Exeter Practical Martial Arts instructor, Matthew Sylvester, was recently graded to 3rd Dan in Jung Shin Mudo (Taekwondo) by Paul O’Leary (4th Dan JSM) and Niall Wright (3rd Dan JSM).
As part of his grading, Matthew had to give a three-hour seminar to over 10 delegates from local martial arts clubs. He was graded on his presentation, his knowledge of pressure points, self-defence, pattern applications, and practicality.
During the first half of the seminar Matthew gave covered some of the basic elements of Practical Self Defence, a combative art that Matthew has designed using elements of Taekwondo, Pressure Points, Jim Wagner’s Reality Based Personal Protection and Lee Sansum’s Family Awareness Safety Training.
For the second half, Matthew looked at pattern applications, specifically Rising Elbow, Wedging Block and Walking Stance. Despite the second half being more ‘martial arts’ in focus, the applications were geared to be as instinctive and practical as possible. Such was the impact upon the attendees that he was sent a testimonial.
“Having recently attended one of Matt’s seminars, I can honestly say that his approach to self defence training is truly eye-opening.
Rather than showing practical self defence and patterns/forms as relatively separate, disjointed subjects, Matt gives every move a realistic and practical dimension. This is not the first time I have seen an instructor offer explanations and applications to patterns, but it certainly is the first time that I have seen them explained with such clarity.
Matt’s approach focuses on simple, instinctive movement, rather than
over-complicated show-boating, making it not only easy to learn but, more importantly, easy to remember. His knowledge of what he teaches is unquestionable and his enthusiasm and commitment were apparent throughout the class. The seminar was a pleasure to attend and our students and instructors are all looking forward to our next opportunity to train with Matt.”
Following the seminar, Matthew then had to do a closed-door session in front of the grading panel covering patterns, throws, buckles, sweeps, hand strikes, kicking techniques, pad work and knife defence.