Saturday, February 23, 2013

letter from Steve





Dear Martin,

It is sad to hear that you have cancelled this competition but I fully understand why you have done it. In this day and age, to run a competition, and break even is almost impossible. I had given up running competitions long ago as I could not take the worry of what it was going to cost me, like you, I have run many competitions that have ended up with being way out of pocket.

I would be more than willing to support your competition by refereeing but I can't support it by sending entries because I can't get anyone interested. As I said to you last year the financial state of the country is putting people off spending money and that is why I think competitions are failing. You only have to look at Judo to see the entries have gone down. Please don't think people are not supporting you because it is not through lack of trying to encourage people to enter. You can take a horse to water but you can't make it drink!

The Olympics did not bring anyone to the martial arts, the legacy everyone spoke about has not happened. I had loads of people contact the club web site but none turned up or joined the club. Unfortunately, martial arts are not the 'in thing' at the moment.

It is a shame you feel this way but it is also very understandable, for whats its worth I have many happy memories of your competitions as do the old school from my club. Well I am off to play with my Play Station now!......only joking.

All the best

Stephen Sweetlove 

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Mixed Style Sambo

Oleg Siblov is a member of the British CombatSombo Association and his style Mixed Style Sambo is recognised by the British Sombo Federation

You will find below some of his latest video clips which I think are very well produced






Monday, February 18, 2013

Old Newspaper and Modern Olympics







I have just had handed to me an old newspaper cutting from 1977 in which a family raised money for my Olympic bid. This was given to me by Jeanette who is featured in the article, she found this when sadly her mother died she is also in the article.. This obviously brought back memories 2 weeks after this report I won the British o 95 kg trials and become NO1 GB Heavyweight.

This was given to me the same day as Mo Farah announced he would be paid thousands of pounds to make a guest appearance at the London Marathon. Things have certainly changed since 1980 Olympics. My attempt to make the Olympics like many others was not just about training but also about personal and family sacrifice, in my case I received £20 from Sports Aid Foundation plus people and myself would organise sponsored events to raise money for me. Waldesrslade School in Chatham raised a considerable amount for me. In those days you still had to be an amateur and we in GB took that very serious, which nearly saw me dropped for the National Team. Some of you know of my disagreements with the hierarchy of the British Judo Association at the time, because I came from another organisation which they considered inferior they were far from happy with me being selected for the National Squad. When I won the National Trials just 8 months after joining them, this made them extremely angry (not all I might add many still recognised me as Judoka). So the question was put Is Martin Clarke an amateur as he coaches Judo for a living? The answer was Yes. So one up for me but these people would get their revenge eventually, as I never got selected for the 1980 Olympics.

The point I am trying to make in those days the Olympics was a gathering of Amateur Athletes from all over the World to have a festival of sport, with the ideal of competing and maybe winning the ultimate Sporting Accolade no more no less. Of course there would some who did not take the Amateur ideal in the true manner of equality and not for gain. The Communist would have their athletes in the Army and the USA would have theirs in colleges etc.

As the Olympics moved on it became a political weapon for those countries who thought that there system of government was superior to others if they won many Olympic medals and of course eventually the Amateur status was dropped and now the professional could enter and the hardworking amateur would no longer get a chance. Now you have Olympians becoming Millionaires because of their medal wins and why not, yet in 1980 I cannot remember Steve Ovett or Seb Coe becoming rich over night and certainly no Judo player was ever made rich from the Olympics ask Neil Adams. Now we have sportsman who have been to 4 Olympics and some complain they are hard done by well who paid for them for the last 18 years? Of course us the Tax payer, so should we the Taxpayer be paying for Professional Sports people to train and make a living from us? One diver complained that he had lost his funding and could no longer keep up his 2 mortgages?

The I.O.C is just a corporate body whose job is to provide a Sporting Spectacular every 4 years and the athletes are there to entertain and amaze the World Wide audience.  The original Olympic ideal has now gone I am pleased that I was one of those who tried to make the Olympics when it was for amateurs.
Many people thought that GB would not make a success of the London Olympics I had no doubt that it would, even though I did not want it in GB because of the cost. The British have had a brilliant record throughout the world in putting on such events and pageantry , yes our Sports people were excellent the opening and closing ceremony were fantastic even though it gave a rather cock eyed and inaccurate version of what Britain’s past has been. So who gained out the London Olympics?
1)   All those companies who built the place,
2)   All those foreign workers who worked on the project
3)   Adverting companies
4)   The Government who had gained by the massive PR for them
5)   All those who were paid to organise the event
6)   All those athletes who participated and now some will earn a living from it
7)   All those dignitaries who got free passes to watch some from countries where there people are starving
Guess who paid for this of course us the Tax Payer

I have already said that the ordinary sportsman has gained nothing from the London Olympics, there was no sudden surge in people taking up sport, and maybe many would become spectators of TV sport. In fact the government now will only grant aid sports that were successful in the Olympics so now some Olympic Sports will collapse and what of the Non Olympic sports? Remember there are more Non Olympic sports then those in the Games and they will get no funding. Surely if the government should put taxpayers money into sports it should be pumped into grass level to encourage people to enter many different sporting activities at all ages and abilities? Why should just an elite few get all the money surely the emphasis should be on maximum participation rather then the maximum amount of Olympic medals for if the London Olympics has proved one thing the latter doesn’t produce more sports men and women

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

NO MORE OLYMPIC WRESTLING



So the most ancient of Olympic Sports WRESTLING is to be stopped in the 2020 Olympics what a disgrace and look what they want to put in its place:
The list includes baseball/softball, squash, karate, sport climbing, wakeboarding, wushu and roller sports. Why Karate and Wu Shu we have one  kicking sport in the Olympics called Tae Kwon Do? As for the others they have nothing to do with the original Olympics which all were about preparing for physical Combat.

The Olympics is a corporate machine designed to make money for the IOC, Sponsors and Athletes it has lost all its appeal as a world meeting of amateur sportsman

With UK funding only going to certain Olympic sports, the majority of sports and sportsman will suffer because of our obsession with the Olympic Games. Remember all the hype about the benefits the London Olympics what a load of Rubbish

Finally Sambo can forget about inclusion in any future Olympics if FILA one of the richest sports organisation in the World can not retain their position what chance has FIAS have especially with the internal  problems they have


http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/olympics/21427455

Sunday, February 10, 2013

Who is Greg Gibson


A friend of mine Joe Neely from the USA put a questionnaire on his Facebook Group. One of the questions was:
 Who is considered to be the most versatile wrestler of all time?
Greg Gibson
 I asked who is Greg Gibson? The answer is below

I once attended a Sombo Tournament it was on the last day of the AAU Wrestling Championships in New Mexico there was 8 mats and over 1500 Wrestlers that give you some idea of how popular Wrestling is the USA


            Gibson became the first American to win a gold medal at the 1980 Greco-Roman World Cup Wrestling Tournament in Trellborg, Sweden. Gibson dominated the tournament by pinning everyone he faced including the world champion. He went on to capture two more World Cup Greco-Roman Titles in 1984 and 1985.
           
            Between 1981 and 1984, Gibson became one of the most dominant wrestlers in the world, medaling ten times at four International Championships in both Freestyle and Greco-Roman. In 1982, Gibson became the first wrestler to medal in all three wrestling styles when he captured the gold at the Sombo World Cup Tournament. In 1983, Gibson captured the freestyle gold medal at the Pan-American Games and was crowned the Freestyle and Greco-Roman Champion at the World Military Wrestling Championship in France.
           
            Gibson's incredible talent as a wrestler reached an apex when he won the Greco-Roman Silver Medal at the 1984 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles, California.
           
            Following his stellar performance at the Olympics, Gibson finished the 1985 season winning the USA Freestyle and Greco-Roman National Championships. In addition, he placed second at the World Greco-Roman Championship, and won his third gold medal at the Greco-Roman World Cup Tournament.
           
            After the 1985 season, Gibson coached the Marine Corps Wrestling Team and also competed for at the Armed Forces Championships.
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Friday, February 08, 2013

Past Success

Past Success



Winning 120K plus Southern Counties Olympic Lift 1978
Clean & Jerk + Snatch



World Jiu Jitsu Championships Canada 1984 Silver



World Sambo 1986 France Silver Throwing Frenchman for 4 points

  With Billy Nichols one of GB's  Top Lightweights in the 70's


Ippon 1973







True Warriors

Many of you may have already seen the YouTube Clip, many people who participate in Martial Arts claim to be Warriors but it is those who fight for their country are the true Warriors. Many Countries pay tribute to their fallen Service personnel in different ways this is how they do it in New Zealand a very moving tribute. Notice the Black Arm Bands something that we no longer do in GB


Monday, February 04, 2013

Fernando Compte and Moshanov

The Founder and Father of FIAS (Federation International Amateur Sambo) Fernando Compte has just circulated the attached letter. Sadly Fernando is not a well man but we in Great Britain remember all the help he gave us when we first formed in 1986. It was him that took Sambo from being just ba USSR Sport and made it an International Grappling System. Fernando should be listened to and his letter suggest there are problems ahead for International Sambo, hopefully not the creation of another World Federation which has been suggested

to: Jack Kogan


From: Fernando Compte
Sent: Sunday, February 03, 2013 4:27 PM
To: 'FPASambo'
Subject: PAASF Congress

Dear Jack:

Thank you very much for the invitation to the PAASF Congress on March, 3, 2013.
Sorry that I am now not so active, my illness doesn’t let me travel, but as you know I give my vote to you and David.
I was reading with great interest the letter you send to Mr. Skali and also the others from Mr. Pulatov, Mr. Martin Clarke and David Rudman.
I must say that I’m really surprised and disappointed with all this new problems in FIAS, created by Mr. Moshanov and others.
I remember the good time and the good organization during the presidency of David.

With my best regards from your friend,
Fernando Compte