LEEDS CAGE

Purchase tickets now for collection on the door.

 SATURDAY 6TH MARCH, 2010

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO COMPETE ON THIS OR THE NEXT SHOW

What does that mean?

l was recently approached by Minnow Films Ltd, who had been given a commission to produce a documentary for the BBC about the phenomen that is Mixed Martial Arts - primarily the Female aspect of the sport. This is the first sport that really reflects both sexes.

Generally speaking most sports that feature men and women, the women are the underclass (not my opinion!), they exist but hardly anyone takes any notice, if you doubt me look at football.

Martial arts for a number of years have promenantly featured women, the supposedly macho fighting arts is the one that has opened the doors first for females, but no matter how big the fight scene in this country has been for the last 30years we, as a sport, are generally ignored by the media unless something negative occurs.

Mixed Martial Arts has changed all that, in the space of 15years, it has grabbed mainstream attention and primetime television time.

In my initial interview with the films makers, we discussed things and l drew to his attention that MMA fighters did not just appear, they were drawn from other martial styles and sports. That was the original idea, each style testing themselves in an unforgiving enviroment to see which was the best. Initially jujitsu proved the most successful, but to be fair the odds were maybe stacked in their favour. We discussed the many different styles of martial arts. They had no idea about fighting sports and styles and was amazed at how diverse the martial arts world is.

"Where do these men and women come from?" was the constant question and "Why do they seek to enter the Cage?"

This was my reply;

"There are instructors all over the country, in fact all over the world. They hold jobs down and teach in their spare time, some full time, some have their own premises, some are teaching out of rented halls. They work with ordinary people who seek to get fit and learn self defence, but it has always been the nature that people want to test their skills, so they start entering novice tournaments maybe doing points fighting, then they get a little more curious and take a light contact match and they may appear on a few fight nights where they get exposed to Full contact kickboxing or Muay Thai and they think "l wonder if l can do that?", so before long they are training for their first Full Contact Fight. This is when they start to really bond with their coach.  The coach will be organising more intensive training and one on one coaching, because he has probably been there himself and knows its a serious game - a dangerous game.... if you are not properly prepared.

The first full contact fight leads to the next and so on but the nature of a fighter is that he or she looks for challenges, better opponents and now a different enviroment is on offer inside the Cage. Somewhere you can punch, high kick, low kick, knee, elbow, throw, wrestle and groundfight.

We have gone full circle. We have returned to ancient Greece the Olympiads that featured Pancration, but it is a much safer than then, nontheless the fighter owes his skills to that Grass Roots instructor/coach who turns up on a daily basis to teach at all levels for all people, the man or woman who gives up their Sundays to support and develop their fighters.

Well that was my answer taken from a Kickboxer freestyle background. other people may approach it from a different style/art. My answer was not enough, the guys a perfectionist, he wanted to see a Grass roots tournament, so l agreed to stage one that he could film and interview people that took part.

l contacted people who are like myself, an instructor who produces fighters - namely Craig Long, Tony Diaz, Cris Janson Piers, Phil Jefferson Jon Lloyd, Euaclyn Griffinm and Paul Lynch and we matched up fighters who were prepared to fight in an interclub at my Gym, Leeds Cage. They would all have one thing in common: it would be the first time that they had fought in a Cage.

We were demonstrating to the BBC many things.  We staged light contact fighters, full contact fighters, kick jitsu fighters and novice mma fighters. It was a great night. Every one had prepared well knowing the BBC was filming all keen to show our sport in a good light and we succeeded it was a great success.

The makers were amazed at the camaraderie that goes with our sport. The way we shook hands bowed and generally showed respect.  It really opened his eyes to the fact that we are not meat heads. We are hard working and dedicated to providing a nurturing enviroment to our fighters, somewhere that they can achieve their full potential and learn to respect themselves and others, following the true code of the warrior.

Grass Roots martial arts is the Instructor who will go that extra mile for their student without financial consideration, but because they love all aspects of this fantastic sport because without each aspect we cannot produce a True Mixed Martial Artist.