From the Desk of Damian Ross

There's one thing you have to understand about the 2012 Training Summit and if I have not made this clear I apologize. You don't need to have ANY experience whatsoever to participate in the Training Summit. A huge misconception is that the Summit for instructors only or that everyone who is at the summit has a great deal of experience. That couldn't be farther from the truth. Even though we have instructors and people with a wide range of abilities. over 50% of the people who attended last year's Training Summit had little or no previous training!!! All the drills are designed so that anyone can do them and YOU WILL NOT HOLD THE GROUP UP!! In fact, many times we pair experienced people with the inexperienced because it accelerates the learning curve. For the newbie, working with someone who knows how to perform the skills will allow them to literally mimic their movements. For the experienced practitioner, teaching and verbalizing your movements increases your understanding of the task at hand. Plus, we rotate partners after every break so you will get used to working with different body types, weights and abilities. This is one of the ways we keep your techniques "honest." You don't NEED to get certified either. We offer it as an opportunity to those who wish to do so, that's all. During certifications you can watch or go back to the dorms and get ready for dinner and the evening activities, the choice is yours. Look, I can tell you we work hard and are very serious all the time, but the truth is....if it's not fun, why bother?

Hear no Evil, Speak no Evil, See no Evil (yeah right) Front row: Jenna (first time), Reuben (SDC Instructor), Lauren (first time) Back Row: Joe (SDC Instructor), Kevin (SDC Instructor), Dwayne (SDC Instructor) To learn more about the SDC Training Summit for 2012 from July 31 to August 4, visit: http://www.teachselfdefense.com/seminars.asp See you at the end of July!

Damian Ross, The Self Defense Company

Get 2 Years of Training in 5 days!

If you're serious and I do mean serious about learning the Self Defense Training System then you don;t want to miss this...

Tuesday July 31th through Saturday August 4th The details are here: http://www.teachselfdefense.com/seminars.asp

Bad people do bad things.

The Self Defense Training System (SDTS) is defined by not only physical parameters of the
techniques it chooses to employ it is mostly defined by the attitude to them by its student.

A good Motto that I very much like is ... Si vis pacem, para
bellum is a Latin adage translated as, "If you seek peace,
prepare for war". The source of this adage remains unknown;[1]
however, it is universally believed, rightly or wrongly, to be
based on a quotation from Roman military writer Publius Flavius
Vegetius Renatus: Igitur qui desiderat pacem, praeparet
bellum.[2] The saying is one of many from or based on his work,
Epitoma rei militaris, possibly written around the year 390 AD.

I like to use this story, and discuss implications with my
older students. In the mid eighties a leading sports presenter on
American TV was interviewing a group of the up and coming Tennis
Pro’s and asked them how come Bjorn Borg was considered head
and shoulders above them all and could still run rings around
them at his age. Its easy, they said. “We are playing tennis.
He is playing ‘something else!”

Good story. And I make the same point about SDTS.

We are not looking for a fair fight and a decent exchange of
blows with the attacker.

I emphasize that key distinction in everything I teach. They can
play tennis – we can play what the hell we want. Turn up to the
tennis match with a baseball bat and have fun. Take a gun to the
knife fight but when fighting in a phone box, maybe a grenade is
not the best tool.

SDTS starts with thinking different all the time. It will shape
your practice and performance and outcome.

Important when explaining SDTS to others. - The SDTS is NOT just
a subsystem or ‘style’ or Martial Art. Not a hybrid. It is a
very different way of viewing the whole arena of self protection.
It cant be defined purely by its ‘moves’.

It is to be considered as an Algorithm of combat. A Skill. A
solution to a situation. – (Someone kicks off, you apply the
skill on them, end of situation. Simple as. )

In mathematics, computing, linguistics, and related disciplines,
an algorithm is a definite list of well-defined instructions for
completing a task; that given an initial state, will proceed
through a well-defined series of successive states, eventually
terminating in an end-state.

For me the SDTS is: The art of not getting caught between the dog
and the lamppost.
It is an ‘anti virus’ programme for life. It is as neutral
and emotive as that.

Think of it that way and ‘run the programme’ and trust in the
programme when you press that button. No emotion involved like
when you purge the computer. Its nothing personal.

Consider the difference the expression difference created between
getting pawed by a cat or Clawed BY A BIG CAT. Different picture,
different feeling.

Thoughts become things. Utilizing Transformational linguistics
while teaching and talking about SDTS. (Especially when talking
to yourself when practicing)

We don’t ‘block’ a strike. We ‘CUT INTO’ a strike or
attacking limb.

We don’t arm or wrist ‘lock. We arm CRUSH or wrist or neck
CRUSH.

We also SMOTHER, tear and render limbs. We don’t pat we slap.We
BURN through. We don’t jab or poke. We DESTROY or BLAST or
STAB.

We don’t ‘step on’ a foot. We SPIKE or SPEAR a foot etc.

In the end, Bad people do bad things.

Below is a video we posted up on Youtube a couple of years ago, it already has over 28,000 hits.

Have a look, and if you want to be part of the new intake later this month who will learn the skills from the SDTS, you can request your registration form from me now by email stephend@theselfdefenseco.com

The Ladder of Success

Pictured above is a very proud 'Little Dragon - Xavier Champsey' recieving his 'Purple Belt' @ KO Gym.

Congratulations to all the successful students in the recent Grading.
Red Belts: Seamus Castello, Dylan Wimble, Jamie Radcliffe, Marcus Dodds, Aimee Eedes, Archie Annand, Lucas Ferreira, Oskar Pennington, and Olly Pennigton.

Yellow Belts: Safina Hammond, Claudia Kaawar, Parivash Shamsabadi, Sara Shamsabadi, Keya Garg, Rayyan Qazi, Bilal Qazi, Omar Mohammed Atef, Alexander McKeown, Jamie Groves, Eleanor Randall, Liam Randall, Ananya Khosla, Ali Ibrahim, Abdul Merchi, Aurora Mantovani, Jassim Chapman, and Lauren McQuain.

Orange Belts: Bukie Mansyur, Shireen Fikree, Maryam Mazaheri, Saira Shahdapuri, and Marcus Guerin.

Green Belts: Sergey Chsherba, Faris Bodaro, Abdulazeem Mirza, Ella Patel, Luke Paviour, Cole McQuain, and Eva Livadaris.

Blue Belts: Sarah Murad, Fahad Murad, Adulkareem Mirza, Christophe Beffort, Olivier Beffort, Isabelle Whitehead, Ellie Parsons, Milly Stockwell, Lexi Hooker, Ruari Millar, Lara Millar, Madison Algarin, Joshua Algarin.

Purple Belts: Rhys Hammond and Xavier Champsey.

Brown Bellts: Ryan Saw Jia En, Scott Moyse.

We don't teach a "style" we teach a skill.

What makes us different?

While all self improvement systems from health and fitness to martial arts require you to change your lifestyle the Self Defense Training System enhance your lifestyle.

Self Defense when trained properly is permanent requiring minimum maintenance from time to time. Self defense is not a martial art: it's a necessary life skill and should be regarded as such. just like basic medical care and servicing your car, it can't be ignored, only tended to from time to time

We are the minimum training maximum effect sytem!

Enrolled today for our next spring into summer course starting in April 2012

Email: stephend@theselfdefenseco.com

We don't teach a "style" we teach a skill.

WBC @ KO14

The World Boxing Council was in Dubai for Ko14 last Friday

 CONGRATULATIONS To 3 new WBC Champions

 Al Hassan Okine
Sylvester Batista
Victor Taumafai

Great Night of Boxing & Muay Thai

Thank You to KO Promotions & the WBC along with everyone who came along to support this great event.

 

Saturday night's alright for fighting, Get a little action in.

World Boxing Council.

The World Boxing Council was initially established by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil plus Puerto Rico, who met in Mexico City on February 14, 1963, upon invitation of the then President of Mexico, Adolfo López Mateos, to form an international boxing organization that would achieve the unity of all commissions of the world to control the expansion of boxing.


The WBC is one of four major organizations recognized by IBHOF which sanction world championship boxing bouts.

















Pictured above is Stephen Drake recieving his official letter of certification to referee & judge bouts of Boxing from WBC Senior Representative Bruce McTavish.

Measurable Progress in Reasonable Time

People often ask me what is the best Self Defense move I know.

"RUN"

O.K. let me put it another way, two guys out in the woods are confronted by a big grizzly bear, one guy removes his ruck sack from his back and pulls out a pair of Nike trainers and quickly put them on, the other guy takes note on what he just did and says, you have to me kidding me, you think you can out run that bear because your wearing them, the guy in the Nike trainer replys no, I don't need to out run the bear, I just need to out run you.

Running has always played a big part in Martial Arts training, it's hard to remember a session that started without a bit of running on the spot or jogging several laps of the Dojo to warm up.

In my youth I would think nothing much doing a 10 mile run (16.1KM) up to Newstead Abbey with my training partners at Mansfield Karate Club, but as the years went by you get to believe that 30 minutes on the treadmill a couple of times a week will do it. I have since found out that running on a treadmill has more to do with balance than anything else, and there are plenty of stories knocking around about people who regularly run 10K on a treadmill but can't run anywhere near that on the road.


(TIP) If your running on a treadmill at least set the incline to +1.

A few years ago I was out playing with my kids and we got into running around, playing tag, playing soccer and just having some fun when I found myself a little out of breath, how could this be? I was teaching several martial arts classes a week and doing gym as well (treadmill)

So after dropping the kids off at school one morning I set off to do a couple of laps of Safa Park (two laps equals just under 7 KM)

I could not even do one lap, I got about half way around the first lap and I just simply had to stop, I walked the rest of the way back to my car while thinking to my self, it's a good job you have been taught how to fight, because you sure coulden't run away from anyone or anything right now.

So I set my target to become a better runner, twice a week I would go to Safa Park, my goal was simply to make Measurable Progress in Reasonable Time.

In January 2010 I took part in the 3Km Fun Run, In January 2011 I did the 10 Road Race, and last Friday 27th January 2012 I completed the Dubai Marathon.

How ... it's called Measurable Progress in Reasonable Time.

The same formula can be used with the Self Defense Training System, you will be suprised just how good you can get training a couple of times a week.

Right now, I have more that one option, I can run and put a safe distance between myself and my attacker, or can employ the techniques from the Self Defense Training System.

THE YEAR OF THE DRAGON, 2012

According to the Chinese Zodiac, the Year of 2012 is the Year of the Dragon, which begins on January 23, 2012 and ends on February 9, 2013.

The dragon is considered the guardian of treasures and wisdom. The dragon is also characterized as a martial arts symbol, and many teachers, or senseis, or martial artists have been inspired by adopt the Dragon’s symbolism as their representation.

Famous 'Dragon'.... Bruce Lee: (born 27 November 1940) The American Chinese martial arts instructor and movie star was the founder of the Jeet Kune Do form of martial arts. His Chinese screen name means ''little dragon'' but he is arguably one of the best known dragons in the world. Sadly he died shortly after filming Enter the Dragon (1973).




























Today almost 40 years after his death, students as young as 5 years old know who Bruce Lee was. Having watched just about every documentary to date about his life I would like to inform fans of Bruce Lee about a new film coming to a cinema near you next month titled, I AM BRUCE LEE.

You can learn more about the film and even watch the film trailer on this link.

www.iambruceleemovie.com

Happy Chinese New Year to you all.