I’ve asked Mr Potter and Mr Lammin
here it is.
so
,
stop
t
more, but they say they won’
He he! Do you have any jokes of you own? Send them in to
...
The Colossal Squid (
is reckoned to be the biggest kind of squid in the
world, growing up to 14 metres long - that’s even longer than a bus! Its tentacles have sharp hooks on
them and its eyes are bigger than footballs, making them the largest in the animal kingdom!
Scientists have tried to catch a live colossal squid in order to learn more about this amazing creature,
but so far they’ve failed. That’s because they’re doing it wrong. Fortunately renowned team coach and
fisherman Mr Gary Bradshaw has a break from training the squad this weekend, so he’s decided to sail
to Antarctic waters and catch one of these enormous Cephalopods to help further human knowledge.
Mr Bradshaw is using specialist fishing wisdom to track the monster but is having a few problems because
squid aren’t fish - they’re molluscs! Can you help guide him to the the creature?
27
My family
expects my
instructor to
provide the
safest
equipment
for me.
28