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UFC hall of famer - Royce Gracie

This past weekend (May 29 & 30) the UK’s premier martial arts expo returned to Excel, London, just down stream from the 02 arena.

Have you been to Disney Land? Did you see everything? Probably not. Seni 2010 was like that, more than enough to see and do in one day.

Travelling up from Bournemouth, reaching the Excel on the Saturday afternoon, I chose to fit in as much as possible to soak up the experience. Upon arrival I had to question if I had in fact arrived at the correct location, greeted by the sight of costumed cartoon heroes, rather than dudes in martial arts attire. It so happened Seni this year coincided with Expo – a special event for sci-fi and anime fanatics.

After checking in at the press desk I journeyed through the expo towards the area for Wu Shu Open, in order to give my Tai Chi instructor Brendan Burnett some moral support, as he entered the Chen style part of the competition. Amidst the many trade stands,  I caught site of living legend Royce Gracie, meeting fans and signing copies of his book. Unsuprisingly the queue to meet the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu master was massive.

Another master present – Samuel Kwok, a Wing Chun expert demonstrated close combat defence blindfolded! Amazing stuff! Seeing was believing, believe me!

Traditional Tai Chi winners on the podium.

Inside  the classical martial arts arena, the Wu Shu was located between Kali stick fighting and the Jiu Jitsu grapplers. There appeared to be less space allocated for this section of the fighting arts since I last attended back in 2007, still great to see it represented. Fortunately I made it just in time, witnessed Brendan’s Chen Sword Form and Cannon Fist Form. Celebrating his 33rd birthday, the Somerset Sifu earned 2 third place trophies. Well done mate.

As previously stated the plan was to experience at much as possible. Next: time for a 10 minute back, shoulder and neck massage, courtesy of one of the lovely ladies at the UCMMA stand. The Ultimate Challenge crew were there promoting their best of DVD, plus the forthcoming Feel The Pain fight card – June 19, Troxy, London.

Your roving reporter and the gorgeous girls from Nuts Magazine.

Visitors also had the opportunity to meet ring girls and the gorgeous girls from Nuts lads magazine, who were more than happy to pose for photos.

Andre Winner - UFC fighter.

Throughout  the day top cage fighters were on hand meeting fans. Some of the many mixed martial artists in attendance were Andre Winner (TUF 9), Dan Henderson (UFC & Pride FC), Jamaine Facey and Jimmy Manuwa.

Towards the end of the afternoon 3 very special surprise guests attended the show, non other than Celebrity Big Brother 7 winner Alex Reid, joined by glamour girl wife Katie Price and her son Harvey.  Katie tried on a special training vest for size, whilst Alex appeared to be having a brilliant time stopping off at the many trade stands, greeting friends and fans alike.

To sum it up, a fantastic day out, Seni’s got something for everyone. Will I be visiting Seni next time? Damn right I am!

A special thanks to Joe Long – Fighters Inc.

www.seni.tv

UFC & MMA blog by Duane Farr

duane@bluraymma.com

In 2006 I took a course of acupuncture, the therapist recommended
I take up the Chinese art of Tai Chi. The instructor was Brendan Burnett, who I now call a good friend, not only practices Tai Chi for health but also
as a the martial art it originally was. Brendan’s journey to master the art
of Chen Style Tai Chi Chuan saw him take part in many other martial arts
plus he is fan of the UFC and Kung Fu movies.
What inspired you to start training in martial arts?

Growing up I had the influence of my dad being on the Dorset Judo team
and my step dad a British Karate champion in the 1970s. I was bullied at
school but then later took it (Kung Fu) seriously after seeing the Shaolin Temple movie starring Jet Li. Being a huge fan  the Wu Tang Clan Hip Hop
group helped as well.  I took up training in Wing Chun which I have continued to practise to present alongside Tai Chi. Taking up a martial art is good to keep you out of trouble as a youngster.

I know you as a Tai Chi instructor, what other martial arts have you trained in?

Along with Wing Chun and Tai Chi Chuan I have tried Karate, kickboxing,
Aikido, Jiu Jitsu and Pent Jak Silat. It’s good to try different styles to see what you prefer. Also it makes you rounded as a martial artist rather someone who’s just done one style.

As a traditional martial arts expert what do you think of the sport of MMA?

I enjoy watching the UFC and like MMA as it means you can do more than
one martial art. There is the difference though that with traditional
martial arts, it is about morals as opposed to the aggression focussed on
the fight you are training for. I’m sure many of the UFC guys are good role
models and do things for charity but there is a difference between
doing martial arts on a daily basis for health and fitness and fighting
in the ring or cage.

Who are your favourite fighters from the world of ultimate fighting?

Royce Gracie is one of my all time favourite UFC fighters, along with Chuck
Liddell.

Is there a difference between self defence on the street or in a bar
and the MMA sporting competition?

A street fight is different, the psychology is different, you don’t want to
fight and not want to get hurt. In MMA or boxing you can hit harder as your fists are protected from the gloves. In a real fight on the streets you
can’t choke people. You can’t get away with it (as a martial artist you need
to know the law of what is reasonable self defence). I train stand up as
it is rare for a fight to go to the ground in a real situation.
Lyoto Machida a traditional Karate practioner was crowned the new
UFC light heavyweight champion at UFC 98, what effect do you think it will
have?

Good news, Jiu Jitsu, boxing always been doing well in MMA. Fantastic,
hopefully will be a good influence. I haven’t seen much UFC recently not having the channels at home. I’ll go and watch now I know that and see him on youtube. Like anyone they’ll find a way to beat him  eventually after studying his style.
The legendary Bruce Lee -- the first Kung Fu fighter to mix the martial arts,
what are your favourite Bruce Lee movies and was he an influence on you?

He’s the god of Kung Fu. I have practised Wing Chun for 12-13 years because of Bruce Lee. Most martial artists did more than one style.

Favourite Bruce Lee films?

Enter The Dragon, Fist of Fury, Big Boss and The Dragon Story,  I love them all!
Brendan has studied Chen Tai Chi Chuan from Chinese Master Liu Yong in China and learnt street self defence from Mo Teague, a no nonsense fighting expert recently featured on Danny Dyer’s Deadliest on Bravo.

http://manliantaichisouthengland.webs.com/

http://www.youtube.com/user/badboybrendan

UFC & MMA blog by Duane Farr

duane@bluraymma.com