Issue 5 - Professional Unification of Martial Arts

Well, this is officially Planet PUMA’s first birthday. In the same year Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth The Second celebrates
her eightieth birthdays we’re happy to have reached our first. Alas, unlike the Queen’s birthdays, the rejoicing is somewhat
tempered by budget restrictions and the lack of a cake – have you ever tried stapling a cake to a magazine? Suffice to say
it was a disaster.
Moving on, it’s been an eventful few months within our organisation and the martial arts world in general so issue five is an
action packed thirty-two pages. As most of you have probably already heard, Mr Mark Ogborne was recently promoted to
Master Mark Ogborne, Seventh Degree Black Belt. He was awarded this title by the president of the International
Taekwon-Do Federation, Grandmaster Choi Jung Hwa during the ITF’s recent fortieth anniversary celebrations held in
Dublin. Find out more about Master Ogborne and what makes him tick by turning to our in depth interview starting on page
four - as it happens we interviewed him mere days prior to his surprise promotion - coincidence? Err, yes.
P.U.M.A.’s kickboxers have also had a very busy time over recent months. We have a full report on the first P.U.M.A. kick
boxing camp which was held in March and attended by around forty association members including kickboxers along with
exponents of Taekwon-Do and Tang Soo-Do. Probably even more significantly, P.U.M.A. recently entered its first four kick
boxers into a professional fight night in Bournemouth with explosive results. Read all about how Karen Stokes, Eric Laffin,
Samantha Spinney and Mark Townley got on, all in this issue.
For our younger readers this month we have more puzzles and jokes in the kid’s corner. Our humour outsourcing program
is paying huge dividends, with significantly higher quality jokes than last time. Self-protection expert Dik Chance has also
been hard at work again and this month offers deep thought on stranger awareness.
The summer promises to be equally busy with summer adults and kids camps only just around the corner. If you haven’t
done so already then get a form from your instructor or the web site, sign up and see what all the fuss is about. Also, keep
your ears open for details of a UKITF fight night to include both Taekwon-Do and Kickboxing this July. If last year’s fight
night is anything to go by then this should be a great evening of competition with P.U.M.A. and UKITF’s top fighters of all
ages on show.
Thanks to those of you who’ve written in - we appreciate people getting involved. Let us know what’s happening in your
neck of the woods and we’ll try to shoehorn it into the next issue. You know the address by now:
magazine@puma-uk.com. We do make a point of replying to everyone and we’re always happy to chat article ideas over
with people.
Finally, have you missed any issues of Planet P.U.M.A.? If so, don’t despair! P.U.M.A.’s merchandise unit is still
holding a limited number of each back issue and if you speak to your instructor they will be able to order any missing
issues in order to complete your collection.
But that’s enough of our twaddle. On with the show...

What's Inside
Editorial 2
They can’t take it away from us. It’s in our contract.
Interview: Master Mark Ogborne 4
Co-founder of P.U.M.A., three times world champion, UKITF head coach and now a master...
Kickboxing Fight Night 8
Bournemouth hosts Absolute Adrenaline Reloaded - and our boys and girls join in.
Winter Camp - Lanzarote 11
Or “what to do during the duff part of the year”...
Neuro-Linguistic Programming 12
Training for success
Random Stuff 15
Or perhaps it’s only pseudo-random.
Kickboxing Camp 16
Our first kickboxing camp - pics and anecdotes
Strangers 18
“Stranger Danger”, right? Perhaps not...
Self Defence - The Legal Practicalities 20
From a hardened criminal defence solicitor.
Health & Fitness 22
Flexibility training part III: This Time It’s Dynamic.
Kickboxing 24
Hey, you... Fed up with getting hit? Why not try blocking?
Tang Soo-Do 26
This time : some cool self defence
Taekwon-Do 28
Set sparring : what’s it all about then?
Fast Defence 29
A parent writes about her experiences
Child Protection 30
Photographing children : what’s the word?
Kids Corner 31
Better jokes than last time, plus added squirrels.
The Team
Editor
Assistant Editor
Health & Fitness Coordinator
Contributors
Email
Mr Daniel Lammin
Mr Richard Potter
Mr Gareth Hitchcoe
Mr Matthew Lloyd, Mr Daniel Lammin, Mr Malcolm Jones, Mr Dik Chance, Ms Louise
Reeve, Mr Gareth Hitchcoe, Mr Kevin McCabe, Mr Oliver King, Mrs Claire King, Mr
Steve Weyman, Mr David Fanson, Mrs Rachel Houston, Mr Mark McLaren, Mr Mark
Townley, Mr Mark Ogborne, Mr Simon Peck, Mr Richard Potter, Mrs E Bradshaw
magazine@puma-uk.com
Planet P.U.M.A. is published quarterly. For letters or article proposals, please contact the editorial team at the email
address above. To locate your local club or for further information about P.U.M.A. please visit the official website at
www.puma-uk.com or call the P.U.M.A. hotline on 0845 600 1967
This magazine is copyright 2006 The Professional Unification of Martial Arts Ltd. All individual articles are the copyright
of their respective authors. Opinions expressed are those of their authors and do not necessarily reflect those of
P.U.M.A. Unauthorised reproduction is prohibited.

Mark Ogborne
Mark Ogborne, a co-founder of P.U.M.A.
and UKITF team coach, was recently
awarded the title of Master by the
International Taekwon-Do Federation. Find
out how he got there .
- Interview by Mark McLaren
Prelude to interview: I’d like to mention that as we do this interview
a very close friend of mine in P.U.M.A., Mr Black, is not very well. I
just want to have a mention for him so he knows we’re thinking of
him. I know he’ll read the interview and I want to let him know that
myself and all the other people in P.U.M.A. are thinking of him. I
think it is very important that he is mentioned at this stage. People
will pick up the interview and people like him are unsung heroes
and I just want to put that right at the beginning.
- Master Ogborne
Who are you and what is your role within P.U.M.A.?
I am the one of the founding fathers of P.U.M.A.. A long time
ago we thought we could improve the community side of
martial arts, within not only our own schools but the
association throughout the country. We felt that we gave a lot
of effort to the physical side of it, like with tournaments, but
that a lot of the spiritual and mental side of martial arts was
sadly lacking. I think we’ve gone a long way to making it more
prevalent. I’ve been the vice chairman since P.U.M.A. started
in 2000 but I consider myself to be just another member of the
group. I just like to run it along with everybody else. If I’m
called upon to do a particular role then I do it to the best of my
ability.
Have you been involved in any other martial arts and
how did you become interested in Taekwon-Do?
When myself and Master Gayle first left school, it was very
obvious there were a lot of ways we could get into trouble. We
grew up in the inner city of Bristol. One of our friends died
from crack cocaine . Another very good friend ended up in a
top security mental home. So there were lots of distractions in
the environment we lived in. As soon as we ventured out of
the safe environment of school and parties and into pubs and
clubs, as you do as you get older, we found they could be
quite dangerous places to be in without any defence
mechanism. We’d always been heavily involved in sports so
we looked around for a martial art. The first one we came
across was called Higashi Karate, so we went along for a
couple of lessons. I couldn’t actually start the lessons when
Master Gayle did because the job I was doing at the time took
me away for two months. By the time I came back Master
Gayle had found a TKD school and that’s how we started. I
started when I was about 17. In fact the date was 19 th July
1978.
What are your proudest TKD, and non-TKD,
achievements?
Most people would say it’s obvious because I was quite
successful on the tournament scene. But there are lots of
proud moments and I can’t put it down to any particular
one. I think recently my proudest moments were going to
Korea, attending TKD’s 50 th birthday, being asked to be
UKITF coach and then actually coaching James Murueta
and Vaughan Buxton to become world champions in their
own right. That was just fantastic.
I love going to presentation evenings – to see all those
people progress to black belt, to see some of the failures
turn into successes, it’s what I think human life is all about.
I’ve even seen grown men cry. To come through that and
then reach some of the goals that people have achieved is
fantastic really. Obviously I became a world champion but
looking back on it now it is a speck on the horizon. I’d say
helping P.U.M.A. grow has been my proudest moment.
I was also very proud to win the 1983 Umpires
Championships. It was heavyweight against lightweight in
the final and I beat some guy called Ray Gayle!
You were a very successful competitor on the
tournament scene. Can you summarise your
competitive career for us?
I won the world championships as a heavyweight in 1993
and there was a very big field of heavyweight competitors.
Normally you get about 16 competitors maximum in that
category but in this particular one there were well over 50.
They were from all around the world – there was a South
African, Argentinean, Dutchman, Polish guy, a German, a
few people from England, Scotland, Wales, Australia,so
quite a lot of fights. I think I had 9 fights, which is a lot. I
was absolutely knackered. The guy I fought in the final

went on to become the Taekwon-Do International and ITF
world champion. I fought him 4 times and never lost to him
and was very proud of this fact. He was a Dutchman named
Retz Faber. I know Mr Lammin fought him a couple of times
and can verify what a good fighter he was. Fair enough, he
was about the same height as me, but he felt taller. I also
fought in Clash of Titan 3 times and have coached P.U.M.A.
and UKITF teams there on 4 occasions, which I’m also very
proud of. I also won a destruction world title in Holland,
breaking 4 black boards with my left and right legs, again
beating an ITF world champion in the process. I started
competing really because I wanted to see how it would turn
out and with Master Gayle’s support I went on to become
world champion. Not too bad really!
What was your involvement in the founding of
P.U.M.A.?
We felt the group we were with had got a bit stale. There were
lots of things that we felt we could improve and we went
through the right channels to try to try and make these happen
but it didn’t come off. A lot of us felt this at the same time and
decided that we could do a better job and I think we are doing
that as we speak. One of the problems was the group didn’t
involve the student base. We’ve got some key people in
P.U.M.A. who have done a fantastic job with the magazine,
child protection policy, first aid, kickboxing, we’ve got so many
different areas that it’s very professional now. I was one of
about 8 people that had this view and pushed it to fruition.
Which clubs do you currently run?
The clubs I run at the moment are Bath, in conjunction with
Master Gayle, and Newbury. I set up Thatcham club, near
Reading, in 1989. I have just passed it over to Mr Spreadbury
who’s doing a good job with it for me. So at the moment I’m
only teaching 4 nights a week which is quite a step down
because before I was virtually doing every night of the week.
Also I started the Swindon Club with Master Gayle back in
1985 or ’86 I think, quite a long time ago.
What is your background outside of TKD? What jobs
and careers have you had?
I left school when I was 16, went to college at 17 and then got
a job as a laboratory technician for a seed factory in
Avonmouth. I stayed there for 9 years and progressed up to
Laboratory Manger and then Quality Control Manager. But
myself and Master Gayle loved TKD and we saw that there
was an opening to perhaps teach it for a living. At that time
there was only one other person in the whole of the South
West area that was full time and in the whole country just a
handful who were teaching full time. We took a big gamble
and fortunately it paid off.
How has having a child changed your life?
It’s just turned my world upside down. Before, anyone will tell
you, I just loved going out and enjoying myself. For 10 years I
just partied all the time: Thursday, Friday, Saturday and
Sunday, I’d be out. Even if I went to a TKD class I’d go to a
bar with them afterwards, then meet some friends later on and
party somewhere else. A while ago now I felt it was time to
make a change, I made a big decision in that I bought a house
outside of Bristol. I’d lived in Bristol all my life but an
Helping to plug Planet P.U.M.A. back when nobody
was buying it.
opportunity came up and I bought a rundown farmhouse
near Wincanton. It was actually Mr Robert Tetmar, one of
our Black Belts who has been training with us over 10
years – a 5 th degree in Bath. He is an estate agent down
there and showed me a house they couldn’t sell and we
bought this property and slowly done up together, myself
and my wife Nici, and thought it was time I retired so along
came our son Alfie and it’s just been fantastic. Lots of
sleepless nights, lots of hard work. We always used to joke
about how I’m 3 times world heavyweight champion and
putting myself around the place but now he’s on the scene
it’s the compete opposite (laughs). If you meet him you’ll
understand what I’m talking about.
You are known for your passion for cricket. What is
your background in this and other sports?
I love cricket. TKD is my life so I can’t really weigh it up
against anything else. When I wake up in the morning till
the last thing at night, that’s what’s on my mind. Cricket is
my getaway, release from that if you like. When I’m playing
cricket I’m not dealing with anything to do with TKD. Noone
is bowing to me or calling me sir, or vice-versa, I can
just relax and play the game. I’m very passionate about
cricket and got to quite a high standard. I was playing
Gloucestershire under-25s and have played against quite a
few superstars. I still play to this day. Anyone who thinks
it’s boring needs to come and face me putting a ball down
at 70 mph. I’ve done that to a few of my black belts - I get
them to stand at the bottom of the hall and I throw some
balls down, terrifying them! (laughs). Yeah, I love it, a
gentleman’s game.
How did you feel when you were asked to be the
UKITF head coach?
I say to a lot of my students, the longer you do something
like TKD the more benefits you get from it. The more you
put into it the more you get back. I was quite shocked when
they asked me to do it. I was proud, not only for myself but
also for PUMA. We were a new group and for me to head
all the top fighters from around the country was an great
accolade. Remember, we’re still fairly new to this points
system and the style of fighting. I think it’s benefited our
association that they’ve got me as head coach. I don’t
mean that in an arrogant way but we can grow from that.
We have proved that with the amount of P.U.M.A.
competitors in the UKITF team.

What are your ambitions for yourself?
I used to be very ambitious when I was younger. You know,
new car, big house, holidays all around the world, new
clothes, I just want to be happy now. It sounds hippyish but I
genuinely do. My ambitions really are to make P.U.M.A. a
successful force within the ITF so when people think of TKD
they think of P.U.M.A. and the ITF. I’d like to see us have an
HQ somewhere where we can all get to within a reasonable
amount of time.
... and for P.U.M.A. and the UKITF?
I’d like to see them both blossom. What I’ve found going
back into the ITF is that there are a lot of people with strong
opinions. It’s quite interesting because if two people have
strong opinions and both have a valid point they usually
clash and that shouldn’t be the case. I see this all the time in
the UKITF. A lot of people with strong views on technique
and how to run the organisation, who should be in the team,
who should be out... I’d like to see those strong personalities
working together more to make the UKITF stronger.
You are one of the P.U.M.A. grading examiners. What
are the highs, and the lows, of such a difficult and
responsible role?
The highs are just seeing people’s faces when you give them
a credit, distinction or a grading award. We have an ideology
in P.U.M.A. that we don’t give out credits and distinctions just
because someone can punch or kick high. It’s about their
attitude as well, about their spirit, and I’m proud of that. I like
to see a sparkle in people’s eyes when they’re doing a
grading to see that they’re passionate about it. You could get
a sportsman come off the street and within 3 months they
could be kicking better than perhaps myself, punching harder
than myself, but that’s not what being a martial artist is all
about. I think the lows are when you have to fail people. You
have to explain your decision to some of the people who
sometimes can’t see it. The reason I feel strongly about it is
that I’ve failed myself, so I know. Nobody can look me in the
eye and say “Are you sure your decision is right?” because
that’s the position I have so it is my decision at the end of the
day.
How did Planet P.U.M.A. come about and what do you
see as its mission?
The reason is quite simple. If you go into a newsagent and
pick up a martial arts magazine, straight away it’s about
Bruce Lee, Kung Fu and has articles that are quite bizarre in
some cases. We noticed that another association had a
pamphlet type thing and when the idea was suggested at an
instructors development weekend we decided we could do
with a magazine for our own group. It’s growing all the time. I
must say it’s just fantastic and the last one, issue 4, is just
magnificent. I’ve read it three times actually. With all the
different articles, you can learn so much from it. The only
thing I would say is can you not put that picture of Master
Gayle on the front next time; it’s scaring all the kids!
In your experience, how practical is TKD for self
defence?
When people say that to me, I don’t understand it. I think
people are looking for a chink in what we do. The bottom line
is, as General Choi said, one blow to a certain victory. I think
the way that we are teaching people in martial arts is that it’s
not just about punching and kicking people, it’s actually
about the way you hold yourself and the way you deal with
certain situations. But at the end of the day if you have to
use your TKD, if you have to kick somebody, of course it’s
going to hurt. A lot of people say, what if you fall to the floor
or what happens if someone jumps out behind you with a
knife in their hands? The way I relate to this question is that I
know that if a mugger came up to me I know I would be able
to defend myself. If I’d never done TKD I don’t know if I could
say that. TKD is very practical because if someone does
have a knife then I’m not going to put my hand up to them
because they’re in close proximity but if you can kick them
then you can keep that distance.
What is your involvement in the P.U.M.A. camps,
especially Kids Camp? I hear you were once a member
of the scouts?
Yeah, that’s right! It was originally my idea to do a kids
camp, about 16 years ago. I’ve always loved adult summer
camp - if someone said to me you’ve got two weeks in
Barbados and £5,000 of cash to spend and that clashed with
summer camp I’d always go with summer camp. I just love
the camaraderie of it, the getting up in the cold mornings and
getting wet along with the inevitable aches and pains. It’s a
great buzz and I love going.
We felt we needed to offer the same to the children. Master
Gayle and I used to go on cub and scout camps when we
were kids so I could see the benefit of that. It was the first
time, living in the inner city and getting out into the
countryside. So when we experienced seeing cows and
sheep and stuff, it was very rare to us. I am still passionate
about the environment now as I know a lot of you senior
players in P.U.M.A. are. It’s been good for the kids to have a
camp. For my part I like to make up the games and doing the
trails and helping it run and hopefully it will go on to bigger
and better things.
Who are your heroes?
My Dad, Master Gayle, Sugar Ray Leonard, General Choi,
my son and my students. I think everyone can be your hero
and that you should look for the good in everyone. There are
lots of things that inspire me. It’s a difficult question
really,everyone’s a hero to some degree. I look at you and I
remember your face on that ITF grading. I thought, “Ouch!”.
You’ve come through that, so you’re a hero too. (Thank you
Sir). The only person that you can put on a higher pedestal
is probably the person who created us, our creator, God.
Lots of people stick out in my mind but for different reasons.
Billy Connolly is my hero because he makes me laugh.
Master Gayle is my hero because he picks me up when I’m
down. If I phone him up at 5 o’clock in the morning saying
can you pop round and pick me up because I’m drunk
outside a pub, he’ll come and pick me up.
As a 6th degree black belt, the next level would
promote you to 7th degree, international Master of
TKD. What is your view of what a Master should be?
It’s very interesting because I’ve seen a massive change in
Master Gayle from the guy I used to go nightclubbing with to
the person he is today. I will have to live up to that role one
day. The people we know and we surround ourselves with
and some of my friends at the cricket club, probably think it’s

a bit daft and a bit corny but it is a special role to hold. For
example, Master Choi recently made himself deliberately
homeless and lived on the streets for a couple of weeks just
to see what that would be like. That’s just amazing, isn’t it!
So to act as a Master in everything you do and everything
you see has to be a part of you. I think that’s why I’m not a
master yet. I’ve still got some time to go on that one!
Master Ogborne celebrates his promotion with Master
Gayle, friends and a rather spiffing cake.
I have heard that you were nearly abducted once. Can
you tell us about this experience?
I used to race home from school to watch Scooby Doo. I was
eight years old at the time. Now before Scooby Doo was on,
after every class I would go to the local park to play football.
This particular day there was a guy there waiting by the
swings. He’d just kick the ball through the goal and I’d kick it
back. He was getting more and more friendly and in the end
he came up to me. He came up to all the guys really and
started speaking to us. He particularly singled me out and
started talking to me and I started to talk with him. He kept
putting his hand in his pocket and kept bringing out a
thru’penny piece (three pence in old money). I was thinking
this is fantastic. I remember when he put it in my hand that it
was really hot.. He’d give me a thru’penny bit and I’d go off
playing football and he’d call me over again. He’d call me
over again and give me another thru’penny bit. Every time I
looked down he’d bring out a thru’penny bit and I’d think, “oh,
that’s what he’s doing, bringing out his change”, but he
wasn’t. How long this went on for I don’t know, but it went on
for a while because I had quite a few thru’penny bits. All of a
sudden he grabbed me and wouldn’t let go. He held me and
started talking to me and then got a bit more irate. He started
pulling me towards a bush area where the toilets were. I then
panicked. I was so afraid, screaming and shouting. All the
guys I was playing football with ran off and were all upset. If
you can imagine, if a grown man has a grip of a 7 or 8 year
old kid there is no way they can get away from him.
Eventually somebody walking past took his eye and I
managed to struggle free. I ran off and went back to my
mum. She had a shop at the time and still has a shop to this
day. She was really proud of me and phoned the police.
About a week later this guy did actually abuse a kid in the
same park. It was the same man, he got caught, so I was
really lucky on that one. That’s quite scary isn’t it? I tell that
story to the kids at my clubs, it goes all quiet and they’re
really interested in it. It just shows it can happen to anybody.
You have said that it is no disgrace to fail a grading
and that you once failed a grading. Can you say which
grade it was, how did you feel and how did you recover
from it? Did it change your attitude towards TKD at all?
I was a red belt. I was the red belt British sparring champion
at the time, had gone to the grading and had a really good
grading. I couldn’t see it at the time but I was obviously very
cocky. The grading examiner was Master Rhee, who bought
TKD to the UK and he must have seen that in me. I
remember he kept asking me more and more questions. I
was answering them okay but he kept asking me more and
deeper questions so eventually I got them wrong. He sat
everybody down and had me in front of the class doing the
grading on my own. He kept saying “wrong” and “incorrect”. I
though, “What is going on here?”. I remember that Master
Gayle was on the table. He was a black belt then so he was
privileged, he was actually watching. He started to giggle
because it was quite funny at the time. It then got serious
because Master Rhee got angry with what I was doing. I
couldn’t work it out. Then I came to do the breaking. I did all
the breaking but I didn’t break on the turning kick. In those
days if you didn’t do all the breaks, you didn’t pass, which
again is something that is different now. I knew then that I
stood a chance of not getting through but because my
sparring was good and my patterns were okay I thought I’d
do okay. The grading ended and I was told the bad news. I
was absolutely gutted. It took me 3 years to get over it. I
couldn’t accept why I was singled out. It was everyone’s fault
except my own. Even to this day, it’s not nice to think about,
but I understand it now and it’s the best thing that ever
happened to me. It was probably too easy for me at that time
or my attitude was too cocky or I was a bit blasé about what
TKD was all about. It’s not until someone takes something
away from you that you realise how much it means to you.
That’s why I appreciate it when I see people fail because
after a period of time they’ll look back on things. I’m not
saying was a nice experience, but it’s an experience you can
grow from. You can look at anybody in the eye and say “Are
you telling me I’m not worthy of a black belt?”. I’m not saying
that if you’ve never failed you’re not as good as those of us
who have failed, but it is an experience that is really tough to
take. I’ve seen grown people cry, get upset over it, as I did,
but I think that you can improve massively if you come
through it. I say to people, “Listen, give it a couple of weeks,
give it a month and see how you feel”. Lots of people walk
away from it and never come back training. Really the
decision was correct then, wasn’t it?
Tell me about the big Russian in the second round.
Argh…
Unfortunately we’ve run out of time.
Mr Ogborne was promoted to Master literally days after this
interview. Following a surprise celebration party in Bath he
mailed thanks to instructors and students:
“I was totally "gobsmacked" and overwhelmed by everyone's
kind words and gestures... It was really breath taking... We
can all be proud of our achievements and successes... It was
wonderful to see so many faces in attendance. Thank you all
for making it such a special evening, which i shall never
forget... Master Gayle you are a true gentleman and you
always put others before yourself. I am proud and honoured
to have you as my friend.”

Sunday 26th March, the Littledown Centre, Bournemouth. There’s TV cameras, entrance
music, a Master Of Ceremonies, hundreds of spectators, beer - and a raised ring right in
the centre of it all. Find out how P.U.M.A.’s first entrants into the wider world of full
contact professional kickboxing got on...
Although we were told about the
competition back at the end of January, the
time between then and the fight night itself
went incredibly quickly. I felt pressure right
from the off as my instructor advised me
that I would need to lose around five
kilograms in order to make the weight. On
top of this I also had concerns about my
physical fitness. Although I personally
consider myself to be pretty fit, I was
concerned about my stamina. With this in
mind I undertook a lot of running, initially
running short distances quickly, but then
after advice running long distances slowly
as this helped more to shift the required
weight.
My club, based in Salisbury and run by Mr
Houston, was really supportive of me and
the other fighters running specific classes
focusing on stamina and sparring tactics.
We also got to put these tactics into
practice during fighter training classes held
at the Salisbury boxing club.
By the time that the big day arrived I was
feeling quietly confident, quite relaxed and
generally excited. I knew that not only was
this a big deal for me personally, but also
for P.U.M.A. as a kickboxing organisation. I
did feel pressure, but I knew that as long
as I got in the ring, showed respect and
gave it my best win or lose, everyone
would be happy. In the morning I didn’t
really eat as although I had lost the
required weight it continued to fluctuate
until the day. I figured that it was best not
to chance eating much before the weigh-in
just in case I was that little bit over. The
weigh-in itself took place at 3pm that day. I
was made to strip to my boxer shorts,
which was good in as much weight but as
the female kick boxers were also present.
Luckily, I had purchased a new pair of
boxers the day before in case of just such
an eventuality. I made my weight
successfully and proceeded to eat a big
lunch as I was starving by this point.
Doors opened to the public at 5:30pm.
While the audience of well over 1,000
people were filtering in, me and the other
three kick boxers from P.U.M.A. went into
the dressing rooms, got changed and oiled
up (thanks Mr Houston!). Mr Lammin and
Mr Houston were with us throughout and
we all just sat around for a while, tried to
relax and started to prepare mentally.
The fights themselves began at around
7pm. First into the ring was Karen Stokes.
Her opponent was taller and had the
advantage in terms of reach but it soon
became apparent that she could not match
Karen’s power. Right from the start of
round one Karen landed with a succession
of heavy blows that rocked her opponent’s
head back. This pattern continued for most
of the three rounds with Karen continually
getting past her opponent’s jab and driving
her back with heavy shots. Both fighters
tired as the fight went on but kept working
hard right up to the final bell. The result
was never in doubt and Karen won a
convincing points decision. This fight also
drew my attention to the amount of support
coming from the crowd of over 1,000. The
large P.U.M.A. contingent were making an
incredible amount of noise which was
fantastic to hear and really gave me a
buzz.
Second into to the ring for P.U.M.A.. was
Eric Laffin. Eric’s opponent had won both
of his previous fights and was also
considerably taller than him. He tried to
use his reach advantage to keep Eric at
range but the first round was pretty even
with Eric using good movement to get
round his opponent’s jab and land some
excellent shots on the inside. Eric started
the second round strongly but started to
tire as the round wore on. His opponent
tried to pick up the pace and was on top
by the end of the round. Moving into the
final round both fighters were looking tired
but half way through the round Eric ducked
under a right hook from his opponent and
countered with a stunning right hook of his
own. His opponent was out cold before he
hit the floor and never looked like beating
the count, resulting in a fantastic knock-out
victory for Eric. By this point in the evening
I started to feel the pressure for my fight
mounting.

Samantha Spinney was the third P.U.M.A. fighter to enter the
ring. She had probably the toughest job of the night with her
opponent having travelled all the way from Norway for this
international contest. Sam had appeared nervous in the build
up but went into the ring and gave it all she had. She was
doing extremely well putting on a great show and fought with
great courage and commitment. Unfortunately, as she tired in
the final round she received a heavy blow to the nose
resulting in Doctor’s stoppage. All these three fights were
absolutely amazing to watch and I couldn’t have been
prouder of Karen, Eric or Sam.
My fight was directly after Sam’s and one of the last on the
bill. I only really started to feel nervous when Mr Houston put
my gloves on, I was stood at the door all ready for the off, my
music started playing and the MC announced me. At this
point I realised I had forgotten my gum shield. After various
attempts by Mr Houston, Mr Lammin and Eric Laffin to find it,
I had to run and get it myself before I was allowed to walk to
the ring (this could only happen to me!), I was worried that
everyone thought I had run off in fear. Eventually I made it
into the ring, at this point the adrenaline really kicked in. It
was amazing hearing the crowd cheering and to see all the
people from P.U.M.A., my club and other friends sat in the
stands. I was a little worried that the fight would be scrappy
but my opponent turned out to be quite a technical fighter
much like myself. Although both of us clearly wanted to win, I
felt we had a mutual respect in the ring and that we both
demonstrated proper skilled kickboxing rather than just
wading in and hoping for the best. I settled into the fight well
and felt confident keeping my opponent at range with my
kicks in the first round. In the second round I dropped my
opponent to the canvas with a roundhouse kick to the
stomach resulting in him receiving a count. Out of habit I
went over to see if he was ok, just as I would in training but
the referee sent me away to a neutral corner. It was at this
point that it dawned on me that this fight was actually real.
The fight itself was over very quickly, Karen, Sam and Eric
had all spoke about not being able to hear the cheering in the
ring and I now knew what they meant. I was delighted to win
the fight on points but, although this meant a lot, the whole
experience itself was far greater. I would definitely participate
in a fight night again and would also recommend the
experience to anyone else thinking about having a ago,
backing it up with that age old cliché ‘its not the winning, it’s
the taking part that counts’. From my own experience I now
know this sentiment to be true.
On behalf of all of the fighters I would like to thank Mr Jones
for arranging the fights and extra training. I would also like to
thank Mr Lammin and Mr Houston for the extra training and
being our corner men on the night. Finally, I would like to
thank everyone who turned up to support us and
congratulate Karen, Eric and Sam for three amazing displays
of kickboxing.
- Mark Townley
The highlight of the night: knockout supplied
by Eric’s patented very hard punch.

Karen, Eric, Sam and Mark were the first P.U.M.A.
kickboxers to compete at a professional fight night and all
four performed superbly, doing both themselves and
P.U.M.A. proud. The amount of work that they all put in
during the 3 months leading up to their debut fights was
phenomenal and they all deserve congratulations for that in
itself. On the night itself Mr Houston and myself were just
as nervous as the fighters, but we were overwhelmed by
how well they all rose to the occasion: it was an honour to
corner for them. Malcolm Martin of Sky Sports, who was
the Master Of Ceremonies for the night, has attended
hundreds if not thousands of boxing and kickboxing fight
nights and was impressed with everything about P.U.M.A.
He’d never heard of us before but made a point of coming
over and speaking to me after each fight. He was
impressed by how well each of our fighters fought and how
professionally we conducted ourselves as a whole. He also
commented on the fantastic level of support that we had
brought down to our first event (and how much noise they
were making!). Speaking with other fighters and trainers
after the event the feedback was just the same. Every
single person that I spoke to basically backed up what
Malcolm had said earlier and after just one fight night
everyone knows that P.U.M.A. Kickboxing means business!
Finally, I’d just like to once again thank all of those who
came down to support our fighters. I know that a lot of you
travelled a fair way to get to the event and we all
appreciated the support immensely. If you get a chance to
attend one of these events in the future then I recommend
that you do!
-Daniel Lammin
Lauren Leete and Karen Stokes
“Eric Lassin and Rob White
“Eric! You’ve won!”
Sam Spinney and Britt Mardal
Photographs are courtesy of the event promoters, The
Bulldog Martial Arts Academy of Bournemouth.
Kevin Hayward and Mark Townley

Mr Salt was the inspiration for this training camp and holiday
some 12 years ago. He is a man who likes to be warm and
even though the weather is normally kind to us he does take
his portable heater with him every year just to be on the safe
side! So started our yearly excursion to the Canary Isles.
This year we took a keen party of 35 to Lanzarote for 40
hours of ITF (Intense Training Fun). Twenty five students
ranging from Little PUMAs to 5 th degrees had signed up
for the pleasure of training with the regular Instructors.
These included Mr Salt 5 th degree, Mr Bradshaw 5 th
degree, Mrs Bradshaw 3 rd degree & Mr Sharrock 2 nd
degree along with assistants Shane Hibbert, Suzanne
Lloyd, Adrian Tissier, Gavin Bradshaw and Christopher
Randle.
This was our first time on the island of Lanzarote and so
after a safe journey and settling into our accommodation on
the first night, the search was on for a safe training ground.
As Mrs Bradshaw doesn’t do sand she at least was relieved
that we found a public tennis court within a 5 minute walk
from the hotel. By the end of our 2 week stay we all knew
every single inch of the makeshift dojang.
As with all camps the biggest benefits are that you get to
train with a number of different instructors and hopefully
make a lot of new friends. Lessons are always varied with
each instructor bringing their own style to the Taekwon-Do
training. Over the course of the 2 weeks students got to
work on all aspects of their Taekwon-Do and due to the
intensive nature of the trip they tended to progress quickly.
At the end of the 2 week trip there was a coloured belt
grading for those eligible and awards were given out to the
best students.
As well as all of the training, the annual trip is also about
having fun with plenty of time for sight seeing as well as
relaxing on the beach or by the pool.
- Text by Mrs E. Bradshaw
If anyone is interested in joining us on the trip next
year please contact Mr Salt or Mr & Mrs Bradshaw,
who will be happy to provide you with more details.

Subliminal
message
Matthew D. Lloyd, 3rd Dan Taekwon-Do
NLP, or Neuro-linguisitic Programming, is a psychological
‘tool kit’ dedicated to improving human performance and is
often referred to as ‘the psychology of excellence’. NLP can
be used to improve performance in almost any sphere of
human activity, but it was originally developed as a training
tool for athletes. The whole system is founded on the idea
that if excellence can be described, then it can be duplicated.
This does not mean that everyone can be a World Champion
(because physical limitations exist) but it does mean that
everyone can achieve their full potential. In order for anyone
to be ‘successful’ they must (1) know specifically what they
need to practice to get better; (2) practice these things; and
(3) be motivated enough to practice them over a long period
of time. NLP has developed a number of tools to help fulfil
these requirements.
1: Tailoring your training programme
(knowing what to practice)
The power of NLP is it has many ‘tools’ that can be used to
help you get what you want [1]. The following tools are not
an exhaustive list, but those selected have proved most
useful to the author.
Modelling: this is probably the key NLP tool, and simply
means finding someone who is good at what you want to do,
and copying what they do and how they do it. As beginners
we train by exactly mimicking our instructors and this is
sufficient at this level. As we progress our needs change and
we need to understand in detail what it is important and what
is of peripheral importance, and this is where tools such as
contrastive analysis are useful. Needless to say it is most
important to select an appropriate model for what you are
trying to do. It can be quite useful to model several different
people doing the same thing e.g. sparring techniques. You
don’t have to know or even meet the person you are
modelling, but could model remotely, for example via a DVD.
In fact modelling from a DVD offers certain benefits in that
you can observe techniques in freeze-frame or slow motion
in a way that could not be done with a live model.
Contrastive Analysis: this means that if you have two similar
situations with different outcomes you can ask the question
‘What is different?’ Often this process can be quite revealing
because you become aware of important factors that have
not been previously considered. This tool could be used to
analyse two similar situations that you have experienced
(e.g. Last time I graded I got a credit and this time I didn’t) or
it could be used to analyse the experiences of other people
compared to you (Why did they get a credit and I didn’t even
though we are of similar abilities?).
Chunks and Chunking: chunks basically refer to the level of
detail people use in order to understand their worlds. Small
chunk means focusing on fine details whilst large chunk
means looking at the general picture. Both approaches are
valid but it is useful to be able to do both. Chunking means
going from the detail to the general (‘chunking up’) or viceversa
(‘chunking down’). Being able to chunk is a particularly
important skill both for the practitioner and the teacher as
different view-points can be very instructional.
Most martial arts have hundreds or even thousands of
techniques. For higher grades it is impossible to practice
absolutely everything. However, chunking up from the detail
(single techniques) shows us that it is actually unnecessary
to practice everything, and that large improvements can be
made by practicing a relatively small number of techniques (
these are often known as ‘basics’). For example, high section
punch, horizontal finger-tip thrust and double finger tip thrust
are very similar techniques that differ in their hand positions.
Practicing high section punch will also bring benefits to the
performance of the other techniques as well.
Visualisation: this can help you get what you want in several
ways. Firstly it can help you remember the moves for a
pattern or set sparring routine, because you increase your
familiarity with the techniques without having to physically
practice them. Secondly, when physically practicing the
techniques you have an ideal ‘template’ (from analysing your
model) against which to compare your actual performance.
Using visualisation before a competition or grading can help
you perform better by focusing on your ideal performance. A
further benefit is that seeing yourself performing the
techniques as well as your model will further motivate you
because you are reinforcing what you want to achieve.
2: Practicing Your Techniques
NLP understands that no behaviour is neutral and that
everything we do either contributes positively or negatively to
the achievement of our goals. In other words ‘success’ and
‘failure’ usually have a pattern and it is therefore vital to
monitor your progress (obtain feedback). The most
‘successful’ people are those who make lots of small
improvements over a long period of time. In terms of martial
arts training this means that a few minutes practice each day
of basic techniques such as blocking, punching, sine wave or
stretching will over a long period of time bring about large
improvements. In many cases training can be integrated into
your day e.g. by sitting on the floor stretching while watching

TV.
However, practice alone is not enough. If you are to be
‘successful’ then you need resources and these can be
assessed using an ecology check. This means formally
thinking about the resources you need. These might include
time to train (a 1 hour session every week, or 6 sessions of
10 minutes?), a partner to train with, advice from other
people, feedback from your instructor, a personalised gym
programme, access to particular equipment, etc. Once you
know exactly what you need then it is much easier to make
sure you get it.
3: NLP And Motivation
Motivation is a key factor in any sporting endeavour, since
ultimately all training programmes present challenges and
the level of motivation will to a large extent determine
whether the athlete overcomes the challenge or not[2]. All
people face challenges, but it is how they are dealt with that
determines outcome. NLP recognises that ‘success’ and
‘failure’ are actually not fixed but are judgements
(interpretations) placed by the person on events that occur
[1].
Changing Your Attitude
Having the correct attitude helps enormously, and this can
be accomplished using reframing. Many people view events
in a ‘judgement’ or ‘blame’ frame, and this is actually quite
detrimental to further progress regardless of whether you
‘succeed’ or ‘fail’. In the case of ‘success’, we do not analyse
how and why we were successful and this limits our ability to
achieve even greater things. In the case of ‘failure’ this has
even worse consequences, because the judgement ‘I’ve
failed’ (or even worse ‘I’m a failure’) merely encourages us to
give up. A better attitude is to use what could be described
as the ‘curiosity frame’. This means that whatever the
outcome you ask the question ‘what can I learn here?’ Ask
this question both about things you are doing well (or at least
better than before) and things that still need improvement. In
other words focus on what you are good at as well as what
you are less good at.
Motivational Strategies
A key discovery of NLP is that different people are motivated
by different strategies. These can be described as ‘towards’
(working to get something you want) and ‘away from’ (trying
to avoid something you don’t want) strategies. An example of
the former is ‘If I work hard I might win the next
championship’, an example of the latter is ‘If I don’t train hard
I will get my butt kicked’. Exclusive use of a towards strategy
might lead you overlook some very real dangers, while a
very focused ‘away from’ strategy keeps you focused on
what you don’t want and in the long term this can be demotivating.
For most people a mixture of the two produces
the best results.
One way to motivate yourself using a forwards strategy is to
use the technique of compelling futures. This means
imagining yourself achieving your goal. For example, if you
want to win a gold medal at the World Championship
imagine yourself standing on the podium at the presentation.
Hear the crowd roar, and look around at the competitors in
the bronze and silver positions. Imagine yourself being
congratulated by the presenting official. The more vivid the
imagined experience the bigger the motivation.
Structure your training programme
Having the right attitude and motivating yourself is only half
the battle. In order to succeed you need to be able to keep
motivated for a long period of time (especially a problem if
you have been at the same stage of development for a long
time). This problem can be dealt with by setting a series of
progressive smaller tasks and measuring your progress. This
is exactly how Coloured Belts are trained to achieve their
Black Belt. The achievement of any major goal will take
many years of focused effort. In order to design you personal
training programme, start with your long term goal (e.g.
winning the World Championship), and work backwards. Set
intermediate goals (e.g. getting your Black Belt, winning a
regional championship). Continue to work backwards from
your intermediate goals until you are setting your goals for
today, this week, this month and the next three or six
months.
All successful athletes set themselves small attainable
targets every time they train. This might be doing a particular
technique better than before each time you practice, or might
mean winning a local tournament. The measure of success
should focus on what you are doing (e.g. you did good side
kicks even though your opponent actually won the bout).
This is why it is important to monitor your progress using
measurable achievements, as this will give you a definite
idea of your progress. Regular monitoring of your progress is
important as this allows you to check that that you are still
moving towards your intended goal and have not been
distracted. Also consider how often you should measure your
performance e.g. it is reasonable to do one more rep of at
least some exercises every time you go to the gym.
Expecting yourself to run a time-trial faster every single time
you attempt it is not. In the latter example you might test
yourself every fifth training session in order to allow your
fitness to significantly improve between measurements.
Avoid being distracted
Recent research has highlighted the problems of distracting
priorities (technically known as goal conflict [2]). This can be
a particular problem when the conflict is between short-term
and long-term goals, e.g. spending tonight in the pub instead
of training versus getting your Black Belt in two years time.
People do not often end up with an undesired result due to a
disaster. Instead, unwanted outcomes are often the product
of the cumulative effect of many small incidents (e.g. going
to the pub instead of training several weeks in a row).
Remind yourself why your long term goal is important and
think about the long-term consequences of your behaviour. If
you find yourself been distracted easily it is better to avoid
the temptation altogether than to try to resist it, i.e. assume
that willpower alone will not be enough [2].

How do I improve
my sparring?
Aerobic/
Anaerobic fitness
Flexibility for
kicking
Seek advice and
model a good sparrer
to select specific
techniques
Seek advice on
appropriate
exercises
Which muscles
need to be
stretched?
Select hand and
foot
Techniques for
Further work
Which techniques
score against me?
Interval training
& aerobic
gym programme
Specific
stretching
techniques
Gym programme
to build strength
Model and
practice techniques
Practice defences
against these
techniques
An example training scheme. Notice that this scheme requires chunking down from the general question
(How to improve sparring) to the specific (deciding which techniques to practice). The modelling tool is
used both to decide which techniques to practice and to teach the student how to do them well. Notice at
the end of the analysis in this example you end up with the same outcome (a specific gym programme
focused on strength, flexibility and aerobic/anaerobic fitness) supplemented with interval training
(aerobic/anaerobic fitness) and practice of the actual martial arts technique.
Personalising your training programme
Before you design your training programme you need a clear
idea of what you want to achieve (for example ‘I want my
Black Belt’). Also think about what benefits this achievement
will bring you. An equally important question is ‘What is
stopping me achieving my goal?’. If your answer is ‘lack of
time’ or ‘lack of resources’ think laterally to see whether you
can accomplish your goals in a different way. It could be that
achievement of your goal will have consequences for other
areas of your life, and if this is the case you need to weigh up
the consequences of your choices. Take these issues
seriously, as whether you consciously acknowledge them or
not they will determine motivation to succeed and hence
define the limits of your success.
NLP gives us the tools to achieve what we want. It does this
by defining exactly what and how to practice, and by training
in an efficient and motivated way. Obtaining useful feedback is
probably the key resource needed for development, because
feedback tells us what to change and what to do more of. The
best person to give you feedback is yourself – no one else
can spend as much time as you or knows your needs and
aspirations as well as you. An example of using NLP to design
a training programme is shown in the diagram. The process is
essentially chunking down from the general question (‘How do
I improve my sparring?’) and uses many of the techniques
discussed in this article. Remember, absolutely everyone can
achieve their full potential, and this is always more than they
think.
Further reading
The NLP coach, I. McDermott and W.
Jago, 2001, Judy Piatkus (Publishers)
Ltd, London (Application of NLP tools
for self-coaching).
The Motivated Mind, R. Persaud,
2005, Bantam Press, London (A
rigorous but readable account on the
science of motivation)
Matthew D. Lloyd has trained for 20 years
in Taekwon-Do and was recently
promoted to III Dan. The material in this
article is based on personal use of NLP
when training and is for information
purposes. Interested parties are advised
to read one of the several excellent books
on NLP or consult an NLP practitioner.

Oh yes. It’s little news items, snippets, soundbites and
whatever else has landed on our doorstep recently. We
nudge ourselves ever closer to full on smorgasbord
status...
Each year, Salisbury’s local paper ‘The Journal’ holds its
very own sports awards. It invites its readers to first
nominate and then vote for the best sports men and women
for various categories. Salisbury’s P.U.M.A club was
pleased to discover that their own black belt student Miss
Nicole Jarvis was not only the only female nominated for the
martial arts category, but she beat the competition hands
down and was awarded the title ‘Martial arts student of the
year’ and added to the 2005 roll of honour.Our
congratulations to Miss Jarvis, whom not only did herself
proud, but did her club proud too!
Stacey Weatherer of Bidulph TKD and Marie
Udall of Leek TKD have both recently received
local sports awards. Stacey won the Staffordshire
Moorlands Sports Council Senior Achiever Award
with Marie winning the junior award. For the
second year running Stacey also went on to win
the Staffordshire Senior Sports Personality of the
Year with Marie taking the runners up spot in the
junior section.
Book Review
There are countless books and courses
available filled with self defence
techniques, – this is not one of them.
It’s about staying safe in today’s
increasingly violent society.
The basic concept is that self-protection
begins when you acknowledge that
there is a small but real risk that you
may be the victim of a violent attack. It
then shows what measures you can
take to reduce this risk. These
measures are like a series of filters –
the first filter stops most things getting
through. The second filter deals with
most of what gets through the first and
so on. The use of physical self-defence
techniques is the very last resort for the
rare occasion where all else has failed.
The majority of violent situations can be
managed or better still avoided
altogether. And this book shows how,
with a bit of thought and a few simple
precautions. Much of what is said is
common sense, but that doesn't mean
we think of it or follow it, indeed most
people take silly risks they know they
shouldn’t. I know I have.
It comes highly recommended. Dik
Chance comments “ I rate this book
very highly. Martin Dougherty is
respected and knowledgeable, writes
from a viewpoint of real-life experience
and doesn’t try to kid anyone. It’s one of
three books I regularly refer to in my
teaching.”
Another endorsement is from one of the
UK’s foremost experts on personal
protection; Geoff Thompson who holds
a 6 th dan black belt in karate. In his
foreword, he states “this is a fabulous
book, very well written and
researched… if you want to stay safe,
be informed. I can think of no better
way of being informed than this
Photograph courtesy of Salisbury
Newspapers www.journalphotos.co.uk
excellent book.”
- Review by Simon Peck
The Self Defence Manual
Martin Dougherty and David Birdsall
Published by Summersdale Books, £14.99
ISBN 1 84024 227 2

Behold: the organisation’s first full-on training camp for kickboxers, which took place
in Warmwell, Dorset, in March. Was it good? Of course it was...
Account by Rachel Houston
Kickboxing Camp is definitely a weekend not to be missed but before I
went it was a weekend I could easily have missed! It was the weekend
after my birthday and I could think of many reasons not to go but
Wendy wanted to go, my husband was already going as one of the
Instructors and before I could say NO my form was in the post!
So that was how I found myself at Camp. I was nervous and
apprehensive about the weekend as although I love Kickboxing I have
a real dislike of running! Its not that I don’t try – my legs just aren’t long
enough! Although I have tried to improve my running with the
assistance of a personal trainer my overall speed is still very slow!
On arrival we were allocated our chalets and found out who we would
be living with for the weekend. Later we were introduced to the
instructors and given the itinerary for the weekend and the best
possible news – the running was optional! FANTASTIC – now I could
concentrate on my Kickboxing.
Friday night is the chance to meet everyone and have a few drinks -
generally a few too many given the 7:00am start! Certainly for at least
one person in my chalet more than a few too many were had!
6:30am: the alarm goes off. It cannot be time to get up. Five more
minutes becomes ten then panic starts. Eric is still in bed. We all find
ourselves shouting at him. He says he’s not coming but we all know he
has too. Finally, we are all ready and get to training with seconds to
spare!
At 7:00am on a cold March morning you do wonder for a second –
What am I doing here? - but that thought is soon banished by the
enjoyment attained from the training. The morning session consisted of
a fairly hard warm up, followed by lots of padwork – working both the
arms and legs all mixed in with fun and light heartedness.
After training it is time for a quick breakfast before the lunchtime
session which was taking place in the local village hall. This session
was a mixture of fitness/stamina drills and some self defence with Mr
Walker and his friend Bob – who was a plastic dummy (let’s face it
ladies, not much difference between him and the real thing!). Both
these sessions were hard in different ways – they both tested your
physical capabilities but differently.
For me that was the end of the training on day one and it was back to
the chalet for a rest and to start preparing the evening meal. For those
who felt inclined there was now the optional running session. This
turned out to be approximately four and a half miles over different
terrain with some shuttle runs, press ups etc thrown in for good
measure. Some of the lads in our chalet did this optional session and
thoroughly enjoyed it as it pushed their physical capabilities.
Saturday night is spent in the bar – drinking again but at a much slower
pace than the day before with everyone tired but on a high from the
days activities. This was not a late night as we all knew what tomorrow
held.
Sunday was a treat with an 8:30am start. We got out of the chalet all
eager and raring to go only to find snow had fallen over night. Wow!
We really were Rocky Balboa! The morning session was hard again
testing our limits and it started snowing again while training.
“A brilliant weekend and I survived!! A test of agility,
orienteering and stamina …and that was only from the
entrance to the chalet! The self defence was good fun
and really practical and Bob’s staying power was
phenomenal”
- Wendy Moscrop
“A very enjoyable, fun weekend. It really helped with my
fitness especially as I had a big fight approaching. Can
really recommend it to others and I will definitely be
going to the next one!”
- Eric Laffin
Some people hitting stuff
“It was my first camp and although I didn’t know many
people everyone made me feel very welcome. It was
tough but I would definitely do it again, even in the
snow!”
- Becky Honour

The lunchtime session was back in the hall for more self defence but
this time taking it to another level and some more intense pad work
and sparring. At the end of this session you really knew you had
worked hard.
The afternoon optional session took place at Maiden Castle an Iron
Age Hill Fort and although the run was not as long this time there were
lots of hill work and teamwork.
The whole weekend was very civilised with our chalet even cooking a
roast dinner in the evening. Sunday evening was time to meet up with
everyone, have a few drinks and reflect on the weekend. This was
supposed to be a big party night but everyone was very tired and were
content with sitting and chatting about the achievements everyone had
made over the course of the weekend.
I personally had a fantastic time and would strongly recommend this
weekend to anyone no matter what discipline you train in or your
fitness levels. See you all there next year!
A man in pyjamas single handedly repels an alien
invasion.
This being Kickboxing camp, attendees had to
catch their own Sunday lunch.
“After attending a P.U.M.A. winter camp focusing on
Taekwon-Do I thought I knew what to expect
concerning this Kickboxing Camp. Although I enjoyed
my past experience, this one was much better for me as
it was 100% based on Kickboxing and much more
physical. Although the weekend is all about physical
training the emphasis is also on meeting different
people from other clubs and having a banter. The one
negative thing is the early morning starts – quite a
challenge given the accessibility of the camp bar!
However, there were times in the day when you could
sleep off a delayed hangover or catch up on missed
sleep especially if like me you were sharing with Mr
Laffin, who snored! In all the weekend was well worth
the money. The training was varied and enjoyable as
was the company of the others who attended. The
facilities were also nice. I strongly recommend this
camp to ALL P.U.M.A. students no matter what your
physical ability.”
- Mark Townley
Self-defence : IT’S THROTTLIN’ TIME!
P.U.M.A. doesn’t necessarily condone tattoos but...
A cold Sunday morning and instructor Campbell
Houston is forced to explain “snow” to a bunch of
bewildered southerners.

I often hear of people teaching ‘Stranger Danger’. I have a big
problem with this. This says to me that all strangers are
dangerous. It says I have to be suspicious of everyone. It
means I have to live in constant fear every time I step outside
the house.
Worse still if I consider everyone to be a dangerous stranger,
I’m overloading my intuition. My ‘little voice’ can’t be heard for
the screaming. My intuition is very important in keeping me
safe. I have to make sure I can listen to it.
Strangers are everywhere. Look around. Do you know every
single person you see every day? I seriously doubt it. This
means that you need to work out a way to keep yourself safe.
Let’s call it ‘Stranger awareness’ or ‘Stranger safety’.
Most people you meet will be good and nice. Your job is to
make sure that you know the difference and what to do if you
meet one of the less nice ones. If someone comes up to you
and asks the time, they may just want to know the time. If you
are switched on; thinking and feeling, your intuition will help
you to decide. You’ll tell them the time and watch as they walk
off.
But what happens if you meet one of the less nice strangers?
Someone who wants to steal from you or take you somewhere
you don’t want to go?
Firstly, if you are switched on, walking purposefully and aware
of what’s going on around you, they will find it very difficult to
approach you. You’ll be giving off an unmistakable ‘don’t mess
with me’ vibe. In my article in the third edition we looked at
ways that you can use your body language to be a hard
target. That works just as well here.
However, if you aren’t aware, you are a target. You could be
reading an important text that’s just come in, listening to your
MP3 player, while walking slowly home so you don’t have to
Awareness? What awareness!!!
help your sister clean out the rabbit hutch. All your
concentration is elsewhere. You are easy to approach.
When I teach the FAST Defence course for P.U.M.A., I often
hear children and young adults saying things like ‘well I’d just
kick you where it hurts’. Often our martial art training gives you
a false sense of what you can do physically to adults.
Unfortunately most children would make absolutely NO impact
on an adult intent on hurting them. It’s a size thing. A mini will
never beat an articulated lorry. I’m sorry if you think otherwise
but you need to wake up. Also, fear can make you freeze.
The best weapons to use on someone much, much bigger
and stronger than you are distance and speed. By speed, I
mean how fast you can run somewhere safe. If you are
approached by an adult stranger and it makes you at all
If you are uncomfortable, this is TOO CLOSE

If you are grabbed; struggle, shout bite and kick,
then RUN!
Never let anyone take you somewhere else
uncomfortable, you need to have good distance. At least four
big arm lengths away.
Put up your fence, keep a good distance and don’t be afraid to
be firm but polite. Saying ‘Sorry I can’t talk right now’ while
emphasising it with your hands is very polite, but tells the
other person that you aren’t going to talk. If someone is trying
to gain your attention or trust by talking to you, this is a great
way to make sure that you win.
Many people get into trouble with strangers because they are
unwilling to say NO. It’s okay for you to say no and you can
do it by being polite. If you are firmly polite and the other
person allows you to keep the four arms length distance, then
you’ve done a good thing. However, you need to be ready if
they don’t let you keep the distance and start getting closer.
This is when you need to get really loud and very firm. Shout
‘BACK OFF’, while making sure you’re using your hands too.
Be loud even if they tell you to be quiet. Move back to keep
the distance. Get ready to run somewhere safe. (Distance and
speed, remember?).
If you are grabbed, make more noise. Shout for help.
Struggle, kick, bite. Do anything to get free and then run
somewhere safe. Remember not to freeze. Whatever
someone says, you must never let them take you somewhere
else.
I often ask people of the FAST course to list safe places.
Usually we go through the list of things like police stations, fire
stations, schools etc. These are all great answers except for
one thing. It’s not very likely that you’ll be able to get to any of
them. Think about how close the nearest police station is to
where you live (it’s about 5 miles where I live). Is your school
open when you are out? If it’s open, you’re probably going to
be there anyway.
There are a couple of easy answers that the clever people
come up with. A shop with loads of customers is a good one.
A mum with children with her is a fantastic answer. A really
good game to play is ‘what-ifs’. When you are out, ask your
friend a what-if question such as ‘what if I needed to find
somewhere safe – where would I go?’ Try to come up with the
best sensible answer.
Remember then, being clever and aware is your best weapon.
Then distance and speed. If something like this ever happens
to you, you can win if you keep your head. Don’t forget to tell
someone afterwards, even if you think it might get you into
trouble (it probably won’t anyway). Telling is an important
thing.
About the author:
Dik Chance trains under Master Ray Gayle (7 th Degree) at Yate Taekwon-Do. He also teaches at his own school at Clifton in
Bristol. Like most P.U.M.A. instructors, Dik has a significant number of junior students and is actively involved in anti-bullying
training. He is an instructor and bulletman in P.U.M.A.’s F.A.S.T. Defence team. He has a keen interest in reality based selfprotection
training and combatives, and regularly trains in this area. This training has led him to train with some of the world’s
most influential instructors such as Geoff Thompson, Peter Consterdine, Bill Kipp and Peyton Quinn.

Self Defence – The Legal Practicalities
Two pieces in one - consider this The Dummy’s Guide To Not Getting Arrested and,
just in case the worst should happen, The Dummy’s Guide To Getting Arrested.
Over to solicitor David Fanson...
In the December issue of Planet P.U.M.A. Anna Zdanowska‘s
article entitled Self Defence – How far is too far? accurately
set out the various issues surrounding the use of self defence
as a defence to a charge of assault. This article seeks to add
some more practical advice to that contained in the previous
piece.
The legal principles of self defence can be summarised as
follows.
If you are attacked you may defend yourself.
You can only take action that is reasonably necessary to
defend yourself.
In many cases it is sensible to take evasive action to withdraw
from the situation.
It is not permitted to respond in a way which is clearly out of
proportion to the needs of the situation, although the law
recognises that precision is often not possible in the urgency of
the moment.
If an attack is perceived as imminent then an immediate
defensive response may well be justified.
If the attack is over and no immediate danger remains, the use
of force at that time is liable to be regarded as revenge or
retaliation. Retaliation is not self defence.
These factors listed above will have to be weighed up by any
jury or magistrates hearing the case if it goes to court. It is
accepted that in cases involving self defence it is not possible
for the reaction to be an exactly measured response as it is by
its nature a defensive action. If self defence is raised by the
defendant it is for the prosecution to prove beyond reasonable
doubt that he or she was not acting in self defence.
The jury or magistrates will take into account all of the facts
and circumstances including the following:
The use of excessive force.
The seriousness of the original attack.
The proportionality of the response.
The physical characteristics of the parties.
Any use of weapons.
Although there is no absolute duty to retreat,
demonstrating a reluctance to fight and avoiding
confrontation is an important consideration. Refusing a
clear opportunity to withdraw may well be held against
you.
Very similar considerations to the law relating to self defence
apply to the defence of others and to property. However,
where the only aggression of the attacker is towards property
then proportionality of response will be all the more closely
scrutinised.
Confronted
Although it is not always possible to avoid incidents of
violence it is possible to take certain practical steps to reduce
the danger or at least ensure that any actions taken are
regarded as self defence rather than retaliation. Awareness is
possibly the most important - simply by being aware of
whatever is happening around you and watching out for the
warning signs of impending trouble.
Unless an assault comes completely out of the blue there will
be an opportunity to “talk it down” and avoid verbal abuse
turning into physical aggression. While attempting to defuse a
situation always remember to keep as much distance between
you and your assailant as possible.
The tactic of using your hands held up palm forwards in front
of you at chest level is a particularly good one. It is taught in
FAST Defence as “the fence” and appears as an entirely non
threatening gesture yet has the advantages of maintaining
distance and leaving the hands in the ideal place for a
counter-attack.
If possible retreat from the danger. Flight is certainly better
than fight in such situations so always keep an eye open for
your escape route.
If forced into a situation where you have to defend yourself, try
to consider your action. Do only what is necessary and stop
as soon as the imminent danger has passed. Ideally aim to
put your attacker on the floor quickly and aim for your chosen
escape route.
Bournemouth’s constabulary confront another Saturday night
in town...

Arrested
Many street incidents happen late at night in busy town
centres and are often fuelled by an excessive intake of
alcohol. It is a fact that in dealing with such incidents the
police will have great difficulty, particularly in the early stages
of a case, in finding out exactly who has done what. The likely
effect of this is that all parties to such an incident are likely to
find themselves being arrested and taken to the local police
station for investigation.
That investigation is likely to take some considerable time.
The police will have to take statements from the various
witnesses, perhaps being delayed by having to wait for them
to sober up or to present themselves to give their statement.
Much use is now made of CCTV coverage particularly in our
inner cities but it is not always possible to access that
information during the early stages of an arrest.
This period of time is particularly frustrating and uncomfortable
for those who are the genuine victims and have been forced
into a situation where they have had to defend themselves
from an assailant.
Conditions in British police stations, while meeting human
rights requirements, could not be described as comfortable or
luxurious and are often perceived by those unused to them as
a very hostile and threatening environment.
Once the officers have gathered sufficient information they will
start to form a view of the case and will move on to the stage
of interviewing the parties. This is likely to be several hours
after the incident.
When an arrested person arrives at the police station the
custody officer will advise them that they have the right to free
and independent legal advice. This is intended for their
protection. Unfortunately this advice is often ignored,
particularly by those who regard themselves as “the victim”
and who have nothing to hide. In my experience this has often
had unfortunate results later when they find themselves
unexpectedly charged with an offence.
There is a 24 hour duty solicitor service throughout the
country. It is free and entirely independent of the police. The
duty solicitor will speak to the detainee and give preliminary
advice over the telephone and attend at the police station for
any interview.
There will be an opportunity for the detainee to speak to the
legal representative in private before any interview takes
place. During that interview the legal representative will be
able to summarise the evidence available, take a preliminary
statement and advise on any difficult aspects of the case or
the inferences that may be drawn from any comments made.
Just think, you could spend the night here.
(This is actually a relatively nice cell)
I would urge anyone who is arrested not to agree to be
interviewed without legal representation. It is an unfortunate
fact that things said in interview without consideration can
have a nasty tendency not to sound quite so reasonable when
listening to the same tape of interview later in Court.
Once all of the evidence has been gathered and the
interviews concluded a decision will be taken as to whether it
is appropriate to charge. Even if the detained person is
charged with an offence all is not lost.
It is important to remember that the maxim “Innocent Until
Proved Guilty” still applies and that it is for the prosecution to
prove the case. It is important to remember that legal
representation is available for court proceedings and this is
also free and not means tested. The solicitor who has dealt
with the police station investigation stage will usually take on
your defence at court if requested.
The essence of self defence as a defence is always
reasonableness and the proportionality of the response. It is
vital to be aware that not only your responses during the
incident but also your recorded responses while at the police
station will be considered by the court.
Biographic
David Fanson (4 th Kup Taekwon-Do) is a senior solicitor with Douglas and Partners, a
specialist criminal practice operating in the Bristol area. He is a Higher Court Advocate
and has been a Duty Solicitor for 21 years. During that time has conducted 11 murder
cases and a large number of lesser assault matters. David trains with Miss Louise Reeve
and Mr Dik Chance at Clifton School of Taekwon-Do.

By Gareth Hitchcoe
FLEXIBILITY TRAINING: DYNAMIC STRETCHING
This issue, we shall be talking about the act of dynamic
stretching, what it’s useful for, when to use it and how to
perform a few dynamic stretching techniques.
What is dynamic stretching?
Dynamic stretching is a form of stretching that uses dynamic
movement to warm up and lengthen soft tissue and muscles.
By utilising momentum, created through muscular force, a
joint can be taken through its full range of motion. These
motions are normally functional movement patterns or
movements that will be used during the exercise session to
follow. Dynamic stretching should not be confused with
ballistic stretching.
What is ballistic stretching?
Ballistic stretching is the act of repeated bouncing, jerking or
abrupt movement types, usually performed at the end of a
muscles full range of motion to attempt to increase muscle
length. Due to the “high risk, low benefit” nature of ballistic
stretches, we shall not be discussing nor using ballistic
stretches in the course of this or any other article.
Ok, so what is dynamic stretching good for?
Historically, almost all athletes, coaches and martial artists
have used static stretching as part of their warm-up
procedure. Although it seems to give people a perception that
they are preparing for exercise, the act of holding a stretch
can decrease the blood flow and temperature in the muscle.
This actually results in the muscle cooling down, thus in no
way being prepared for exercise. This happens to be one of
the main reasons you will see people “shaking off” a stretched
muscle in a vain attempt to get the blood flowing again before
they try to exercise it! A good warm-up should aim to increase
core body temperature, increase blood flow to the active
muscles, make muscles more pliable and less viscous, allow
muscles to travel through their full range of motion in a
controlled and safe manner and increase the heart rate to the
desired level of effort also in a safe and controlled manner.
Unfortunately, static stretching achieves almost non of these.
In fact, it does the opposite of this in most cases!
Dynamic stretching is a form of stretching that acts correctly
as a warm-up. The fact that the stretches are done
dynamically means that core body temperature will increase,
blood flow to the active muscles will be increased and
muscles are taken through a full range of motion and thus
lengthened, warmed and prepared for exercise. If performed
with slowly increasing intensity, the heart rate can also be
elevated slowly up to the desired level of effort. Dynamic
stretching can also be tailored to be specific or non-specific to
the actions you intend to perform during the training session
ahead. You could use non-specific dynamic stretches to
prepare you for a multitude of tasks or you could use specific
dynamic stretches in the warm-up as a way to practice
important movement patterns slowly first, before increasing
the speed and power involved later in the session.
How should we perform these dynamic stretches?
There are varying references purporting to the optimal amount
of repetitions and sets to be used in a dynamic stretching
session, but there are a few definitive factors that you should
consider:
Do not perform dynamic stretching when the muscles
are already tired or fatigued.
Dynamic stretching should be performed as part of the
warm-up or before a flexibility session.
Movements should not be performed with a great deal
of momentum, rather, the limbs should be “lifted” or
“led” through the full range of motion to avoid injury and
to maximise the amount of work being done by the
muscles themselves.
Each set of stretches should start with small and slow
movements and built up until the movements are large
and fast.
You should endeavour to reach full range of motion and
maximal speed by the end of the set.
The amount of repetitions required to reach full range of
motion and full speed will depend on the practitioner
themselves, their fitness and exercise levels and the
size of the muscles or muscle groups being stretched.
In general, it should take roughly 6 to 12 repetitions to
reach full speed and full range of motion. If you notice a
drop in range of motion or speed during a set, it is a sign
that you are starting to fatigue. Do not continue to
perform repetitions if you notice this. Ideally, the last
repetition you do should be the fastest and highest you
could have done.
Examples of non-specific dynamic Stretches
Chest & Back Stretch: start with your arms across your chest as if
you were trying to grab your own shoulder blades. Move your arms
outwards to the sides at varying angles by using the muscles of
your back. Remember, start slowly to begin with but gradually
speed the movement up and increase the range of motion.

Torso Stretch: start the stretch by
spreading your legs slightly to keep your
body stable. Make sure you sit up straight
and place your hands by your ears. Bend
directly sideways while trying to get your
elbow to touch the floor. Repeat to both
sides, speeding up gradually and trying to
bend further each time. Try not to lean
forwards during this stretch, as it will
affect the alignment of your back. This
stretch can be performed just as well
stood up, but I chose to sit down to limit
any unwanted movements in the hips and
legs.
Turning Kick Drill: start with the kicking leg back in a suitably relaxed stance. Perform
a low section turning kick with a nice high knee chamber. Return the kicking foot back to
the start position. Slowly increase the height of the kick to middle section and then high
section (please don’t laugh at my attempt to hold a kick in high section!). This may seem
like common sense to many instructors, but remember to apply the same principles. Start
slow and low and build up to high and fast. Concentrate on maintaining good technique
throughout and encourage students to stop if they are starting to kick lower or with
increasingly poor technique. We don’t want our students practising lower and weaker
kicks!
Examples of specific dynamic stretches for a kicking session
What’s next?
Over the next few issues, we shall be
finishing our work on stretching in the
context of a discussion about
Periodisation and Preparation for Elite
Performance (something for high-end
athletes, squad members and anyone
looking to take their martial arts to the
next level). We shall also be looking at
safe and effective exercise levels for
junior martial artists and fitness for
children in general. Have fun and exercise
hard…but smart.
Selected Bibliography
Leg Stretch 1: Start by standing up
straight with a nice neutral back
position. Bend your leg backwards
behind you as if you were trying to
touch your heel to your buttocks,
then straighten and lift the leg to
the front. Try to keep your back
straight throughout. Again, start
slowly and with lower, smaller
movements but build up the speed
and height of the swings.
Leg Stretch 2: face towards a wall
or something to aid balance. Have
both legs together in front of you.
Keep your toes pointing towards
the wall while lifting one leg to the
side, as if performing a side-rising
kick. Slowly return the leg back to
the centre line. Don’t swing the leg
- instead lift it to the side with
muscular contraction rather than
momentum. Repeat this movement
getting higher and faster each time.
Kendall, F. P. 1993. Muscles Testing and Function. 4 th Edition, Lippincott, Williams and Wilkins, Baltimore.
McGill, S. 2002. Low Back Disorders: Evidence-Based Prevention and Rehabilitation. Human Kinetics, Champaign, Illinois.
Norris, C. M. 2000. Back Stability. Human Kinetics, Champaign, Illinois.
Richardson, C., Juli, G., Hodges, P. and Hides, J. 1999. Therapeutic Exercise for Spinal Segmental Stabilisation in Low Back Pain.
Churchill Livingstone, Edinburgh.
Schimidt, R. A. and Wrisburg, C. A. 2000. Motor Learning and Performance. Human Kinetics, Champaign, Illinois.
Thompson, C. and Floyd, R.T. 1994. Manual of Structural Kinesiology. 12 th Edition, Mosby, St Louis.
Wells, D. and Orridge, P. 2005. Flexibility: the Art and Science of Stretching. Intelligent Fitness, Winchester, Hampshire.
Gareth Hitchcoe, 2 nd Degree Black Belt, has been training in Taekwon-Do for 8 years but has been involved with the leisure industry
for the past 10 years. He currently works as a Fitness Consultant at the Hampshire Tennis and Health Club in Southampton and also
as a free-lance Personal Trainer all over the South. Mr Hitchcoe holds a degree in Sport Science, is a fully qualified P.U.M.A. Instructor
and a Registered Exercise Professional at level 3 (Advanced Instructor / Personal Trainer). If you have any queries or questions,
please feel free to e-mail him at garethhitchcoe@hotmail.com

Blocks and defensive actions
By P.U.M.A.‘s Kickboxing
Coordinator, Mr Malcolm Jones
It can be argued that the best form of defence is attack. For example it’s a lot harder for a trained fighter to rain down blows on his or
her opponent if the said opponent does it to them first. It’s the same in a self-defence scenario; if you wait for your attacker to initiate
the attack you’re likely to come off worse.
Having said all that it’s imperative a fighter has good defensive skills. I witnessed a kickboxing show in Bournemouth just before
Christmas, and even though I enjoyed the spectacle greatly, I was shocked by some of the ‘young bucks‘ that got in the ring for their
maiden fight with an absolute disregard for the defensive tactics that we are going to be talking about later. Now you have to admire
their fighting spirit, but I personally question their intelligence. I saw one particular young man walk by me with a face like something
you might expect in a horror movie.
The defensive art of Kickboxing is far harder to learn than the many techniques that you can attack your opponent with, simply
because there’s a lot more riding on the result. For instance if you miss with your lovely looking right hook, it doesn’t matter so much,
because you can quickly follow with a barrage of more successful shots. However, if you miss with a block you’re going to suffer pain!
To give you a general overview on defensive skills, it is better to keep your head moving rather than employ a parry, and better to
employ a parry rather than a block.
To illustrate the above, practise this drill with a partner. Have one of you hold a single pad; get your opponent to attack with a
jab/cross combination, easy right! Well, now get the pad holder to move the pad around; it suddenly becomes a whole new ball game.
We will try to examine all the defensive movements as best as possible. As always, there is no substitute for a good coach.
On that note I’ll leave you until next time.
Basic Guard
This is the basic position where 90% of your techniques should be thrown from. It involves your
chin being tucked down towards your chest and your fists held either side of your face with both
elbows tucked in tight to your body. The fists aid in the protection of the head and the elbows
help to protect the mid section.
Catch
As the name suggests this defensive manoeuvre is used with the backhand to catch your
opponent’s punch (just like catching a ball thrown towards your face). It can be used to catch a
jab or a cross.
High Parry
Can be likened to a windscreen wiper on a car, in that it goes directly in front of your face very
quickly from side to side. This can be used with any hand against any straight punch, such as a
jab or cross. The part of the hand in use is the palm, although with a pair of gloves you may find
your fingers easier.
Cover Up Guard
This is an all over body protection, incorporating a higher hand version of the basic guard, whilst
lifting your leading leg up for extra protection. The student needs to be aware that standing on
one leg obviously is not recommended for balance reasons. However as the picture suggests,
your groin head and body are adequately protected.

Low Parry
The palm is used to deflect a turning kick around the hip/rib area. The important thing to
remember with any of these blocks and parries is to keep the other hand and elbow in the basic
guard position
Elbow Cover
Also known as a hook block, its job is to do just that: block a hook coming to the side of the
head. The position of the arm at the end of the block should be the elbow pointing towards the
opponent with the corresponding hand on the collarbone.
Bob And Weave
This technique allows you to stay in punching distance of your opponent.It should be employed
whether opponent throws a right hook duck down beneath the punch and rise to your left side,
when they throw the opposite hook, bob and weave to the other side.
Shin Block
Originally taken from Muay Thai, this technique allows a defence against a low
turning/roundhouse kick by picking up the lead leg and tuning the knee outwards. This block is
not for the faint-hearted as it can be extremely painful on the shins.
Body Deflections
This method is employed when an opponent has you on the ropes and is raining hooks and
shovel punches at your mid-section. The object is damage limitation, keeping your hands and
elbows in the basic guard position and twisting your torso to try and take as many off the shots
as possible on your arms. The vital areas you want to protect are the ribs and the centre line.
Shoulder Raise
The object of this defensive movement is to cover your face from your opponent’s cross or jab
with your shoulder. To do this effectively you will need to drop the corresponding hand down in
order to raise the shoulder, however please note in the picture the defender still has his
opposite hand up.
Cross Arm Guard
Used principally against uppercuts, as the picture shows try and cross your forearms to prevent
any gaps big enough to allow a fist to travel up to its intended target.
What needs to be mentioned about this block along with all the other defensive movements is
that you can mix the blocks up, for instance you could have a left cross arm guard and a right
elbow cover block.
Footwork
As mentioned earlier this is the skill that you may want to perfect the most as it takes away the
element of a failure in your blocking technique. In other words if the opponent can’t catch you,
then they can’t hit you either. That’s got to be a good thing.

This time we thought that we would share some of our self defence techniques with you. We have broken down different ones
from rope attacks to knife attacks. Obviously not all techniques work for everyone and it is better to learn them first hand but if
these give you a taste for giving them ago then please do not hesitate to contact one of the Tang Soo-Do team.
Rope attack from behind
pulled tight around the neck.
Defender reaches over behind
their neck, feeling position of
hands and rope.
Close up of hand position.
Holding the attacker’s hands,
the defender lowers and turns
their upper body either way
towards the attacker. They
may have good control of your
rear and forward motion, but
will not have very good control
of your body rotation.
Still holding the attacker’s
hands whilst facing them, now
frees the back of the neck.
Still holding the attacker’s
hands tight, pull them apart...
...allowing the defender to free
their neck.
Proceed to twist arms locking
them against each other
forcing the attacker down.
Finish with a strike to any
vulnerable area.
Attack from behind, grabbing
around the neck.
Defender kicks their hip out to
the side of the attacker.
Step behind the attacker while
kicking the hip out. Also at this
stage the defender turns their
head towards attacker, freeing
the airway.
Reaching over the near
shoulder to underneath the
nose with the free hand which
was behind the attacker, the
defender stands and pulls
attacker off balance. Once
they are off balance, sweep
either leg and continue to pull
down.
Once on the floor, finish off
the attacker.
If someone grabs you around
the neck with both hands they
are likely trying to strangle or
head butt you.
If the attacker head butts, the
first thing is to defend. Take
either arm over the top of the
attacker’s arms keeping the
elbow high. Grab hold of
attacker’s fist with the same
arm, then grabbing the wrist
with the opposite arm keeping
the elbow low twist inwards
towards the body. Keep the
attacker’s arm high.
Once the grabbing arm has
been rotated enough, the wrist
must place downward
pressure on the attacker’s
elbow...

As Martial artists we would hope that you would not allow yourself to get into situations like this as most of us should have a
heightened awareness through training.
Please if practising these techniques be careful for yourself, your training partner and any little eyes that may be watching, as
ropes and knifes are dangerous and we don’t want any children trying them.
...forcing them down to the
floor.
Doesn’t look so tough now,
does he?
Push shoulder down to the
floor, keeping wrist high and
locked.
Defending against a slashing
knife attack.
Here it comes...
As the attacker swings the
blade, the defender steps in,
blocking and grabbing the
attacker’s wrist whilst
performing an elbow strike to
the side of the jaw. Time the
defence correctly as stepping
in late will put you in range.
Slide striking arm down along
the attacker’s arm to the back
of their wrist. Lock off and
rotate the arm inwards,
keeping a tight grip on the
wrist.
Once the arm has locked,
meaning the wrist,elbow and
shoulder are in line, place
your thumb's on the knuckle of
the attackers index finger
pushing the hand against your
grip around their wrist...
... forcing them down to the
ground.
Keep the pressure on the wrist
and finish off with any
technique.
Attack from behind with a
knife.
The following movements
have to be performed all
together. Defender must grab
the attacker’s hand and wrist
whilst moving into the gap
where the attackers elbow is
moving away from the blade.
Keeping hold of the hand,
twist outward and up.
Pull down hard, breaking the
attacker’s elbow.
Keep hold of the attacker’s
hand and rotate outwards
taking them down. Thud. Finish with any technique.

Set Sparring
Set sparring is an aspect of Taekwon-Do training which can
often be neglected; in my opinion the reasons for this are
many. I know from my own training that it is easy to become
bored of set sparring, since practising the same few
movements over and over can wear thin. So, this issue, I
have decided to write about set sparring in general, with
occasional reference to specific exercises.
Patterns With A Partner
The way we perform the movements in set sparring is exactly
the same as we would perform them in line work or in
patterns. Therefore, try to visualise them as patterns with a
partner. The ‘pattern’ itself is fairly dull (a straight line of no
more than three steps) but all the rules which apply to mass,
reaction force, breath control, equilibrium, concentration and
speed also come into play with set sparring. The student
should understand the purpose of each movement, so that
each offensive and defensive technique is used correctly.
Senior grades who are competent with the basics could try to
make up their own three, two and one step sparring so that
neither partner is aware what will come. This isn’t something
which is currently required for gradings, but it does stretch
you! Remember, don’t go too fast; if you use correct body
movement, it will be possible to ‘see’ what technique is
coming at you and to block effectively.
For example, let’s say you are going to attack with a knife
hand strike. You have to turn your body slightly away from
the opponent in order to get enough torque (or turning force)
into the strike. The ‘defender’ will be able to see the slight
turn and therefore use the correct type of block. Now I can
imagine some of you won’t like the sound of that. In fact I can
already hear cries of “that’s not real self defence!” Indeed, it
is not. Set sparring is an artistic demonstration of Taekwon-
Do techniques used with proper applications. For self
defence you will need to do such courses as FAST defence –
which I highly recommend for those of you that haven’t yet
done it!
Counter Attacking
When you counter attack in any of the set sparring exercises,
try to make sure that you are aiming at the correct target.
Ideally, you shouldn’t be too far away, although sometimes
you will be a few centimetres from the target. As long as you
are correctly showing the technique in the correct target area,
this is be fine.
As you attain better muscle control, you will be able to
perform precision kicks to small targets – like a turning kick to
the temple of the opponent. This is very impressive and is
something which Taekwon-Do exponents are famed for.
However, be sure you are thinking when you try this: it is not
at all good to see someone trying to do a high kick, but failing
miserably. Please do not trade height against quality of
technique. If you can’t kick high, don’t. It is much more
effective to show a good middle kick to a mid section target
than to try to out do yourself.
This goes for hand attacks too. A fore fist punch to the throat
probably isn’t as good as to the solar plexus. A knife hand
strike to the arm won’t be as effective as to the neck, and so
on. As you are allowed more freedom to experiment with set
sparring (i.e. making it up as you go), be mindful of targets
and applications of techniques – this is the real test.
It’s Alive!
In my opinion, set sparring is organic; you have to grow with
it and that might mean that you have to adapt with each step.
For example, in three step sparring both partners should
ideally be exactly the same height with the same leg length.
In reality this will not be the case very often and so the two of
you will drift apart or drift together with each step of the
exercise. Try to be wary of this and lengthen or shorten your
stance (just slightly!) to compensate.
Distance & Focus
The important thing is not to panic. Three step sparring is a
difficult exercise and challenges us all. Two step and one
step are in many ways easier as the reliance on stepping in
unison with your partner is less important. These latter
exercises instead confront us with more advanced
combinations and this improves our perception of distance
and focus. Perhaps the most important lesson we learn from
all the set sparring exercises are correct distance and correct
focus. With these skills suitable attained, impressive feats
such as precision kicking to head height targets will soon
become a reality.
Taekwon!
Are there any aspects of Taekwon-Do that you would
like me to investigate and divulge?
If there are, please feel free to contact me at
tkd@cardiffmartialarts.com . I look forward to your
suggestions.
Kevin McCabe, 4th degree black belt, has trained
in Taekwon-Do for 14 years. He is a member of
the P.U.M.A. management team as Technical
Assistant. He aids senior instructors with training
duties at P.U.M.A. camps and other events and
also teaches technical and pattern seminars. He
trains under Master Ray Gayle and teaches his
own school, in Cardiff.

A Parent of two junior students wrote to us recently regarding her family’s experience with the FAST Defence course.
As a former police officer with many years experience of real-life dangerous situations her memories of the day carry a
particular weight. Read about them underneath...
Recently when watching our son training in his class, my husband, who was waiting for his own class to start, asked if I had a pound
on me. What could he want to buy for a pound at a training session? Ah, the latest issue of the P.U.M.A magazine. “What only a
pound?”. I handed over the money on one condition - that I was allowed to read it, but not just before bed time. “Why?” you may ask.
Well, as an avid late night reader I include among my favourite authors Jeffery Deaver, John Grisham, Dan Brown and Andy McNab.
Not exactly light reading, however it has never caused me a problem. I had read the first issue of the magazine and as I had enjoyed
it, decided one night to give my current book a miss and scan through the new one (No 2). Well that was a mistake! I was reading
various articles written by students and got totally engrossed in someone’s experience of their FAST defence skills course and how a
student had put their training to good use fairly soon afterwards. During the reading of this article I started to relive the training we as
a family had taken part in a few months earlier. Well, the adrenaline started to kick in once again! Yes folks, that is how real the FAST
defence skills course is.
As parents of two children, we had decided that we wanted them both to have some form of self defence training. We could warn
them of all the possible dangers, we could suggest what they should do to keep themselves safe and to be aware. One thing we could
not do, neither would we want to, would be to prevent them going out on their own. They would have to be able to cope with being on
their own soon enough. We didn’t want to scare them with things that might happen. They see the news either on the television or in
newspapers... what could we do that was the best for our children? We heard of the FAST defence skills course and had no doubts
this sounded like something which could only help our children. My husband decided he would like to attend the adult training and as
curiosity got the better of me, soon we had all signed up.
As the day of the training approached the doubts started to niggle, but sense overtook these feelings and we “went for it”. We were
met by Mr Chance and his friendly team and due to the ages of our children at the time, we stayed during their training. Hopefully this
would give us an insight to what we were to experience later that day! There were young people of both sexes and probably most
were P.U.M.A. students or siblings. How could the trainers possibly re-create situations in which these youngsters might find
themselves, to make it seem real to them? Believe me, just being an onlooker, the situations appeared real enough! Our adrenaline
was well and truly flowing, not just for our own children but for all those taking part. I wanted to really have a go at the “baddies”.
There were two young girls obviously becoming upset at what they were witnessing and it was apparent that they didn’t really want to
take part. I was interested to see how this was going to be handled and saw Ms Reeve sitting with the girls calmly talking them
through what was going on, giving them advice and encouragement. These same two girls continued to take part and had obviously
taken on board all that had been said to them.
Anyone reading this should not be put off sending their offspring for such training as it really is worthwhile. If you cannot think of a
present for your child, have run out of ideas what to buy them - they already have a new mobile phone, MP3 player etc - then why not
buy them training which could not only help keep these expensive purchases safe, but far more importantly could help save their
lives? We can only thank and praise Mr Chance, Ms Reeve and the team for their knowledge and experience, that with such
willingness, encouragement and support, they passed on to these young people.
Now it was time for our training session. The children had left and this was adults only! Why was I doing this course myself? Yes, I
had asked myself that a few times before the day! Some 35 years ago my then job meant that I had undertaken to protect life and
property, and to prevent and detect crime amongst other things. My role now as a mother was to love, teach and most importantly to
protect our children. They were taking part in this training and if I was to continue in my “job” then I needed to know more. Well, I
guessed right that it would be what the children had experienced and more! However, I was not expecting it to be quite such a
shocking experience, and that was just the static from the new mats!
During a 20 year career, having experienced many difficult situations and confrontations, being called many names, what was it going
to take to “shock me”? I know I had more awareness of the not so pleasant side of life than my husband, and probably many of those
present that day. This was not going to stop me wanting to learn more. Yes, when I needed to I did shout louder than anyone else.
We all learnt a great deal that day and it was interesting to see that you do not have to be a student of martial arts to take part.
We owe it to ourselves to stay safe, to be aware of our surroundings and possible dangers, to be able to read the signs. We can all
learn to develop that sixth sense which was not automatically issued to me with my I.D card, and hopefully did not disappear when I
received my pension. The power of observation is a great thing. We need to be able to look after ourselves more than ever today,
when sadly but understandably there is a greater reluctance for people to become involved. Crime affects everybody differently, be it
the victim, the families of victims or the families of the offenders. More crime could be avoided if people were to become more aware.
‘People watching’ or surveillance certainly makes you aware of what others are doing and with training and experience you can
sometimes anticipate what they are about to do.
Having attended many work related training courses, I feel privileged to have been on those which made me more aware, and in turn
could help keep myself (and now my family) safe. I include among these the FAST defence course, which has to have been the best.
As a family we have been involved with P.U.M.A. (Taekwon-Do) for almost 18 months. During this time we have noticed the
friendliness of everyone involved (members and families of) but most of all the RESPECT. Wouldn’t the world be a better place if
everyone had that same respect! To all involved, thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience and giving your time to help
others.
The author’s name is withheld by her request.

Photographing Children
I am asked a lot about the official policy on photographing junior students. It seems that almost every different organisation
and association has some form of rules to regulate the taking and using of photographic and video images. These range
through useless and bizarre to well thought out and practical solutions. P.U.M.A. has a well considered and easy to
understand policy which was designed to protect junior students. The policy covers still photography and video images. Here
are some of the questions that I’ve been asked along the way...
Can I take photographs at...?
There is no problem with taking photographs, so long as it is done responsibly. P.U.M.A. has students who do not wish their
photograph to be taken or used in publicity and we must respect that. With this in mind we created the ‘open forum event’ and
the ‘closed forum event’.
How do I know the difference?
A closed forum event is any event the student must attend in order to progress their martial arts training. Examples of this are
classes and gradings. Photography is not allowed at these events. An open forum event is one the student can choose to
attend (but does not have to in order to progress). Such events are usually open to the public. Examples are tournaments,
demonstrations and seminars. Photography is expected at these events.
Can photographs be put in the local newspaper?
Absolutely. It is a great thing for junior students to see their photograph in the newspaper after tournaments, demonstrations or
other open forum events. Lots of instructors use this as a means to gain publicity for their schools. However there is a very
clear part of the P.U.M.A. policy that applies here. This is that names or personal details must NOT accompany the photo. So
you could have a photo but no name, or the name and no photo. This can sometimes be difficult to impress on visiting
reporters/photographers but it is important that instructors, helpers and parents all take this responsibility seriously.
Why do you want to do this? It seems very silly.
This level of information is ideal for someone targeting a child. In P.U.M.A. we’ve already had an instance where photos of a
young, well known student were recovered during a police raid on a known abuser. The photos included the student’s name,
age, school and P.U.M.A. school, together with mum and siblings’ names. All this information was gathered from newspaper
articles. The arrested person had already attempted to contact the student and the student’s mother, who luckily realised
something was wrong. Allowing this to happen is very obviously not looking after the well being of P.U.M.A. students.
What if I put pictures of my own children in the paper?
This is entirely your own right to do so. However, instructors must not encourage or assist you to do this as they are bound by
the child protection policy. You are also placing the instructor in a difficult position. Also, I would urge you to consider the
information in the previous paragraph before doing this. This is placing children at risk.
Can my son or daughter take a camera to junior camp?
Yes. Kids camp is an open forum event. It states this clearly on the application form. This allows children to bring cameras to
the event, and also allows P.U.M.A. to use photographs for publicity.
What about sparathons or other charity club events?
As long as the instructor has advertised it as an open forum event, you are welcome to take photographs. Events like this are
fun for everyone, and I would expect the instructor to try to publicise the event in the local paper. Hence there is the need to
protect identities.
I’m going to running a notice board / website for my local school...
You can use as many appropriate photographs as you like on notice boards and websites. You just can’t include personal
details, that’s all.
You need to take care that photos on websites don’t include names etc in the filename or file details. We’ve had instances
where people have been very careful to not include names on the actual site, only to use photos such as
‘johnsmith_goldmedal.jpg’.
Can’t I get consent forms signed to allow photos in classes or gradings?
No. It would be impossible to ensure the anonymity of students in gradings or classes, therefore we took the decision to make
these closed forum events. Instructors and helpers are very vigilant for parents trying to take photos in the events. Parents are
rightly proud of their children and innocently wish to record the event. We’ve had instances of over-enthusiastic instructors and
parents getting into arguments over this. It’s important for everyone to recognise the need for the policy and to explain to
newcomers why we do this. As an aside, most people hate getting their photograph taken when they are under pressure in an
event like a grading. Many have said how off-putting it is. This is another good reason.
Can I take pictures of my child and the instructor/examiner after the event?
By all means. Just bear in mind that there shouldn’t be other students in the background, and that a grading examiner may
have little or no time to do this anyway.
Summary
To sum up, P.U.M.A. researched good and bad practice extensively to come up with this policy. We try to make it as simple
and practical as possible. Everyone needs to help to ensure that we work towards keeping all our junior students safe. If
anyone wishes to discuss this or any other child protection issue further, I can be contacted at cpo@puma-uk.com .
- Ms Louise Reeve, Child Protection Officer

A man is driving along a highway and sees a rabbit jump out across the middle of the road. He swerves to avoid hitting it, but
unfortunately the rabbit jumps right in front of the car. The driver, a sensitive man as well as an animal lover, pulls over and gets
out to see what has become of the rabbit. Much to his dismay, the rabbit is dead. The driver feels so awful he begins to cry. A
beautiful blonde woman driving down the highway sees a man crying on the side of a road and pulls over. She steps out of the car
and asks the man what's wrong.
"I feel terrible," he explains, "I accidentally hit this rabbit and killed it." The blonde says, "Don't worry." She runs to her car and
pulls out a spray can. She walks over to the limp, dead rabbit, bends down, and sprays the contents onto the rabbit. The rabbit
jumps up, waves its paw at the two of them and hops off down the road. Ten feet away the rabbit stops, turns around and waves
again, he hops down the road another 10 feet, turns and waves, hops another ten feet, turns and waves, and repeats this again and
again and again, until he hops out of sight. The man is astonished. He turns to the woman and demands, "What’s in that can?"
The woman turns the can around so the man can read the label. It says...
"Hair Spray - Restores life to dead hair, adds permanent wave."
Because they
It saw the salad dressing
A walk.
They don’t have the guts.
Got some jokes? Email them in and get to see
your name in print! We’re particularly interested
in lengthy humorous tails about rabbits, so get
them in!
Pesky squirrels have pinched one of Master Ogborne’s
prized world championship sparring trophies! Find it for him before
those rodents fill it with nuts - he’s counting on you!
K U M O O J P A C A F
E R U I Y O A D X T M
O C H O O K Y O P A L
G H J C E I D T E E T
C K U L O H I J D K P
I O H C L A R E N E G
A B A H O P E O U U J
D O N U I J R W J K T
F D N M K G S P A K O
G O A B M T T E N I L
J E G I K O S T A M Z