Open Circle Fighting Method (OCFM) Training Camps.
The OCFM prides itself on the quality of the teaching at its Camps.
Each year we hold a one week training Camp, for 3 years it has been in
Cyprus and in 2006 it was held in Torromolinos, Spain. These are superb
fun and also full of great training. OCFM Winter
Training Camp - 2007 November 17th to 24th - Saturday to
Saturday. The Metta Centre retreat, Ancona Italy Reports due in
soon
Below are some reports of various Training Camps. These reports will
give you an idea as to how the Camps operate and what to expect.
OCFM Training Camp 2006 - Torromolinos, Spain
What a fantastic week of training. The Training Camp ran from November
19th to the 26th at a 3star All Inclusive Hotel. The food was excellent
and the drinks flowed freely... too freely on the 1st night (well
afternoon actually). Pillage disgraced himself. After that it was best
behaviour every step of the way. Pillage actually leading from the front
in the be a good boy and do your homework stakes.
 The
first day was training on the beach... hard to get your footing for
Boxing training in deep sand. However, if you can Box well under those
conditions, you can box well with even footing. The next session was in
the Hotel Grounds - 3 hours of adding points and Players to Grappling
with John Andrews. John found a great Centre for us train at... fully
matted and looking brand new. It was to be our new home every afternoon
for 3 hours. The morning session (being stand up) could still take place
in the grounds of the Hotel. The week just flew by. There was
something for everyone on this Training Camp... the fighters came away
with a different point of view as regards the application of Points and
Players. Everyone just joined in and trained, with no egos and no "my
style is better than your style" kind of stuff. 5 hours a day of good,
solid training took its toll and no-one was too lively at night, even
though the booze was included! The highlight of the week for me was
seeing Ken Culhanes face at the end of his Black belt Grading on the
Thursday and to hear his impromptu speech at the end. Several of us
"tough guys" admitted to having a little tear in our eyes.
Ken is a student of John Andrews. For those of you that do not know
John, he is quite simply a superbly talented Martial Artist, an
incredible Teacher and to top it off a great guy as well. To get a Black
Belt with John is somewhat harder than in any other style I have seen.
I have been fortunate enough to be on the Grading Panel of 2 out of 3 of
John's Black belt Gradings. Matt Summerfield in Winchester and Ken
Culhane in Torromolinos. I can only say that if anyone deserves their
Black Belts it is these two guys.
Open Circle Fighting Method European Convention,
Cyprus, Feb 2004 Report by Richard Peace
The aim of the Open Circle Fighting Method (OCFM) is to be at the
forefront of research into the combative aspects of the martial arts.
Their mission is to make this “technology” widely available to anyone
who is prepared to put in the effort to learn. With this in mind Renshi
Russell Stutely (5th dan) and Renshi Anthony Blades (5th dan) began
planning for a European Convention, at which this knowledge could be
widely shared amongst martial artists of many disciplines and
backgrounds. Over the course of 2002 & 2003 the evolving formulation of
what is now known as the Open Circle Fighting Method (OCFM) came to
fruition; the official launch being at the Cyprus convention in February
2004. The main instructors for the convention were Russell Stutely,
Anthony Blades, Mike Davis (4th dan Matsukaze Aiki-budo, USA), Pete
Holmes, Martyn Harris and John Burke. Over 30 people attended. The
camp began at 6:30am on Monday with a run along the beach, circuit
training and for some a spell in the ring with Russell and his senior
student, Costas. We had been told that the run was optional, unless
everyone didn’t turn up, in which case it became compulsory! Most
managed on day one, but over the course of the week due to injuries and
fatigue the numbers dropped to four by the last day! Generally there was
time for a quick shower and breakfast before the main OCFM training
sessions which would run from 9 till 12 every day. There were plenty of
options for training in the evening with Fitness, Grappling, Thai
Boxing, and some other “weird stuff” being taught. A typical day left
you buzzing, but fatigued – nothing a few beers couldn’t fix. OCFM is
a principle-based approach to training. As such there are no
“techniques” (just hit and hit hard, and keep hitting till the job is
done) and whilst pressure-tested combinations are taught the main goal
is to leave the student of OCFM with the tools and techniques for
analysing and creating their own ways of “getting there”. The example of
this is a right hook. One might have the best right hook in the world (a
technique). If you can’t land it, then it is a useless technique. As
Russell says, “you have to earn the right to land your blow”. So in OCFM
you would practice many ways of getting to your favourite/best
technique. The principles are the keys to earning it, and generally the
pre-requisite is movement and body mechanics. If we can flow and take
what is given to us, and then give it back, things happen. Now these
principles are not necessarily new. However what the OCFM brings to the
table is a way of teaching and training these principles which any
martial artist can make useful to themselves and their own art. It is
presented in a clear and easy manner; the only secret in the OCFM is
that there are no secrets. Over the course of the week we looked at
various training methods including Waveforms, Centreline, Heavy Hands,
Flow, Body Mechanics, Angles and Direction, Vibration, Energetics, Power
Zone, Body Alarm Reaction (BAR), working from natural Flinch Reactions,
and Balance Points. No-one was left wanting more. By the end of the week
people were combining all of these principles together to devastating
effect. Note that whilst Pressure Points were taught on the course,
these are but one element of OCFM study. Several students were tested
during the week for Apprentice Instructor. Successful students were
Mathew Dawson, Steve Kelly, Haydn Mann (France), Alfredo Marano (Italy),
Richard Peace and Daniel Thomas (Isle of Man). Alfredo Marano was also
awarded his 4th dan in Shotokan karate-do. To sum up the week, tension
became “controlled pliability”, fear became “fun”, confusion became
learning, and most importantly strangers became friends. To anyone who
has not trained with the OCFM, it cannot be recommend highly enough. You
may have to question some of your beliefs, but if you are not doing that
already then you are not living. The OCFM hold regular seminars in the
United Kingdom and across Europe. For details of these seminars visit
www.ocfm.co.uk Plans are
underway to run another European Convention in the near future.
Announcements will be made in the martial arts press shortly.
Review of the Week by Michael Davis
What can I say other than...WOW!
It had been my original intention when invited to Cyprus to help with
teaching some of what I know to those attending. Shortly after arriving
there, I found out that this would NOT be the case and that it would be,
in fact, a real learning experience for me and show me what I didn't
know.
Before I dive into a random set of comments and observations of my two
week oddysey, some words of thanks needs to be addressed to some
individuals.
First of all, there is Russell. I have him to thank for inviting me in
the first place. There are a variety of reasons that could have been
used as to why he should not have. But his true character showed and he
invited me anyway.
Next is Anthony Blades. Anthony made himself responsible for
entertaining me while I was in Bourne the week before we all went to
Cyprus. And what a week it was! For a guy who hates American beer, it
was a real learning experience for me as I learned all about beer in the
UK, including ale, bitter and lager. When Anthony says, "Mine's a
Stella", he is speaking for me as well! Also, kudos have to go out to
his lovely wife Claire as she also put up with me taking her time away
from her husband and played taxi driver for us so we could eat, drink
and tell stories.
There is also Christian Pinder. Due to work commitments, Anthony was not
able to pick me up at Gatwick when I arrived. Rather than having me take
the train, Christian made a VERY early day of it and went way out of his
way to pick me up at Gatwick and get me delivered to Bourne in one
piece. That is much appreciated.
And then there is Pete Holmes. He opened up his home and his home dojo
to me site unseen so that we could go over a few things in person that
we had been talking about via email as well as chat extensively over
coffee for most of the day. And then his lovely wife made us all a great
dinner when the conversation continued until well into the evening. And
if you have not met his darling daughter Chloe, then you are really
missing out. Pete has just about the hardest punch I have ever been on
the receiving end of as well...but more on that later.
I also have to thank Steve Scales. He played taxi driver for me in
getting from Bourne to Pete's and back and also played uke for what
everyone was demonstrating. IN addition, he did some great Reiki work on
me and really helped me make it through the week as I was really out of
sorts due to an upper respitory infection and dealing with the effects
of a car wreck from the week before.
Also, there is Steve Kelly. He showed up at Pete's after he got off of
work and also played uke for us during a second wave of "show and tell".
Steve, I am still wondering what it was you were going to call me as
Pete vibrated into "Inner Gate" at my suggestion! (LOL!). Also, Steve
was responsible for finding me a hotel in Luton so that I had a place to
sleep when we returned from Cyprus and before I started my trek across
the pond.
Lastly, I have to say thanks to everyone else that attended the seminar
in Cyprus. There are far too many to list and I don't want to leave
anyone out and offend them. But absolutely everyone was great to me.
Both on the mat when I had either suggestions for them or questions
about what they were doing. And off the mat as well. A totally fantastic
group of folks to spend time with socially and have a few drinks with.
And a few of them can even sing pretty well!
OK...on to my thoughts about the training...and these are random and not
meant to be in any particular order.
For those that don't know, I first met Russell about 10 or so years ago
when he was attending one of the DSI national conventions in Phoenix,
AZ. At that time, Russell was thinking about joining up with the DSI for
training and Rick Moneymaker put the two of us together to make sure we
worked on everything together. Since that time, we have kept in touch
with one another via phone and email. I say this because Russell knows
who I have trained with over the years and knows that I am not easily
impressed. With that being said, I can honestly say that I was totally
blown away with what was shown to me and demonstrated on me in both the
UK and Cyprus. As a result, I have really had to re-evaluate where I was
in the martial arts and what I thought I could do. It was, truly, an eye
opening experience for me.
For quite some time now, folks have been trying to explain to me how it
is that they do the wave form punch via email. Obviously, that forum
does not lend itself to that type of explanation very well. However,
being there first hand and having Pete deliver several to me through
about 4" of etherfoam was enlightening beyond words! I have to say,
honestly, that Pete has one of the hardest punches I have ever been on
the receiving end of. That includes everyone that I am training with and
everyone that I have trained with. And when I say everyone, that does
mean EVERYONE! And the sad part is that Pete never got to about 100%
power. Once he got to about 60% or 70%, that was about all that I could
take.
And while on the topic of waves, I would be remiss if I did not mention
Russell's elbow. My God! Talk about being able to generate power and
pain through the wave! I don't think Russell got even close to 100%
power through the etherfoam, but at any rate...it was the most powerful
that I have ever felt...from anyone in any organization...no matter what
they have to say about the wave.
Last comment on the wave is this...I have never seen it done the way
that it was shown to me in the UK/Cyprus. By anyone. I know that there
are those on this side of the pond that have seen it broken down this
way, but rest assured that no one here is doing it that way or are they
capable of generating the kind of power that I have seen. Again, when I
say "no one", I mean exactly that. Read between the lines all you
like...I mean NO ONE. And I should also include that after I saw what I
did and felt what I did, I completely dropped any idea I had on teaching
on the wave right them and there. On this topic, I am the beginner and
it is back to these newly learned basics for me! No ego involved there
at all. I could not touch what was being shown to me on this topic at
all and I thank all of those who were willing to get me on the road to
"doing it right".
Next comes the topic of BAR or Body Alarm Reaction. AS was the case with
the wave, I have had several folks trying to tell me about "putting BAR
into someone" via email. And again, that forum did not lend itself to
describing it very well. I can assure you that after donning some
headgear and letting Russell having a go with it, I know exactly what he
means and what it feels like to have BAR put into you. Of that, there is
no longer any doubt! Nowadays, you hear about lots of groups and
individuals talking about BAR and putting out products on BAR. Man, are
they only getting parts of it right. So far, as far as I am concerned,
they are only scratching the surface on the topic as they are only
dealing with effect that it has on you in a fight and NOT how to turn
the tables on the attacker concerning BAR. The idea of "putting BAR into
the attacker" as Russell and the OCFM lot have developed is light years
beyond that and is a total fight stopper when applied correctly. I have
first hand experience on that and would dare anyone to argue the point.
And I again have to point out that this has been shown to folks over
here on this side of the pond. While I have no idea as to why Russell
and group were told not to teach it, I can assure you that no one here
is doing it that way. Why, I cannot say, maybe it might be seen as "too
violent" for the seminar circuit. I don't know. But I do know first hand
that it is damned effective and should be taught as the OCFM is doing.
The next topic that I have to deal with is balance points. My God! So
utterly simple it is totally profound! Really, I was just dumbstruck (or
should I say gobsmacked) at the entire concept. In a matter of just a
few minutes, my entire thought process with regards to my Taijiquan push
hands was completely changed...if you think I am embellishing this at
all, just ask Russell or Pete. I just could not believe how something
that simple was put to work and felt totally stupid as I had never
picked up on it. And, as what you might be noticing by now is a bit of a
trend in this message, no one over here is using that information and I
know that they have been exposed to it. Don't ask me to explain it, I
just know that it is so.
The last thing that I really wanted to comment on was the range at which
the OCFM is doing their self-defense work. As Russell emphasized over
the course of the week, do not let it become a fight. End it as soon as
it starts and don't let it be a fight. Now, Russell and I (as well as
several other members of the OCFM) spent years learning and attempting
to master another system or way in regards to this. In an effort to
reduce the possibility of a flame war, I'll leave out names or
initials...but most of you know who or what I am talking about. While
this work could be made to be effective, this was all done at a distance
(maai) that would allow the situation to escalate to a
fight...especially if what you tried was not initially effective. Not a
good thing. The range Russell was demonstrating is uncomfortable to be
in when you are not use to it. But I have to fully and freely admit that
it all made sense and it all worked. And it certainly gave me a ton more
to work on here. Again, believe me when I say that this is not being
taught in this way or manner over here, even though it has been shown.
OK....that basically covers the "technical" side of the trip in a very
short version...included now are some other thoughts and comments about
the trip.
Primarily, Russell and Anthony had me in the ring working with the
original three folks who were there to test for their Apprentice
Instructor certifications (Richard, Hayden and Steve). I appreciate the
both of them letting me do that and also be a part of the testing
process. I got to be uke for each of them as they presented their
techniques that they needed to develop and then explain at various
different levels. That was alot of fun for me as I got to learn alot
about their thought process and I also got to participate in giving each
of them feedback on the techniques as a part of the testing procedure.
Hopefully, the comments of constructive criticism that was offered was
of some help to them. Overall, I was impressed with their skill and
ability and am glad to see that they passed their grading and now hold
that certification.
In addition, Anthony and John Burke were kind enough to allow me to sit
in as a part of the testing board as one of John's students tested for
his Shodan in Shotokan. Isn't Anthony quite impressive when he comes out
with that "Mr. Renshi" voice?!? <grin!> Anyway, it was great to be able
to participate and offer up comments concerning the testing. I must say
that I was impressed with the skill level displayed by someone of such a
young age and some of the responses to questions asked by Anthony were
classic! John Burke should be congratulated for training his people so
well.
Anthony and Russell were also kind enough to let me teach some bits and
pieces during the course of the week in Cyprus and the information on
the fire walk qigong seemed to have gone over rather well with just
about everyone that commented on it. I hope that everyone enjoyed it and
was able to feel and benefit from it. Of course, there had to be one
person that decided to go after it a bit longer than recommended and
that was Matt. He ended up doing the exercise for like 45 minutes. I was
anxious to see how his dreams would be after doing that...but
unfortunately, he spent the rest of the evening/night staring at the
ceiling listening to young Mike snore! But at least he saw the point.
Also, Steve Scales topped that back in the UK after I demoed it for
him in the UK and I believe he got a really big response from it. Also,
the parts of the Soaring Crane qigong that I showed seemed to help lots
of folks get rid of the negative energy and get things balanced back out
as well as the part of the 5 Element qigong that I showed. Hopefully,
folks will add those pieces to their training in the future and maybe,
if there is enough interest, Anthony and Russell would give some
consideration to coming up with a standard qigong training for the OCFM.
From the feedback that I got, there certainly seems to be enough
interest there to explore that as an option in the future. And I also
hope that the principle based work I did off of "brush/grab" got some
folks to thinking and will have them revisit the idea of principle based
training over technique based training.
OK...last comment to finish out this long message....
I have toned things down a bit in an effort to reduce the chance that a
real flame war would break out. However, I do not think I would be doing
this post justice if I did not include the following comments no matter
who it pisses off. With that being said....
I have been a part of training with individuals and organizations in the
past that evolved into basically staying within a certain comfort zone
and never getting out of it. I do not mean that as a statement to be
derogatory towards those still there. I include myself firmly within the
group of maintaining that comfort level. And it is an easy trap to fall
into. When you only meet up with the head of your system once or twice a
year and all of your training really revolves around doing or
participating in seminars with those of a skill level far below your
own, it is easy to never motivate yourself out of that comfort zone. I
just want all OCFM folks to know that this is not the case with your
instructors. Again, I was absolutely and totally blown away with what I
was shown and what I had demonstrated on me. No one, and I do mean no
one outside of the OCFM has made these strides and is teaching this
information at the level that I was shown. I don't care if they have
been exposed to it or not...it just has not been done....unless they are
keeping it all at the instructor level and "secret". And I really doubt
that is being done based off of comments that I have seen on the
internet. And you folks in the OCFM should know that and keep that in
mind as you move forward. My hat is off to you all.
As a very last comment, I really want to thank everyone for allowing me
to participate and make me hungry in the martial arts again. I realize
now that I have alot of material to work on and understand and I look
forward to the challenge and showing you all what has been accomplished
at Cyprus 2005. Mostly, I thank you for the friendship and openness that
was given to me. I feel that I have made alot of new friends and some of
these new friendships will blossom in wonderful ways.
I look forward to discussing any of these comments with whomever would
like to either in private or on this forum.
My thanks again to all that were involved with a great experience for
me!
OCFM Camp Cyprus 2005 - My Journey Inside the Box
This is a report from the OCFM November Training Camp held annually in
Cyprus. Written by Gavin King www.gosokempo.com who had up till this
point never trained with the OCFM Team. Gav has 4 years experience as a
Doorman and is a highly rated Kempo Karate practitioner. This is an
unedited straight from the heart write up.
 It was a pleasure to have
Gavin and people like him on this Training Camp. It is this kind of
story that makes it all worthwhile.
I would like to take this opportunity to say a big thank you to all that
attended and also to my fellow OCFM Team Members, Jon Ryley, Steve
Kelly, Herol Graham and Tony Bailey for their great help and Instruction
over the week. Thanks guys! Russell Stutely
Tony Bailey & Russell Stutely Day 1 - 13th November It was 6.30am and I was
waiting patiently by the front door for my lift to the airport. After
the hundredth check of my passport, traveller’s cheques and training bag
I was as happy that I hadn’t forgotten anything and finally ready for
one of my students Mark who was giving me a lift to the airport. Ten
minutes later, Mark must be running late, did I pack the charger for my
laptop? Twenty minutes later and its 7.00am and still no Mark! Rather
agitated I decided to drive myself. One stroppy answerphone message
later and I’m in my car whizzing through the empty morning streets
trying to make up the lost time. My phone rings with a sleepy and
extremely apologetic Mark on the other end, “Sorry Gav, overslept mate!
Bring you’re car round mine I’ll get you to the airport on time!” True
to his word we arrived at the airport on time and all I needed now was
my tickets and I’ll be happily on my way to Cyprus. I went to the
service desk only to find out that my tickets were no where to be seen!
It was also at this point that I found out that there is a difference
between a Tour operator and a Travel Agent, I knew the name of the
Travel Agent I booked through but I didn’t have the foggiest who the
Tour Operator was, an essential piece of information according to the
Lady behind the desk. Panic was starting to set in and I wandered the
airport desperately trying to find anyone who might be able to help me.
Out of the corner of my eye I noticed a guy wearing a Mind Body and Kick
Ass Moves (MBKAM) T-Shirt, my hero! The wearer of the T-Shirt turned out
to be one of Tony Pillage’s students Mark accompanied by his colleague
Chris. Long story short, the airline managed to issue me with some new
tickets and I managed to sit down and have a much needed beer with my
two new friends.
Unlike the events prior to the setting off, the flight was thankfully a
painless affair. During the flight it actually dawned on me what I was
actually doing, spending a week with complete strangers, some of whom
are considered to be amongst the finest Martial Artists in the world. I
felt like the little country mouse making his first journey into the big
city. Surprisingly I found the whole notion rather taunting, but I was
on the plane now so turning back was not an option. After a half hour
minibus journey from the airport we arrived at the hotel at about
6.40pm. I was checking in when I heard the words “Is that Gav King!” and
turned to see a rather tall and scary looking guy coming over to me arms
out stretched, first contact with the legendary Tony Pillage had been
made! Tony took me over to the bar to meet Russell, “Hi Gav, nice to
meet you! Now take your bags up to your room and get back down here!
We’re on a schedule and leaving at 7!” This wasn’t exactly the reception
I was expecting and barely had enough time to put on my new MBKAM
T-Shirt before being whisked off to what would be a regular feature for
the week, the Step Inn, a bar in Limassol, Cyprus. After a few beers I
made the mistake of asking Russell to show me a few bits and pieces, I
can honestly say that I never knew the level of pain that a simply wrist
lock could generate!
Later in the evening I again made the mistake of asking a few
questions and was passed around the OCFM coaches like a new play toy. At
one point in the proceedings I was actually in so much pain I was in so
much pain I was on the floor hugging Russell’s ankles. Once I got on my
feet again Russell just looked at me told me that none of them had used
more than 1% of what they could do, any doubts I had about these guys
abilities were left firmly on the floor of the Step Inn!
Day 2 - 14th November Whilst most of the guys were nursing
hangovers, I was tending to what felt like a broken wrist. Being abused
with so little effort by the OCFM Coaches was frightening and the pain
in my wrist was a reminder of the reason why I was there. I brought some
Ibuprofen from the local chemist. Whilst sloshing back the water it
dawned on me “If I’m having to take pain killers before the course has
even started, what am I going to be like at the end of the week?” The
 first session of the week was taken by Tony Bailey who took us through
some basic guards and holds on the floor. I can honestly say that ground
fighting has never really appealed to me, just doesn’t float my boat.
This was until I was taught by Tony, the skill and finesse with which he
demonstrated is breathtaking. Over the session he talked us step by step
how to manoeuvre from one hold to the next, pointing out common pitfalls
and explaining how to avoid them. At the end of the session we had a
roll round trying to apply principles and techniques Tony had covered.
In the space of two hours with Tony I found a new appreciation of how
complicated and skilful grappling actually is!
After lunch we were back in the gym for a session with legendary boxer
Herol “Bomber” Graham. Before coming out to Cyprus I’d decided that I
was going to volunteer for everything. I wanted to push myself to the
absolute limits of endurance and skill, even with this in mind I was
absolutely petrified of stepping into the ring with Herol. Not long into
the session Herol announced the sparring the motioned for me to step
into the ring with him. “Hit me!” he said as he offered his upper arm to
me. I flicked a jab out on to his arm. “Hit me hard!” as I flicked out
another jab, “Hit me like you mean it! Come on!” The hardest jab I could
muster simply bounced of his arm. “I said HIT ME! One Two, come on HIT
ME!” he kept on saying as my blows just felt dead and lifeless on his
arms. “Hit through the target! Like this!” he said as he delivered a
light jab to my shoulder that knocked me back 3 feet. Over the course of
five minutes I threw everything I had at Herol which was simply absorbed
by his guard. My futile pummelling of his guard was punctuated only by
the occasional body shot which drained my reserves even faster. I left
the ring absolutely exhausted and completely awestruck; I had just
witnessed first hand a small portion of what had made Herol such a
legend.
I had hardly had a chance to take in some water when Russell shouted
over to me, “Come on Gav!” Into the breach once more, I’ll admit to
really trying to give it to Russell. I figured this would be an ideal
chance to reap some revenge for the pain he’d inflicted the previous
night, a plain that was unfortunately hampered by the fact that Russell
is also great boxer! Suffice to say the only thing I succeeded in
hitting hard was the ground with exhaustion, aided by a couple of
Russell’s body shots.
After the sparring everyone was spent and broke
off into little groups and discussed the days training. Tony Pillage
walked over with an Ethafoam pad and said he’d show me a Wave form. I’ve
seen them on Russell’s DVD, but had yet to feel them first hand, all I
can say is “Wow!” Tony’s elbows shot through the pad like a bullet, now
this was the stuff that I came over to learn! Thinking the session was
over I was packing my gear into my bag when Russell came over with a pad
and asked if I’d felt a Wave Form yet. I managed to half answer the
question as Russell stuck the pad on my chest and told me how he wanted
me to hold it. Now Tony’s elbows were hard, but Russell’s were like
being hit by a car. Even more impressive than the awesome power he
generated was the complete lack of effort with which he deliver it. I
instantly became a true Wave Form believer!
The evening session was taken by Herol again. Unlike the afternoon
session Herol broke everything down and started showing us the science
behind his art. I can honestly say that I’ve been hitting the pads for a
fair few years now but five minutes with Herol took 18 years of work
straight back to the drawing board. Funny as it sounds Herol actually
had me singing while hitting the pads because I wasn’t relaxing enough.
Not being known for my singing voice I tend to avoid its practice like
the plague, however having the Bomber offering you a choice between
being knocked out or singing I took the latter. In the afternoon session
I found out why Herol was a world class boxer, the evening session
showed him to be nothing short of a coaching genius. Such an easy going
friendly manner, backed up by years of hard earned experience made for
what will go down as one of the highlights of the week. Over dinner
the learning didn’t stop, I think we covered every subject from power
generation to nutrition. All worries about not fitting in had completely
evaporated; I was beginning to feel truly at home amongst like minded
Martial Artists. The only difficulty I was having was taking in all of
the information that I was receiving, it was like being a spoilt kid in
a Martial Arts sweety shop!
Day 3 – 15th November The morning session opened with Wave
Forms. After feeling the power generated using Wave Forms the previous
day I was anxious to begin and start learning the science behind them.
First off Russell choose to go through head butts using Wave Forms
much to the dismay of those who’d spent to long down the Step Inn the
previous night! Being the new OFCM chew toy Russell pulled me out to
demonstrate a Wave Form head butt. When Russell was demonstrating slowly
it looked like such a pleasant little movement, just roll in with your
head. Imagine my utter shock as I saw my feet pass over my head as I was
sent rolling backwards out of the gym! Awesome, utterly awesome. I leapt
to my feet, paired up and started to practice. Despite the initial
simplicity of the movement I soon found out that there is actually a
great deal of finesse to the technique. After a couple of tries I was
having moderate success, but I think that it will take a lot of practice
to reach anywhere near the level of power Russell was generating.
After the head butts we moved on the Elbows. Russell explained that you
should be able to simply walk up to someone and deliver power. “Just
walk through it!” became the mantra for the session,
“Do you normally walk with your arse sticking out Gav?” asked Russell.
“Well, no!”
“Then don’t stick your arse out then!” Oh how simple those little Wave
Form elbows look, yet they are tricky little buggers to get the hang of
and you can safely say that I just wasn’t getting it. I’ll probably go
down in OCFM history as the worst waver ever! Jon Ryley, one of
Russell’s Coaches, then demonstrated how to utilise Wave Forms within
parrying and trapping. I found this part extremely useful as it slotted
in perfectly with the hand and body movements I utilise in my native
Kempo. After the trapping and parrying Jon went onto explain the
“Figure 8” principle. To demonstrate this Jon simply grabbed a handful
of flesh from my face and moved his hand in a figure 8 style motion. My
face literally felt like it was on fire! Like many of the principles
already covered Jons figure 8 motions are so simple its ridiculous, yet
the pain they yield is almost unbearable. While the rest broke off for
lunch I stuck around to practice the Wave Form elbows again. Half an
hour later they were still awful so I admitted defeat and had some
lunch. Sitting in the café opposite the hotel my mind was still buzzing
and frustrated that I couldn’t master this simple movement. I wolfed
down my lunch and headed straight back to the gym. This is where I met
Marco, one of Russell’s students over in Cyprus and a man I’m sure
you’ll be hearing a lot more about on the MMA scene in the near future.
Marco saw that I struggling with the Wave Forms and kindly gave me a few
pointers. This man has the patient of a saint, if there a mistake to be
made I found it. Hips and elbow at the same time, learning forwards,
leaving the foot back, you name and I done it.
Again I admitted defeat and asked Marco if he wanted to practice some
groundwork. I quickly realised that I was well and truly in his
backyard, and he kindly took the time to give me some insights into life
on the matt. As is becoming a recurring theme with this course I
received far more information than I could possibly take in. Macro could
literally have tied me in a knot, yet showed remarkable control. As cool
as all this was I quickly realised that I spent the best part of the
three hour break rolling round on the floor and elbowing the bag. By the
time the afternoon session came round I was ready to turn it in for day!
During the afternoon session we covered a huge amount of combat
applications with Steve Kelly and Jon Ryley. This was my first time
seeing Steve in action, outside of the beatings I’ve seen him take on
Russell’s DVD’s. Under his easy going and mellow exterior lays a man who
is extremely capable of dishing out pain as well as receiving it.
Between Jon and Steve covered a huge array parries, strikes, face bars
and chokes, most of which were demonstrated on my good self. I’m a firm
believer in need to feel the results of a technique in order to be able
to understand it, and Jon and Steve definitely gave me ample
opportunities to “feel” the techniques.
I think Jon’s whole approach can be summed up with a direct quote from
the man himself, “In hard and fast, out clean and smiling!” He does
indeed go in fast and extremely hard. This session basically involved
pain and lots of it. As much I was enjoying all the information my body
was telling me it was time to call it a day, this was the hardest days
training so far!
 Gav's
leg.... one week AFTER the Training Camp... following one waveform kick
through an ethafoam pad..... Sorry about that Gav... Russell:) Day
4 – 16th November I awoke feeling like I’d been hit by a car; my
body was really beginning to feel the toll of the intensive training.
After a futile attempt to loosen myself up in a boiling hot bath I
hobbled down to the gym. Skipping with Herol, exactly what the doctor
didn’t order! The session started with me clumsily tripping over the
rope, but I soon started to pick up the rhythm and find my feet with it.
Next Herol had us try to do two rotations of the rope to every jump we
did, a lot easier than it sounds. This is the point where I discovered
exactly how painful a skipping rope can be when it hits a bare toe.
Ouch! Herol then showed us swinging the rope out to the side, running on
the spot, jumping to the four points of the compass and other drills to
improve coordination and timing. By this point I was feeling as
coordinated as a drunk gorilla, Herol’s answer to this? Skipping
backwards! Now if I thought skipping forwards was hard, it was a lazy
stroll in the park compared to skipping backwards. “Once you can do it
backwards, everything else is easy!” explained Herol, a point I’m going
to have to take his word on not being able to skip in either direction.
When I looked up at the clock I realised that we’d been skipping for
well over an hour, how time flies when you’re having fun! Herol
finished covering the previous session’s points in finer detail and
again showed his deep understanding of his art. Another truly wonderful
session.
After lunch we were back in the hands of Jon Ryley and Steve Kelly, two
guys I’m beginning to associate with pain. Like with Herol, Steve and
Jon covered similar techniques to yesterday’s session yet this time they
introduced “Players to the Game”. “Players” are specific isolated
principles that are added to a technique to enhance it, basically
meaning they make it hurt even more. Combining just one or two “Players”
makes a technique completely unbearable, I was shocked to find out that
there are actually 97! If all of these were brought into play I was left
in no doubts that I’d be dead. Steve then introduced me to Ragging or
the “Sweeping the floor”. To demonstrate he applied a rear choke on me
and then told me to hold on to his arms to stop the choke going on,
explaining that it simply too dangerous to do without doing it safely.
When I had hold Steve’s arm he proceeded to shake me from left to right
like a rag doll down to the floor. If I had a duster stuck to my
posterior he could have used me to polish the floor with. Steve has
applied a couple of chokes on me over the course of the week, but just
using this simply addition increased the severity by a factor of about
ten. If I hadn’t held onto his hand I seriously think that I would have
been badly injured. Absolutely frightening!
Jon then covered adding Wave forms into our parries and traps in greater
detail. He also introduced me to the Wave Form slap and this is
something that I assure you that you don’t want to be the receiving end
of. Towards the end of the session I was beginning to feel a bit
groggy from a couple of hard shots I’d taken over the course of the
session. Jon then demonstrated a simple jab attacking along the stomach
meridian of the face, this shot nearly dropped me. I think that this was
the shot that just pushed me over the edge, my entire head just felt
foggy. After a minute or two of sitting down I was really beginning to
feel quite sick, I asked Jon if I could duck out to the toilet. He sent
one of his guys along to keep an eye on me. Luckily I didn’t vomit, but
still felt extremely groggy so I asked Jon if there was anything he
could recommend. He spun me round and started to manipulate a couple of
points on the back of my neck and within fifteen minutes or so I started
to feel a lot better.
At the end of this I day I will admit to feeling very dejected.
Throughout the entire week I’ve tried to put myself in the firing line.
Over my Martial Arts career I’ve take my fair share of knocks and
consider myself to have pretty high tolerance for pain, but once the
“Players” were applied the pain levels just shot completely through the
roof. What made it even harder was the fact the power levels were being
kept around the 1 to 3% level. I started having serious doubts as to
whether I’d had what it took to actually pursue studying OCFM; I really
reached the point where I just couldn’t take anymore pain. The evening
did little to appease my sense of failure and desire to give the whole
thing up, so I pulled Russell aside and discussed it with him over a
pint. “Russ, I just don’t think I can take anymore pain. Once the
Players were introduced, it just went beyond my threshold!” I said
disappointedly.
Russell gave a little grin and just said, “No one can, that’s why we do
it!”
I just smiled and it confirmed why I was here. I felt reassured that I
wasn’t just a wuss and finished my pint ready for the next days
training!
Day 5 – 17th November My body is aching in ways I never
dreamed possibly, I’m having trouble finding a part that hasn’t been
systematically been battered, twisted and pushed in ways it most
definitely doesn’t appreciate.
Tony Bailey started the session covering break falls and a few basic
rolls. It has been quite some since I last practiced my break falls so I
was a little rusty, but by the time we moved into the throws I’d shook
off the cobwebs. Throwing has never been a particularly strong area for
me, but Tony’s simple and concise teaching style soon had me flipping my
fellow my training partner over with relative ease.
Tony finished the session with some free play work. Russell’s student
Marco was training and knowing his MMA background I asked him if he’d
mind pairing up with me. Our first exercise was simply required us to
enter a standing clinch and try to get our opponent onto the floor. I
was actually pretty happy with the fact that Marco only managed to put
me on the matt once. Admittedly I didn’t come close to downing him, but
accounting for the weight and strength advantage he had over me I was
fairly happy with my performance.
The last little exercise saw me sitting back to back on the matt with
Marco and then having us try to pin each other. This was when Marco’s
experience and strength was brought to bare. He managed to pin me within
about 10 seconds. I lasted a little longer the second time, but still
succumbed to the same fate fairly easily. As mentioned previously I
haven’t really done a lot of ground work but loved the physical side of
it, but I’ve always been rather partial to a bit of rough and tumble and
thoroughly enjoyed getting stuck in on the floor! After lunch the
session began with Herol taking a brief skipping session followed with
some shadow boxing. Before coming on the course I considered myself to
have quite a good level of stamina, yet after only a few sessions with
Herol I’m beginning to realise how much fitter I could be. Herol went to
explain that stamina is the fuel that powers us during a fight, without
it we’ll quickly run out of stream. When I return home skipping is going
to become a permanent addition to my training regime. The rest of the
session was spent with Jon and Steve continuing to reinforce the
principles from their previous sessions. What started to dawn on me is
how the same theme was beginning to crop up again and again. The same
principles Tony was using with the grappling also applied to the stand
up stuff covered by Steve. A lot of the nasty little “Players” that Jon
covered on our feet was equally effective when used on the matt.
Jon covered some more flow work covering how to move from one hold to
the next, causing as much damage and pain on the way through. Again this
slotted in perfectly with Tony’s groundwork. To finish the session
Russell showed me how to “pulse” off of walls. It’s quite a hard
technique to describe in writing but basically involves you bouncing off
a wall. If done correctly you can actually surge great deal of force
back into an opponent. It is also great for firing you up and getting
the adrenaline pumping. After training a couple of us were standing
around chatting with Russell. He was explaining that everything they do
is principle based. Once you understand the principles they can then be
applied to everything you do. Wave Forms for example can be applied to
everything you do from locks to punches; it’s just a case of
understanding the principle in the first place.
I’ve spent a lot of time looking outside of my own system to try and
find answers to a lot of the questions I want answers too, Aikido, Wing
Chun, Boxing, Tai Chi, you name it I’ve either read about it or trained
at it. This weeks training is beginning to highlight the fact that I’ve
been looking in all the wrong places for the answers. I’ve been
collecting a huge range of different techniques without really
understanding the universal principle that make them all work. Russell
and the rest of the OCFM have looked inside the box to find out exactly
what make the movements work. Principle based Martial Arts – the penny
is starting to drop!
Day 6 – 18th November This morning’s session was taken by
Tony Bailey who took us through some of the more traditional Kihon’s or
basics from his Jujitsu grading syllabus. These are simple drills that
help the student explore the fundamentals of the system. Tony first
presented the Kihon’s in their most basic form and then gradually
walking them through in more detail, showing where different principles
could be used to “enhance” the technique!
My training partner for the session was one of our young ASBO’s (a term
affectionately used to describe a few of the young tearaways on the
course and one I fear will stick for the rest of their Martial careers!)
18 year old David. Dave is one of Tony’s Jujitsu students and despite
only having 6 months experience is an already a very talented young
Martial Artist. My 3 stone weight advantage meant nothing to him as he
tossed me effortless over his hip, demonstrating that technique and form
are essential. I’m indebted to him for taking the time to walk me
through the basics from his grading syllabus. Good luck with the grading
Dave! The main thing I took away from this session was the principle
of “Complex Torque”, which involves rotating a joint or disrupting the
posture by moving it in multiple planes of movement at the same time.
For example when applying a wrist lock instead of just rotating the
wrist in a horizontal circular motion, you also use a vertical circular
motion combined with a sharp downward turn. This adds multiple points of
stress to the joint which increases the pain levels dramatically. Again
with as with most of topics covered on the course it was simply a minor
adjustment to principles I already understood, yet although a small
adjustment the effectiveness sores through the roof. The afternoon
session was taken by Russell and was one that I really didn’t know what
to expect from. Russell had told me some months back via email that this
session would be what he called the “Freaky Friday” session, and as I’m
beginning to associate Russell with pain I wasn’t really too sure what
to expect other than pain.
We started the session off by using Wave Forms to pull each other off
balance via a grab to the wrist and a quick whip. The best way to
describe the feeling is to think of the effect of whiplash. Russell went
on to show the Wave Form whipping action in multiple directions leaving
the poor guy on the receiving being flung round like a rag doll. Now
the Wave Form whipping motion was all fine and dandy but it wasn’t
exactly freaky, so I was beginning to feel that Russell may have hyped
this up a bit. Little did I know that he was just warming up. In a
change of theme from the rest of the week Steve Kelly was used for the
demonstration and for a brief moment I thought I’d been demoted from my
new position as Russell’s favourite chew toy, however once I saw what
happened to poor old Steve in the demonstration I was glad to be in the
audience. Russell explained that he was going to “Inject poison” into
Steve. He then proceeded to, what looked to be fairly softly, tap Steve
on the chest. Steve let out a huge “Ooof” as he hit the ground curled up
in pain on. I was willing to admit that was a bit weird. After the
“poison” came a simple push, again demonstrated on Steve. They both
stood in the ring with Russell standing side on to Steve. Russell went
slowly through what he was going to do, “I’m just turning, giving a
little push and saying Go Away!” and in absolute honesty that is all he
did. When Russell actually pushed Steve was sent flying across the ring
and ended up splayed out on the ropes groaning. All that from a simple
push? Ok, this is starting to get a bit freaky now. I tried and managed
a few semi-decent attempts, but nothing to level of sending people
flying across the room. From that point on the session went even
weirder as Russell and the other OCFM coaches began to play around with
intent and visualisations, which involved spikes, spirals, hot lava and
even humming. I’m kind of a loss on how to put some of the session down
in writing, suffice to say it was definitely a “Freaky Friday” session!
Open Circle Fighting Method - European Training Camp - Cypru 15th –
22nd February 2004 Short Review of the Week During this week of
training it was my intention to push everyone to their limits and
beyond. Not in a painful way, but in terms of physical exercise, mental
toughness, will power etc.
Also, it was my intention to give out as much information as possible in
order for the attendees to have loads of "take home" value from the
course. I hope that was achieved! Being as many of the attendees have
not trained with me before or not trained with me for some time, myself
and Anthony Blades decided that I would do most of the teaching. It gave
Anthony a rest from doing all the teaching in the UK:-)
 The OCFM
European Convention Attendees
 06.30
after a run, some of us having some fun in the Boxing ring. Mal Griffin,
Me, Brian Whatford and my great training partner in the mornings, Costas
Vlachos. Big guy in red
 My old
mate Peter Holmes in the middle of delivering a "light" throw to Steve
"horrible" Kelly. Steve has been a great mate and training partner of
ours for a good number of years now. Bless him , he still talks to us:-)
 Me and Mal
having a laugh
 Me and
Pete waffling about something again.
Monday
Started with a brief run, circuit training and a bit of Boxing
sparring for those that wanted to. 06.30 to 07.30. Well done to those
that made the first session. Big no no to those that did not get up.
Training then started at 09.00 to 12.30. The emphasis was on movement
and waveforms. Also, I introduced Michael Davis to BAR. Tuesday
09.00 start. More movement training, flow, transition etc. Some SD
techniques. Tuesday night quite a few came to my regular class, that was
fun:-) Wednesday Even less on the morning run! Upped the training,
people starting to flow much better Thursday Upped the training
again. Added more techniques and better flow. Everyone improving
rapidly. Attitude adjustment made where appropriate. Some people came to
my regular class on Thursday night. BAR and some "weird" stuff was shown
to the lucky few. My students, Rustam and Damir, will live off what they
achieved that night for years to come:-) Friday Even less on the
morning run!!! Upped the training, BAR etc was shown at the first 3
levels (there are many more to go). Again, fitness, conditioning and
flow was emphasised. Everyone moving much better. Tiredness from the
weeks training was becoming evident. Saturday Last day training.
Many were very tired and some were testing. A few were shown some "real
weird shit" and were shown how to do it too. Some great results.
Conclusion A massive thank you to all that attended. Just by turning
up, you showed that you are a cut above the rest. I hope that you
received the information that you wanted and that no questions were left
unanswered. Everyone moved much better by the end of the week and some
people improved tremendously. There were also a few people that I
believe will become fantastic. I do not like picking out names of people
who have done great or indeed not so great. But I feel that in the case
of this week, some people deserve a special mention for the way they
trained, conducted themselves, their attitude, lack of ego, humility,
ability and being a general all round good egg.
In no particular order: Steve Kelly, Alfredo Marano, Haydn Mann, Matt
Dawson, Daniel Thomas, Richard Peace, Hardeep, Chris Cuny, Brian
Whatford all really impressed me. I also will take this opportunity to
say a special thank you to my old training partner and great mate Peter
Holmes. Peter instructed for a while every day and trained at every
opportunity and helped so much. Peter is without doubt one of the most
gifted MA's I have ever had the pleasure to train with. His power
generation is second to none and his attitude and teaching ability is
right up there with the best in the World.
The OCI is indeed very fortunate to have the likes of Peter as a Guest
Instructor on courses. I only wish that Peter could find the time to
become even more involved with the OCI as he has so much to offer as one
of the Worlds leading Instructors in what we do.
It is rare in the MA to find someone like Peter that is completely
devoid of ego. He is just as happy teaching advanced Black Belts one
minute and helping with the kids class the next. What a guy! Michael
Davis came from the USA for this course and was an example of open
mindedness and willingness to learn and teach. Another guy with no ego.
This is what the MA is all about. I hope that Michael now has a better
understanding of all those stupid e-mails of mine:-) I will be running
another course in November 2004, all details to be confirmed in the next
few days. Please contact me privately for more information.
What you on about Alf?
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