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Past Seminars
Tactical Edge Unarmed Self Defence & Intro to Basic Knife Defence- GTUK TaeKwon-Do Manchester & Stratford upon Avon
I was kindly invited by Mr John Archer 6th Degree to perform a series of four seminars for his group, two for Mr James Miley in Manchester & two for Mr Archer in Stratford. All the seminars were (happily) sold out, & I had a GREAT time teaching a great bunch of people.
First Manchester seminar participants
Unfortunately we were so carried away that we forgot to get a photo of the first seminar in Manchester. Mr Mileys students were a fantastic bunch. They trained very hard, & gave everything a great deal of effort, even though I was taking them right out of their normal 'comfort zone'. I had a wonderful time teaching two motivated & enthusiatic groups of students.
We started off working through a light warm up with an emphasis on breaking down bi symmetrical co-ordination, to break the ice we worked on Hubud to get everyone thinking about their co-ordination & timing. After this we moved onto basic takedowns, as this would be the most alien part of Tactical Edge to everyone. Once we had the basics down we moved onto situational training against common attacks, & finished up with an into to basic knife defence.
The next day it was Stratfords turn. Once again, a wonderful bunch of people who were a great reflection on their Instructors.
Stratford Seminar Participants
I'll let Mr Archer do the talking here first..."On Sat. 29th May, Tactical Edge Self Defence Instructor, Mr Mark Davies came down to England from Abroath to conduct 2 x 4 hour seminars in Manchester, followed by 2 x 4 hour seminars in Stratford on Avon. On both days the students entered with 'trepidation' and a fear of the unknown. But once the courses got underway a fabulous time was had by all.
The first 3 hours were taken with unarmed close quarter combat, with the last hour devoted to defences against knife attacks.
The atmosphere was very informal and despite the seriousness of the topics covered, a lot of fun was had, particularly watching the voulenteers get completely demolished !
Well done to all who attended, and have asked 'when is the next one !' A huge thanks to the very talented and clearly very dangerous, Mr Mark Davies and we all look forward to seeing him again in the not too distant future, watch this space".
I'd like to thank Mr Archer, Mr Miley & their students for making me feel very welcome. I can honestly say I enjoyed teaching these seminars SO much, & I can't wait until November when Mr Archer has asked me to do four more seminars in Stratford & Cambridge.
Tactical Edge Counter Knife seminar.
This was my first seminar for Mr David Condie & Scotia TKD, & I hope it won't be my last. His students were some of the friendliest, most respectful & enthusiastic I've had the pleasure to teach. We did two seminars back to back as he had so many students book places.
We started off taking everyone through some attribute building drills, introducing passing movements & then some limb destructions. We then looked at hostage positions (mugging scenarios) & the 'returning blades' skills from Tactical Edge, & some effective weapons strips. We then moved into what we term 'active attackers', where the weapon is in flight & the bad guy is actively attacking you. We introduced everyone into how we can use redirecting to initially get to a position of advantage & then counterattack, & then how limb destructions can provide an effective matrix of defence. Some of Davids fellow GTUK instructors came up from down south for the course too, & we'd like to thank everyone for a great day.
Vision TKD Summer camp 2009
We taught on Phillip Lears summer camp last year, & it was great to see his people again. Phillip Lear & Martin Hewlett are now both Tactical Edge Instructors, so we must have had an impact on them (or the drugs we spiked their drinks with worked & brainwashed them).
This years summer camp saw a huge turnout of seniors from Phillips TKD classes, along with some of Martins students who had made the 4 hour drive from deepest darkest Devon. The first day saw us working through unarmed combatives & some attribute building drills. We worked on drills integrating padwork with Takedowns, & then moved into situationals. The day just flew by, & I was left with material that I'll save for next time. Everyone was lucky as I'd planned to do Adrenal Stress Conditioning Drills.
Day two started working a bit of unarmed combatives to get warmed up, & then we went straight into weapons defence; starting with knife & then moving to pistol. After lunch we did some edged weapons work, & then introduced some Tomahawk for something totally different.
I had a fantastic time, & a great laugh; & I hope to see everyone again next year (though Phil & Martin will be up for our Instructors Training in October).
Bit worried about Martin- I think I've created a monster!
Asian Blade Combatives
On Asian Blade Concepts we explored the most useful attribute training drills. On Asian Blade Combatives we took the concepts from the drills & apply them combatively. This seminar wass all about combat. We explored some specific skills- the use of 'reverse grip edge in' methods & 'front grip edge up' methods. We had martial artists from many styles from all over Scotland pitch up, & everyone had a great time.
Tactical Edge multiple opponant combatives mini-workshop
Review by Marcus Houston. Mark came down to Edinburgh last night and worked the guys through some multiple opponent drills. We worked up to taking a hostage to bargain with which makes perfect sense. Very often running is not an option, and trying to keep moving and evading your attackers generally only works in class. You will be fully adrenalised and your heart rate will be soaring, energy levels will be expended faster therefore a bargaining tool makes perfect sense. I read the other day on a site that KM teaches you how to deal with 15 on 1 attacks. Pure fantasy and the instructor obvioulsy has never been involved in a multiple attack. You need to learn this stuff and you need to learn it quickly. Watch some clips of multiple attacks on you tube and decide whether the curriculum you are learning in class would prepare you for the ferocity of that kind of attack. If your honest and it doesn't then you need to seek out further instruction and plug that gap. Again, a big thanks to Mark for coming to Edinburgh last night.
Tactical Edge Combatives Seminar in Edinburgh- Multiple Opponents, & Tactical Flashlight specific techniques
Review by Marcus Houston- Saturday's seminar looked at using the tactical flashlight as a self defence tool. We started the day using the flashlight to strike focus pads in the same fashion as we practice drawpoint and also using the "hand of god" . We then moved on to destroying straight attacks and then eliptical attacks. We added in counter strikes and worked more of a free flow dealing with any angles thrown at us. Mark worked through a lot of the Tactical Edge takedowns and showed how these could be used by employing the flashlight. We then worked situationals and looked at deploying the flashlight and using it to stun an attacker with the flash itself and then following up with a takedown. Mark stressed that although we had a defensive tool not to focus on this entirely and that we still have our other striking tools. By the end of the day participants were able to deal with all angles of attack. It' s interesting to learn somthing thats based historically on the old black lattern and dagger system.
ComTech American Bladecraft- Folkestone seminar 16th May 09.
This ComTech Bowie seminar for the Boars Tooth group was a hoot to teach to a GREAT bunch of folks. I had a fantastic time, & have to thank David Jones & his family for their hospitality (& the great food). We introduced everyone to the ComTech Bowie syllabus. We worked through the 7 count offensive, defensive & back-cut flow drills. Looked at footwork & tactics using the In-Quartata & Passata Soto. Worked through applications of the movements learned in the flow drills, & had a hoot sparring with the Bowie. Hopefully we'll be back down in 6 months for some more.
Tactical Edge Karambit Seminar, 03/05/09
Some of our Karambit Seminar Participants
The Karambit seminar was a hoot to teach. As well as some of our own senior students we had visitors from Marcus Houstons class in Edinburgh & the Glasgow Krav Maga group.
We started off by creating a defensive matrix that would allow us to enter safely into extreme close quarters against the universal lines. We then looked at the various ways that the Karambit can be employed, & how it can be used to manipulate the opponent. In the afternoon we moved onto the use of the Impact Karambit, & how the concepts covered with the blade translate over to the impact device.
ComTech American Bladecraft- Arbroath seminar
Review by Marcus Houston
Almost a year since the last bowie seminar and so much has happened with Tactical Edge in that time. There have been seminars galore on the most cutting edged combatives and an active instructors programme has begun. It was good to see a lot of the usual suspects along with a host of new people. Mark started the day going over the 7 count defensive flow and explained how it was a logic chain. We isolated some of the motions from it and starting working through some attacks covering the Inquartata the and the Passata soto. We then jumped to the offensive flow and then finally the back cut flow. The whole 21 movements are designed to let you go away and train solo. It’s a fantastic set and one I find myself using a lot when we cover using common objects for defence. It works great with a rolled up newspaper of magazine and you can shut people down very quickly. Again Mark stressed that we were using the thrust as our primary form of attack and the cut secondary which is the opposite to the SE Asian blade systems. The reason being we are using bits of steel that are about 13 inches in length so we are playing at long range. Its great having the back up of the SE Asian systems for when you end up in close however, if you are doing things correctly then you can snipe at long range and finish it quickly. Again the thrust works better against adversaries who may be wearing some form of protective clothing. After all the system is coming from an era when men fought and died by the blade so expect some form of armour to penetrate.
Mark had us sparring with the foam Bowie's which brings home how quickly and with ease you can finish the game. He then went on to cover the use of the folding knife in a razor grip which allows us to back cut without the having to worry about the lock failing on us and removing our fingers!!! He then introduced the folder and shield which could be anything from a rucksack, briefcase to your kids packed lunch box. So one out the pair would have the bowie and shield and the other just had the bowie. You quickly see why most armies carried shields!!!! Mark is planning to hold a intermediate level bowie course for those who have attended the introductory course. I can’t wait to see what else is in store.
Native American Arts of War
I really enjoyed teaching this one. This was the first time I've taught these fighting methods outwith private lessons; & as far as I know it was the first such seminar in Europe, because as far as I know I'm the only instructor of these methods in Europe.
The course was pretty busy- with our friends from Kempo JuJutsu waaaaaay up north, John Macs guys from Livingston, & Marcus Houstons guys from Edinburgh joining my own Tactical Edge troops. We started off with unarmed combatives; looking at some of the animal based movements based on the Bear & the Eagle. We based some combat sequences on a technique called Beating the Arms- & then introduced some ripping & tearing techniques, & then throws. We worked through the 'Mountain Drop', 'Buffalo Drop', 'Dropping a Big Rock', 'Rear Neck Whip' & others. Everyone had a great time piling their training partners into the mats with glee!
We then moved onto the Knife. We looked at how the knife was used predominantly in the reverse grip, & how many of the techniques were identical to their unarmed counterparts. After an hour or so of knifework we swapped over to the Tomahawk & War Club. Everyone worked on defensive techniques, countering knife attacks similar to the type of techniques that would have been common amongst westerners of the time. We explored the use of 'Arrow Hand' & 'Passing Axe' defenses, & how various strikes could be made afterwards. We also looked at the way some very nasty takedowns could be performed with the weapon too.
All in all this was a really fun course to teach, & it was free of charge as my way to thank everyone who has supported my seminars this past year. Pics will follow as soon as Marcus (& his Polish Brigade) & John email me them, hint hint.
Tactical Edge Improvised Defensive Tools Seminar.
This seminar for Marcus Houston was a cracker & I really enjoyed teaching it. I'll let Marcus do the review (stolen from his blog)-
Another fantastic seminar by Mark Davies on Saturday, this time on improvised weapons. We started the day looking at elliptical attacks and how we could only deal with these by moving one particular way. We then moved on to fluid angles which meant we could go live side or dead side. We were taught to think more about the angle of attack as opposed to the attack itself. If we have a different response for armed, un-armed, edged or impact weapon attacks then we were onto a loser. Combat is too fast and fluid for us to have the luxury of different responses to each individual attack. Instead, we deal with the angle and then slightly tweak the response as we go. We also presume that there is a weapon involved, that way we are not surprised, secondly we also presume that there are multiple attackers.
The limb destruction principle was introduced and this moved on nicely to using the coffee cup as a means of destruction. The whole point of the day was to think conceptually, so yes, we could do the defence empty hand, with a coffee cup or with anything else we can hold in our hand that is of similar size. We then moved on to the simple walking stick. Again, we looked at various ways of employing this against common attacks. We then moved onto flexible weapons and the use of the dog lead. Again, if you don’t have a dog lead think conceptually, a belt, a bandana, cable a rolled up t-shirt. Mark then showed us some tricks of the trade with the fork and credit card. Unfortunately, I am not going into detail with these. You need to come along to get all the good info. If you take anything away from the day, then it is to think conceptually. Before I trained with Mark it was all just kicking, punching, blocking and trying to overwhelm an attacker, all of which repels the attackers limbs. How can I expect to take control of someone if I keep knocking them away. And its not enough to say, you are a civilian, hit him and run away home safely. Every time I strike you, you simply move further away. When there is distance, there is opportunity. If I knock you away and we go back to kicking range then I have to enter back in to defeat you which tactically makes no sense. I’m only 31 but already I have aches and pains – who doesn’t. I need a system that will work for me when I am athletic and when I am older and less mobile. I can’t in my 60’s say this system no longer works I need to find something else. I want a system that will transcend age and Tactical Edge is that system. For all the big guys in the club that say I will just bulldozer the guy then that’s fine for 3 out of 10 encounters. The other 7 might involve a weapon which is unforgiving. Again, you can’t get realistically get away with that style of defence as you get older .Do yourself a big favour and get along and train in Tactical Edge. I guarantee that you wont be disappointed.
Tactical Edge & ComTech seminars performed recently-
Whew, its been a busy couple of months & I've had a blast. Well done to all Marcus Houston's guys who graded after the knife defence seminar. The seminar was a cracker & everyone really worked hard. It was really great to have a very honoured guest training with us; Master Tom MacCallum (8th Degree Blackbelt ITF) was there training away with his son Rory. Master MacCallum was the Secretary General of the International TaeKwon-Do Federation, & was General Choi's right hand man for many years prior to his death. I have a soft spot for Master MacCallum, as I performed my first TaeKwon-Do grading under him.
Successful grading participants at Tactical Edge Edinburgh Grading
We had great fun at the Asian Blade Concepts seminar at my gym. We had instructors from numerous arts from all over Scotland attending, & it was a great day.
Some of the participants on the ABC seminar
Phil Lear's summer camp was a great day. His guys & girls trained hard & we got through a ton of material. Phil is looking to teach Tactical Edge in the London area, & will be welcome addition to the Tactical Edge family as he is a mega experienced instructor.
My trip over to Belfast was great. I was made very welcome, & I have to thank Martin & Trevor for a damn good steak as well. We introduced everyone to some of the concepts from Tactical Edge, & Martin & Trevor are going to be representing Tactical Edge in Ireland.
Belfast Tactical Edge Seminar
Back to GMac TaeKwon-Do in Livingston again, & this time John Mac had booked us for ComTech Stickwork. We went through single & double stick methods with his guys & had alot of fun. Nice to see Master MacCallum on one of my courses again too.
Tactical Edge Unarmed Combatives
On Sat 24th May we performed a unarmed combatives seminar for Marcus Houston at the Energy Gym in Edinburgh. Rather than me blethering on I'll borrow the review kindly posted by Russian Kettlebells Instructor Rannoch Donald on his Blog. Rannoch is the first Russian Kettlebells Instructor in Scotland. His website is http://www.kettlebellsscotland.com & his blog http://simplestrength.blogspot.com . Anyway, I'll let Rannoch do the review-
"The most intense conflicts, if overcome, leave behind a sense of security and calm that is not easily disturbed. It is just these intense conflicts and their conflagration which are needed to produce valuable and lasting results. " - Carl Jung
I'm suffering a little today. Yesterday I took a bit of a kicking. All in the name of personal progress mind you. I once again had the pleasure of attending one of Mark Davies' Tactical Edge Seminars.
Mark focused on Close Quarter Combat. We worked through unarmed combatives, skill building and scenario based training and finished with some disarms. No fluff, no fuss. The clarity of Mark's teaching is superb. As someone who grew up around traditional Martial Arts I've struggled to shake off the restraints of formulaic patterns. Mark's one size does not fit all approach encourages you to make these skill sets your own.
I've been lucky enough to attend some fantastic seminars. I enjoy the challenge of working with new people, of getting out of my comfort zone (something that requires more effort as you get older!). What is unusual about Mark's approach is the complete lack of "jargon" and perhaps more importantly, he makes no assumptions about participants existing knowledge. Whatever the skill level all points are addressed, succinctly.
Mark's precision reminded me of my dear friend & RKC Team Leader Dr Mark Cheng, who perhaps taught me more about the art of teaching than anyone else.
At the end of the seminar I offered myself up for Mark to recap the various drills, concepts and techniques we had worked on. The main thing you feel is the intent. That is what separates the quick and the dead. I took a few digs. Now, I'm no sucker for punishment and I have no need to dish it out but every now and again you have to have a little taste of the end product to know what you are cooking with.
After the seminar Mark conducted a grading for Marcus Houston's TE students, myself included. It was fantastic to have the chance to work through the last few months of learning. Marcus's regular Wednesday class is one of the highlights of my week not least of which is the camaraderie our group shares.
Once again folks, whatever it is you fancy, give it a go. There's a world of experience out there. Skills to learn, friendships to be made. Effort really is it's own reward.
Thanks to Rannoch for his kind words. We concentrated on extreme close range combat this time, & introduced some new techniques & concepts to the group. We started out with Hubud exercises, & then moved into some close range striking techniques drawn from Silat. We then spent most of the day applying those techniques in various situations. We finished the day off looking at handgun disarms, & I spoke at length about my pet hate- the current trend I see of handgun disarms that start by simply 'slapping' the gun offline. I truely dispise this type of technique, as in real life it generally results in the gun discharging. This can lead to the round from the weapons killing a bystander or even someone in their own home, & also results in the defender suffering burns, eye injuries from hot gas/red hot metal ejecta/unburnt propellant.... oh & probably ruptured eardrums. So now you're blind & deaf, how effective are you going to be at defending yourself- oh & someone has dies because you're an asshat! We worked on disarms where our initial movement interfered with the operation of the weapon, stopping it from being able to fire. Once stripped we would 'tap & rack' to make the pistol operable again, but this time against our assailant.
After the seminar we performed a grading. Everyone worked REALLY hard after a long day of pain & hard knocks, & a mention has to go out to the Polish contingent, who like the Polish TKD people I know; went at it like it was real.
I'll get some pics up as soon as they get sent to me (hint hint guys)
Tactical Edge & ComTech Asian Stick Arts Seminar in Edinburgh
On Sunday 10th February Mark Davies gave a Tactical Edge Stickwork & Impact Tools seminar for Marcus Houston's Tactical Edge & Krav Maga students.
On the seminar Mark took the particiants through skill building training, pad drills & partner based drills using single baton. He then spoke about the types of improvised implements you would be likely to employ in the form of a baton (magazine, news paper, even a car aerial), & then worked the students through various situational drills using a baton against knife threats. Students then learned the flip side of the coin & worked on impact weapons defence. To finish the students were taken through some techniques using the ComTech Stinger.
Our next Tactical Edge seminar is in Livingston on Saturday February 23rd at GMac TaeKwon-Do.
Edinburgh Super-session
We performed this mini seminar for Tactical Edge & Krav Maga instructor Marcus Houston's training groups in Edinburgh on Weds 12th December. The report below was kindly written by Marcus Houston.
Mark started off the session with a light warm up which had most the guys in pieces. I noticed that only Lee could keep up the pace with Mark’s two regular students who attended. I suggest less Xmas pies and pints before the next seminar guys!
Mark explained the need for explosive fitness in terms of real combat. You need to be able to go from standstill to 100% in a heart beat. You need the ability to work extremely hard and fast for a very short period of time. This is the difference between training for fighting in a ring and training for survival in a street situation. Therefore, the guys were put through a series of drills that took them from jogging pace and then bursting into explosive exercises. Mark also worked on some excellent movements to encourage explosive power in the legs.
The guys then worked through various combatives from the Tactical Edge system on the pads and Mark greatly emphasised the need for correct breathing throughout the exercise. Mark gave his usual sermon on punching people in “real life” and steered everyone towards open hand strikes and hammer fists. Mark uses the rule “hard to soft” and “soft to hard”. So if we are striking a boney part of the anatomy then we look to use a soft part of our anatomy to strike with such as a palm heel strike or hammer fist. If we are attacking a soft part of the anatomy then we use a hard part of our anatomy such as an elbow or a closed fist. Mark then demonstrated the use of the downward elbow on the collar bone which is a terrific strike to add to your arsenal. Mark used the analogy of using the knife against a boney area and how this would result in projecting whatever it was that you struck. The same happens when you use the elbow and attacked the face or collar bone area, the opponent is projected. Mark also covered some of the history of punching in traditional Martial Arts and how originally many styles never used closed fist techniques as they were designed for use on the battlefield. The same rules apply now as they did back then. You cant break your hand and use a sword or knife the same as you can’t break your hand and service your rifle. It wasn’t until the last 50 years that these closed fist strikes featured more heavily in systems.
The seminar then quickly moved on to look at counter grabs with the main underlying principle being that we don’t look to remove the hands as this can result in the attacker using his freed hands to strike you. Instead we leave the hands where they are and look to overcome the startle flinch response successfully by attacking various points on the body. It’s not a case of simply striking one area repeatedly. Mark added some failure drills and then moved on to countering throat grabs. Statistically this is more likely to happen to a female than to a male however again it’s all about principles. Deal with the initial throat grab which is stopping us breathing and then look to deal with the situation from there. We used a lot of forward momentum in these attacks as in reality someone is bouldering towards you trying to squeeze the life out of you. Too often you see students play acting with these attacks when in reality it’s close to when you see Homer choke Bart in the Simpsons! As long as you keep in mind the safety aspects you cant go wrong. However, you need to make attacks such as these as close to real life as possible. Begin with a verbal cue and then slam into the person. Its unlikely a choke is going to come from nowhere. How many times do you hear of someone randomly walking up and choking someone outside of the training hall. Real life isn’t like that guys so lets ensure our training doesn’t suffer by training falsely.
Mark then covered the universal lines of attack and the use of limb destructions. Keeping in mind the need for quarter beat strikes in order to overcome the startle flinch response. This is something that is new to a lot of the KM students as they are used to attacking often on a full beat. We then took the techniques to the full conclusion with the attacker ending up at our feet after we had used our choice takedown.
Mark keeps emphasising the need for commonality of movement in a system. I can say without a doubt that the corner stone of Tactical Edge is the commonality of movement principle. You learn a movement or technique and it’s very nearly the same whether its empty hand, edged or impact weapon. This translates right across the board when using impact tools whether it’s a kubotan, stinger DTL karambit or the T-bot. Mark took a movement and then demonstrated it again and again with an array of tools. The movements doesn’t change which means we don’t have to mentally change gears when given a different problem or when having something close to hand to utilise as a defensive tool.
As a treat we ventured on to the use of flexible weapons and looked at using a bandana as a self defence tool. You hear a lot about the use of flexible weapons in SD circles however, its hard to get your hands on any decent material so it was a real treat. I have only heard of a few other instructors who actually teach the use of flexible weapons and in particular the bandana. We looked at using the bandana to defend against various lines of attacks. Mark covered defences and counters and how to wrap and crush and the use of ligatures. Having your face crushed by a piece of a cloth is not something you want to do for fun but these guys loved it. Seeing a 17 stone guy get dropped and then scream when these techniques were applied is a real eye opener.
To round things off Mark emphasised the need to keep an open mind. Try the techniques, understand them and then decide whether to keep them or not. If you have some difficulty don’t bin it straight away, persevere until you have it and then decide what to do with it. Mark said something that really sticks in my mind. Now keep in mind that Mark has Dan grades in many traditional Martial Arts and modern combat systems. This is one of the reasons that I sought him out and continue to train with him. He has a huge amount of knowledge as well as real life experience in using what he teaches. He said that there were too many people claiming to have 25 years experience in Martial Arts or Fighting systems. He said they don’t have 25 years experience in something they have 1 years experience 25 times. This is something to think about and it’s the main reason I continue to train with Mark. I never get a blinkered view from him.
Once again a big thank you to Mark who travelled down to take this seminar. I know everyone enjoyed it and we all look forward to Mark coming back in 2008.
ITF England Masters Seminar great success
Mark was asked by Nick Symonds (ITF England technical director) to teach Applied TaeKwon-Do on their 'Masters Course' on the 11th November 07. The seminar had roughly 80 participants, with a 50/50 split between coloured & Degree grades. In the morning Competition sparring was covered by two of ITF Englands young stars, Matt & Felix. Master Ellis & Master Nardizzi took over to teach TaeKwon-Do basics & patterns; & then from 2pm they were handed over to Mark for around 3 hours of Applied TaeKwon-Do.
Mark started everyone on pre-emptive strikes, then moved into situational based training against common street attacks, & finally looked at weapons defence.
Everyone worked VERY hard, & showed a great deal of enthusiasm; & Mark has been invited 'down south' again by several instructors who enjoyed his material. Photo's will be posted soon.
Page Updated on: 09/06/2010
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