Unified Fighting Systems

Getting back to normal
It was so good to see faces we haven't seen for a few weeks on Tuesday. Plus, the rain was most welcome yesterday.
All classes on tonight.
Tuesday was fun. Let's keep that up tonight.

Cold or hot, most of these folks are there regardless. Great people. Excellent mentality. They know their stuff.
Classes as normal tonight.

A special plan devised for the classes tonight. May or may not involve a Ninja Turtle

The suddenness of it all

Ok, who loved the eclipse last night? Who wasn’t bothered? Who never even noticed it? I loved it. I watched it with a few friends in the garden at Katie’s pub, The Lilacs. Sabat was with me, but he was far too interested in the pork scratchings. I remember the last one in 1999. I was in the French Alps that day. So, two memorable days and yet, I will never see another. The next one is scheduled for 2090 and by then even the youngest UFS students will be older than I am now. All of which feels incredible.

I am reminded of Brandon Lee’s last interview, given when he was making ‘The Crow.’ This was his quote:
“How many more times will you remember a certain afternoon of your childhood, some afternoon that's so deeply a part of your being that you can't even conceive of your life without it? Perhaps four or five times more. Perhaps not even that. How many more times will you watch the full moon rise? Perhaps twenty. And yet it all seems limitless.”

It is taken from the Paul Bowles book, ‘The Sheltering Sky’ and is also on Brandon’s grave, that he shares next to his father in Seattle.

What is so pertinent about the quote was that Brandon was killed in a shooting accident on set about a week later after he did the interview.

Four years ago, I was messaging Jeff Gonsalves on his way back from Thailand. Twelve hours later, James Taylor called me to say that Jeff had died in the early hours of the morning. That suddenness catches you by surprise and I was not ready for it.

That last line in the quote. ‘It all seems so limitless.’ It really does, but a lunar eclipse will remind you of your mortality and how pointless most of the drama in your life really is. Get on with living and doing the things you love. Let other people’s dramas exist in their world and not yours.

Stay cool.

See you in class.
Andy

You've impressed me
This must be one of the longest summers ever. It began with 30C + at the end of May and ever since it has been up and down, flirting with total carnage ever since. We’ve had some cool days, but we have had very few wet days. So much so that we are now in a drought. I read the other day that this is the first time since 2011 and when you consider that we hit 40C in 2022, that is some amazing fact.
And yet, despite it all, you have kept showing up. Week in, week out. Plus 30C or not. You keep showing your face and that, my friend, is impressive. Last week was a great example. Both Tuesday and Thursday were busy. In August. That is a rare thing. Plus, we’ve had enthusiastic new starts, taking on everything and enjoying the training. People who join in the summer tend to stay a long time.
As I keep saying, having so much choice, we are not limited to kickboxing or fitness classes. The grappling can be technical or sweaty and mean. We can train the weapons, JKD or sometimes take a pew and learn philosophy and history. I really do try to make each night unmissable. And should you miss a class, I want those who did attend to talk about the things we did.
For example, on Sunday it was bag work night. Recently in the kickboxing class, we were working on the unstoppable jab. The seniors have been working on knife drills and close-quarter stick sparring. New fitness drills have been introduced. Plus, the grading material has been learned for next month’s gradings. You never know what’s coming next.
Throughout it all, you keep turning up. Some people are on holiday, but they always show up straight away afterwards. So, here’s a note from me to you.
Thanks. For being committed. For being the uncommon. For wanting to learn. For being willing to sweat. For loving these arts that move me every day. For being part of our home.
See you in class.
Andy

The Sunday Review – 34
It all happens on Wednesday
We had an excellent week of training last week. Really good numbers, some new folks joining us and we got to practice syllabus material for the September gradings. Tuesday was the busiest night, but I had to love Thursday because of the 20C temperatures. That hint of Autumn was lovely. Having said that, we’re going to bake for a few hot days this week.
We also have the partial eclipse on Wednesday. We haven’t had one since 1999, a day I will never forget. I was on my first IKAEF Summercamp with Jeff Espinous and Johan Skalberg and others in the French Alps. The location was stunning.
On the day of the eclipse, a group of us were riding quad bikes with someone we thought was an experienced group leader. That couldn’t have been farther from the truth. During my second trip round a route of rocks, fields and mountain tracks, I managed to drive my quad bike over the side of the mountain we were on and see it crash 30 feet away, stuck in a tree and minus a wheel. Miraculously, I escaped with cuts and bruises, all minor and earned a certificate for being a ‘Quad Killer’. We never went back to that location again. I’m hoping for a quieter day this Wednesday.
The Fan Dance is history already now, but we did raise £1628 for the White Ribbon campaign, so thank you to everyone who contributed.
In the world of TV this week, ‘Ted Lasso’ returned to much fanfare, but I thought a rather low-key first episode. ‘Reacher’ also returns this coming Wednesday with the first 3 episodes being released at 8am, on Prime Video. Wednesday is looking to be some day. A great reminder to ‘Train like Rocky, think like Bourne and fight like Reacher.’
One short plug for the ‘When Worlds Collide’ seminar I’m teaching on Saturday 5th September. As a result of the great turnout on 6th June, many places have already been booked. As of writing, there are only 6 places left and the early bird price of £35 ends on Friday 14th August. If you’d like to attend, please let me know ASAP. We nearly sold out in June. I think we will this time. We’ll be covering Jeet Kune Do and the Filipino Martial Arts: the similarities and the differences. There will also be a certificate and a magazine for every student.
Have a great week.
See you in class.
Andy

A sign of things to come.
Last night my dog was a di****ad. Most of the time he’s a star, but last night he decided it was time to forget his name when I called it and ignore me when I did. He hasn’t been like that for a long time. So, one confrontation with an alpha male who decided he wasn’t quite as alpha as he thought when we ‘discussed’ it and a stressful stroll led to a different morning walk today. Dog passed with flying colours today.
What was the difference? We went on a different route. Today it was the woods and the streets. Sabat has a problem when we go to the same places every day. His enthusiasm never wanes, but he starts to believe that these places are ‘his’ and not for the sharing of others. Today’s walk was a pattern interrupt and it worked really well.
But something else was different today too. It was much cooler than it has been of late. So much so that I wore a hoodie for the first time in a while. And honestly, I loved it. Calm dog, cooler temperatures. A dream. Surrounded by trees, squirrels jumping from branch to branch and the birds singing.
It was like a scene from Disney. A sign that autumn isn’t far away. And with the autumn, the arrival of new students and their view of us. We’ve gone through the new fitness test a couple of times and we’re working for next month’s gradings. The summer, although not gone for sure, is passing by. Some people will be on their holidays, but September and all it offers beckons.
I know some people love the summer, but sweating from morning to night, through the night and repeating has never been my favourite. Being able to take Sabat out more because it’s not too hot for him is good. And there is a whole host of seminars to attend and host which is more get togethers and more learning and teaching. September is a false New Year and I’m looking forward to it already.
See you in class.
Andy

Randomly I chose a Christmas movie to watch last night. In August. ‘Lethal Weapon’ still delivers on many fronts. A great performance from Mel Gibson – I love the crazy face. Danny Glover thinking that 50 was old. Gary Busey – a proper bad guy. Mr Joshua was a loon. And, the first time most of the world was introduced to Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. To my knowledge, it is also the first film to feature a mobile phone – complete with handheld battery.

There are flaws. There are so many holes in the plot. I doubt if some of the scenes would be acceptable to today’s audience. And the climatic fight between Riggs and Mr Joshua wasn’t filmed very well, but these are minor complaints in a classic ‘Christmas’ film.

When it came out there was a lengthy article in ‘Fighting Arts International’ (this was a magazine) that featured the martial arts that Mel Gibson trained in. Capoeira, Jailhouse Rock and the afore-mentioned BJJ. These were all interesting choices in that none were mainstream at the time. A few years later, the UFC began (really as a vehicle for the Gracies) and the worldwide domination began.

My personal favourite of the three was ‘Jailhouse Rock’, so named as it was said to be learnt in the US prison system and features an effective, close-quarter system. There is no doubting the effectiveness of BJJ on the ground though.

Richard Bustillo told me that he knew Rorian and Royce Gracie when they were teaching out of their garage in Los Angeles. On one of my trips to LA, I trained at the old Gracie Academy near the IMB Academy and had a tour given to me by Rorian. A nicer man you couldn’t meet and the mat space upstairs was enormous.

For those of you that love the grappling aspect, Dave Tomney is conducting a seminar just on the groundwork phase on Saturday 15th August 10am to 2pm. Let him know if you’d like to attend and it’s just £20 payable on the day.

Tell him you’d like to learn how to choke out Mr Joshua. I’m sure he’ll oblige.

See you in class.
Andy

There ain't no time for the summertime blues.
The summer holidays are definitely in full swing now, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have a fully committed crew still working hard. I’ve had an easy week after the exertions of last week, but I’m back to training hard again tomorrow.
Tuesday kickboxing was a great class when we worked on developing an unstoppable jab. Thursday kickboxing also introduced the first of the new fitness tests. One of the things that became apparent at the last gradings was that some students need to improve their fitness. During this month I’ll be showing you the four different levels of fitness that you should all be aspiring too. Nothing mental (I mean how crazy would you need to be to be climbing the Brecon Beacons?) but challenging enough to get you fitter.
With the ending of the World Cup we have a few weeks without football, so has anyone else been watching ‘Dutton Ranch?’ I loved ‘Yellowstone’ and ‘1883’ and ‘1923’ but having Rip and Beth back is great news. August is the gift that keeps on giving with ‘Reacher’ returning to Prime and ‘Ted Lasso’ back on Apple TV. Also, watch ‘The Witness’ on Netflix. For those old enough to remember the Rachel Nickell case will be an excellent reminder of why martial arts training is so vital to personal safety.
Despite the holiday vibe remember there is no finish line; we’re all just making our way ahead the best we can.
See you in class.
Andy

For the past few years, Samantha Dignan has been teaching aerial yoga at the centre, but now her time has come to move to Wales. This means I have room availability on Monday and Wednesday evenings and Saturday mornings.
Suitable for yoga and aerial yoga.
If you know of anyone looking for a great space (fully matted floor), please message me here, call me on 01536 513715 or WhatsApp me through my website: www.ufsjkd.com