MARTIN J DOUGHERTY
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7/6/2013

So I'm A Third Dan Now?

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Sunday 20th May 2102 was the All-Styles Martial Arts Association (ASMAA) Spring Seminar in Doncaster. That’s a 2-hour drive from here, down a strangely empty motorway. The vast expanse of roadworks at Leeming Bar has finally gone, so we ended up being early. That in turn let to us (me and Nate Zettle) standing around wearing fencing jackets and fingering sabres while everyone checked in. There were a few puzzled looks – this was a martial arts seminar about striking and grappling, so what were these two guys doing with the ironmongery?

What we were doing was demonstrating European Sabre technique as formulated by Captain Alfred Hutton in the 1880s. That, and trying to carve bits off one another with steel swords. The, err, ‘demo’ got a bit competitive and we both came away with a few lumps, but it went down well. There was a point to all this – we’re an all-styles organization and that really does mean all-styles. Traditional martial arts, combat sports, cage fighting, even Western fencing… we’re supporting all the fighting arts.

The seminar proper was taught by ASMAA head Dave Turton, who’s a 9th Dan in self-defence and various other forms of mayhem, assisted by various senior members of ASMAA. ‘Assisted’ in this case means that Dave brutalized us for the amusement and edification of everyone else.

The morning was all about grappling methods and their applications. A lot of martial arts are very stylized, but underneath the differences there’s a common body of technique. Not surprising really; there’s only so many ways to drop someone on his head. The afternoon moved on to striking and kicking techniques; how to deliver maximum impact and demolish an opponent efficiently.

Overall it was a good day with an excellent turnout from various different styles – we had Kickboxers, a couple of Mixed Martial Artists,  Aikido and Ju-Jutsu guys and some multi-styles people. It’s good to see how violence and mayhem can bring people together like that…

Highlights of the day for me included a Lancashire Catch Wrestling technique called a Grovit (European wrestling techniques have some truly fascinating names, don’t they?), which is a combination of a face bar and neck crank. Basically you get your head crushed while your neck feels like it’s about to break. Which it will, if you don’t tap out. Catch wrestling isn’t about being nice to people.

I also took a shot in the head that left me semi-conscious for several seconds. The four steps sideways that I travelled wasn’t a record, but it was the longest I’ve been ‘out’ from that particular shot. Not that we were trying for a record or anything! This was sort of counterbalanced by being awarded my 3rd Dan in Combat Ju-Jutsu. So I guess I’m now a 3rd Dan in being hit in the head.

Well, that’s all right then.

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  • Home
    • A Quick Guide to MJD
    • Credits Overview
    • Work Availability
  • My Work
    • My Writing Career
    • Mainstream Publishing >
      • Military History Books
      • Fiction
      • Martial Arts & Self-Defence Books >
        • Fight to Win
        • The Self Defence Manual
      • Armed Combat Books
      • Transportation Books
      • Childrens Books
      • Fencing and Martial Arts Books
    • Games Industry >
      • Avenger Enterprises
    • Defence and Security Industry
    • My Television Work
    • Other Work
  • Martial Arts and Fencing
    • My Martial Arts and Fencing Career
    • Fencing >
      • British Federation for Historical Swordplay (BFHS) >
        • BFHS Chief Assessor
        • IL1 Guidance for Candidates
        • IL 2-4 Work in Progresss
      • Smallsword Fencing
      • The Military and Duelling Sabre
      • Olympic, or 'Sport', Fencing
      • Fencing Photos
      • More Fencing Photos
    • MJD Musings >
      • Priority
      • Respect
      • Agendas and Misconceptions
      • Light Sabres, Sabre: Lite....
      • Coach Development in Martial Arts
      • HEMA: Martial Art or Sport?
      • Obstacles to Improvement
      • A Governing Body for HEMA?
      • Scottish HEMA Controversy
      • Grappling: Why Not?
      • Musings on Running a Class
      • Learning to Fence
  • The Society for the Study of Swordsmanship
    • Intoduction to the Class
    • SSS FAQ
    • SSS Equipment and Safety
    • SSS Ranks and Grades
    • SSS Weapons
  • Fiction, Articles and Other Scribblings
    • Short Fiction >
      • Holy Spirits
      • Grand Endeavour
      • Pandora's Box
      • Wheelman
      • Reactivation Clause
      • Although He May Be Poor
      • Into The Hands of God
    • Mancave Playbabes Articles >
      • Fencing Article
      • Edinburgh Article
      • Whisky Article
    • Space Exploration Articles >
      • Reaching Orbit
      • In Orbit
      • Exploration of the Solar System
      • Space Stations
      • Space Stations - White Elephants in the Sky?
  • Avenger Enterprises
    • Starfarers Gazette 0-1
    • Starfarers Gazette 2
    • Starfarers Gazette 3
    • Starfarers Gazette 4
  • My Life and Related Misadventures
    • Perthshire
    • Other Photos
    • Warkworth Castle
    • More Photos
  • Other Stuff
    • Martial Arts & Self-Defence >
      • Combat Ju-Jitsu
      • Self-Defence
      • Nihon Tai-Jitsu
      • Self Defence and the Law
      • The Possibility of Violence
      • Grappling and Groundfighting
      • Anatomy of a Streetfight
    • News, Updates and... Stuff.
    • Conventions, Events and Seminars >
      • Smallsword Symposium
      • Smallsword Symposium 2015
      • SWASH
      • BFHS Spring and Autumn Exchange
    • Northumbria Police: Arrogant, High-Handed and Reckless >
      • Experiences with Northumbria Police
      • Questions But No Answers
      • Concerns About PSD