Mr Bob Scott
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I have been studying Martial Arts since I was young.
I started like many youngsters, at school, doing Judo where our Sensi was Brian Farrent from the Caedmon Hall Judo Club in Leigh-on-Sea Essex.
When you are younger your priorities are a lot different and at the age of 14 decided that going out into the real world was a lot more interesting for me, so the Judo took a back seat for quite some time, however I did spend some time doing Karate at Valkyrie Centre in Valkyrie Road Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex. However, I'm not sure whether this club still exists any longer.
My children arrived in this world in the early 80's, and as they grew a little older I believed that it would be a good idea to introduce them to the world of Martial Arts.
Once my kids were around 5-6 I thought it would be a good idea if they learnt a little Judo and guess where I took them. Yes back to Caedmon Hall and I was really pleased to see that Brian was still there teaching.
It was Brians idea that if the kids saw me on the mat then perhaps they would be more inclined to train too, and that was the start again for me to get into Martial Arts.
There I was at the age of almost 30 doing Judo at Caedmon Hall twice a week, plus the Wado Ryu Karate session before hand just to try and get a little fitter. I also joined a Judo Club that at the time was training in what was known as the Access Social Club on Eastern Avenue in Southend on Sea. Although my memory is not that accurate I do know I really enjoyed that Judo club and really enjoyed the company of the other guys there.
So there I was training some 3 - 4 times a week and loving every minute of it.
So what happened that would stop my training for a short while? Strangely enough I don't actually remember but I think it was just a case of things moving on, life and ideas change and things happen that slowly change the way you behave.
In the late 80's we were running a pub in Chadwell Heath . I started to have the urge where I needed to train again. The one thing about Martial Arts is that even if you stop doing it, it still has this hold on you and you cant just stop thinking about it forever. You will find that when you talk to someone and they start to talk Martial Arts you have to say ...oh I did !!! for a while... ...yes I really enjoyed it, should have stayed at it....
There I was investigating what martial arts were around me in the Romford area.
I had already tried my hand a bit of Aikido which is one of the most graceful arts to watch, but for me, not really my style. When I happened apon a poster for "Ju Jitsu". I'll have a look and see what I think of JuJitsu.
This is my introduction to a martial art with strong elements from my earlier Judo days, including strikes from my earlier Karate days, and at the time, grace of movement which I hadn't really seen except in Aikido. Thats when I really got involved in Ju Jitsu training under Sensei's Mark and Clare Fitzgerald from Chadwell Heath, Dagenham and Hornchurch , who are both exceptional at their art. To be honest this was also my first introduction to an art, that allowed a woman who is a lot smaller than me to totally throw me, punch me, and kick me around like never before.
Well, now I am hooked, I trained hard and slowly worked my way through the grading system. Slowly is the key here as I was getting a bit older than most at 38.
We moved out of the pub and back to Southend on Sea around 1994-95, but I still used to travel up to Chadwell Heath every week to train. With moving to Southend the travelling did get a bit difficult and then I had a viral infection which stopped me from training for about 3 months. Have you been in the position where you stop training and then it gets harder and harder to get back into it. You know it is going to hurt you, and as you are getting older it's going to hurt you even more, so you delay it and delay it and before you know it, it has been a fair while since you trained and you think you have forgotten most of it anyway.
Then that little niggle comes back to haunt you, isin't it time you started training again, so eventually I start training again but this time in Southend on Sea, but still under the Jikishin Association.
Say hello to Sensei Alan Stone. Now he did trained me well, he gave me an introduction to how to use JuJitsu in the Street. Not just in the DoJo. Now that was an eye opener. The only trouble I had though was that I was now suffering from arthritis and sometimes it did mean I hurt or I was a little less flexible than before.
I have since moved from Southend on Sea and I now reside in Poole Dorset, but still I am training. Only now I train under Sensei Andy Walker at Poole Bushido Ju Jitsu Where Sensei Walker has introduced me to the discipline of "MMA". Which is a different martial art but still very effective.
MMA is getting a lot of coverage recently and as such I am sure it is going to be very big indeed.
Need to know more about MMA for amatuers than have a look at UK MMA League (Mixed Martial Arts) , or if you are interested have a look at the pro fighters try these guy at Cage Rage or even these guys at UFC.
Anyway, I am still training, in my 50's still hurting but not giving up.
For anyone interested in Martial Arts or my opinion I really love it. I have never done it for the coloured belt, because if I had been thinking of grades I would be a lot higher grade by now than I am.
For those interested in grades I am currently training for my Black Belt, but I mean it when I say it has never been a governing factor in my train regime. The grades just happen to come with it along the way.
My Journey To Black Belt 1st Dan