Complete Self Defence

Grandmaster Geoff really did save the best for last with Saturday's BBC Seminar - "The Art of Fighting" - wrapping up the 2009 "Art Of" BBC Seminars.

The seminar started with Grandmaster Geoff going through point sparring and competition sparring under some other styles and we were lucky enough to hear some of Grandmaster Geoff's stories from the days when he competed in sparring tournaments.

We were then all shown a few sparring drills to work on, and once we had a bit of practice, it was time to spar!

Of the 38 students in attendance, 37 joined in the sparring, which was great to see, particularly as a number of the students were junior belts! Everyone had fun sparring and everyone got to see just how tiring it is and how much you have to think about what your next move is going to be.

We then got to see something very special. Grandmaster Geoff explained the difference between sparring and fighting and then asked for a volunteer to step up so he could demonstrate to us what fighting looks like. Sir Adrian was quick off the mark volunteering and what followed was something no current active student has ever seen. It was an incredible display of prowess, skill, stamina and control, and though Sir Adrian did look the worse for wear straight afterwards, we could all see that Grandmaster Geoff did hold back and took care of Sir Adrian throughout the demonstration.

It is hard to describe what took place but it was an incredible experience for the students who were there to see it first hand.

This was a seminar not to have been missed and students were hanging around and talking about the whole experience long after the seminar was over.

A great way to wrap up the 2009 BBC Seminar Series and we are all looking forward to the 2010 "How To" BBC Seminar Series which is only going to be bigger and better!