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Martial
News would like to introduce you to Sensei John Atkin, one of the
region's
top Ninjutsu, Ju-jitsu, MMA and Kickboxing instructors.
John
is a highly respected professional martial arts instructor who owns and
runs the famous Advanced
Fighting Centre in Newcastle.
FLAT OUT FOR GRACIE! JOHN
ATKIN: My days at the gym are always busy and Saturday
22nd
of May was no exception, apart from fitting in training with Royce
Gracie to an
already hectic day!!!
I got to the gym bright and early to teach my Saturday morning private classes then taught kickboxing and two kid's classes named the tigers and the dragons. While I ate some food, Alan one for the gym's brown belts started to set up the stations for a hardcore MMA circuit (by what I heard he killed them). Syd, big Mick and Paul Holmes arrived to go to
the Course;
we said our goodbyes and set off for As I was driving we all chatted about how good
the course
would be as Syd and myself had trained with Royce before, and Paul was
describing our ill-fated attempt to train with Eddie Bravo (see
chasing
twister blog), when at 70mph we had a blowout!!! The Holmes curse
struck
again!!! After setting the car onto the hard shoulder (because we were next to Peterlee, they have everything hard!! Ha Ha) we got out to check the damage, to our shock the tyre had shredded; now the next task to change the wheel. I found the jack but I could not find the tools to go with it! (I had just had the car for two months) we looked in the logical places the spare was on the back (I have a 4x4) while searching the car John Dawson text me to see if we were still coming, I explained to him what had happened he then asked if we were going to give up and phone the AA! Then Syd found a tag tucked
down the
rear seats pulled it to reveal the tools! Game on! We all mucked in to
change
the wheel and set off hoping that Royce was running late (Brazilian
time) the
course was to start at 2pm but Royce was a bit late so we only missed
the first
10 minutes! We quickly got changed and joined in still
cover in oil
and dirt (we looked like war-torn refugees). Royce went from a takedown to the mount, into
head and arm
hold and choke moved on to counter after counter so you flowed with
every
technique until you had a full drill from takedown with no less than five
counters
to replace a failing technique. It was done with one smooth movement,
watching
Royce move is like watching artist paint or a sculptor sculpt! We were
all in
awe of his talent!! We than do some free rolling to end the course;
people
were tired after 10 minutes, so Royce said: "Are you tired? Try doing MMA for 6
X 15 minutes rounds then talk to me!" We all had a group photo taken and Royce signed
everything
you could imagine! The journey home went smoothly we were all
buzzing about
the course and Paul Holmes finally made it to and trained on this very
first
course, the curse was lifted!! Ha Ha Have fun and go play!! For training details phone: 07876 043480 Email: johnatkin24@btinternet.com
(Caption): John Atkin with the mighty BJ Penn They
should be locked up…in a cage! JOHN ATKIN: Hi there it’s me again When I was younger ( no laughing ) the thought of two people locked in a cage to fight is something you only saw in films, but now this niche market is becoming commonplace, going from the extreme to the norm! But what are they doing and how do they do it? Firstly take one cage ( sizes 10 foot to 30 foot) then…..mix in two trained athletes for 3 x 3 or up to 5 x5 mins of fighting and that is all you need to know ! Easy...not!! Watching the sport develop from grassroots level has been a real eye opener, (sometimes closed due to an elbow!) the Sport of MMA or cage fighting has evolved into an art (don’t start with me about history and traditional martial arts I do both and combat is combat). The first wave is over, where art fought against art to decide the best one, now it is not uncommon for someone to train in several arts at once! This would have been unheard of only 20 years ago (my art is better than yours!! not playing with you and I am taking my ball in!!!). People have seen the light and went and taken the best bits of fighting methods and molded them together to make a fighter for all ranges. You have also took the time to condition them to a high standard (see previous blogs! hint hint) what do you do then? Train the cage!!! The problem you have when you first put two fighters in the cage; is that!! The cage. Two people are stuck inside a steel cage with fencing preventing them from leaving, adrenal takes over and all hell breaks loose! People feel the fear and your adrenal turbo boost kicks in; taking mild mannered level headed people and turning them into wild animals! To give an example, I had two 15-year-olds that after being locked in turned on each other like wild animals, while one caught his partner in a triangle from the guard, the other one decided to lift him in the air and slam him to the ground and proceeded to throw elbows to the head of his helpless partner!! Me thinking it would be a light hearted affair in the cage, was standing on a chair outside the cage, I had to leap over the cage to pull the pro-style UFC fighter off the now dazed and confused young lad!!! When I asked why he freaked out and developed cage rage he said it is what he had see on the Telly and he thought it would be ok to do!! Get used to the cage by doing pad drills and takedowns, so you get the feel of the cage then start using the fence to get back up after the take down. This leads nicely, (there is nothing nice about being stuck against the fence) to the fence work! Fence work is not two council workers leaning on posts next to the park; it changes everything you know about takedowns, clinch work and striking! Takedowns require space, something you have less of in the cage, so if someone shoots in for a single leg you may or may not have the space to sprawl resulting in a takedown that if you had the space you could have avoided. Clinch work against the cage opens up new ways of takedowns and gives a new meaning to the word dirty boxing. If you hit the floor you learn to capture your partner against the cage for ground and pound, (it feels like sale shopping with a group of women) to get away from this you learn (not to go shopping! Ha ha) to use the cage to improve your position by using your legs to get up off the cage wall and also walking your legs to reverse the position you are in! These are a few of the ways to enjoy the cage when you get a chance to!! Have fun and be safe!! P.S… the AFC has a lovely cage for your enjoyment bought from the lovely people from fightring.co .uk they were very helpful with everything we needed and they fitted the cage for the gym, the cage is nearly one-year-old and still looks like new!!! (Get black canvas ... it hides the blood! Ha ha) See you next time, now go play in the cage!!! For cage details ring Fightrings on: 0161 2872757 For training details phone: 07876 043480 Email: johnatkin24@btinternet.com
(Caption): John Atkin with the mighty BJ Penn Take
your breath away JOHN
ATKIN: Aerobic conditioning is based on muscles fueled
with
oxygen, anaerobic is with no oxygen, today we are going to give up
oxygen to
help training!!! Anaerobic training is great to kick your body
into gear
for those short bursts of energy we need for fighting. Have you ever
watched as
someone goes too fast into a fight and see them gas out in no time at
all, a 30
secs of windmilling and they want to die on the spot! To get over this kind of feeling you have to
train for it
( you can’t go around the fact that you might fight too fast
for your lungs to
keep up when you are fighting) this is where anaerobic training comes
into it’s
own! (You will see. Ha ha!) Try this short but painful experience and let
me know how
you feel! Obata rounds
of 3
,4 or 5 mins ( 20 secs in 10 out last set of the round 30secs just to
make you
feel worse!)
1 plate push
20 metres turn around push back
stopping were you are on the rests. 2 jackknifes
on the crashmat
switching from stance to stance at a fast
pace. 3 bag jumpovers
put a bag on the ground then put your
hands on the bag jump from side to side dropping
keeping your butt down to keep the pressure
on the thighs. 4 medicine ball jump squats
hold a medicine ball in your arms
squat down and then jump in the
air then
when you land start again.
5 Jump ups find object
(set of mats)height that is about upper thigh
or waist high then jump off and on for the time. 6 Kettlebell swings
swing the kettlebell from eyeline through
your legs then return using your leg and hips to power the swing. 7 Jump burpees
set 2 markers about 3- 4 foot apart jump
from marker to marker turning around perform a burpee and jump to the
other
marker and repeat. 8 Plate press
take a 25kg plate and press it out at
45% upwards 10 times then press it 45% downwards for the same number
for time. Try this fun set with 30 secs break between
stations and
see what it does for your anaerobic
state. You will find that exercise with oxygen is great when you think
of the
alternative!! Have fun see you next month! John Atkin Email: johnatkin24@btinternet.com Visit: www.advancedfighting.co.uk CLICK HERE TO GO DIRECT TO THE ADVANCED FIGHTING CENTRE
GRAPPLING
FOR FUN! JOHN
ATKIN: Grappling is one of the best things you can do for
fun!!! In grappling you get to clinch and throw in
lots of
different ways and work submissions standing and on the ground; if
that’s not
fun what is! Some people view grappling as a life or death match not wanting to give an inch out of fear of the submission! (Shock, horror.) Hey man loosen up and enjoy the roll... Since the evolution of MMA, grappling has been getting a good and bad rep. Ever since Royce Gracie tapped out the good, the bad and the ugly in the early UFC’s the grappling arts have had somewhat of a revolution against the main state of the martial arts. Watching
this has been fun; seeing
hardcore punchers and kickers on the ground playing starfish (ha ha)
then
watching hardcore grapplers have to learn how to punch and kick with
the grace
of a big bloke in a disco!! Once
you have got over the shock
of how many things you have to learn to make your grappling up to par
you may
get information overload and that's when you may feel you are
drowning in a
sea of knowledge. But don’t panic
grab a
rubber ring and hold on!! When training have a clear goal of what
you want
out of the class or out of the next few classes. As every journey
starts with the
first step take your time to
fully
understand the technique BEFORE YOU MOVE ON! If the techniques are getting better and your body is flowing from position to position and submissions are coming along nicely don’t try to learn a lot of things at one time, instead try one submission, drill it and drill it until you can do it in your sleep (Sorry Kerry!). Once
you have bought flowers as an apology to your wife move on to
rolling LIGHTLY
and restrict your grappling to this just one move (three months is
good). By then
many of your partners have had the move done on them thousands of
times, so as they
learn your set ups you have to work harder to get the move on. This is
when you learn move
number two! (Do you get where I am going with this...) Learning
grappling and
submissions is not like cooking a pot noodle it won’t be
ready in five minutes. The grappling arts have been around since the dawn of time, training grappling twice in four weeks and watching the UFC does not make you a master grappler. Stop
being a legend in your own
back garden and train in the grappling arts but train with a good heart
enjoy
yourself and you will get more out of it. There are thousands of things
to learn so
take your time and enjoy it! Until
next time watch out for the
D’arce Phone: 07876 043480 Email: johnatkin24@btinternet.com Visit: www.advancedfighting.co.uk
(Caption): John Atkin with the mighty BJ Penn That time of year!! JOHN
ATKIN: Hello again! Well you made it into January,
hangovers, no
money (or limited budget) and you want to get fit, get good overnight
and be a
lean mean fighting machine ASAP! Tall order! Firstly take it easy don’t rush back
to the gym and think
you have the same cardio, timing and conditioning as you did before the
festive
season, it’s not going to happen, dancing on new
year’s eve to abba does not
count as a workout!!
Don’t be too hard on yourself, yes
your shape may have
changed slightly (Greek god to Buddha) in a few weeks those extra
pounds will
drop off Don’t rush into full on mma sparring,
or you may find that
you need to ring claims direct to find out what bus ran you over!! Your
body
goes into shock and recovery takes a little longer!
Try to have some sort of plan of what you would
like to do
this year, is it your punching you want to improve on or is it your
ground game
you chose the core thing you want to get better at this year and stick
to that
plan. Deter after Christmas!
You may have drank a little too much or ate too
much and
are feeling fat and out of salts, try a deter day, drink water, go to
the
sauna, even fast for one day or part of the day; your body will respond
by
clearing the toxins from your body and you will feel cleaner and more
alert the
next day! Try
something new
You just got a new DVD on grappling but you
only do
kickboxing, why not find a club that teaches grappling and have a go at
it what
have you got to lose have fun with it. You are not going against THE
CODE never
to train in different arts or defecting to train with the rival club!!
People
that tell you that are insecure about themselves and may have a bit of
an ego
problem (you can get tablets for that).
Training in the martial arts is for life, it
becomes a way
of life , don’t rush to live your life, enjoy the days take
the time to enjoy
what you do or want to do this year don’t rush in head first
and hurt yourself
take it easy make a
plan and stick to it
! See you next month until then go play!! Phone: 07876 043480 Email: johnatkin24@btinternet.com Visit: www.advancedfighting.co.uk (Caption): John Atkin with the mighty BJ Penn CHASING
TWISTERS The UFC was once again coming to 10th Planet Jiu-jitsu
was really taking off all
over the world (I told you it would happen: see early blogs) Bushido
MMA was
the place to be at 11am on Saturday 14th of November , come hell or
high water I would
make it there. After sorting out instructors to cover classes
I had
arranged to meet Neil Foggin and Paul Holmes in Byker the text said
‘the AFC to
meet at the KFC at 7am to see the Twister!’
(Eddie’s nickname taken from one of
his many great moves). 7am BYKER KFC... Paul and Neil got there on time and off we went, anyone that has been on a course can tell you the buzz you get from going on them as Neil put it we were like kids all excited, laughing and joking. We made good time down the A1 then across onto the M18 then onto the M1 the day was bright and the sky was blue. We did notice a sign saying there was a problem between junction 30 and 29 but the lanes were reduced down to two lanes (where would we be without a few cones on are travels!) 9:10am plenty of time to have a cup of coffee before the course, just then the whole world stood still, the tailback was huge (bigger than a North Shields' dole queue) the clouds were gathering! We thought it would not be long for this slow moving traffic jam (we moved six foot in about an hour!) would slowly trickle passed the hold up like sand through an hour glass, minutes turned to hours and the sign now told us that the whole motorway had now been closed in both directions so everyone was to be taken off the motorway and re-directed. For
the first time that day I was worried that
we might miss the start of the course, but as the motto goes Keep calm
and
carry on! So we did at a snail’s pace. We finally made it off the motorway and thought
we were on
our way only to find that the traffic was down to one lane and we were
driving
along with no hope of getting a break the whole of the traffic from the
M1 was
either in front of us or behind us! (don’t they know we are
missing Eddie doing
his thing!!?). The hours passed but we still decided that we
will get to
see Eddie Bravo; if we were a bit late we would still jump in and learn
the
lockdown, the rubber guard or the infamous twister, but my hope was
fading like
a fire burning to the embers. After the detour from hell when we made
it back
onto the motorway only to find out we had only gone eight miles (as
depressing as
the film!) and still 26 miles to Nottingham... We made it to Bushido MMA at 1:40pm just six
hours 40 mins
since we left Byker! We made our way upstairs to catch a glimpse of the
man we
had travelled so far to train with! Eddie was just putting the
finishing
touches to the dogfight position and then showing how to take the back
from
there; if this was anything to go on we had missed a great course!
Eddie
finished the course by giving Richard Goddard his purple belt so he can
start
10th planet I nipped to the toilet at this point just to
find out that
Neil had spoke to Eddie and explained our day while I was at the loo,
Eddie
being Eddie posed for a photo with Neil even while trying to
‘Get the f*ck out
of dodge’. So I had travelled for nearly seven hours missed
the course and now
missed a photo and only thing I did not miss was the traffic!!! Now for the next problem how
to get home
without sitting in a 15 mile tailback for the next seven hours! Most people on the course were going to the UFC
105, so
they trained with Eddie Bravo and they were going to watch the UFC all
in the
same day, they were truly on a different planet to us that day; they
were
having the best day and Paul, Neil and myself were having a very bad
day to say
the least. Richard came up with a plan, follow the minibus
out of We found out the
tailback was huge so we headed back to With the day running through my mind I made it home to Kerry and my girls finding it hard to hide my disappointment, I did make it home to watch the UFC 105 but the day could have gone so much better. We will get to the 10th
Planet some day and
train with its leader but today was not to be the day for space travel,
until
then we will continue to chase twisters Take care and watch out for those twisters! Phone: 07876 043480 Email: johnatkin24@btinternet.com Visit: www.advancedfighting.co.uk
MMA 101
If
your recovery is good at ½ min rest increase number of
rounds. Now
go and play! Phone: 07876 043480 Email: johnatkin24@btinternet.com Visit: www.advancedfighting.co.uk ADVERTISEMENT
CAGE FIGHT NIGHT AT
THE ALNWICK GARDEN
 DFM Martial Arts presents
its Cage Fight Night at The Alnwick GardenThe event will feature some of the top MMA and kickboxing clubs in the region in an explosive night of non-stop action There will be pro, semi-pro and amateur MMA and full-contact and semi-contact K - 1 and kicboxing Book your ticket
by phoning the Ticket Hotline on 0191 4401368 The event is being
sponsored by Martial
News
THE GYM JOHN ATKIN: Going
to the gym! Going training! I’m going to kick
someone’s a**!
Everyone uses a different phrase to attend a martial arts centre or gym, but why do they go and what do they get out of it! I have been doing martial arts for 26 years now and I have see, talked and heard things about training that I never thought I would hear in my life. I also been teaching since the tender age of 18 giving me responsibility way beyond that of an 18 year old, sometimes the learning curve was a mountain, but as Hannah Montana says “life’s a climb”. Any new martial art is always introduced by seminars first, so you have to travel where ever that seminar maybe to help you on your journey to learn by trial and error and fight to get better at your chosen art. When the art gets bigger clubs appear and the masses start to attend on weekly basis or more, what makes people travel to find out how to learn these strange things and why do they keep doing it! If you have not guessed yet it is for the love of what they do is the answer, I love martial arts to the core (please see past blogs) people train in martial arts for many reasons but you have to love it to do it! Why else would you get up at stupid O’clock in the morning drive 4 or 5 hours to train for 7 hours to drive back home with bumps bruises ache s and pains, and say it was one of the best days of your life!! Weird The gym The gym has been used for many different things; even saying the words to other people makes a statement! When you pass your first grading and have a yellow belt people see you in a different light , the same goes when you first get your black belt and when you take you training back out in public you leave it unzipped so everyone can see your belt ! How cool are you!!! The gym becomes a place of training, a fitness heaven, a youth club, an agony centre, a nightclub; marriage guidance, a school, a fight club, a DVD swap centre and a place were friends and family meet! The AFC is a family run gym that has always took pride in keeping it that way we all have shared births (twins were born on the landing during the kids club) but having seen 7 brides for 7 brothers I had it all under control! Hot water and towels! Deaths and marriages, birthdays, christening and Christmas. Gym nights out and weekends away, kids Christmas parties and shoulders to cry on! The gym provides all these things to the people that take that first big step in to the world of the gym. Respect your school for what it does for you, at the AFC we pride are self’s to having friendly warm people who are there for everything, until next time aloha John Atkin To find out more about the Advanced Fighting Centre phone John on: 07876 043480 or visit: www.advancedfighting.co.uk ADVERTISEMENT
CAGE FIGHT NIGHT AT
THE ALNWICK GARDEN
DFM Martial Arts presents
its Cage Fight Night at The Alnwick GardenThe event will feature some of the top MMA and kickboxing clubs in the region in an explosive night of non-stop action There will be pro, semi-pro and amateur MMA and full-contact and semi-contact K - 1 and kicboxing Book your ticket
by phoning the Ticket Hotline on 0191 4401368 The event is being
sponsored by Martial
News
LAST
MONTH'S EDITION - JULY - SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE
(Caption) Right to left: John Atkin and BJ Penn I WANT TO BE A JEDI JOHN ATKIN: When I was younger (yes I was) every time a new film came out I wanted to be that person, you would jump off a wall with your coat on holding the corners pretending to fly like superman, or a stick became the sword of zorro or a light saber were you, as the Jedi battled evil; those days are gone, but are they? Mixed martial arts is like the new film out everyone and their dog are doing it (I know a dog with a mean guard) this ‘new’ thing to hit the people along with the UFC has brought with it another martial arts boom. I was told in the 50‘s and 60’s judo was the in thing to do the 70’s brought karate then Bruce Lee and the kung fu era, semi contact and full contact kickboxing, the ninja (Ninjutsu) boom of the early 80’s (me), escrima was next then in the early 90’s Brazilian ju-jitsu came about after Royce Gracie won the early UFC’s... After watching the UFC like an underground resistance fighter due to its lack of coverage in the media to watching it now is like watching the wave build up, the surf is a good one. The defining moment for MMA for me is seeing a poster in a bustop for the UFC, MMA has well and truly gone mainstream. I am no expert but I see that no-gi grappling will be the next big wave, with Eddie Bravo’s 10th planet jiu-jitsu leading the way! (You heard it here first!) As with every boom you get The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. The Good instructors that are keen to help you learn the arts which make up MMA Thai boxing, boxing, shoot work, wrestling, jiu-jitsu, ground and pound, give each element the basic’s, the drill‘s and conditioning and the sparring so that you learn safely without injury. The Bad instructors that are keen to ride the money wave getting people to train and give them little instruction and bad advice. The Ugly instructors that have no respect for the arts mentioned above and like to hurt their student’s and like to watch people hurt each other! These people are as far away from martial arts as they can be, but prey on the weak minded people and bully them into training this way. I started martial arts to learn to defend myself, my friends and family from bullies not to become one!! The UFC has brought to life the world of martial arts promoting a lot of different arts. That is good for all arts involved but that also brings responsibility; teach the arts as arts not as a street fight! Until next time have fun and play safely... John Atkin To find out more about the Advanced Fighting Centre phone John on: 07876 043480 or visit: www.advancedfighting.co.uk PREVIOUS BLOGS (Caption)
Right to left: John Atkin and BJ Penn.
WHY WE TRAIN!! JOHN ATKIN: Have you ever talked to someone that you have not seen for a while and they start the conversation with “are you still training?” I wish I had a pound for everyone that has said that to me over the years (I would be writing this blog from my holiday home in Hawaii). The answer is always “yes” but sometimes this question is a collection of bad moves and noises with “are you doing your who ya ya moves still“ or worse still they try to hit you!! I sometimes think it would be funny to turn the tables on them! Picture the scene me running into a pub and doing a sliding tackle on someone, take them out cleanly then stand up next to them and ask them if they still play football!! Mark my word one day that is going to happen! BEWARE! As I grow older I sometime think why do I do this to myself, the pain, the broken bones, the feeling that some day you are worse than when you started 25 years ago, groundhog day . I have realised that I love training, it effects my everyday life in so many ways, for example, a few weeks ago my brother-in-law Andrew and myself had to move 90 paving slabs and one tonne of sand by hand through my house and into the back garden! I started to think of different ways to carry the slabs to keep my mind in fun gear. I carried 2 slabs at a time, above my head, in my arms at different angles and even tried pinching the slabs between my hands and classed it all as good training. Andrew thought I was nuts! Training to me has kept me level headed (ha ha) and focused, when some parts of my life might not be going to plan, it was always there to fall into where all you had to do was train and try to make it better or learn something new. Sometimes you fall but you get up dust yourself off and start again. That to me is the best bit, you get more spirit from falling over, and doing it wrong that many times you may as well move there! Breaking your hand then taking two years to punch again like the night you broke it, that tests your heart but makes you a fighter in life. You can tell if you’re hooked on training if: * When you shop for clothes you not only try them on but also try 3 mins of shadow work including head kicks like Chuck Norris before you buy them * Domestic chores like mopping the floor becomes leg training exercise and stretching drills * Fun fighting with the kids becomes guard pass drills and sweeps ending in an arm bar * Any grass verge needs to be rolled on * Meals out become a knife training class of turning the blade from foregrip to reverse grip * Swimming pools become a kick and punch workout for power drills I seem to do all of the above, my love has become my job, my job has become my passion, my passion came from my hobby, my hobby has become my life, that’s why I train, look into yourself for why you train, until next time, go play life. To find out more about the Advanced Fighting Centre phone John on: 07876 043480 or visit: www.advancedfighting.co.uk THE
STARS ALIGN
JOHN ATKIN: I like to relate to you a night of fate... (Caption:) Left to right: Ultimate Fighter BJ Penn with John Atkin at the Advanced Fighting Centre, Newcastle. Wednesday 16th January 2008. At 9.15pm I was just leaving the gym after another day of classes and was heading to the old George, the AFC's resident pub when I had a double take on a group of people out side a kebab shop. When you see someone that you know but don't know your brain goes haywire, which was what happened because the group was BJ Penn and his training team!! I said hello and asked if I could have a photo with him! BJ being BJ said no problem. Simon, one of AFC's instructors, took the photo with his phone and after I thanked him BJ was just about to walk away when he asked if we had just finished training because he was looking for a guy called John! You could have knocked me down with a white belt, BJ Penn was looking for me!!!! BJ explained he was staying at a apartment block close to the gym away from the Marriott where the rest of the fighters are staying so that he can come and go as he pleases, and someone told him to come and see me for a private place to train, WOW. BJ, Rudi Valentine, Jason Parillo and Gary went back into the gym with me much to the surprise of the coaches still training... Lee Mair was punching the speedball with his private class and stared in disbelief as BJ walked past (Lee said the class went a bit wrong after BJ left , due to shock!) After checking out the gym BJ asked if it would be possible to do his pre-fight prep for the Saturday’s lightweight championship fight at the Metro Arena against Joe Stevenson (do squirrels eat nuts!) it would be an honour. After saying goodbye I went to the pub, high on the thought that BJ Penn was going to train at my gym, eager chatter turned into a sleepless night and a warning from my lovely wife Kerry to "GO TO SLEEP!" Like a four-year-old, John went to sleep, recounting the night over and over again. Morning came and a few phone calls to friends to tell them what happened had everyone buzzing but I had one problem, no one was allowed to watch but me!! NO ONE - every thing had to be kept under wraps until fight night. What a secret! Thursday 17th January The day past slowly my mind kept drifting to the conversations of the previous evening, will they come? Or change there minds, do I ring them or do they ring me the usual mind games of adrenalin... The clock turned to 8pm and I set off to the gym with no phone call! Kerry said not to be worried, but there is always is some doubt in your mind at great times in your life. I parked the car and just got out when my phone rang they would be there at 9pm!! Team Penn arrived on mass, kitted out and went through a full pre-fight prep and 5x5 minutes round of MMA sparring and a warm down. I sat with Gary, BJ's shiatsu expert, and watched as if in a dream - one of the best MMA and BJJ fighters in the world training and fighting in my gym. I chatted to Rudi about Master Hatsumi (my Ninjutsu grandmaster) as Rudi had met him in Hawaii. He showed me Hawaiian traditional arts and I had one of the best nights of my life with a group of people that are so good together and have a strong bond together they inspired me! When we finished BJ gave me a BJ Penn top and I gave BJ an AFC top, and locked up the gym while the team went for kebabs, BJ cutting weight could only look on!! He did ask after the fight on Saturday would the kebab shops still be open I said yes that brought a smile back on his face. Off they went down the street leaving me with my heart and head bursting again with emotion. Saturday January 19th Off to UFC 80 with my best friend Syd and his wife Lisa, wearing my top BJ gave me! (I was not going to wear it thinking I would look cheesy but Kerry said if someone asked where I got it from I can say BJ Penn!) BJ was great and won by stoppage! To top off a great few days. The reason for the title of the blog was that 16 years earlier my father died on the 16th of January 1992 at 9.15 pm. This was the time I met BJ Penn outside my gym, is it fate , was it a fluke , all I think is thanks dad I love you !! x The Advanced Fighting Centre is above the FIT Club on High Bridge Street, Newcastle. To contact John Phone: 07876 043480 To visit the AFC website: www.advancefighting.co.uk |
  High
Bridge StreetNewcastle Monday Conditioning Club 5.45pm - 6.45pm Tuesday Kickboxing 5.30pm - 6.30pm Grappling 6.30pm-7.30pm WednesdayBoxing 5.45pm - 6.45pm Ninjutsu Beginners 6pm - 7pm Ninjutsu 7pm to 8.30pm weapons 8.30pm - 9.15pm ThursdayNinjutsu 6.30pm - 7.30pm FridaY6pm - 7.30pm Saturday Kickboxing 11am to noon Kids (Tiger) Ninjutsu 12pm - 12.30pm Kids (Dragon) Ninjutsu 12.30pm - 1.15pmGrappling Club 1.30pm - 3pmSunday Ninjutsu Noon - 1.30pm Boxing 6pm - 7.30pm Private lessons also available phone: 07876 043480 visit: www.advancedfighting. co.uk ADVERTISE YOUR EVENT Do you have an event you are looking to get publicity for? Then why not advertise in Martial News? This is online resource for all martial artists from across the North East, Cumbria, Yorkshire and Scotland Reach the people who are most likely to come to your events - the martial artists of our region Ads costs as little as £10 per month Go to our advertise page for more great deals Martial News For You, Your Club and Your Style Delivered every month to your email address and all for FREE! Subscribe Today MARTIAL NEWS Interviews with top instructors MMA results Kickboxing results Martial Features Blogs Up-and-coming events DON'T DELAY SUBSCRIBE TODAY www.martialnews.co.uk DFM Self-protection Ltd  Courses for Martial Artists Conflict Resolution Training CRT Tutor courses Student Street Safe Courses First Aid Courses Safe Travelling Courses Self-protection courses Courses for Business CRT for Employees CRT for Healthcare workers CRT for the Media CRT for Managers CRT for Shop Workers CRT for Lone Workers CRT for doorstep Sales CRT Teach the Trainer Courses Dealing with Difficult Customers CRT Trainer Packs Other Products Slash Resistant Clothing CRT Booklets Safe Travelling Booklets Self-defence and CRT Books www.dfmselfprotection.co.uk Advertise with Martial News buy one ad get one half price next month... See our Advertise page for more details  Zanshin Aikido Sunderland University Sundays 6 to 8pm and Fridays 7 to 9pm The new Cityscape Centre Chester Road Campus Chester Road Sunderland psethp@yahoo.co.uk www.zanshinaikido.co.uk 0191 5226294  Willowburn
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