Luton Higashi

Lynmouth Festival of Martial Arts 2008

Above - Instructors with Luton students Jeff, John, Steph and Karen

The Lynmouth weekend consists of over ten different instructors in various styles from all over the world. During the course of the weekend you have some one hour and some two hour seminars with them to go through different techniques, locks, ground work, throws and a lot more.

Above - the whole class

There were a few new people who came along this year that didn't attend last year and, after the weekend, it had lifted their love for martial arts even more. The regulars from last year enjoyed it just as much too: new instructors, new skills and a lot of new people to socialise with.

One of the most respected instructors is Jo Carlslake (9 th Dan) from Ireland . His work is fascinating and so effortless; he changed from lethal throws and locks to something completely different like blocking energy and making someone fall over by hardly touching them. Also, by pushing on certain pressure points in the body you can make someone loose their balance.

Above- Jeff decking someone

Another instructor who stood out was Jhun Dacayana, a Sensei from the Philippines . He took us all through just the basics of his art Eskrima. It proved beneficial to keep it simple because by the end of his seminar everyone knew exactly what they were doing and had gained a real insight to his side of martial arts.

Above - Lynmouth: the remote village where no one can hear you scream!

Jo Biggs, the organizer of the Lynmouth course, took a seminar which was very interesting. He started off with an attack and a take down then kept adding to it - all ju Jutsu-based techniques. In Jo Biggs' sessions you can't have any worries about getting your hands on people anywhere (and we mean anywhere).

Above - John teaching

And, of course, our one and only John Hurley had a two hour seminar of his own. Kick techniques and ohyu kumite blocks and counters were featured in the session. This, to most people, was a breath of fresh air from all the ground work we had learnt from the other instructors.

Above - Karen fighting

Everyone who attended this year at Lynmouth would recommend going next year. It's very beneficial to everyone to experience new martial art forms. The more techniques you know the better martial artist you will be.