UNSUBSCRIBE: If you no longer wish to receive these newsletters we'd be grateful if you could follow the "unsubscribe" link found at the very bottom of this newsletter. It will take you to a webpage where you can click on the "unsubscribe" icon. Doing this will ensure that no more newsletters are sent.

1 – PDF Copy of this newsletter

 

If you'd like a PDF version of this newsletter, you can download one from the News Page of the website: www.iainabernethy.com/news_page.asp

Because this newsletter is for members only, you will need a password to open the PDF. The password is "AUGUST" (all capitals).

 

---

 

2 – New Podcast! The Most Important Part of Practical Karate Training

 

A new podcast has now been added to the blog of www.iainabernethy.com! This month's podcast is entitled "The most important part of practical karate training" and, as its name suggests, it covers the most important part of karate training! The podcast is just over 17 minutes long and should be of interest to all those who believe karate training should address the needs of self-protection. If you follow the link below it will take you to the webpage where you can download the podcast or listen to it online:

 

http://blog.iainabernethy.com/?p=75

 

The podcasts are also available via I-Tunes. If you type in "Iain Abernethy" in the I-Tunes search it will take you to the page where you can subscribe to the podcasts. You can also subscribe to the RSS feeds via the blog (www.blog.iainabernethy.com)

 

I hope that you enjoy the podcast and, as always, any feedback will be gratefully received (iain@iainabernethy.com)

 

I-Tunes Page: http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=254183101

Podcast RSS Feeds Page: http://blog.iainabernethy.com/?feed=rss2

 

---

 

3 – New Interactive Training Drills DVD Filming

 

Last week saw us film the footage for my new DVD! This project has been in the planning for the last two years and long term subscribers will recall me mentioning it in passing in previous newsletters. It's probably an overused word these days but I really do think this DVD is revolutionary. The idea for the DVD was suggested to me by Nick Atkinson (manager of Summersdale Productions) when we were filming Bunkai-Jutsu 4 & Bunkai-Jutsu 5.

 

Up until now martial arts DVDs have been instructional in nature, or contained a single workout for the viewer to do along with the DVD. However, the technology of DVDs means it is possible to make a DVD which is totally interactive training tool. The planning of the DVD took me ages and resulted in one of the most complex flow charts I've ever produced! Whilst the DVD will be very simple for the viewer to use, getting things that simple was pretty complicated! The interactive workings were produced a few weeks ago and the production team are now busy adding in all the footage we filmed. I'll keep you informed as thing progress, but we expect to have the DVD ready in the Autumn.

 

The DVD is designed to help you develop a wide variety of martial attributes and get you motivated to train on those days where you don't have a training partner or can't get to the dojo or gym. The DVD will provide a compete martial workout every time it is viewed and is split into 10 sections; each leading onto the next. You can select to do any or all of these sections in any given workout. Each of these sections contains a variety of drills, and each of these drills has further options within it. Instruction is provided for all the drills on the DVD. The DVD also contains all the required timers and counters and will automatically take you to the right one for each drill. The DVD also requires no equipment except a little room and the DVD itself.

 

The upshot of all this is that the DVD will provide a huge variety of workouts. Indeed, you need never do the same workout twice! The drills are also constructed so that they will be relevant to all styles and all abilities. The 10 main sections are as follows:

 

Warm Up: This is the first section and will prepare you for the main body of the DVD.

 

Repetition Drills: The drills in this section are to allow you to drill the basic kicks, punches, close range strikes, throws and any other methods within your style. You can select what type of techniques you wish to do and the DVD will guide you through their repetition in a way that will develop technique and aerobic fitness. There are suggestions on the methods to be drilled (modern and traditional) whist providing plenty of leeway for the inclusion of the methods of your style.

 

Shadow Fighting: This section will allow you to drill your striking skills in a more free flowing way. It consists of three guided two-minute rounds, with a minutes rest between each. Each round has a large number of visual and audio cues to tell you what kind of technique or combination is required. The rounds are selected at random by the DVD and hence you have no idea what is coming next. There is also an instructional section for those new to this section of the DVD. Upon conclusion of the three rounds you have the option to do another 3 random rounds or to move onto the will drills.

 

Will Drills: Obviously I had to include some of these! These are short high-intensity drills designed to develop anaerobic fitness and fighting sprit. There is eight of these drills on the DVD (with variations in each) and you can do as few or as many as you wish in any given training session.

 

Skills Training: This section of the DVD allows you a little time to work on any specific areas you want to. This would be the time to practice a few kata or work on those techniques currently causing you most difficulty.

 

Lower Body Conditioning: This section contains a whole host of drills to strengthen and condition the legs. As with the rest of the DVD it is up to you how many or how few you choose to include in any given workout. Plenty of variations are provided such that the you can make good use of the DVD regardless of your current fitness level.

 

Upper Body Conditioning: As above with the obvious difference being these are exercises for the arms, chest and forearms.

 

Abdominals, Back and Neck: This section contains drills and exercises to condition these body parts. As before, it is you who will select which ones you want to include in any given workout.

 

Flexibility Exercises: The flexibility section is divided into two parts. The first part is a "stretch along with Iain" routine consisting of effective but relatively basic stretches for the whole body. You then chose to leave it there or move onto the advanced section which includes an advanced "stretch along with Iain" routine. Because of the practical nature of my previous DVDs, I've not previously demonstrated anything that requires great flexibility, so you may be interested to find out just how flexible this short, dumpy guy is?!

 

Mental Training: The DVDs concludes with some guidance on relaxation and visualisation training and gives you the opportunity conclude the workout with some metal training.

 

As I said earlier, the DVD is constructed such that I will ask you to make selections from the on screen menus as you work through the DVD. It is therefore totally up to you what each workout consists of, how hard it is, and how long it is. To my knowledge nothing like this has ever been done before in the martial arts or fitness worlds. If the technology is there though, we should be making use of it!

 

Planning this DVD was a lot of hard work, as was filming it as I had to demonstrate every single one the drills on the DVD ... and then again for the incidental clips and titles. I got through four t-shirts! Not that you'll notice on the DVD as they were all the same. If you go to the news page of the website (www.iainabernethy.com/news_page.asp) you can see one photo that was taken during filming.

 

The DVD will be available in a few month's time and I'll keep you informed via these newsletters.

 

 

---

 

4 – Iain Abernethy "Ask the Experts" Latest: Your Questions Answered

As some of you know, I'm currently one of the martial artists involved in a column in Martial Arts Illustrated magazine called "Ask the Experts". The idea is that readers send questions to the magazine, the editor selects which ones to use and then forwards them on to us, and we then write a short piece on that subject. The questions received been very good and were interesting to answer.

If you'd like to submit a question for me to answer in the column, please just email it to me (iain@iainabernethy.com). I'll then forward them on to the magazine for them to pick out which ones they want me to cover that month. I'll let you know which questions have been selected in these newsletters.

If you'd prefer, you could summit the questions directly to the magazine via: Martialartsltd@btconnect.com (mark the subject as "Iain Abernethy 'Ask the Experts' question").

You can also post your questions in the following section on the message board:

 

http://www.iainabernethy.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=8;t=000093

The answers for the first month were published a couple of issues ago and I've copied them below so you can get an idea of how the column works:

 

Question 1: Hi Iain, I like your kata bunkai. We are using similar stuff in our shotokan club. Can you please tell me what the open hand hikite is for in a knife hand block? Thanks. James 3rd kyu Shotokan


Hi James,

Thanks for the kind words about the bunkai – I'm glad you've found it useful and are engaged in similar training in your club. That's great! In answering your question, I'll also try to explain the underlying concepts as readers may find this useful.

One of the keys to understanding kata is that there are no "dead hands" or "shi-te" (pronounced "she-tay"!). Both hands are always active with the non-striking hand assisting the striking hand.

The non-striking hand essentially has two jobs: Setting datums and clearing obstructions. Setting a datum is using one hand to allow the other to strike more accurately during the chaos of the fight i.e. grabbing the opponent's hair or clothing whilst repeatedly striking the head with the other hand (an application of the "basic punch"). When being repeatedly stuck in this way, the opponent is likely to instinctively raise their arms to protect the head. The second function of the non-striking hand is to get these limbs out of the way so that effective strikes can still be delivered. As mentioned earlier, I call these actions "clearing obstructions". Shuto-uke ("knife hand block") is all about clearing obstructions.

On the Shuto-uke, the lead forearm is striking the opponent's neck or base of their skull. The rear open hand is keeping the opponent's arms out of the way so the strike can be delivered effectively. There are two ways to clear obstructions using shuto-uke (inside and outside) and hence that back hand is used in two ways:

Outside: To clear the obstruction so that you end up on the outside, the opponent's arm is pushed down as you move your other arm back (Figure 1). Shift your weight forward whilst keeping your hand on the opponent's elbow. Because the opponent's arm is out of the way, you should have relatively little trouble delivering a forearm strike (Figure 2). Notice how the back hand ensures the strike has a clear path.

Inside: To clear the obstruction so that you end up on the inside, slap the opponent's arm backward and to the side as you extend your other arm over the top (Figure 3). You then wrap the opponent's arm and slam your forearm into the side of their neck (Figure 4). Again, you'll notice how the back hand ensures the strike has a clear path.

I hope that helps make the use of the back hand on shuto-uke a little clearer? It may also help if you look in the video section of the blog on my website (www.iainabernethy.com) where you'll be able to watch my first online video lesson which contains a couple of basic drills related to this technique and the concepts we have discussed.

Thanks once again for the question James. Best of luck with your bunkai study!

All the best,

Iain


Question 2: I really love your kata fighting drills. Can kata really be used in a fight? I had a fight last year and could not use any of my kata moves. Billy Stonebridge 1st kyu Wado-Ryu.


Hi Billy,

Thanks for the question and the kind words about my drills. The answer to your question hinges around what is meant by "kata" and how it is practised. If only the solo kata is drilled – with no thought given to the application of the information contained within the form – then kata can't be used in a fight. When kata is misunderstood to be a carefully choreographed battle against multiple long range formal attacks – a very common misconception – then it is also of no value in a fight. If kata is understood to be a physical record of combative techniques and principles, then it can be used in a fight. Allow me to elaborate further.

Those familiar with my approach to kata will know it essentially revolves around four key aspects:

1 – Learn the solo form
2 – Learn the combative applications of the movements
3 – Gain understanding of the underlying combative concepts so you can freely apply the techniques and concepts to the situation at hand
4 – Gain live experience of applying these techniques and concepts (using the drills you mentioned)

Although the terminology and method of explanation may vary, this is essentially the approach to kata outlined by many of the past masters in their writings.

If you think of "kata" as a process then you won't fall into the trap of getting stuck in the solo form and never gaining live experience. If you follow the process outlined, you will gain live experience in training and hence you will be better equip to apply the methods of kata when it counts.

It would be too lengthy to detail all four aspects here, but if you visit my website (www.iainabernethy.com) there is a free e-book you can download called "An Introduction to Applied Karate" which should help further explain the whole process.

The key though is to understand that kata should be something that guides our martial training ("a finger pointing to the moon"); it is not an end in itself (to turn a phrase of Bruce Lee's, "Don't concentrate on the finger or you will miss all that heavenly glory").

An analogy I like to use at seminars is that kata is to the martial artist what cookery books are to the chef. The cookery book gives the trainee chef the information needed to prepare good food (after a while they understand the principles of cooking and hence move beyond the specific methods outlined in the book).

The kata provides the martial artist with the information needed to train and fight (after a while they understand the principles being communicated and hence can move beyond the techniques used as examples). However, cooks don't ask people to eat cookery books and martial artists should not be trying to directly apply the solo form in a fight (i.e. "Back off or you're gonna get Pinan Shodan'd!"). It is therefore the concepts and techniques recorded in kata that we would apply, as opposed to the solo form.

The kata contain strikes, kicks, takedowns, elbows, knees, grabs, chokes etc. These methods should be taken from the kata and drilled in training. When approached in this way, everything in kata can be used in dojo sparring and live fights. It's really just a matter of correctly approaching kata and the utilising the associated training methods.

It would not be practical to fully answer your question here (I've written entire books on this topic) but I hope this brief answer is of some use and helps you put a new slant on your kata training? Thanks once again for the kind words about the drills. I appreciate the support.

All the best,

Iain


Question 3: Hi Iain, Why is there so much emphasis on tradition etc in the arts of karate? My sensei says that karate is hundreds of years old. Today I found out that Shotokan was only invented in the 1930's and Wado after that! What do you think about tradition and how old karate actually is? Rob Thompson, Bolton.


Hi Rob,

Great question! Almost all the arts are refinements or amalgamations of older systems and karate is no exception. The Okinawans studied a wide variety of systems, refined and amalgamated them, and for the last couple of hundred years they used the term "karate" to describe the various systems that had evolved. So the term "karate" is a couple of hundred of years old, but the evolution and development of the actual systems now under the banner of "karate" goes back further than that.

It is the same with the style names. A particular branch developed a certain way of practising, and at a certain point in time they gave it a name. The style did not spring into to existence at that point though. The styles were simply refinements of older methods. So although the term "Shotokan" has only been around for several decades, the methods that evolved to become the Shotokan style go back much further. When talking about the age of styles or arts, you have to differentiate between the age of the label, and the age of the methods on which the style is based.

Although others may disagree, but personally I don't think that the age of system has any bearing on its value. It does not really matter how old or new a given art is so long as it adequately meets the needs to the practitioner. Anyhow, I hope that helps clarify some of the issues surrounding karate's age?

The next aspect of your question was what I think about tradition. As I say I think that is a great question that really gets to the heart of what a "traditional art" is. My dictionary defines "traditional" as "adhering to a long established procedure". So to understand our "traditional arts" we need to look at what the long established procedure is.

When we look at the history of karate, we see that the past masters consistently changed, developed and refined what they had been taught. They were also actively encouraged by their teachers to "cross-train" and adapt the methods taught to suit their own personal attributes and understanding. The core concepts of the art have remained fairly constant, but their methods of application were adopted for needs of the individual.

When most people think of an art being "traditional" they assume it has been unchanged since the dawn of time and hence any change, no mater how subtle, is akin to blasphemy. The fact of the matter is that the true tradition has been one of constant change and revision. Much of modern "traditional training" therefore isn't traditional at all.

The white suits, always punching the air, one-step sparring, practising kata without applications, the dropping of close-range practise in favour of competitive training etc are all relatively recent innovations (resulting from the shift from combat to group exercise and character development).

Following the example of the past masters, it is also not traditional to unquestioningly replicate the methods of another individual without taking into account your own needs and attributes. It is also not traditional to never look outside your dojo to see what the rest of the martial world has to offer. So when talking about tradition, we have to know our history and carefully consider what the word "tradition" actually means.

I think karate has a great tradition and it's a tradition I love being a part of. The potential problem we have is when we divert from the true tradition and inadvertently promote stagnation and inefficient training under the banner of "tradition".

In summary, I think tradition can be a good or bad thing depending on what people understand by "tradition".

Thanks for allowing me to talk about a favourite subject of mine Rob. I hope you found my answer useful. Thanks once again.

All the best,

Iain

 

 

If you have any questions you'd like me to answer in the column, please send your questions to the magazine. You can email them to Martialartsltd@btconnect.com Or fax them to 01484422177. Thanks once again for submitting your questions. I really appreciate it and I hope you'll enjoy my responses.

 

---

 

5 – November 2007 Introductory Instructors Course

 

Further to the announcement in last month's newsletter, I've now got everything confirmed for the Instructors Course on the 24th and 25th of November! All the details are copied below. You can also find further details and book your place by following the link below:

 

http://www.iainabernethy.com/acatalog/Introductory_Instructors_Course__24th___25th_Nov_.html

 

There has been great interest expressed in this course and places will be issued on a first come, first served basis. So if this course is something that appeals to you, please act quickly.

 

Further details can be found below:

 

IAIN ABERNETHY INTRODUCTORY INSTRUCTORS COURSE

 

As a result of continual requests for training sessions for instructors who wish to integrate Iain's methods into their own teaching, a second Introductory Instructors Course has been organised for the 24th and 25th of November 2007.

 

The course will cover kata application, training drills, power generation, karate grappling, close-range striking, limb-control, kata-based sparring, karate in self-protection etc. The emphasis will be on integrating all aspects of Iain's approach into your training and teaching. The course will be a mixture of the theoretical and the practical.

 

The drivers behind the course are Iain's desire to ensure that those who want to adopt his methods into their teaching get the required support, and to increase the list of instructors Iain can recommend to people wanting a pragmatic and holistic approach to karate and related arts. The course will be certificated and all those who successfully complete the course will receive an Introductory Instructors Certificate from Iain.

 

The nature of the course means that numbers will be limited and therefore people are encouraged to book as quickly as possible.

 

To sit the course you need to meet the following criteria:

• All participants must hold a dan grade.

• All participants must be a certified instructor with their governing body

• All participants must have teaching experience and be actively teaching others

• All participants must be over 18 years

• All participants must be in good health and have valid insurance

• All participants must have had sufficient exposure to Iain's methods (i.e. a regular at the seminars etc)

By signing up for the course you are offering the assurance that you meet the above requirements. If you have any questions relating to your eligibility please don't hesitate to contact Iain at iain@iainabernethy.com

 

All participants will require the following equipment: gi, focus mitts, sparring gloves, bag gloves, note pad, pen, protective sparring equipment, water bottle and food.

 

The course will be held on the 24th and 25th of November 2007 at Trinity Leisure Centre, Strand Road, Carlisle, CA1 1JB (Right next to Trinity School) Tel: 01228403565. The training will be from 10am to 3pm both days. The cost for the whole seminar is £120. The full amount or a deposit of £60 secures your place (balance payable on the 24th of November). NOTE: Only 20 places are available for those not presently on the instructors program. Your £60 deposit guarantees your place and is therefore non-refundable.

 

You can book your place on-line by following the link below:

 

http://www.iainabernethy.com/acatalog/Introductory_Instructors_Course__24th___25th_Nov_.html

 

You can also pay by credit / debit card by calling 01900829406 (Overseas: +441900829406) or by Cheque (Payable to "NETH Publishing") at NETH Publishing, PO Box 38, Cockermouth, Cumbria, CA13 0EX, United Kingdom.

 

If you should have any questions please don't hesitate to contact Iain at iain@iainabernethy.com or call 01900829406 (UK).

 

 

---

 

6 – FREE Applied Karate / Bunkai-Jutsu Gi Badges

 

As I mentioned in the introduction to this newsletter, the gi badges are back! Around three years ago we started making a batches of free gi badges available to members of this newsletter. The last batch was done around a year ago and we recently took delivery of a new batch!

 

The idea is that the badge will help identify members to one another at seminars etc as well as showing your interest in pragmatic karate and kata bunkai. It's also a little gift from me to show my gratitude for all the support you've all shown me. If you visit the news-page of the website you'll be able to see the design:

 

www.iainabernethy.com/news_page.asp

 

The badge is 3 inches square. Across the top in black it has the words, "Practical Kata-Based Karate". Underneath in large red letters is has "BUNKAI JUTSU". Below that are the Japanese Characters for "Kata Bunkai". And finally, at the bottom is the website address. You can obviously place the badge wherever you wish; however, the favoured place with me and the gents I train with is the left sleeve. The badges are high-quality and have an iron-on backing for those whose sewing skills are on par with my own.

 

The supply of the badges is limited and you're encouraged to act quickly if you want one as they will be issued on a first come, first served basis.

 

The quickest way to get the badge will be to ask us to send you one when you place your next order (drop us an email with your order number). Alternatively, UK members can simply send a stamped addressed envelope to the address below (no SAE, no badge). Overseas members - who want a badge, but will not be placing an order in the near future – will need to contact their local postal service and ask about their country's equivalent of an "international reply coupon".

 

As I said, we only have a limited number of badges available so please act quickly if you want one. Send your Stamped Addressed Envelope to the address below:

 

Free Gi Badge

c/o NETH Publishing

PO Box 38

Cockermouth

Cumbria

CA13 0GS

UNITED KINGDOM

 

---

 

7 – How to Spar for the Street: Part 1 by Iain Abernethy

 

The first of a series of articles I have written on making your sparring relevant to the street has now been added to the website. The following parts will be added to coincide with these newsletters over the coming months. This series of articles is adapted from my contribution to Loren Christensen's "Fighter's Fact Book 2". All martial artists should read that book and details of the book can be found on the associated webpage.

 

 

How to Spar for the Street: Part 1 by Iain Abernethy

 

Almost all martial artists include sparring in their training. However, there are many different types of sparring and there is some debate as to what types are most realistic. Indeed, some question if sparring has any relevance to self-protection situations. To my mind, the amount of relevance that sparring has to the street is determined by how that sparring is structured.

 

In the majority of karate dojos sparring is based on the rules of modern competition. If your aim is to win tournaments, then obviously you need to base your sparring on the nature of competition. There is nothing wrong with competitive sparring in itself; the problem occurs when people believe that such sparring will also prepare them for the street. It doesn't. There are many reasons why competitive sparring, and indeed other types of sparring, are not relevant to the street. We'll cover these reasons as we progress through this series of articles.

 

In addition to sparring based on modern competition, an ever growing number of groups are embracing kata-based-sparring. The kata, when correctly understood, are all about close-range civilian combat. In the past I've written at length about the need to gain live experience of applying the methods of the kata. I coined the term "kata-based-sparring" for this type of training and I'm pleased to say that such sparring is growing in popularity. When correctly structured, kata-based-sparring is very relevant to real situations. However, in this series of articles we will not be discussing how to make sense of kata or how to practise applying their lessons in a live and non-compliant way.

 

Although everything we will be discussing in these articles has relevance to kata-based-sparring, the inclusion of a through discussion on kata-based-sparring, and how kata relates to real situations, would greatly broaden the scope of this discussion. We will therefore focus specifically on how to structure sparring so that it has genuine relevance to real situations.

 

From the onset it is vital that you understand that fighting is what happens when self-protection has gone bad (Photo 1). If you are truly serious about keeping yourself safe on the streets, it's not fighting you should be focusing on, but awareness and avoidance.

 

The way I break down self-protection for my students is as follows: 95 percent of self-protection is awareness and avoidance skills coupled with a healthy attitude to personal safety. If you are unable to avoid a situation, you need to be able to control the dialogue and distance, strike pre-emptively, and use the opportunity to escape. This ability to control a situation before it becomes a fight makes up 4 percent of self-protection. The remaining 1 percent is the fighting skills that you fall back on when all else fails. In my experience, it is common for martial artists to overly fixate on fighting (the last 1 percent) and hence they are not effectively addressing the issue of self-protection.

 

The point I'm making here is that you can be one hell of a fighter and yet still be incapable of keeping yourself safe. If your awareness skills are poor, you'll be taken out before you are even aware there is a threat. You simply won't get the opportunity to use your fighting skills.

 

Consider that no matter how good a fighter you are, there will be people who are better. The way to keep yourself safe from more skilled fighters is very simple: don't fight them! Avoid the situation entirely, and if you can't, control distance through talking with your hands (keep them between your assailant and yourself), use dialogue and deception to facilitate a first strike and use the moment of confusion to flee. In this way it can be possible to protect yourself from people you may not be able to out fight. However, if all that fails then you have no option but to fight.

 

In this series of articles we are looking at training for that last 1 percent should all your other skills fail; it is therefore not appropriate to discuss in detail awareness and pre-emption. The reason I have mentioned them is that it is vitally important that the sparring methods we are going to examine are viewed from the correct perspective. Remember, fighting skills aren't the key to self-protection: fighting is what happens when self-protection goes bad.

 

Having established where sparring and fighting fit into the grand scheme of things, the next thing we need to briefly cover is the nature of the environment we are training for. In these articles we are talking about the street and therefore the nature of the street will determine how we should spar to prepare for it. If we look at the sparring used in the various combat sports, it is immediately apparent that many differing methods of sparring exist. The types of sparring vary because what is needed to win varies. What is needed to win is determined by the rules, and hence people sometimes assume that because as there are no rules in the street, getting rid of the rules will make sparring like a street situation. However, it's not that straight forward. Aside from the lack of rules, there are many other things that make a street situation what it is ......

 

CONTINUED ON IAIN ABERNETHY.COM

 

Please follow this link below to read the entire illustrated article:

 

http://www.iainabernethy.com/articles/Street_Sparring_Part_1.asp

 

 

---

 

8 – Mike Liptrot Judo DVD Coming Soon

 

Last month I'd let you all know that Mike Liptrot (my judo coach) will be making an instructional Judo DVD with Summersdale productions. That DVD was filmed the day after my new drills DVD and should be available around the same time. The DVD is ideal for those new to Judo and for martial artists of other styles looking to add throwing skills to what they do. This detailed DVD features a number of throws; all of which are broken down into their component parts. The DVD also includes training methods and drills for each throw as well as holds, locks and strangles that can follow on from the throws featured. A picture taken on the day of filming can viewed on the news-page of the website:

 

www.iainabernethy.com/news_page.asp

 

The other bit of exciting news is that Mike's website will be up and running in the not too distant future! The website will feature a blog and instructional video clips and is sure to be or interest to subscribers to this newsletter. I will of course keep you informed as things develop on both fronts.

 

---

 

9 – The Reality of Violence by Matthew Miller

 

Regular contributor to these newsletters and author of "Fighting Forms" has written a new article on the nature of violence in the UK, based on the official statistics of the Home Office Statistical Bulletin "Crime in England and Wales 2005/06". It's an interesting piece which I think you'll all enjoy.

 

 

The Reality of Violence by Matthew Miller

 

 

CONTINUED ON FIGHTING FORMS.COM

 

Please follow this link below to read the entire article:

 

http://www.fightingforms.com/realvio.html

 

 

---

 

10 – Kris Wilder in the UK: April 2008

 

In previous newsletters I've informed you all that Kris Wilder, the author of "The Way of Sanchin Kata" and the co-author of "The Way of Kata", will be visiting the UK in 2008. Kris's views on the functional use and application of kata has won him a strong following and this will be the first opportunity for UK martial artists to learn directly from the man himself! The most likely course of events is that Kris will be teaching open seminars on the weekend of the 5th and 6th or April. At the moment I'm looking at a two day event up here in the North of England. However, if any of our southern members would like to host Kris on one of those days, in the interests of fairness and group unity, I will begrudgingly sacrifice one of the days up here. If you are interesting in hosting or if you want to attend the events, please drip me an email at iain@iainabernethy.com. I will of course also keep everyone informed via these newsletters.

 

---

 

11 – Fast Track Arnis 2

 

Dan Anderson's first Fast Track Arnis DVD was a big hit with the membership of these newsletters. Dan also taught a number of seminars on Fast Track Arnis on his visit to the the UK earlier this year. Please follow the link below to see footage of Dan teaching me Fast Track Arnis:

 

http://blog.iainabernethy.com/?p=58

 

We are currently in the very early stages of organising Dan's 2008 visit to these shores and I'll have more news for you as things develop. The good news to keep you going in the meantime is that Dan has recently released the second Fast Track Arnis DVD! All the details have been copied below and you can find out more and order from the following webpage:

 

http://danandersonkarate.com/store/arnis_FT6.html

 

Fast Track Arnis is a sub-system of MA 80 (Modern Arnis 80). MA 80 is a complete system meaning that all aspects of the core system - Remy Presas' Modern Arnis - are included. MA 80 is a life pursuit. Fast Track Arnis is designed to train the student/instructor in the essence of arnis without going through the entirety of a particular system (in this case, MA 80). It is divided into two distinct phases. Fast Track Arnis is motion based and each of the two phases is based upon a particular set of motion templates.

 

FT1 is based on a series of 6 flowing motions arranged in an X pattern divided by a horizontal motion.
FT2 is based on a 1-4-12-9 template action with checking actions interspersed.

 

FT1 emphasizes larger motions, flow, and largo (long) and medio (medium) range applications.
FT2 emphasizes compact motions, finish, combatic application, medio & corto (close) ranges.

 

FT1 is a broad shoot look at FMA and gives an overall view of it.
FT2 gets more into angular applications and is more specific.

 

The goal is to marry the two approaches towards the end of FT2 training so that one has long distance application as well as a close range application of the cane. Together they give you the essence of Filipino Martial Arts.

 

Fast Track Arnis is a single stick based system that can be translated into empty hand actions but does not necessarily need to. It is directed to previously trained martial artists who already have an empty hand skill base.

 

Each could be a stand alone training system but for best results they should be done in order; Fast Track Arnis Training Program volume 1 followed by volume 2.

 

One can earn ranking in Fast Track Arnis. The two lower grades are Basic Instructor Certificate and Advanced Instructor Certificate. In present time there are only two black belt grades in Fast Track Arnis. A 1st degree black in Fast Track Arnis would be knowledge of, skills, and application of the materials of volume 1. A very experienced martial artist could, with diligent training, accomplish this in about a year. Otherwise it would take roughly 2-4 years to do it.

 

2nd degree black would would be knowledge of, skills, and application of the materials of volume plus the interaction of volume 1 materials as well. This could take a bit longer depending on the martial artist. All testing is done directly under me.

 

What is key in both volumes regarding grading is an actual knowledge of and skill in the materials. Previous skills will play a large part in this but a person going for any kind of grading in Fast Track Arnis would have to know Fast Track Arnis itself.

 

Yours,

 

Prof. Dan Anderson

 

Lessons include: 1. Fast Track Arnis Template 2, 2. The Blocking Form, 3. 3 Way Recoil, 4. Power Development, 5. Fast Track Arnis volume 2 Disarming Techniques, 6. Tusok (thrust), 7. Tusok As Defence, 8. Set Up & Abort Offence, 9. Advanced Power Development (corto range), 10. Three Second Repetitions - application of Fast Track Arnis volumes 1 & 2.

 

Your Price: $35.00 per DVD

 

---

 

12 – Mental Strength Audio Book

 

Following on from my Mental Strength book and Mental Strength DVD an audio book version is to be released for download and purchase on CD! The audio book version is taken from the audio of the DVD and will be available as a CD from Iain Abernethy.com shortly. It is also currently available as a download from www.audible.co.uk (type "Mental Strength" into the search to be taken to the correct page).

 

These items are essentially my views on what we martial artists would refer to as the "Do" side of the arts and I'm really pleased with how successful they have been. The book has been a fast seller and the DVD has also sold in it's thousands. I hope the audio book will be similarly well received and that you also find it enjoyable. I hope to have more details on the CD version for the next newsletter.

 

---

 

13 – Fighting Forms Online Video Clips

 

---

 

14 – Iain Abernethy in Norway (November 2007)

 

---

 

15 – Iain Abernethy in Germany (November 2007)

 

---

 

16 – Upcoming Iain Abernethy Seminars

 

 

 

---

 

17 – Peter Consterdine 8th Dan Seminar

 

Peter does not teach that many open seminars and it's great that so many of you are seizing this opportunity and attaining the event! Thansk to all those who have written to say they will be there. I'll be assisting Peter on the day - along with Steve and John - and I look forward to meeting up with you all then. Will be a fun day! As most will know, the official promotion for this event has now begun. If you've still not booked your place you are encouraged to act quickly.

 

The British Combat Association presents a seminar with Peter Consterdine!

One of the most innovative Self-Defence and Practical Martial Arts teachers on the world scene, Peter Consterdine will deliver a comprehensive and effective Practical Martial Arts Seminar which will cover how to make fast transitions between kicking and punching, power generation, how to develop training drills and power at speed. This will be an inspirational seminar and one not to be missed!

All places need to be pre-booked as the course will fill quickly!!

Date: Sunday the 16th of September

Venue: Court Works Industrial Estate, Bridgnorth Rd, Madeley, Telford, TF7 4JB

Venue Details: Click http://www.kyushinkai.com/dojo.html for venue details and directions

 

Time: 10am - 4pm Approx.
 

Cost: BCA Members £25 / Non-Members £35 (Payment in full secures your place).

Equipment: Training will be in normal clothing (t-shirt etc). Please bring focus mitts and bag gloves if you have them (some spare focus mitts will be available).
 

Follow the link for more details: http://www.iainabernethy.com/Peter_Consterdine_Course_Sept_16th_2007.asp

 

BOOK EARLY TO SECURE A PLACE.

Books, Videos & DVDs for sale on the day - Don't Miss it!

To book by phone please call: 0113 2429686

To book by post, please send Postal Order or Cheque (made payable to "British Combat Association") to:

British Combat Association, 51/53 Unity Business Centre, 26 Roundhay Road, Leeds, LS7 1AB

For further details of the British Combat Association please click http://www.britishcombat.co.uk/bca/history.htm

 

---

 

18 – Message Board Latest

 

---

 

19 – Combat 32 Tournament

 

Are you tough enough to compete in this elite fighting competition?

 

Out of the All Time Top 100 Fighters only 32 will be picked to go forward to their DAY OF DESTINY

 

32 of Britain's top fighters will be competing for £3200 in cash prizes!!

 

1ST PLACE: £2000

2ND PLACE: £1000

3RD PLACE : £200

 

THE FINAL 32 COMPETITORS PICKED FOR THIS EVENT WILL GUARANTEE TO ENTERTAIN. WITH THEIR SHEER DETERMINATION AND EXPERTISE THEY WILL DISPLAY SOME THRILLING ACTION MAKING COMBAT32 A SPECTACULAR ALL-STYLES FIGHTING EXTRAVAGANZA.

 

KARATE * KICKBOXING * KUNG FU * TAEKWONDO

 

DATE : SATURDAY 29TH SEPTEMBER

VENUE : ROBIN PARK, LOIRE DRIVE, WIGAN, LANCS, WN5 OUH

 

DOORS OPEN : 6.00PM FIGHTING STARTS 7.00PM

THERE WILL BE A BAR AND CAFE AVAILABLE TO GET DRINKS / FOOD FOR ALL INFORMATION ON THIS EVENT PLEASE GO TO :

WWW.COMBAT32.CO.UK / E MAIL : info@combat32.co.uk or Phone : 0114 264 0114 or Mobile : 07791227075

 

---

 

20 – News for Combat, Traditional Karate and Taekwondo & Korean Martial Arts

 

The magazines 'Combat', 'Traditional Karate' and 'Taekwondo & Korean Martial Arts' are looking for any and all news.

We want to hear about your gradings, upcoming seminars, have seminar reviews, upcoming tournaments and tournament reports, upcoming charity events and charity event reviews. If you have a student or students who have succeeded despite everything life can throw at them then we want to hear about them.

If you have fighters you think deserve some recognition then send us their tale-of-the-tape and if you have fighters who are looking for sponsorship for a national event, send us their profile and we'll try to feature them as well!

Please send all articles in word or text format, with any photos. Photos must not be any less than 300dpi as they won't print properly.

Regards

Matthew Sylvester
Features Editor
temple@practical-martial-arts.co.uk
 

---

 

21 – Monthly Training Sessions with Iain Abernethy & Mike Liptrot (Impact & Groundwork)

 

The first of these session was held last month with the next one coming up soon. Many of you met Mike Liptrot at the recent training session we did together on Karate & Judo. Mike and I decided it would be fun to do some monthly training sessions together with Mike teaching all aspects of groundwork and myself teaching striking, training drills and impact development.

 

These sessions will be ideal for the martial artist – of all styles - looking to ensure that can hit hard and know what they are doing on the floor. The sessions will last for 90 minutes with the time being evenly split between the two aspects.

 

All of these sessions will be held in Kendal Judo Club, The Dojo, Parkside Business Park, Parkside Road, Kendal, Cumbria, LA9 7EN.

 

The upcoming sessions will be held on the following dates and will cost just £5 per session:

 

• Friday the 17^th of August 2007

• Friday the 21^st of September 2007

• Friday the 19^th of October 2007

• Friday the 23^rd of November 2007

• Friday the 14^th of December 2007

 

They will we held from 8:00pm to 9:30pm to allow everyone time to get there. If you'd like to come along, please contact Mike on 07708968194. I look forward to seeing you there!