After a gruelling 2 weeks of assessments, we can give a massive congratulations to the following students for absolutely smashing their gradings! Well done gang!
James Dismore – Brown II
Sam Booth – Green
Kaveh Goodarzay – Green
Asten Regis – Green
Leena Ksaifi – White
Alyssia Vazquez – White
Several junior grades have requested that i list the things they'll need to know for the upcoming gradings this December. This list will be confirmed as soon as i'm within reach of a syllabus (i'm doing this list from memory). Without further ado:-
YELLOW BELT (all singlestick)
Male triangle (solo and in pairs)
Female triangle (solo and in pairs)
Crossleg footwork (solo and in pairs)
12 angles of attack (solo and in pairs)
Anyo Isa (basic)
Armara Isa
Heaven blocks (1-12)
Piyung blocks (1-5)
Hubud ver 1
GREEN BELT (all of the above, plus…)
Anyo Isa (full)
Armara Dalawa
6-count arco
Piyung blocks (1-12)
Hubud ver 2
Box drill
Basic punches and kicks
Lockflow (1-5)
If there are any questions, please contact me ASAP.
Andrew Janson will be bringing the Rapid Arnis magic to a joint seminar with Krav Maga Combatives on November 27th. This seminar is open to everyone, regardless of experience or background. Please visit the Events section for full details.
We have contracted Daniel Bartlett to deliver an intermediate-level boxing seminar on November 13th. We will be taking a close look at sparring tactics and techniques, with the objective of further developing our hand-to-hand skills. Please check the "Events" section of the website for more info.
November will be a busy month for seminars and specialist workshops. The first one of these will be on Sunday November 6th at Fit Rooms in West Kensington. Please check the "Events" section for more information on the upcoming CQC Pistol – Dual Tier Seminar.
Just a quick heads up regarding class content…
As mentioned on Monday, we are hoping to develop more than just the technical ability of our students: We want to increase the speed, power, and overall fitness of our students as well. With this in mind, Mondays will focus mainly on conditioning, impact training, and combatives. Thursdays will focus mainly on syllabus, weapons, and technical work. There will be plenty of overlap between the two though, so students who are only able to attend one class per week won't end up missing out on 50% of what we teach. However, we do recommend training twice a week to get the most out of the system (which is quite vast).
Full-contact sparring will be held at the end of the month as usual. Some classes may include light sparring in their content though, so gumshields, cups (for the men) and chest protectors (for the women) are wise investments for those who wish to participate.
If there are any questions or concerns regarding this new format, please do not hesitate to contact me directly.
Monday and Thursday classes (7pm-9pm) will be resuming at SOAS Vernon Square from Monday October 3rd onwards. Please click on "Classes" for more information.
Boxing instructor Greg Howard and weapons specialist Andrew Janson will be delivering a seminar covering extreme close-quarter fighting (also known as “In-fighting”). Topics covered will include: Close-quarters striking, technical drills, small-blade applications, and general skill development. To book a place, please contact Andy on 07973 240 177.
Described as "The hardest Rapid Arnis grading ever" by Chief Instructor Pat O'Malley, Rapid Arnis practitioners from all over the UK braved three gruelling days of non-stop testing, fighting, and conditioning to achieve their respective grades. Congratulations are in order for the following individuals, not just for the excellent level of ability they showed, but for surviving the various cuts, bruises, broken noses, and stab wounds, to come out smiling on the other side. Well done chaps!
James Janson – Blue 2
Carl Rein – Brown 1
James Dismore – Brown 1
Ed Quartey – Black
Paul Murray – Black
Andrew Janson – 1st Degree Black
Our regular classes at SOAS are closed for the summer holidays, and will resume in October.
In the meantime, we will be running various workshops, seminars, and intensive courses. Please check the website regularly for details on these as they become available.
Personal classes will continue as normal.
