And for extra special incentive, we’re offering 2-for-1 monthly fees for new students. So grab a friend and come on out!

January classes will continue as usual, except for Mondays at Kensington Park, which is postponed until the light comes back.

This incomparably astounding tome is due to be released in the Spring of 2011, so keep checking boxwrestlefence.com for more updates.

Sorry for the serious lack of posting going on lately. We’ve been firmly ensconced in our rabbit holes of martial tomfoolery and have been very bad bloggers. This is just an announcement that we’re working on finally turning this site into something intuitive and sexy. Expect daily updates, sleek layout and epic photos to come hurtling your way very, very soon.

Aloha,

-Holly

Mar-tial

Art (art): N. 2. A branch of artistic activity using a special medium or technique. 3. The aesthetic values of an artist. 5. A craft or trade and its methods. 7. A practical skill or knack.

To put it simply, the renaissance concept of an art was something that utilised scientific thinking in order to make a set of skills become more in harmony with nature. The approach to martial arts at that time was the same; to make combat effective and in accordance with the nature and the physics of the human body. At Scatha Combat Guild we still use this approach. We teach and practice ways to make the act of fighting, defending your person or engaging in combat sports as fluid, graceful, simple and direct as possible. Sometimes that means performing a subtle little action that is barely perceptible, sometimes this means performing and dynamic and athletic action that looks all kinds of awesome. It all relies on what the situation calls for.

Why do we do what we do?

We love it. All of it. Speaking for myself, as long as there is something new to learn about fighting I will always be in love with practicing and teaching martial arts. This, of course, means that I will never stop loving it, since someone would be absurdly arrogant to think they knew every possible variation of human kinetics that could happen in a physical contest.  When I begin class each night whatever else is happening in my life gets left behind, and I always end up grinning like an idiot when I finally pull off whatever new bit of fight science I’m trying to get the hang of. I’m not sure anything can make you feel good about yourself better than successfully performing exactly the technique you intended to and having it work perfectly.

The last year or so had been particularly exciting.  Our new curriculum and training techniques have bred something fresh and new. We have utilized martial techniques that are centuries old and combined them into a truly mixed style that is wide-ranging yet unified. I’m personally proud of the success I’ve had adapting Victorian arts like Bartitsu into our curriculum, and the amazing results I’ve seen in our students.  Not the mention the improvisation that is going on in class. Sparring sessions have given birth to surprising and inspiring bits of “What the hell did I just do, that was brilliant!” In an environment full of people who have devoted years, if not decades, to fighting we are still finding out things that we have never even considered before. It’s like being a child at Christmas some times. Well, Christmas with someone punching you in the face.

What I want to emphasise most here is that martial arts are fun, first and foremost. It’s not always about getting your face smashed up in order to win a prize within the controlled environment of an octagon. Competition martial arts like MMA are just one tiny aspect of a gigantic world, albeit the aspect that most non-practitioners are used to seeing. When you are training in any discipline of combat arts you should be enjoying yourself, and you should go home at the end of the day feeling like you accomplished something impressive. Of course, you also should be learning skills that allow you to survive any hostile situation that may crop up, but that knowledge that you can defend yourself is part of what makes you feel so satisfied with the results of your efforts.  Not to mention the fact that you get fit and look better naked, which is a nice side effect of training.

If you’re interested but can’t make it this week, send me an e-mail at info@boxwrestlefence.com and let me know if we can be expecting you in the future.