The following is a review I wrote back in 2005 upon the re-release of Geoff Thompson's book "Dead or Alive". This book remains a constant on my recommended list for basic self-protection seminars. If you enjoy the write-up please order your copy using the Amazon link at the end of the article. Thank you – Jamie Clubb Perhaps we shouldn't, as the old cliché goes, "judge a book by its cover" but, having just read Geoff Thompson's "Dead or […]
08.05.2024 My client from Drum Martial Arts and Fitness continued his six-session teaching consultation. We discussed children’s hard skills with an emphasis on 5-9 year-olds. Interestingly the early discussions revolved around a simple baton system being taught to law enforcement that my client studies. This brought us onto ideas regarding range and the “child’s range”. During the early days of Clubb Chimera Martial Arts we tested the best methods for our child students to use against a adult playing role […]
18.10.2023 Tonight my 1.5 hour client went in for a tough 12 round workout. There was no particular theme but I took some inspiration from my training with Geoff Thompson and Matty Evans. After a thorough Wrestling and Muay Thai inspired warm-up, we moved onto the workout proper. Each round was three minutes long. Round 1 – Greco-Roman style Wrestling Round 2 – Freestyle Wrestling Round 3 – Freestyle Wrestling Round 4 – Jabs and lead hooks on the focus […]
19.09.2023 Today’s online teaching consultation with Drum Martial Arts and Fitness in Ireland brought us into hour three. We are discussing children’s self-protection and related topics that help develop my client’s teaching knowledge. We began with a discussion on how the new Animal Instincts teaching programme intends to involve parents. Having parental support is the most efficient way for self-protection information to stick. Just as adult self-protection teachers can benefit from their child student feedback –as covered in […]
09.08.2023 This morning brought my client up to hour six of what has become a course on restrictive training to aid her Muay Thai and in preparation for an operation recovery. After a gentle warm-up of mobility and muscle activation exercises we began the first of four phases of today’s lesson. Resistance Bands – We performed several sets of negative action punches using a light resistance band. I had my client adopt a fighting stance and retain her guard. My […]
20.02.2023 The final hour of my client’s second Muay Thai course focused on a review of the material covered. We then settled on working on better impact development for both the rear round kick and the switch-kick. Once the mechanical side was settled and I used the Ali shuffle to better improve the switch kick it came down to more of a mental release. Geoff Thompson once told me that I was holding back on my punches and it was […]
09.11.2022 “Learn from the Fight” continued from the previous less0n by staying with the heavyweight division to show just how competitive it had now become. We first looked at the rise of another fearful force in the heavyweight division – considered by many as the most feared boxer of all time – Sonny Liston. Then we covered Floyd Patterson’s fifth defence of his world title facing Ingemar Johansson. Sonny Liston versus Cleveland Williams 15.04.1959 Charles L. “Sonny” Liston’s date of […]
19.10.2022 Hour four of my teacher consultation on Drum Kempo Ju Jutsu and Fitness’s anti-bullying programme looked establishing the “target hardening” attitude and also a discussion on dealing with black dogs. The latter was in response to a recent post within our subculture where a trained individual had been assaulted but the period of time had elapsed whereby any physical response by him could be deemed lawful. When it comes to self-defence situations we are discussing thwarting an immediate threat. […]
18.05.2022 This is the 13th hour of my teacher client consultation, but there is no way of arguing today’s lesson had anything directly to do with my basic self-protection course. Instead, at my client’s request, we diverted into reviewing his excellent “Bully Proof” three hour course and this prompted a discussion on the nature of bullies. However, before we moved onto certain areas our main area of discussion centred on a recent relevant case within our industry: the case of […]
01.05.2022 Sunday afternoon saw the culmination of my client’s hard work in attaining her fourth dan under Iain Abernethy. Over the past couple of weeks, Mary Stevens, head teacher of Athena School of Karate, has booked me to help her cover the pad-work and sparring aspects of this particular test. It’s great to see a fellow teacher make such huge improvements in both their own training and the service they provide for their pupils. During the time I have trained […]
13.07.21 Tuesday night fight history continued with the career of Joe Louis into the 1940s. However, I thought I would provide a footnote to the previous era’s other professional fights. Muay Thai There is scarce footage of Muay Thai matches in the 1930s despite continuing to grow in popularity in its native country with a strong and lengthy history stretching back centuries. In the 1910s after the king of Siam had paid the victors of fights held at his son’s […]
07.06.20 Sunday saw the second part of what has evolved into CCMA’s standard Soft Skills Webinar trilogy. Last month we focused on attitude and awareness. This time we put the spotlight on deceptive and aggressive pre-incident indicators, the effects of stress/fear in a crisis situation and the options presented at the crisis point. Sources such as Desmond Morris, Geoff Thompson, Peter Consterdine, Gavin De Becker and Dave Grossman were cited throughout the webinar. My thanks to Keiryu Practical Karate for […]
10.05.20 Last Sunday Keiryu Practical Karate kindly hosted me for a personal security webinar. We had attendees across the UK and Europe. The current lockdown situation that has necessitated training happens via video links is a very suitable environment for delivering soft skills lessons. We took full advantage of the situation, screen sharing a presentation and taking questions and answers. I was able to go deeper into certain areas than I would normally have done in a more comprehensive lesson. […]
Recently I have had an idea for a podcast concerning social circles of bad influence. A good part of personal security is an awareness of people. In fact, it is a vital component of situational awareness. Just as different people will change the dynamic of any situation, friends and associates can help determine an individual’s future. We are often judged by the company we keep. Coming from a circus background I know this fact only too well. Certain groups of […]
19.11.19 My second evening lesson was my teacher consultancy where we continued to discuss material for a children’s self-protection achievement programme, a specific programme for teenage girls in Varanasi, northern India and also a brief overview of this Saturday’s clinic on MMA ground-fighting. The achievement programme is layering in information from Dave Kovar’s Aware programme on anti-bullying. This is something my client is bringing in to provide simple skills for youngsters to help provide more information on bullying. We then […]
17.09.19 Tuesday began with a half an hour live video discussion with Brian Inwards from Australia. Brian kindly bid and won our discussion in an auction set up by Eric Parsons’ “Karate 4 Life Life Foundation”. Our discussion revolved around the use of headgear for pressure testing. Our discussion took us into the relevance of scenario-based training, various forms of sparring and the history of bareknuckle fighting. Recent changes in Olympic Boxing have led to headguards being removed from […]
