Combat Company

Congratulations to Helena Martin for her Silver Medal at the WKA World Championships last month! It was her first time fighting at this level in the Full-Contact and most spectators said they would have easily given her the win in the final if they had been the referees, after dominating her opponent across all three rounds.

Congratulations as well to one of our old Instructors who reached the final before having to go home for personal reasons. Still, a dominating overall performance that earned him another Silver medal.

There was also a double Gold performance from another former Instructor and student, Alex Kennedy. Now the WKA England Light Contact Coach, Mr. Kennedy has achieved his dream of getting a world title, with his powerful performance in the Men's Light Contact and his equaly impressive efforts as part of the Men's Points A Team. Rebecca Jennings, also a regular at the Academy, won Gold in the Ladies Light Contact again this year and there was impressive performances from the rest of the England, Scotland, Wales and N Ireland squads.

See the WKA Website for a full list of results.

.....but fortunately we made weight!

Daniel Lucas - 84.4kg

Wez Lucas - 75.8kg

George Tidmarsh - 63.5kg

Good luck guys and to anyone coming down to support them tomorrow night, see you there!

Also check out this link to read Matt Veach's interview with MMA Spot!

Congratulations to Karen and Tamsin who fought hard at the first annual BKC Nationals last Sunday, winning themselves a Silver and a Bronze respectively, and earning them both a place on the WKA Team England squad heading up to Scotland for the World Championships later this year!

The event was a huge success! Check out the photo gallery and video gallery for more and visit www.the-bkc.com for a full report!

On Saturday September 25th Dave Ryan will be hosting another of his fantastic "Only the Strong" events.

These events show case some of the best kickboxing the uk has to offer.

SOme of the top competitors around have fought on this prestigious show, some of which are at this very academy!

Richmond CIT programme members who have represented us on Only the Strong have always put a great performance in and we keep being asked back!

Helen Evans and Helen Bannan have both represented us twice and our chief instructor Wez Lucas has been a regular on the show for some time.

This time round its our resident MMA specialist and current WKA Worlds gold medalist Helena Martin defending her Only the Strong title.

This will be miss Martins third appearance on the show and is looking forward to it:

"I always look forward to competing and defending this title will bring me a little closer to where i want to be fightwise, i have been training hard and look forward to a great fight"

Tickets for the event are available from Richmonad martial arts directly.

0208 940 5577 to book yours now.

On September 26th, the British Kickboxing Council will be making history once more by hosting Britain's first ever OFFICIAL National Kickboxing Championships!

For the first time, all of the top organisations in Britian, as well as Sport England and UKSport, are coming together to organise and sanction an tournament as THE event to win. Finally we can give our athletes the national recognition they deserve for all of their years of training! We're even looking at getting the event televised!

With nearly 80 categories in Semi- and Light- Contact, Freestyle Forms and Traditional Forms, there's a section here for everyone from the absolute novice to seasoned veterans.

For more information and to pre-book your place in history, visit www.thebkcnationals.co.uk.

For more information on the BKC and the work it's doing to professionalise and grow this amazing sport, visit www.the-bkc.com.

Have fun in training and good luck to everyone at the event! I look forward to seeing you all there!

Kind regards,

David Jenkins

Senior Instructor - Richmond Martial Arts Academy

Senior PR Officer - British Kickboxing Council

Dear Members,

We are holding our next seminar on Saturday 1st May 2010, starting 12:00 – 13:30.

This seminar will be the Katana Sword, members will have the oppurtunity to learn techniques, blocks and enjoy drills attacking and blocking in a controlled environment. The seminar will cost £15 and will include a Wooden Bokken for members to keep and use in the future here at Richmond Martial Arts Academy.

The katana is a type of Japanese sword, also commonly referred to as a "samurai sword”. In the strictest sense, the term katana in Japanese is applied to any kind of single-edged sword, of any origin; contrary to common belief outside Japan, the Japanese word does not necessarily refer to a Japanese sword.

Acutely curved (as opposed to the older "tachi" style featuring more curvature) Japanese sword with a blade length of greater than 60 cm (23.6 inches).

The katana is characterized by its distinctive appearance: a curved, slender, single edged blade, circular or squared guard, and long grip to accommodate two hands. It has historically been associated with the samurai of feudal Japan, and has become renowned for its sharpness and cutting ability.

*Sword seminars are always very popular so if you are interested please ensure you speak to an instructor and reserve your space.

GB: Hi Wez thank you for taking the time out for this chat.

WL: No problem

GB: What made want to step up to semi pro?

WL: To be honest I have only fought amatuer once and hated it as generally you are not allowed to throw headshots at all, and being primarily a striker this takes away any chance I have of getting the KO and plays right into the grapplers hands.

GB: How did you feel after your fight?

WL: I was disappointed that I got submitted, but it was a good learning curve and highlighted just how much work my submission game needs!

I enjoy the larger shows and love competing so much win lose or draw I feel I can take a lot from most fights.

GB: Talk us through the bout

WL: We squared up, we clashed legs as we both went for leg kicks at the same time! (now I have the worlds largest bruise on my shin)

We worked into a clinch and we ended up in ground, he tried to take my back and I swept him into guard as I postured up for ground n pound he caught me in a really nice triangle and I couldn’t escape so I thought to myself well either a tap out or a hospital visit!

GB: you seemed to be in the triangle for sometime, what was going through your mind?

WL: well mainly “shit I cant see” but I was going through the escapes and such in my head but with the restriction of blood and oxygen quickly taking hold I couldn’t get my body to do what I wanted it to! I tried to punch my way out but that rarely works, caught a few nice shots though!

GB: What kind of preparation do you do for your fights?

WL: 3 times a week I do a 15 round circuit with my team, due to the nature of the fight I was working my ground but just not drilling enough basics to keep them fresh, I have been kickboxing for so long now It is second nature to me, Brazillian Jujitsu (BJJ)however is still a steep learning curve for me and for my next one I have committed to training 6 hours per week purly in BJJ and wrestling just to make sure I am moving those skills forward.

GB: So we may see some submission wins in the future?

WL: Maybe! I am still a striker at the core of it all. I would like to be able to dominate the floor better so I can focus on letting my hands and feet go with no fear of getting put on the floor!

GB: In you opinion what is the main difference between competing against a fighter who is a grappler and a fighter who is a striker?

WL: The main difference is that if I am fighting a striker generally if I make a mistake or miss time something and I get caught with a shot I might get rocked, but generally I can deal with it in a grapplers game if you make a mistake before you know it you are in a submission hold. There is no “brawling out” with ground work, 5mm makes all the difference in submission technique.

GB: Who do you train with at the moment?

WL: Well that is quite a list! For my kickboxing I train twice a week with my original coach Master Curtis Page ( of British Lau ) and Michael Page ( Team Top Ten ) the sessions I do with those guys is always tough I am pretty sure Master Pgae has some kind of diffculty switch he throws as no matter how fit I get I always find his sessions very demanding!

I also run Pro-Am prep sessions that run three times a week and I work with my team at the academy with occasional guest apprearances from top internationals which is great.

I work my BJJ with pro MMA fighter Dan Edwards he has a really strong all round game but his ground work is exceptional. I also work my wrestling skills with Helena martin (H.I.T. Squad) and Keith pavlick a former USA international division 1 wrestler there is no one in the uk who can touch his skill for pure wrestling.

I am very fortunate to be surrounded by some of the best guys in the country. I get to test myself against the likes of Ultimate challenge and K-1 fighter Galore Bofando, legengary ITF tae kwon do fighter turned K-1 pro Zakk Espi, 2 time world and british kickboxing champion Helena Martin who will be exploding onto the MMA scene this year after drilling over in USA with Matt Hughes and the H.I.T. Squad, not to mention my younger brother Dan Lucas who has always had a good stand up game and tight ground work, he has been invaluable in my training his knowledge far out weighs that of many.

GB: That is quite a list! Whats on the cards for Wez Lucas for2010?

WL: Well I have another MMA fight for Pro-Kumite in Croydon on april 10th. My opponent likes to stand up which I am looking forward to.

I want another crack at that Pro-Am title. I lost to the current champion Chris Dejelanii in December and have been itching to have another crack at him.

I am looking to fight as much as I can this year raise the profile of my team and keep turning out strong fighters.

As far as business goes we are opening an MMA collage at Richmond martial arts catering for those who wish to make a career out of MMA or just want to be able to compete. I would like to get more kids in the schools kickboxing side as it is a fantastic discipline and an amazing lifestyle. Other than that there are rumours floating about that I may make a high profile return to the music industry….watch this space!

GB: We certainly shall! Well thank you for your time Wez and good luck in your upcoming fights!

WL: Thank you

A big thank you and congratulations to everyone who took part in the last Inter-Academy event. The next one is THIS SUNDAY so we'll see you then!

Below is a list of all those whocame 1st, 2nd or 3rd, including which Academy they fought for and howmany points they earned their respective teams.

1 Mixed Under 8s

No Entries

2 Boys Semi Contact under 140cm

Harry Overall Epsom 3

James Harrison Epsom 2

Chris Harrison Epsom 1

Brandon King Epsom 1

3 Boys Semi Contact under 150cm

Stephen Kenny-Ayres Epsom 3

George Heath Epsom 2

James Tomassi Epsom 1

4 Boys Semi Contact over 150cm

Luke Coppinger Guildford 3

Michael Woodall Chorlton Black Belt Schools 2

Shaun Phillips Epsom 1

Rory Hughes Richmond 1

5 (A) Boys Light Continuous under 150cm

Chris Harrison Epsom 3

Reece Bromidge Panthers 2

5 (B) Boys Light Continuous under 150cm

George Heath Epsom 3

Louis Bromidge Panthers 2

5 (C) Boys Light Continuous under 150cm

Reece Bromidge Panthers 3

Shakiel Liburd Chorlton Black Belt Schools 2

6 Boys Light Continuous over 150cm

Luke Coppinger Guildford 3

George Noel Panthers 2

7 Girls under 135cm

Rachel Higgins Cobham 3

Maisie Carole Cobham 2

Alice Davies Epsom 1

Katie Harrison Epsom 1

8 Girls under 145cm

No entries

9 Girls Over 145cm

Emily Davies Epsom 3

Ellen Michael Epsom 2

Issie Carole Cobham 1

Emily Pascoe Guildford 1

10 Girls under 135cm

No Entries

11 Girls under 145cm

Demi Saddler Epsom 3

Katie Harrison Epsom 2

12 Girls Over 145cm

Megan Quick Panthers 3

Emily Davies Epsom 2

Issie Carrol Cobham 1

13 Women Semi Contact OPEN

Teressa Tomassi Epsom 3

Helena Martin Richmond 2

Anna Horsey Surbiton 1

Aurora Aurora Surbiton 1

14 Women Light Continuous Open

Rebecca Jennings Croydon 3

Helena Martin Richmond 2

Teressa Tomassi Epsom 1

Aurora Aurora Surbiton 1

15 Men’s Juniors (Orange Belt & Under)

John McDonnald Richmond 3

Stuart Knox Surbiton 2

Jenns Henderson Guildford 1

Jacob Henderson Guildford 1

16 Men’s Intermediate (Green Belt –Purple Belt)

Steven Elwood Epsom 3

David Jenkins Surbiton 2

Andy Carrol Cobham 1

Hussain Croydon 1

17 Men’s Seniors (Brown Belt & Black Belt)

Alex Campbell HQ 3

Alex Kennedy Guildford 2

Wez Lucas Richmond 1

Brian Kumm Croydon 1

18 Men’s Light Contiuous Under 75kg

Adam Naismith Croydon 3

Tyrone Demmer Guildford 2

Scott Fraser Richmond 1

Henning Hulk Richmond 1

19 Men’s Light Contiuous Under 85kg

Linville Taylor Croydon 3

Keefe Johnson Richmond 2

Brian Kumm Croydon 1

John Duggan Richmond 1

20 Men’s Light Contiuous Over 85kg

John McDonald Richmond 3

Andy Bolton Richmond 2

Jordan Henderson Richmond 1

Mark Davis Epsom 1

21 Under 16s Musical Open hand

James Harrison Epsom 3

Naomi Norris Epsom 2

Alice Davies Epsom 1

22 Under 16s Musical Weapons

Ellen Michael Epsom 3

Stephen Kenny-Ayres Epsom 2

POSITION CLUB NAME POINTS

1ST Epsom 53

2ND Richmond 20

3RD Guildford 13

4TH Panthers 12

5TH Croyden 11

6TH Cobham 8

7TH Surbiton 7

8TH Chorlton Black Belt Schools 4

9TH HQ 3