Monday, September 30, 2013

Help me with my dates

 Some old Photo's I am terrible with dates let me know what the dates are


IBF Presentation Night ?


Mick Poole and the Isle of Wight Squad for International IBF Event Mid late 80's?
 Warriors At British Bedford is that Danny or a young Colin?

Neil Adams Course Sittingbourne


SE England Olympic Weightlifting Championships 1978?


World Jiu Jitsu Championships 1984?


World Masters Malta 1999
I won a silver in my worst ever performance I had the arrogance to think I did not need to train for this event and still thought I could win. Yet this defeat helped me win the World Masters Judo in 2001 for this event i trained my socks off


World Open Sombo Montana 1998?
Josh Henson is here with his arm around my wife glad to see Josh is back, Herve from Switzerland still involved, myself and Dave Boulding. Sadly nobody sees dave anymore


Warriors France I think


Basque 1992 Paul Sawyer John and Martin Clarke Joe Blanco Tony Bull

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

1978 Judo

1978 the second year I won the British Judo Associations British Team Trials in the Over 95 kilo class at Crystal Palace

That is 35 years ago things have certainly changed since then, if my memory serves me right there was nearly 30 entries in the 95+ kilo class. Today you will be lucky to get 30 men across all the weights. I was also teaching adults twice a week with between 40 and 50 every session a good adult night now is 16 as for kids my Young Judo Club was running 10 junior sessions a week in Sittingbourne with at leas 30 in every class sometime more.

There as at least 2 competitions a month we us taking minimum of 15 Adults and 20 Juniors at a tournament organised by Big Brenda in Herne Bay we had 105 entries from our club. Those days have gone and a good Judo tournament is between 80 to 100 competitors from all over the country


Martin Clarke Dave Boulding Brenda Jones Trevor Waghorn
IBF Multi Nations Holland 1987


Thursday, September 19, 2013

IBF/BSF Awards night











British Sombo Federation/International Budo Federation

AWARDS NIGHT

Coniston Hotel Sittingbourne Kent

Saturday January 18th 2014

A Black Tie Event

Dear Members

The BSF and IBF have brought together a special evening to honour some of our members, this event at The Best Western Coniston Hotel is Black Tie event, strict dress code will be adhered to  and will consist of a 3 course meal, Disco and Bar till 1 pm. We have arranged a special price for the hotel for those wishing to stay at £65 pre room B&B.

The itinerary for the evening will be as follows

7.15pm Starters
7.45pm Warriors and Young Judo Club Awards
8pm Main Course
8.45pm BSF Awards
9.15pm Desert
9.45pm IBF Long Service awards
10.15pm Disco till 1pm

The awards for the British Sombo Federation will be allocated by the BSF EC for members who have given outstanding service to Sombo in GB
International Budo Federation will be giving Gold, Bronze and Silver awards for long service. Bronze will be for members who have been continual members for 20 years, Silver for continual members for 25 years, Gold for continual members for over 30 years.

As you can see this is a very important moment for the members who are receiving the awards.  There is only a limited amount of tables so it is important to book early last day to book will be December 1st 2013

Cost is £40 per head

Contact Martin Clarke 118 East Street Sittingbourne Kent ME10 4RX IBFBCSA@GMAIL.COM 
Cheques payable IBF 
paypal sombogb@blueyonder.co.uk





Tuesday, September 17, 2013

To Psych or not to Psych


I have often been asked if when I was competing I tried getting a psychological advantage over my opponent on hindsight I guess I must have done.

Nearly every tournament I entered I would try and talk to my opponent and tell them how fit and strong I was, I would then do the Old Mohammed Ali bit telling them how long it would take me to beat them. This prediction never came true but it was useful to unnerve them. Yet in training with my pupils I would say I am about to throw with such and such a throw and it nearly always worked but just could not do that it competitions, which was a shame. Something I never realised   I did, until my wife told me was that I would pace up and down the mat just before I went on starring at my opponent. And giving them the evil eye another trick was limp over to your opponent wait to see the gleam in their eyes and then start to do a little jig.

Psyching yourself up was important, but I would spend a week doing this before a major comp, this was bad because it stressed me to much and the day of the comp my nerves were getting the better of me until I had my first match then I was OK Sometimes you can Psych yourself to lose this happened to me just once when I met the Dutchman and a previous European Judo Champion, he was about 7ft tall. I just looked at him and froze he threw me for Ippon some years later I had a big argument with him of the mat which ended in a physical altercation (that’s a polite word for a fight) I threw him with a Haria Goshi held him on the ground and squeezed his head till he said he had enough. Afterwards we had a drink and became friends but I thought why couldn’t do that on the mat where it mattered. Another time I was training at the French National Sports Centre for a week this always followed the Paris Tournament an event I competed in for GB and it was the hardest weeks training I have ever done, it was organised by the European Judo Union and had players from all over the world trained together. At this event the Japanese Team were present and amongst their team was a massive Yugoslavian who dressed and talked like the Japanese. For some reason I was awe struck with him and he gave me a good hiding, this infuriated GB 100k player Paul Radburn and the great Belgium fighter Robert Van De-Walle who used such terminology as you are a Big Sack. They went on to smash him all over the place, lesson learned to not take people at face value. I redeemed myself later on in the week, the French Team turned up on the last day, when everybody was tired and injured. They proceeded to dump everyone with exception of yours truly who gave a more then better account of himself. I remember the famous Dutch Judo Coach/Competitor Peter Snijders, who was the senior Coach for the week “Well done Englishman”


I am the small one


Both these occasion were a learning curve for me at 27 and +100k player I was far from my prime, I won medals and lost medals but I would never be psyched out again. My knowledge of psyching helped me  win a Gold medal in the 2001 World Masters Judo Championship. For this event I had trained hard on getting maximum Strength as past injuries especially my knee were effecting my skill level and speed, so for a year most of my training was on weights. This paid dividends as the first fight was against the previous years champion who was considered the favourite to win. As we took hold I put my hand around his neck and pull it down, he looked up with dismay and I could see in his eyes that he had lost. My beating him psyched the rest of the field out and in the final I threw my opponent with a Maki Komi Winding Throw for Ippon. 

One of only  2 times that I made Victorious gesture, as he hit the ground and the referee shouted the score I looked up at my wife and raised my arm, the other time I done this was when I threw my main rival Arthur Mapp with Uchi Mata in the 1978 All England Championship I went on to win the finals beating Errol Carnique


The other two memorable fights were two that I lost the first was against the Famous Dutch Fighter Chris Dolman a world Class Judoka, Wrestler and Samboist. I fought him in the final of the World Games in 1985, I had thrown him and I thought I was getting the better of him but we ended on the ground and he leg locked me.  The final of the World Sambo Championships i1986 saw me in the finals pitted against several times World Champions Vladimir Shaklov; he also represented the USSR in Judo and only lost to the greatest Judoka ever Yamashita on a Koka. So my chances were nil and the audiences thought this as well with little or no interest shown. The match started we battled for grips and he threw me for 4 pts as expected but I came back with power and speed and caught him with a rear throw for 4 pts. Now the audience woke up shouting for me to win sadly that did not happen I battled on at one point dislocating my finger, just before the final whistle he caught me other throw and I lost by 12 pts. Yet after losing I was congratulated it seems no one had scored on him for years. From then on I earned the knick named “The Man Who Threw The Russian”


I hoped you did not mind me reminiscing because when I returned from the World Master n 2001 I did not realise that it was to be my last competition and the last time I would do any Fighting. My knee got to the point where I had to walk with a stick and the pain was excoriating and I had to wait for nearly 5 years before I could get a knee replacement and a year later a hip replacement. Thankfully I can now walk and occasionally teach but once you have been a fighter that longing is always with you, they say real fighter never retire they die. It a pity I could not have stayed long enough to fulfil that saying. To all those who say you to old to fight tell them rubbish you keep going as long as possible age is just a number

Great Britain Sombo Selection Process


The British Sombo Federation has made great in roads into National and International Sambo with the help of FIAS and the majority of our members welcome the progress but you always get he few disgruntled ones normally those who are normally non achievers. In the past these people would have their moan in their club and it would be put down to petty jealousy but now we have Facebook, which can reach many people. This medium allows them to vent vociferous bile without any substance; I just use Facebook as a way to promote my competitions etc.

Once again it is the BSF selection process that has come under scrutiny, so let me explain selection of British for Worlds and Europeans. A BSF Committee conducts this process and it was agreed that those who were British Subjects who were placed the highest in the British would be eligible for selection, the final selection of 8 fighters were made accordingly, those who did not enter were not considered. To represent GB you have to be a British Subject and a member of a BSF organisation, this does not mean you have to be born in GB you can be someone who has moved to this country and become a naturalised citizen. The BSF know of an extremely good Lithuanian and Bulgarian who compete in our tournaments and live in GB and we have encouraged them to obtain a British Passport, we have even to offered to support their application as they could bring benefit to the British Team.

A selection process also applies to selecting Coaches for training camps etc. The training camp is for exceptional Coaches who have British Passports and are registered with the BSF those who do not have British Passports can go through their own countries Sambo Organisation. The BSF EC does selection process for the position of the National Coach for both Sombo and Combat Sambo.  There is always complaints that when there is a family connection in any selection process as with the BSF selection of my son John. Some say it is nepotism but let me assure you that John has been one of the most successful Sombo players in GB he first won a World Silver at the age of 15 (1988), his most successfully World Senior Championship result was a 5th place he is the only person to represent GB at World Championships as Schoolboy, Junior, Senior and Master. What is more important, him and his club the Warriors has trained more British Champions then any other club, in the last few years he has organised along with Colin Carrott over 20 Instructors courses and in the next month will travel to Yorkshire to do another Sombo Course, to be a successful National Coach you have to active throughout the country. So as a Father and Chairman of the BSF I am extremely pleased with John, as is the rest of the BSF EC

The BSF is a democratic Body and our AGM is on January 18th 2014 in Sittingbourne the place where the BSF was formed. The BSF is a federation of associations so if you want to be elected, as 2014 is election year, get your organisation to put you forward.  The BSF welcomes new organisations all the time and the criteria is as follows:

An Association wishing to affiliate must be practising Sombo or CombatSombo or Full Contact Sombo and they must conform to the following:
  1. They must be have been in existence for a minimum of 12 months and must have a minimum of 50 members who names maybe checked
  2. The Association must have a constitution which must be sent with application
  3. Name of Committee members must be produced
  4. Must have Insurance Cover which must be produced
  5. Must have Child Protection Policy
  6. Must have Equity Policy
  7. Must have Health and Safety Policy


Monday, September 16, 2013

FIAS President V Shestakov supports the British Sombo Federation

The British Sombo Federation have been invited to send some British Coaches to a weeks Coaches Training in St Petersburg at the end of October. This will be all at the expenses of our International Body FIAS, which it is also paying for 8 competitors and 4 delegates to attend the World Championships in November. These events coupled with the fact that FIAS is purchasing two full size mat areas for the BSF proves that our International Organisation is helping countries like GB to bring Sambo to the for on the International Scene. Our thanks go to FIAS President V Shestakov and the rest of the FIAS EC for supporting us.
We are all looking forward to next years Presidents Cup to be held in London in June yet another event funded by FIAS

Those selected for St Petersburg trip are:


Robin Hyslop, John Sharpe, Russell Dodds, Keith Costa, Colin Carrott, Barry Gibson,  George Loscombe, 

Their itinerary is
26.10.13 Saturday
·      Arriving in St. Petersburg
·      Hotel Accommodation
27.10.13 Sunday
·      City Tour
28.10.13 Monday
·      Morning training
·      Evening training
29.10.13 Tuesday
·      Morning training
·      Evening training
30.10.13 Wednesday
·      Morning training
·      Evening training
31.10.13 Thursday
·      Morning training
·      Evening training
1.11.13 Friday
·      Departure