Combat Company

Already known nationwide as the home of champions, including two time World Champion - Helena Martin, the Academy now boasts a coaching staff which includes Ninjitsu Master and BJJ Brown Belt - Simon Yeo and, most recently, British MMA star - Brad "one punch" Pickett.

Brad is one of the worlds top bantamweight MMA pros and has spent the last few years dominating his division in the WEC and has now preparing for his debut in the UFC's (Ultimate Fighting Championships) brand new bantamweight division!

Brad, who lives just down the road in Kingston, has quickly established himself as a much loved coach at the Richmond Academy, despite his relatively short time there.

"Although he has his own training to attend to (he will be fighting at the next UFC event to hit the UK in May), he has offered to advise and coach our students and even our other Instructors," - Academy Manager, David "Seraph" Jenkins.

Speaking to a representative from the British Kickboxing Council, Brad said "I like the set-up here; it's an awesome venue. There's a great mix of abilities and styles, and the coaches and students are all great guys and girls. I'm here to pass on my knowledge and I'm happy to help in any way I can."

Although he will be back and forth between coaching, cornering his friends at various events and, of course, doing his own training, Brad will be holding a three hour MMA Masterclass at the beginning of March. The seminar is open to non-members, but spaces are limited so book now!

Great news everyone!

A legendary 12th dan Ninjutsu Master and Brazillian Jiu Jitsu Brown Belt under BJJ Legend and MMA Superstar - Royce Gracie, Simon Yeo will now be teaching a weekly two hour masterclass in BJJ for all levels.

This class is available to all Adult members and we hope to add additional classes for Juniors very soon.

I might have to try my hand at the Ninjitsu as well!

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!

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

Last year our very own resident world champion and mixed martial arts coach Miss Helena martin travelled to Granite city, Chicago in USA to attend an intense training camp under UFC Legend Matt Hughes.

What followed was three months of gruelling training and drilling in the arts of boxing, Brazillian Jujitsu and wrestling.

Miss martin thouroughly enjoyed her time at the HIT Squad and makes frequent returns to the training camp even bringing over one of their most senior coaches to teach seminars within our academies!

Miss martin is available for personal tuition in MMA and sports specific conditioning by appointment only.